[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 250 (Friday, December 30, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32148]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 30, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 

Bonners Ferry Noxious Weed EIS; Idaho Panhandle National Forests, 
Boundary County, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of 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 potential environmental effects of 
noxious weed treatment on the Bonners Ferry Ranger District. Treatment 
sites would be located at various locations across the district and 
within the Selkirk Mountain and Kootenai River Ecosystems, Bonners 
Ferry Ranger District, Idaho Panhandle National Forest, Boundary 
County, Idaho. Part of the proposed project's activities are within the 
Kootenai Peak Roadless Area 1-126 and the Selkirk Roadless Area 1-125. 
Most treatment sites are located near or along forest roads.
    The proposed action to control selected known populations of 
noxious weeds in certain areas within these ecosystems is designed to 
promote the retention and health of the native plants within these 
ecosystems. The proposed action would use an integrated pest management 
approach to control noxious weeds. The integrated pest management 
approaches of the proposed action include mechanical, biological, and 
chemical control. The noxious weed species considered for control 
include spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa), rush skeleton weed 
(Chondrilla juncea), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), orange hawkweed 
(Hieracium aurantiacum), meadow hawkweed (Hieracium pratense), common 
St. Johns-wort (Hypericum perforatum), Dalmation toadflax (Linaria 
dalmatica), and common tansy (tanacetum vulgare).
    This project level EIS will tier to the Idaho National Forests Weed 
Pest Management EIS of October 1989 and Idaho Panhandle National 
Forests Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) of September 
1987.

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received by February 
13, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed 
management activities or request to be placed on project mailing list 
to Debbie Norton, District Ranger, Bonners Ferry Ranger District, Route 
4, Box 4860, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805-9764.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bob Klarich, EIS Team Leader, Bonners Ferry Ranger District, phone 
number 208-267-5561.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Noxious weed control is proposed on 41 sites 
on the Bonners Ferry Ranger District. The 41 sites range in size from 
approximately 0.24 acre to 33 acres and together total about 336 gross 
acres. These sites represent 0.08% of the 410,000 acres of National 
Forest System Lands on the Bonners Ferry District.
    There are a variety of purposes for noxious weed control on the 
Bonners Ferry Ranger District. The primary purposes are: (1) To protect 
the natural condition and biodiversity of the Selkirk Mountain 
ecosystem and Cabinet Mountain portion of the Kootenai River Ecosystem 
by preventing the spread of aggressive, non-native plant species that 
displace native vegetation; (2) prevent or limit the spread of noxious 
weeds to important low elevation lakes in the Purcell Mountain segment 
of the Kootenai River ecosystem; (3) comply with Federal and State laws 
regulating management of noxious weeds; and (4) cooperate with other 
agencies and private individuals concerned with the management of 
noxious weeds.
    The treatment sites are located across the district. The greatest 
number of sites are located in the Selkirk Mountain Ecosystem. Other 
sites are located in the Kootenai River Ecosystem.
    The decision to be made is what actions, if any, should be taken to 
control noxious weeds in these ecosystems, where treatment should be 
applied, and what type of treatment(s) should be used.
    The Idaho Panhandle National Forests Land and Resource Management 
Plan provides guidance for management activities within the potentially 
affected area through its goals, objectives, standards and guidelines, 
and management area direction.
    The Forest Plan directed that forest pests be managed by an 
integrated pest management approach.
    The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of 
these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in which none of the 
proposed treatment activities would be implemented. Additional 
alternatives represent the range of control methods currently available 
for treatment of noxious weeds. Some of the action alternatives will 
involve only non-chemical methods of control.
    Public participation is an important part of the analysis, 
commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7), which will 
occur during November and December of 1994. 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 and other individuals or organizations who may be 
interested in or affected by the proposed actions. Public meetings will 
be held, but have not been 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 be analyzed in depth.
    3. Eliminate minor issues or those which have been covered by a 
relevant previous environmental analysis, such as the Idaho Panhandle 
Forest Plan EIS or Idaho Panhandle Weed Pest Management EIS.
    4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.
    5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action 
and alternatives (i.e., cumulative effects).
    6. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.
    Some public comments have already been identified from initial 
interdisciplinary review of the weed control proposal. The following 
significant issues have been identified so far:
    1. Current and potential impacts of noxious weeds (and their 
spread) on ecosystem communities and processes; threatened, endangered, 
and sensitive plants and animals; soils; water quality; aesthetics; 
wildlife and fish; and recreational opportunities.
    2. Potential impacts of weed control.
    3. Potential affects upon human health from the application of 
herbicides.
    This list will be verified, expanded, or modified based on public 
scoping interdisciplinary review of this proposal.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in May of 1995. 
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 the EPA's notice of availability appears 
in the Federal Register. It is very important that those interested in 
noxious weed management 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 August of 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. 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 scoping 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 developing issues and alternatives.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
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. My 
address is Bonners Ferry Ranger District, Route 4, Box 4860, Bonners 
Ferry, ID 83805-9764.

    Dated: December 16, 1994.
Allen B. Chrisman,
Acting District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 94-32148 Filed 12-29-94; 8:45 am]
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