[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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