[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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