[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7160-7163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2916]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Main Salmon River Postfire Project, Payette National Forest, 
Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In the summer and fall of 1994, the Corral Fire covered nearly 
116,000 acres of Payette National Forest north of McCall, Idaho. The 
Forest Service intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
portions of the wildfire area to assess and disclose the environmental 
effects of a proposal. The purpose of the Proposed Action is to remove 
fire-killed and imminently dead timber, recover its economic value and 
meet socio-economic demands of local communities, reforest the area, 
retain and enhance wildlife habitat, reduce soil erosion and decrease 
sedimentation, and maintain fish habitat.
    All actions include provisions for snags, dead and down woody 
debris, [[Page 7161]] visual quality, cultural resources, TES species, 
and wild and scenic river study corridors, and would comply with the 
Bull Trout Conservation Agreement and the PACFISH guidelines for water 
quality, and fisheries.
    This project would be accomplished through a salvage sale of burned 
timber on about 8,800 acres, using helicopter logging, skyline logging, 
and tractor logging; approximately 3.5 miles of road construction in 
the upper Elkhorn Creek area (followed by road closure); planting of 
conifer seedlings; and reconstruction or repair of roads to improve 
vehicle passage and improve watershed conditions. The salvage sale 
proceeds would help finance the other activities.
    The project lies 20 to 35 miles north of McCall, in the Elkhorn, 
French, Fall, and Carey Creek drainages, tributary to the main Salmon 
River. It lies partly within the French Creek/Patrick Butte Roadless 
Area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Brandel, New Meadows District 
Ranger (208 634-0300); or Tracy Beck , Interdisciplinary Team Leader 
(208 634-0780).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: From July to October 1994, wildfires covered 
a total of about 290,000 acres of Payette National Forest. The Corral 
Fire was ignited in early August by lightning strikes northwest of the 
city of McCall, and eventually covered about 116,000 acres until 
stopped by winter weather in mid-October. Within this perimeter, it 
burned in a mosaic pattern of fire intensities including some unburned 
areas.
    In October, Payette National Forest convened three 
interdisciplinary groups of Forest resource specialists to assess the 
landscapes affected by the fires: one each of the Blackwell landscape, 
the Corral landscape, and the Chicken landscape. Each landscape was 
composed of two or more watersheds. The Corral landscape encompassed 
over 203,000 acres in French Creek and Lake Creek watersheds and 
portions of California Creek and Lower Main Salmon watersheds. The 
Forest also convened a team to assess the broad-scale area, which 
encompasses the three landscapes plus the Thunderbolt landscape to the 
south.
    In January 1995, each landscape team produced a landscape 
assessment encompassing their analysis area. The teams used a 
ecosystem-based approach to assess the fires' effects and to propose 
target landscape conditions, based on the Forest Plan and the historic 
range of variation. Each team identified management opportunities that 
could be implemented this year and in the future to move their postfire 
landscape toward the target landscape design. The Forest leadership 
team selected a package of proposed actions for each landscape to bring 
forward into the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis 
process.
    The Proposed Action for the main Salmon River described herein is 
one product of the Corral landscape assessment: it proposes the high-
priority short term projects related to timber salvage and other 
postfire resource opportunities consistent with the target landscape 
design for the Corral landscape.
    Burn intensities, as defined by degree of tree mortality, in the 
Corral landscape varied from intensely burned to unburned. Within the 
Corral landscape, which includes a portion of the Corral fire, 
approximately 22,500 acres burned at high intensity (tree mortality 
greater than 90%), 19,600 acres at moderate intensity (tree mortality 
greater than 30% and less than 90%), and 25,300 acres at low intensity 
(tree mortality less than 30%). The remainder of the landscape did not 
burn.
    An estimated 90,220 acres of the French Creek/Patrick Butte 
Roadless Area lie within the Corral landscape.
    Simultaneous with this Notice of Intent, Payette National Forest is 
also publishing two Notices of Intent for other postfire proposals. The 
``Fall Creek Postfire Project'' EIS will cover part of the Blackwell 
landscape, and the ``Lower South Fork Salmon River Postfire Project'' 
EIS will cover the Chicken landscape. The Forest Service will analyze 
the two projects concurrently with this ``Main Salmon River Postfire 
Project'' proposal.

Purpose and Need

    The need is to move toward the desired future conditions, goals and 
objectives as described in the Payette Forest Plan and the target 
landscape design in the Corral Landscape Assessment. The Corral 
Landscape Assessment was tiered to the Forest Plan and identifies a 
strategy to implement the plan in an ecosystem management context. The 
proposed action is derived from management opportunities in the 
landscape assessment. The purpose of each element of the proposed 
action is:
    Salvage: To recover economic value of burned timber for counties 
and timber-related industries and provide wood fiber for society. Past 
experience with wildfire timber recovery in south-central Idaho 
indicates that prompt harvest is needed to recover the economic value 
of fire-killed trees. The trees in this project area, mostly Douglas-
fir, spruce/fir, and lodgepole pine, are expected to lose 30-60 percent 
of their economic value by the end of 1996. Part of the salvage sale 
proceeds will finance the regeneration, watershed improvement, and 
recreation elements of the project.
    Regeneration: To promptly return to production those lands within 
the suited base that contribute to the allowable sale quantity.
    Watershed projects: To improve watershed conditions to meet 
beneficial uses (fish habitat and domestic water supply).
    Recreation: To improve recreation user access and reduce safety 
hazards caused by the fire.

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action has the following components:
    1. Salvage harvest fire killed and imminently dead trees on 
approximately 8,800 acres using helicopter, skyline, and tractor. 
Construct helicopter landings along roads. Specifically, in Elkhorn 
Creek drainage, harvest within 3,540 acres, construct approximately 3.5 
miles of road (close the new road to the public during and after 
salvage sale activities), and improve 12 miles of road. In French Creek 
drainage, harvest within 3,510 acres and improve 7.5 miles of road. In 
Fall and Carey Creek drainages, harvest within 1,750 acres and improve 
25 miles of road. In the Lake Creek drainage, the Proposed Action 
includes road improvements and other resource improvement projects, but 
no salvage timber harvest. All road improvement work is detailed in 
item 3. of the proposed action. The proposal would not salvage harvest 
within the French Creek wild and scenic study corridor. It would not 
salvage harvest within PACFISH Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas, 
which include riparian corridors along perennial and intermittent 
streams, wetlands, landslides, and landslide prone areas, where 
riparian-dependent resources receive primary emphasis. Harvesting would 
comply with the Draft Bull Trout Conservation Agreement. Site-specific 
integrated prescriptions to provide for snag/down woody debris 
retention, visual quality, cultural resource protection, and TES plant 
and animals would be developed consistent with the Forest Plan, 
landscape assessment and current policy/research.
    2. Regenerate productive forest suited acres within the project 
area by planting conifer seedlings or ensuring natural regeneration.
    3. Reconstruct or repair roads to facilitate log haul, improve 
vehicle [[Page 7162]] passage and/or improve watershed conditions, by 
repairing surface on six road segments, improving 11 stream crossings, 
and closing one road. Specifically, repair road surface, ditches, and/
or fix stream crossings on segments of: Road #1339, Road #318, Road 
321, Road #246, Road #1333, Road #592, Road #1340, Road #308, Road 
#1337, Road #1279, Road #565.
    4. Remove hazard trees along recreation trails. There are 
opportunities to improve and relocate segments of trails within sale 
area boundaries along Forest Service trails # 115, 145, 149, 374, 500, 
and 504.

Forest Plan Amendment

    Amendment to the Forest Plan may be needed to:
    1. Allow plantation stocking levels below Forest Plan standards and 
guidelines to reflect natural stand conditions.
    2. Allow postfire activities as described in the Main Salmon River 
Postfire Project to proceed without an Order 2 soil survey. Soil 
information of sufficient detail to address NEPA issues and required 
effects disclosure will be provided.

Preliminary Issues

    The Forest Service has identified six preliminary issues raised by 
the Proposed Action:
    1. Effects on water quality and quantity in the Salmon River, 
Elkhorn Creek, French Creek, Fall Creek and Carey Creek, and their 
beneficial use for native fish species and anadromous fish species 
habitat.
    2. Effects on big game, furbearers, neotropical birds, raptors, and 
sensitive wildlife species habitat in and adjacent to the project 
areas.
    3. Effects on recreation trails and use in the project area.
    4. Effects on wilderness characteristics within the roadless area. 
The proposals lie partly within the French Creek/Patrick Butte Roadless 
Area.
    5. Effects on the ability of the project areas to provide long term 
growth and yield of timber. Where the Corral Fire burned hot, it left 
no live trees. Where fire burned at low or moderate intensities, it 
left a mixture of dead, live, and damaged trees. Trees with crowns and 
trunks scorched are at risk of dying from fire damage or insect 
infestation. Grasses and shrubs can invade disturbed sites faster than 
trees can naturally reforest.
    6. The economic, socio-economic, and social effects of salvage 
timber sales. This includes the economic efficiency of each salvage 
sale as measured by present net value, the effects on jobs, income, 
payments to counties, and effects on local social groups.

Possible Alternatives

    The Forest Service has identified two alternatives to the Proposed 
Action: a no action alternative, and an alternative that would not 
construct road or salvage harvest in the roadless area. As the public 
raises additional issues and provides more information, the Forest may 
develop additional alternatives.

Decisions to be Made

    The Payette National Forest Supervisor will decide:
    Whether to allow salvage logging.
    If so, where and how to harvest.
    Whether to plant after harvest.
    Whether to implement watershed improvement and recreation projects.
    What management requirements and mitigation measures are required 
as part of this project.
    What monitoring requirements are appropriate to evaluate project 
implementation. And,
    What Forest Plan amendment(s) are required?

Public Involvement Meetings

    The Forest will hold five public scoping meetings to introduce the 
Proposed Actions for the three burned landscapes and to invite public 
comment: Riggins--February 15, 4-9 pm, City Hall. McCall--February 16, 
4-9 pm, McCall Smokejumper Base. Council--February 21, 4-9 pm, Council 
Ranger District office. Boise--February 23, 4-9 pm, Red Lion 
Downtowner. Grangeville--February 27, 1-3 pm, Nez Perce National Forest 
Supervisor's office. In addition, Forest Service personnel will make 
added public presentations on request.

Agency/Public Contacts

    The Forest is mailing a summary of the Proposed Action preliminary 
issues, and background information on the analysis to key individuals, 
groups, and agencies for comment. The mailing list includes those on 
the Payette postfire mailing list and those generally interested in 
Payette National Forest NEPA projects.

Schedule

    Draft Environmental Impact Statement, May 1995. Final EIS, August 
1995. Implementation, September 1995.

Comments

    Comments on the Proposed Action and analysis should be received in 
writing on or before March 10, 1995. Send comments to: Forest 
Supervisor, Payette National Forest, P.O. Box 1026, 106 W. Park Street, 
McCall, ID 83638; telephone (208) 634-0700; FAX (202) 634-0281.
    The comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will 
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
    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, 108 F.2d 
1016, 1002 (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 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 and respond to them 
in the final environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
raised by 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.

Responsible Official

    David F. Alexander, Forest Supervisor, Payette National Forest, 
P.O. Box 1026, 106 West Park, McCall, ID 83638.

    [[Page 7163]] Dated: January 31, 1995.
David F. Alexander,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-2916 Filed 2-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M