[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13697-13698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6255]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Inland Native Fish Strategy

ACTION: Proposal to Prepare Interim Direction for Native Inland Fish 
Habitat Management.

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SUMMARY: The notice is hereby given that the Forest Service, in 
cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, is gathering information in order to prepare an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposal to protect habitat and 
populations of native inland fish. The Forest Service is proposing to 
amend Regional Guides and Forest Plans to include interim direction in 
the form of riparian management objectives, standards and guidelines, 
and monitoring requirements. The interim direction will apply to the 
geographic area covered by the Eastside Ecosystem Management Strategy 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Upper Columbia River Basin 
EIS, except for anadromous fish habitat (which is now being managed 
under the interim PACFISH strategy, approved February 24, 1995).
    The purpose and need for the proposed action is to preserve 
management options for inland aquatic resources by reducing the risk of 
loss of populations and reducing potential negative impacts to aquatic 
habitat of resident fishes until the signing of Records of Decision for 
both EISs. As a companion to the protection provided for anadromous 
fish by PACFISH, this Environmental Assessment is intended to provide 
the basis for establishing appropriate interim direction to protect 
habitat and populations of resident native fishes outside of anadromous 
fish habitat, including bull trout which has recently been determined 
to be warranted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Federal Register 
Vol. 59, No. 111, June 10, 1994, pp. 30254-30255). Specifically this EA 
will address National Forest System lands on the Bitterroot, Boise, 
Caribou, Challis, Clearwater, Colville, Deerlodge, Deschutes, Flathead, 
Fremont, Helena, Humboldt, Kootenai, Lolo, Malheur, Ochoco, Panhandle, 
Payette, Salmon, Sawtooth, Wallowa-Whitman, and Winema National Forests 
in the Northern, Intermountain, and Pacific Northwest Regions.
    The Forest Service also serves notice that the agency is seeking 
information and comments from Federal, State, and local agencies and 
other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected 
by the proposed action. This input will be used in preparing the 
Environmental Assessment.
    Written comments should be sent to the agency within 30 days from 
the date of publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to USDA Forest Service, Idaho 
Panhandle [[Page 13698]] National Forests, 3815 Schreiber Way, Coeur 
d'Alene, Idaho, 83814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action and environmental assessment should 
be directed to David Wright, Team Leader, Idaho Panhandle National 
Forests, 3815 Schreiber Way, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814. Phone: (208) 
765-7307.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service, in accordance with 16 
USC 1604 and 36 CFR 219 et seq. develops land and resource management 
plans to provide for multiple use and sustained yield of products and 
services including outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, 
wildlife and fish, and wilderness.
    PACFISH is the Anadromous Fish Habitat and Watershed Conservation 
Strategy being implemented by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
Management. This is an interim strategy to conserve Pacific Salmon, 
steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout throughout their range in Oregon, 
Washington, Idaho and portions of California. The PACFISH decision 
notice was signed by Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management on 
February 24, 1995.
    There are two ecosystem-based environmental impact statements being 
prepared for National Forest System and BLM-administered land in the 
Interior Columbia River Basin. The Eastside Ecosystem Management 
Strategy EIS applies to the area of Washington and Oregon east of the 
crest of the Cascade mountain range. The Upper Columbia River Basin EIS 
will apply to Idaho and portions of Utah, Wyoming, Nevada,and Montana. 
The two documents will contain long-term strategies designed to replace 
the interim protection afforded by PACFISH and this Inland Native Fish 
Strategy.
    Concurrently, the Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest is 
completing an EA that proposes to amend the interim Forest Plan 
Direction issued on May 20, 1994 by Regional Forester John Lowe. This 
EA proposes adjustments to the Historic Range of Variability and 
portions of the wildlife screen. Any changes to the riparian screen 
portion of the current direction will be considered in the Inland 
Native Fish Strategy.
    At its discretion, the Forest Service may amend forest plans based 
on the results of monitoring and evaluation (36 CFR 219.10(f), 
219.12(k)). Review of research reports and published professional 
papers (Rieman and McIntyre 1993; Sedell et al. 1990; Grumbine 1990; 
Williams and Neves 1992; Oregon Trout 1994) indicates that additional 
long-term programmatic protection may be warranted for native resident 
fish and their habitat. That long-term direction is being developed 
through the Columbia River Basin EIS process. This interim protection 
is being proposed to preserve options for long-term management that 
might be adopted as a result of those processes.
    A range of alternatives will be considered. One of these will be 
the ``no-action'' alternative, in which current management of the area 
would continue without interim direction protection. Other alternatives 
will examine the effects of varying approaches to interim protection.
    During the scoping process, the Forest Service is seeking 
information and comments from Federal, State, and local agencies and 
other individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected 
by the proposed action. Additional information will be utilized from 
the scoping activities that occurred for the PACFISH, Upper Columbia 
River Basin EIS and Eastside Ecosystem Management Strategy EIS. During 
scoping activities for these projects, issues and concerns were 
identified that relate to inland fisheries and may have bearing on this 
environmental analysis.
    The responsible officials for National Forest System lands will be 
the Regional Foresters for the:

--Intermountain Region, Federal Building, 324 25th Street, Ogden, Utah 
84401;
--Northern Region, P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, Montana 59807; and
--Pacific Northwest Region, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, Oregon 97208.

    The decision and reasons for the decision will be documented in a 
Decision Notice. The Environmental Assessment and Decision Notice are 
expected to be available in June, 1995.

    Dated: March 8, 1995.
David J. Wright,
Inland Native Fish Team Leader, Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
[FR Doc. 95-6255 Filed 3-13-95; 8:45 am]
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