Mechanical Thinning and Prescribed Burning Categorical Exclusions for Nebletts Creek

SE Group was retained in 2021 under a direct federal contract with the United States Forest Service (USFS) Region 8 to assist with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for forest health project in Texas. This project focused on revitalizing approximately 1,597 acres of National Forest System lands northeast of Houston, specifically within the Sam Houston Ranger District of the National Forests and Grasslands of Texas (NFGT).

Areas within compartments 97, 98, and 99 had experienced an overgrowth of pine, mid-story hardwoods, and overstory hardwoods, making them vulnerable to disease and southern pine beetle infestations. To address this, NFGT proposed mechanical thinning and controlled burn to restore ecological balance.

The project was analyzed under a categorical exclusion (CE) that met category 36 DFR 220.6(e)(6), which states “Timber stand and/or wildlife habitat improvement activities that do not include the use of herbicides or do not require more than one mile of low standard road construction.”

To work through the NEPA process, SE Group facilitated public scoping, processed the resulting comments, prepared the decision memo documenting the absence of extraordinary circumstances. While preparing the decision memo, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed the tricolored bat for listing as an endangered species. The tricolored bat has habitat within the NFGT, forcing the project to be placed on hold until further guidance between the NFGT and USFWS is developed. 

SE Group delivered the draft decision memo and project record in August 2023 to satisfy the requirements of the federal contract; no further support from SE Group on the project is anticipated.