[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 77 (Friday, April 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19880-19881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9798]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Eight Fathom Timber Sale(s), Tongass National Forest, Chatham 
Area, Sitka, AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental 
impacts of proposed actions within the Eight Fathom project area. This 
notice is an amendment to the original notice of intent for this 
project, published in the Federal Register on April 22, 1993 (Vol. 58, 
No. 76, pages 21559 and 21560). Planning activities for the proposed 
project have been delayed by the collection of inventory data and the 
termination of the Alaska Pulp Corporation Long-term Timber Sale 
Contract. A revision of the Notice of Intent is necessary because over 
six months have passed since notification of this proposal and the 
purpose of the project has changed, in part.
    The proposed action provides for: (1) construction of about 37 
miles of road; (2) harvest of about 3,382 acres of timber, and 
regeneration of new stands of trees; and (3) reuse of existing Log 
Transfer Facility sites at Eight Fathom Bight and Salt Lake Bay. This 
level of development would result in the harvest of about 117 million 
board feet (MMBF) of sawlog and utility timber volume.

DATES: The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) during July 1995 and the Final EIS and Record 
of Decision during January 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action should be directed to: Michael J. 
Weber, Team Leader, Chatham Area, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, Alaska 
99835, (907) 747-6671.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Eight Fathom project area is located about 60 air miles north 
of Sitka, Alaska, and 8 miles west of Hoonah, Alaska, on the northern 
part of Chichagof Island within Value Comparison Units (VCUs) 193, 194, 
195, 196, 197, 198, 200, 201, 202, 222, and 223 as designated in the 
Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP). These VCUs are located within 
Management Areas C27, C28, and C29 as described in the TLMP on pages 
57, 58, and 59. All three Management Areas are part of the former 
Alaska Pulp Corporation contract area.
    This EIS will tier to the 1979 Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP) 
Final EIS and the 1985-86 and 1991 amendments. The TLMP provides the 
overall guidance (Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area 
direction) to achieve the desired future condition for the area in 
which the project is proposed.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Eight Fathom Timber Sales(s) was published in the Federal Register 
on April 22, 1993 (Vol. 58, No. 76, pages 21559 and 21560). Public 
comments were received during the scoping period that concluded on June 
7, 1993. Inventory information was collected from the project area from 
May to August 1993 and again from May to August 1994.
    The April 1993 Notice of Intent stated that the purpose and need 
for the proposed action was to make timber available to meet 
requirements of the Alaska Pulp Corporation 50-year Timber Sale 
Contract (APC Contract). On April 14, 1994, Regional Forester Michael 
Barton made the decision to terminate the APC Contract. Termination 
ended APC Contract volume obligations. An independent sale program 
market assessment was completed in May 1994 to help define market 
demand for timber in Southeast Alaska in the absence of the APC 
Contract.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to build about 37 miles of road; harvest 
about 3,382 acres of timber and regenerate new stands of trees; and 
utilize existing Log Transfer Facility sites located at Eight Fathom 
Bight and Salt Lake Bay within the Eight Fathom project area on 
Chichagof Island. This level of development would result in the harvest 
of approximately 117 MMBF of sawlog and utility volume to support local 
mills. The proposed action is one alternative to achieve the purpose 
and need for the project.

Purpose of the Proposed Action

    The purpose and need for the proposed action is to make 60 to 170 
million board feet of timber available from the project area to 
implement the Tongass Land Management Plan; to provide a sustained 
level of wood products to meet local, national, and international 
demand; and to improve the timber productivity of the project area. A 
comparison of the desired future condition for the project area (as 
identified in the TLMP) with the existing condition shows the need to 
convert suitable stands of old-growth timber to managed productive 
stands capable of long-term timber production. This EIS may result in 
two or more timber sales under the independent sale program or in 
offerings to the Ketchikan [[Page 19881]] Pulp Company under the 
conditions of its long-term timber sale contract.
    Gary A. Morrison, Forest Supervisor, Chatham Area, will decide 
whether or not to authorize timber harvest within the Eight Fathom 
project area and, if so, the design of any timber sale offerings 
consistent with meeting resource protection standards and guidelines in 
the TLMP. He will decide: (a) how much volume to make available; (b) 
the location and design of the arterial and collector road system 
needed to develop the Eight Fathom area; (c) the location of timber 
harvest units; (d) mitigation and monitoring measures for sound 
resource management, and (e) whether there may be a significant 
restriction on subsistence uses, and if so, other determinations 
required by section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act.

Analysis of Public Scoping

    A number of public comments were received in response to the April 
1993 timber sale proposal. Based on comments from the public and other 
agencies during the scoping effort, the following significant issues 
have been identified:

1. Project effects on recreation and tourism
2. Subsistence Impacts
3. Potential Economic Impacts
4. Protection of Fish and Wildlife Resources
5. Cultural and Historical Resource Protection
6. Protection of Caves and Karst Features
7. Concerns about Impacts and Alternatives to Clearcutting.

    These issues are being used to design alternatives to the proposed 
action and to identify the potential environmental effects of the 
proposed action and alternatives.

Continued Public Participation Encouraged

    Public participation is an important part of the environmental 
analysis process. The Forest Service will be seeking comments from 
Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and 
organizations who may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed 
timber sale(s) when the Draft EIS is released. The Draft EIS is 
expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
during July 1995. The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days 
from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice 
of availability in the Federal Register. Agencies and other interested 
persons or groups are invited to visit with Forest Service officials at 
any time during the process.
    The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
to alert reviewers about 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 important that those interested in this proposed action 
participate by the close of the Draft EIS 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 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 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 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, 40 
CFR 1503.3, in addressing these points.
    The Final EIS is expected to be released in January 1996. The 
Forest Supervisor for the Chatham Area of the Tongass National Forest 
will, as the responsible official for the EIS, make a decision 
regarding this proposal considering the comments, responses, and 
environmental consequences discussed in the Final EIS, and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies. The decision and supporting reasons 
will be documented in a Record of Decision.

    Dated: April 7, 1995.
John C. Sherrod,
Planning Staff Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-9798 Filed 4-20-95; 8:45 am]
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