[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 97 (Friday, May 20, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12395]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 20, 1994]


                                                    VOL. 59, NO. 97

                                               Friday, May 20, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

 

Fish Bate Timber Sale; Clearwater National Forest, Clearwater 
County, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of timber 
harvest, reforestation and prescribed burning in the vicinity of the 
Sneak Creek, Sheep Creek, Fish Creek, Owl Creek, Martin Creek and Bates 
Creek drainages. The area is located south and east of the Canyon Work 
Center, North Fork Ranger District, Clearwater National Forest, 
Clearwater County, Idaho. None of the proposed project's activities are 
within a roadless area. The proposal's actions are being considered 
together because they represent either connected or cumulative actions 
as defined by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1508.25).
    The purposes of the project are to implement the Clearwater Forest 
Plan; provide conditions that insure positive timber growth; sustain 
the diversity and productivity of all ecosystems within the analysis 
area including the aquatic ecosystems, sensitive plant communities and 
old growth forest ecosystems; reduce the risk of large fires within the 
Fish Bate analysis area; develop a permanent transportation plan for 
the area that uses ecologically-sensitive road design methods for new 
roads, utilizes timber yarding systems that minimize the need for 
additional new roads and analyzes each existing road for the 
appropriate type of use, need for maintenance and possibility of 
obliteration.
    This project-level EIS will tier to the Clearwater National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) and Final EIS 
(September, 1987), which provides overall guidance of all land 
management activities on the Clearwater National Forest.

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received by July 5, 
1994, to receive timely consideration in the preparation of the Draft 
EIS. The Draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection 
Agency in September 1994. The Final EIS and Record of Decision are 
expected to be issued in March 1995.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed 
action or requests to be placed on the project mailing list to Arthur 
S. Bourassa, District Ranger, North Fork Ranger District, Clearwater 
National Forest, P.O. Box 2139, Orofino, ID, 83544. FAX: 208-476-5441.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennefer Sundberg, Team Leader, North Fork Ranger District, Clearwater 
National Forest, P.O. Box 2139, Orofino, ID, 83544. Phone: (208) 476-
3775.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planning area consists of approximately 
11,500 acres of National Forest land located in all or part of sections 
1, 2, 3, 9-16, 21, 22, 23, and 24 of T40N, R7E; and sections 7, 8, 16-
21, 29, and 30 of T40N, R8E, Boise Meridian. All management activities 
would be administered by the North Fork Ranger District, Clearwater 
National Forest, Clearwater County, Idaho.
    The proposed action includes activities covering approximately 600 
acres of the 11,500-acre analysis area. Silvicultural prescriptions 
would include 203 acres of sanitation/salvage, 59 acres of seed tree, 
52 acres of clearcuts with reserve trees, and 287 acres of group 
selection harvests. These harvest units are expected to yield 
approximately 4.5 MMBF of timber product. The majority of this volume 
(63%) would be yarded with a skyline system. The remaining volume (37%) 
would be helicopter yarded. Approximately .31 miles of new road 
construction would be required to access landing sites and .35 miles of 
road reconstruction would be required.
    The Clearwater Forest Plan provides guidance for management 
activities within the potentially affected area through its goals, 
objectives, standards, guidelines and management area direction. The 
areas of proposed timber harvest and reforestation would occur within 
Management Areas E1, C4, A4 and M2. Timber harvest would occur only on 
suitable timber land. Below is a brief description of the applicable 
management direction.

    Management Area E1--Timber Management--Provide optimum, 
sustained production of timber products in a cost-effective manner 
while protecting soil and water quality.
    Management Area C4--Elk Winter Ranger/Timber--Provide sufficient 
winter forage and thermal cover for existing and projected big game 
populations while achieving timber production outputs.
    Management Area A4--Visual Travel Corridor--Maintain or enhance 
an aesthetically pleasing, natural appearing Forest setting 
surrounding designated roads, trails, and other areas considered 
important for recreational travel and use.
    Management Area M2--Riparian Lands--Meet watershed and riparian 
dependant resource objectives and compatible timber production.

    The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives to the 
proposed action. One of these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in 
which none of the proposed activities would be implemented. Additional 
alternatives will examined 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 both private and 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 project, 
commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7), which 
starts with publication of this notice and continues for the next 45 
days. In addition, the 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, as well as other 
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by 
the proposed action. No meetings are scheduled, but letters, phone 
calls or personal visits are invited for the purpose of providing 
information related to this proposal. Interested individuals and 
organizations are encouraged to contact the North Fork District Ranger 
to be added to the project mailing list to receive future information 
related to this project.
    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 be analyzed in depth.
3. Eliminate minor issues or those which have been covered by a 
relevant previous environmental analysis, such as the Clearwater 
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 issues identified as a result of internal scoping 
include: effects of the proposal on old growth habitat, cumulative 
effects of the past harvest that has occurred in the area, 
fragmentation, opening size (existing and proposed), water quality, 
impacts to biodiversity of the area, watershed rehabilitation, effects 
of the proposal on riparian areas, impacts to fish species, snag 
management, visual quality of the area, travel corridors/linkages and 
effects on threatened, endangered, and sensitive species. This list 
will be verified, expanded, and/or modified based on the public scoping 
for this proposal .
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in September of 
1994. At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of 
the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the Draft 
EIS will be 45 days from the date of Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register. It is 
very important that those interested in management of the Fish Bate 
area participate at that time. To be most helpful, comments on the 
Draft EIS should be as site-specific as possible. The Final EIS is 
scheduled to be completed by March, 1995.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to give reviewers 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 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, 
553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be 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 Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. 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 
on the proposed action, comments on the draft environmental impact 
statement should be as specific as possible. It is helpful if comments 
refer to specific pages or chapters of the draft 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.

    I am the responsible official for this environmental impact 
statement. My address is Clearwater National Forest, 12730 Highway 
12, Orofino, ID 83544.

    Dated: May 6, 1994.
James L. Caswell,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 94-12395 Filed 5-19-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M