[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 209 (Monday, October 30, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55239-55241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26818]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service


Fern Star Timber Sale; Clearwater National Forest, Clearwater 
County, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of timber 
harvest, road construction, reforestation and prescribed burning in the 
vicinity of the Isabella Creek and the Star Creek drainages. The area 
lies to the east of Isabella Creek and is located in the northwestern 
corner of the North Fork Ranger District, Clearwater National Forest, 
Clearwater County, Idaho. A portion of the proposed project's 

[[Page 55240]]
activities are within a roadless area. The proposal's actions are being 
considered together because they represent either connected or 
cumulative actions as defined by the Council on Environmental Quality 
(40 CFR 1508.25).
    The purposes of the project are to implement the Clearwater Forest 
Plan; sustain the diversity and productivity of all ecosystems within 
the Project Area including the aquatic ecosystems, sensitive plan 
communities and old growth forest ecosystems; provide conditions that 
ensure positive timber growth; and reduce the risk of large fires 
within the Fern Star Project Area; develop a permanent transportation 
plan for the area that uses ecologically-sensitive road design methods 
for new roads, utilizes timber yarding systems that minimize the need 
for additional new roads and analyzes each existing road for the 
appropriate type of use, need for maintenance and possibility of 
obliteration.
    This project-level EIS will tier to the Clearwater National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) and Final EIS 
(September, 1987), which provides overall guidance of all land 
management activities on the Clearwater National Forest.

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before 
December 14, 1995 to receive timely consideration in the preparation of 
the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency in March 1996. The Final EIS and Record of Decision 
are expected to be issued in September 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed 
action or requests to be placed on the project mailing list to Arthur 
S. Bourassa, District Ranger, North Fork Ranger District, Clearwater 
National Forest, 1225 Ahsahka Road, Orofino, ID 83544.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steward Wilson, Team Leader, North 
Fork Ranger District, Clearwater National Forest, 1225 Ahsahka Road, 
Orofino, ID 83544. Phone: (208) 476-3775 or Fax: (208) 476-5441.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project Area consists of 5,415 acres of 
National Forest land located in all or part of sections 4, 5, and 6 of 
T40N, R7E; and sections 15, 16, 20-22, and 27-33 of T41N, R7E, Boise 
Meridian. All management activities would be administered by the North 
Fork Ranger District, Clearwater National Forest, Clearwater County, 
Idaho.
    The proposed action includes activities covering approximately 522 
acres of the 5,415-acre Project Area. All of the harvesting would 
utilize a shelterwood-seedtree regeneration system. Activities would 
include harvesting approximately 12.4 million board feet on 7 units 
totaling 522 to improve or maintain the health of the timber stands and 
reintroduce fire to the area; prescribe burn approximately 522 acres to 
reduce logging and natural slash levels; reforest up to approximately 
522 acres by hand planting with nursery-grown seedlings and through 
natural regeneration; maintain existing boulder weirs in Isabella Creek 
to improve pool habitat and increase angling opportunities; establish a 
new trail head for Trail #396 on Road #5339 with facilities for 
dispersed camping and stock handling; reconstruct approximately two 
miles of trail from Fern Creek to the junction with Road #705 near the 
bridge across Isabella Creek; construct trail head facilities for 
handling stock and dispersed camping at the helicopter landing on Road 
#705; interpret disjunct plant communities for public education through 
signing and brochures; reconstruct approximately 3.1 miles of existing 
Road #5339 and construct approximately 3.4 miles of new road to 
facilitate timber harvest, prescribed burning, and reforestation 
activities; and erect a barrier on Road #5339 near the junction with 
Road #700 for wildlife security and erosion control.
    The Clearwater Forest Plan provides guidance for management 
activities within the potentially affected area through its goals, 
objectives, standards, guidelines and management area direction. The 
areas of proposed timber harvest and reforestation would occur within 
Management Areas E1/E3, C4, A4, US, and C3. Timber harvest would occur 
only on suitable timber land. Below is a brief description of the 
applicable management direction.

    Management Area E1/E3 (2,109 acres)--Timber Management--Provide 
optimum, sustained production of timber products in a cost-effective 
manner while protecting soil and water quality.
    Management Area C4 (1,808 acres)--Elk Winter Range/Timber--
Provide sufficient winter forage and thermal cover for existing and 
projected big game populations while achieving timber production 
outputs.
    Management Area A4 (1,229 acres)--Visual Travel Corridor--
Maintain or enhance an aesthetically pleasing, natural appearing 
Forest setting surrounding designated roads, trails, and other areas 
considered important for recreational travel and use.
    Management Area US (264 acres)--Non-Productive Forest--Maintain 
and protect soil and watershed values and vegetative cover. Manage 
for resources other than timber.
    Management Area C3 (5 acres)--Elk Winter Range--Provide winter 
forage and thermal cover for big game.

    The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives to the 
proposed action. One of these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in 
which none of the proposed activities would be implemented. Additional 
alternatives will examine varying levels and locations for the proposed 
activities to achieve the proposal's purposes, as well as to respond to 
the issues and other resource values.
    The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect and cumulative 
environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present and projected 
activities on both private and National Forest lands will be 
considered. The EIS will disclose the analysis of site-specific 
mitigation measures and their effectiveness.
    Public participation is an important part of the project, 
commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7), which 
starts with publication of this notice and continues for the next 45 
days. In addition, the public is encouraged to visit with Forest 
Service officials at any time during the analysis and prior to the 
decision. The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments and 
assistance from Federal, State and local agencies, as well as other 
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by 
the proposed action. No meetings are scheduled, but letters, phone 
calls or personal visits are invited for the purpose of providing 
information related to this proposal. Interested individuals and 
organizations are encouraged to contact the North Fort District Ranger 
to be added to the project mailing list to receive future information 
related to this project.
    Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in 
preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to:

1. Identify potential issues.
2. Identify major issues to be analyzed in depth.
3. Eliminate minor issues or those which have been covered by a 
relevant previous environmental analysis, such as the Clearwater 
Forest Plan EIS.
4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.
5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action 
and alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect and cumulative effects).
6. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

    Preliminary issues identified as a result of internal scoping 
include: Effects of the proposal on old growth habitat, cumulative 
effects of the past harvest that has occurred in the area, 
fragmentation, opening size (existing and proposed), water quality, 
impacts to biodiversity of the area, watershed 

[[Page 55241]]
rehabilitation, effects of the proposal on riparian areas, impacts to 
fish species, snag management, visual quality of the area, travel 
corridors/linkages and effects on threatened, endangered and sensitive 
species. This list will be verified, expanded and/or modified based on 
the public scoping for this proposal.
    The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in March 1996. 
At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of Availability of the 
Draft EIS in the Federal Register. 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. It is 
very important that those interested in management of the Fern Star 
area participate at that time. To be most helpful, comments on the 
Draft EIS should be as site-specific as possible. The Final EIS is 
scheduled to be completed by September 1996.
    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, 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 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 environmental impact statement.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
on 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. 
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.
    I am the responsible official for this environmental impact 
statement. My address is Clearwater National Forest, 12730 Highway 12, 
Orofino, ID 83544.

    Dated: October 13, 1995.
James L. Caswell,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-26818 Filed 10-27-95; 8:45 am]
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