[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-916]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 14, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 

Boppin Basin Salvage Sale; Kootenai National Forest; Lincoln 
County, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental impacts of a 
proposal to harvest timber and construct and reconstruct roads in the 
East and West Fork of Basin Creek located about 29 air miles northeast 
of Troy, Montana. This EIS will tier to the Kootenai National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan and EIS, which provide overall 
guidance for achieving the desired forest condition of the area. The 
purpose of the proposed action is to help reduce existing natural fuel 
loadings of standing and down dead lodgepole pine, increase the 
productivity on those suitable areas that sites currently are not 
growing anywhere near full potential and increase the health and vigor 
of proposed salvage stands which will help maintain a more equal 
distribution of timber age classes.

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received by February 
28, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to John B. Righter, District Ranger, 
Three Rivers Ranger District, 1437 North Highway 2, Troy, Montana, 
59935.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Monte Fujishin, Supervisory Forester, 
(406) 295-4693.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The timber salvage management activities 
under consideration would occur within a 6,046 acre analysis area which 
is immediately adjacent to the East and West Fork of Basin Creek.
    The proposed action would harvest about 17.6 million board feet 
from 10 harvest units totaling 1,258 acres. Approximately 4 miles of 
new road would be constructed and 3 miles of existing road would be 
reconstructed.
    There are a variety of purposes for timber harvest and 
reforestation in the Basin Creek area; the primary purposes are: (1) To 
improve timber productivity by replacing stands of dead, down or dying 
lodgepole pine with younger, more vigorously growing trees; (2) to 
salvage the dead, down and dying lodgepole pine; and (3) to reduce 
potentially catastrophic wildfire conditions by removal of natural 
dead, down or dying fuels. Additionally, the purpose of road 
construction and reconstruction is to facilitate access to the timber 
stands to be harvested.
    The project area consists of approximately 6,046 acres located in 
Sections 20-22, 26-29, and 32-34, T36N, R30N, P.M.M., Lincoln County, 
Montana.
    The decision to be made is what, if anything, should be done in the 
Basin Creek Project Area to: (a) Increase timber productivity and 
contribute to the Forest's sustained yield of timber products through 
salvage operations, (b) reduce natural fuel loadings of dead, down and 
dying lodgepole pine as a result of past mountain pine beetle 
infestations, (c) dispose of slash and reforest harvested lands, (d) 
develop and manage the road system to facilitate removal of timber, 
reforest stands and maintain or improve wildlife and (e) create a 
situation of better age class distributions of stands within project 
area.
    The Kootenai Forest Plan provides guidance for management 
activities within the potentially affected area through its goals, 
objectives, standards and guidelines, and management area direction. 
The areas of proposed timber harvest and reforestation would occur 
within Management Areas 12 and 14. Timber harvest would occur only on 
suitable timber land. Road construction and reconstruction would occur 
in these two management areas plus Management Area 13 when crossing the 
East Fork of Basin Creek. Below is a brief description of the 
applicable management direction.
    Management Area 12--These are areas that contain productive timber 
lands which are suitable for timber harvest, provided that big game 
summer habitat objectives are met.
    Management Area 13--These are areas that contain special habitat 
characteristics which are suitable for old-growth dependent wildlife. 
Local road construction is permitted, providing that they are 
restricted following use to protect snag characteristics.
    Management Area 14--These are areas that contain productive timber 
lands which are suitable for timber harvest, provided that grizzly bear 
habitat objectives are met.
    The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of 
these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in which none of the 
proposed activities will be implemented. Additional alternatives will 
examine varying levels and locations for the proposed activities to 
achieve the proposal's purposes, as well as to respond to the issues 
and other resource values.
    The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative 
environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present, and projected 
activities on National Forest Lands will be considered. The EIS will 
disclose the analysis of site-specific mitigation measures and their 
effectiveness.
    Public participation is an important part of the analysis, 
commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) which has 
already occurred in March of 1992. In addition, public is encouraged to 
visit with Forest Service officials at any time during the analysis and 
prior to the decision. The Forest Service will be seeking information, 
comments, and assistance from Federal, State and local agencies and 
other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected 
by the proposed action. No public meetings are scheduled at this time. 
Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in preparation 
of the Draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to:
    1. Identify potential issues.
    2. Identify major issues to by analyzed in depth.
    3. Eliminates minor issues or those which have been covered by a 
relevant previous environmental analysis, such as the Kootenai Forest 
Plan EIS.
    4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.
    5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action 
and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects).
    6. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.
    Preliminary scoping, including public and agency participation, was 
initiated in March, 1992, and has continued through this year. Until 
recently, an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) were envisioned. However, it became apparent 
to the Interdisciplinary Team that due to the size and scope of the 
proposed action, that effects on the biological characteristics of the 
area could be considered significant. In such cases, an EIS is 
required.
    The principal environmental issues identified to date are related 
to:
    1. Wildlife habitat and security maintenance.
    2. Fuels treatment and accumulations in terms of potential 
catastrophic wildfire situations.
    Other issues commonly associated with timber harvesting and road 
construction include: effects on water quality, cultural resources, 
soils, old growth, and visuals. This list may be verified, expanded, or 
modified based on public scoping for this proposal.
    Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been 
initiated with regard to listed species. The Montana Department of 
Health and Welfare-Division of Environmental Quality, Montana 
Department of Fish and Game, and the Kootenai Salish Indian Tribe will 
also be consulted.
    While public participation in this analysis is welcome at any time, 
comments received within 45 days of the publication of this notice will 
be especially useful in the preparation of the draft EIS, which is 
expected to be filed with the EPA and available for public review in 
March, 1994. A 45-day comment period will follow publication of a 
Notice of Availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The 
comments received will be analyzed and considered in preparation of a 
final EIS, which will be accompanied by a Record of Decision. The final 
EIS is expected to be filed in June, 1994.
    The Forest Service believes it is important at this early stage to 
give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft EIS's must structure their participation in the environmental 
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to 
the reviewer's position and contentions Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power 
Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 513 (1978). Also, environmental objections 
that could be raised at the draft EIS stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final EIS may be waived or dismissed by 
the courts City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) 
and Wisconsin Heritages Inc. v. Harris, 490 F.Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. 
Wis., 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important that 
those interested in this proposed action participate by the close of 
the 45-day comment period so that substantive comments and objections 
are available to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully 
consider them and respond to them in the final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments should be as specific as 
possible. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these 
points.
    I am the responsible official for this environmental impact 
statement.

    Dated: January 5, 1994.
Robert L. Schrenk,
Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest.
[FR Doc. 94-916 Filed 1-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M