[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6501-6502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2537]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service


Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive Management Area Plan, Wenatchee National 
Forest, Kittitas County Washington and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National 
Forest, King County, Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA-Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to develop and evaluate a range of alternatives for 
management of the 212,700 acres in the Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive 
Management Area (AMA), as directed by the April 13, 1994 Record of 
Decision (ROD) for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted 
Owl. This area is located within both the Cle Elum Ranger District of 
the Wenatchee National Forest in Kittitas County, and the North Bend 
Ranger District of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in King 
County.
    The alternatives will be consistent with the emphasis direction as 
described in the ROD, which is the ``Development and implementation, 
with the participation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, of a 
scientifically credible, comprehensive plan for providing late-
successional forest on the ``checkerboard'' lands''. This forest 
Service proposal is scheduled for completion no later than December 
1995.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope and implementation of this 
proposal must be received by February 20, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions and comments about this EIS should be directed to Floyd J. 
Rogalski, Project Planner, Cle Elum Ranger District, 803 West Second 
Street, Cle Elum, Washington 98922; Phone 509-674-4411, ext. 315.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service is initiating this action 
in response to the Snoqualmie Pass AMA emphasis direction, on page D-16 
of the ROD for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted 
Owl.
    The Snoqualmie Pass AMA is a 212,700 acre portion of the North 
Cascades east of North Bend and west Cle Elum, along Interstate 90. 
Most of the AMA is within the Wenatchee National Forest. The western 
portion is within the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The 
vegetation in the area varies from cool, moist forest on the westside 
of the crest to drier, more fire prone forest on the eastside. The most 
defining characteristic of this AMA is its checkerboard ownership. 
Approximately every other square mile is privately owned, even though 
it is within the National Forest boundary.
    Issues that have been identified to date include: (1) Provision of 
late-successional forest and connectivity in an area where much of the 
land belongs to private companies; (2) the fact that the I-90 highway 
corridor acts as a barrier to the movement of plants and animals; (3) 
the need to create an environment where communities and agencies can 
work together to develop an innovative management approach.
    The proposed action is to adopt the Standards and Guidelines for 
the Late-Successional Reserves and Riparian Reserves from the ROD for 
Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning 
Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl.
    The plan will focus on Late-successional characteristics and 
riparian guidelines, deferring to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and 
Wenatchee Land and Resource Management Plans on other issues such as 
recreation and wilderness management. The decision to be made is what 
standards and guidelines, if any, to adopt for the management of late-
successional and riparian habitat in the Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive 
Management Area.
    Alternatives to the proposed action that we have identified at this 
time include: (1) No Action; and (2) Developing another scientifically 
credible plan(s) that meets the emphasis of the Snoqualmie Pass 
Adaptive Management Area. Other alternatives will be developed in 
response to issues identified during the scoping process for the EIS. 
All alternatives will need to respond to specific conditions in the 
Snoqualmie Pass area.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis. 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. The scoping process includes:

1. Identifying potential issues;
2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth;
3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been covered by 
a relevant previous environmental process;
4. Exploring and identifying additional alternatives.
5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed action 
and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects and 
connected actions); and
6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

    Public meetings will be held in both eastern and western 
Washington. Notice of meeting dates and locations will be published in 
the newspapers of record for the Wenatchee and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie 
National Forests. These include the Seattle Post-intelligencer, 
Wenatchee World, and Yakima Herald Republic. The February 15th meeting 
will be a Scientist's Forum and will focus on scientific aspects of the 
AMA. The scoping meetings are planned to be held as follows.

January 31, 1995--7 to 9 p.m., North Bend Ranger Station, 42404 SE 
North Bend Way, North Bend, WA, Phone: 202-888-1421
February 9, 1995--7 to 9 p.m., Cle Elum Ranger Station, 803 West Second 
St., Cle Elum, WA, Phone: 509-674-4411
February 8, 1995--7 to 9 p.m., White River Ranger Station, 857 
Roosevelt Ave. East, Enumclaw, WA, Phone: 206-825-6585
February 15, 1995--10 a.m. to 3 p.m., North Bend Ranger Station, 42404 
SE North Bend Way, North Bend, WA, Phone: 206-888-1421.

    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by 
October 1995. At that time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed 
to interested and affected agencies, organizations, and members of the 
public for their review and comment. The comment period on the draft 
EIS will be 45 days from the date of the EPA Notice of Availability as 
published in the Federal Register. It is very important that those 
interested in the management of the Wenatchee and the Mt. Baker-
Snoqualmie National Forests participate at that time.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying the considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should 
be as specified as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to 
specific pages or 

[[Page 6502]]
chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address the adequacy of 
the draft EIS 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 Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
a draft EIS 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 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 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 EIS. To assist the 
Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and concerns on 
the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should be specified as 
possible.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in December 1995. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments and 
responses received during the comment period that pertain to the 
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making the decision 
regarding this proposal. Sonny O'Neal, Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee 
National Forest and Dennis Bschor, Forest Supervisor, Mt. Baker-
Snoqualmie National Forest are the responsible officials. As 
responsible officials they will document the decision and reasons for 
the decision in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject 
to Forest Service appeal regulations (36 CFR Part 217).

    Dated: January 25, 1995.
Sonny O'Neal,
Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee National Forest.

    Dated: January 26, 1995.
Dennis E. Bschor,
Forest Supervisor, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
[FR Doc. 95-2537 Filed 2-1-95; 8:45 am]
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