[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 15 (Monday, January 24, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1502]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 24, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Proposed Crystal Creek Timber Sale within the Council Mountain
Roadless Area, Payette National Forest, Adams County, ID
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement for the proposed Crystal Creek Timber Sale, Council Ranger
District, Payette National Forest, Idaho. The proposed sale would
construct road and harvest timber within a portion of the Council
Mountain Roadless area that the Payette National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan (1988) allocated to multiple use management.
The agency gives notice of the environmental analysis and decision-
making process that is beginning on the proposal so that interested and
affected people know how they may participate and contribute to the
final decision. The agency invites comments and suggestions on the
scope of the analysis, including issues to be addressed during the
analysis.
A scoping meeting will be held to gather comments from the public
on the proposed action. The meeting will be Thursday, February 3, 7
p.m. at the Council Ranger District office conference room in Council,
Idaho. Forest Service officials will explain the proposed action and
planning process, and accept public input.
A scoping document explaining the proposed action and analysis
process is also available from the contacts identified below.
DATES: Comments on the scope of the analysis should be received by
February 14, 1994, to assure timely consideration.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Pete L. Johnston, District Ranger,
Council Ranger District, Payette National Forest, P.O. Box 567,
Council, ID 83629.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Johnston, District Ranger, or
Tracy Beck, EIS Team Leader, phone 208-253-4215.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA Forest Service is proposing to
construct 10.0 miles of road and harvest about 14.9 million board feet
of timber from 1,145 acres of suitable timber lands within the Crystal
Creek timber sale area. A mix of silvicultural treatments is proposed,
including 8 acres of commercial thinning, 101 acres of shelterwood
(about 35 percent crown canopy closure), 643 acres of reserve tree
(about 5 trees per acre), and 393 acres of sanitation/salvage. This mix
of silvicultural prescriptions seeks to retain suitable habitat for
sensitive species within all treatment units where it currently exists,
improve forest health (resilience and resistance to insect and
disease), and increase dominance of seral ponderosa pine and douglas-
fir.
Helicopter logging is proposed for 354 acres (31 percent of the
treatment acreage). Skyline logging is proposed for 322 acres (28
percent of the treatment acreage). Tractor logging is proposed for 469
acres (41 percent of the treatment acreage). The proposed mix of
logging systems seeks to protect leave stands and regenerate stands in
a cost efficient and cost effective manner.
This sale lies within the council Mountain Roadless Area, Adams
County, Idaho. Crystal Creek and Lake Creek are the two drainages
within the proposed timber sale area; both are tributaries of the
Middle Fork Weiser River.
The proposal follows direction in the Payette National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan, 1988 (Forest Plan). The decision to be
made is whether the sale area should be entered at this time for timber
harvest and associated activities, and, if so, the specific conditions
of entry.
Preliminary issues include the proposal's effect on roadless
characteristics, vegetation, water quality, biological diversity,
fisheries, soils, wildlife habitat, and economics.
Preliminary alternatives being considered include no action, an
alternative that seeks to achieve forest Plan objectives to maximize
timber growth and yield, and the proposed action alternative that
modifies timber management intensity in response to the preliminary
issues.
A draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) considering the
proposed action and a reasonable range of alternatives will be
prepared. The DEIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency and to be available for public review by March 1995.
The comment period on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the
Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in the
Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers early notice of several court rulings related to
public participation in the environmental review process. First,
reviewers of draft environmental impact statements must structure their
participation in the environmental review of that proposal so that it
is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewers position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could have been raised
at the draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not
raised until after completion of the final environmental impact
statement may be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v.
Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Circut, 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 made available to the
Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully consider them and
respond to them in the final environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. 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.
The final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be
completed by July 1995.
The Responsible Official is David F. Alexander, Forest Supervisor,
Payette National Forest, McCall, ID 83638.
Dated: January 10, 1994.
David F. Alexander,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 94-1502 Filed 1-21-94; 10:00 am]
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