[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 203 (Friday, October 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54410-54411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26753]


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


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Master Development Plan for Pelican Butte Ski Area, Winema 
National Forest, Klamath County, Oregon

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for a Master Development Plan for the Pelican Butte Ski 
Area on the Klamath Ranger District of the Winema National Forest. In 
response to a planning permit and prospectus issued by the Forest 
Service, the Pelican Butte Corporation has submitted a site-specific 
Master Development Plan for development of a winter recreation area, 
with limited summer uses. The Forest Service is initiating the process 
of preparing an EIS to analyze and disclose the effects of the proposed 
Master Development Plan (Proposed Action) and alternatives. The U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are being 
asked to participate as cooperating agencies.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by December 3, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Bob Castaneda, Forest Supervisor, 
Winema National Forest, 2819 Dahlia Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon 
97601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Hoffheins, Klamath Ranger District, Winema National Forest, 1936 
California Avenue, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601, phone 541-883-8858.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over the past thirty years, a number of 
studies have identified Pelican Butte as a potential alpine skiing 
area. In 1990, the City of Klamath Falls submitted a proposal to the 
Winema National Forest to develop a year-round recreational facility at 
Pelican Butte as part of the proposed Salt Caves hydroelectric project. 
Action on the City's proposal ceased in July 1991 in the face of 
uncertainties regarding management direction for the northern spotted 
owl habitat and controversy regarding the project's effect on bald 
eagles. In March 1992, a community ``futuring'' process, Klamath 2002, 
again identified Pelican Butte as a ``major recreation resource for 
alpine skiing''.
    A planning permit was issued to the Pelican Butte Corporation by 
the Winema National Forest in September 1994 to prepare a conceptual 
master plan for Pelican Butte. In 1995, the Forest issued a 
``Prospectus and Requirements for Submitting an Application for a Ski 
Area Planning Permit for Developing a Winter Sports Facility on Pelican 
Butte''. In response to the prospectus, the Pelican Butte Corporation 
has submitted a 10-year master plan to develop a ski area at Pelican 
Butte.
    The Master Development Plan (proposed action) includes the 
following elements: design capacity of 4,450 skiers, with a peak 
capacity of 5,560; gondola, four aerial chairlifts, and one T-bar 
surface lift; 612 acres of ski terrain; snow-making on 92 acres; 15 
kilometers of nordic ski trails; two day lodges; maintenance and ski 
patrol buildings; and other winter activities such as snow-shoeing. 
Facilities being planned are within a development area totalling 
approximately 3,000 acres. Summer uses would include gondola rides, day 
lodge operations, hiking and interpretive trails. A complete 
description of the Proposal is available at the Winema National Forest 
Supervisor's Office, Klamath Ranger District, and at the Klamath Falls 
public library.
    This project-level EIS will tier to the 1990 Winema National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan, as amended by the 1994 Record of 
Decision for ``Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted 
Owl'' (Forest Plan). The Forest Plan provides guidance for management 
activities within the potentially affected area through it's goals, 
objectives, management area direction, and standards and guidelines. 
The project would primarily occur within the Pelican Butte Semi-
Primitive Recreation Area, and to a lesser extent in areas managed with 
emphasis on late successional species and bald eagle habitat. The Semi-
Primitive Recreation Area allocation specifically provides for the 
option to develop a downhill ski area, with the type and scope of 
development to be determined in a site-specific EIS.
    Permits and licenses required to implement the proposed Master 
Development Plan will, or may, include the following: Special Use 
Permit from the Forest Service; Section 404 Permit from the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers; certification from the Oregon Department of 
Environmental Quality for Section 401 compliance and permit for 
Pollution Discharge Elimination System; approval from the Oregon 
Department of Transportation for any access improvements; clearance 
from the State Historic Preservation Office; and various review and 
permit approvals from Klamath County.
    Public participation will be important at several points during the 
EIS preparation. The first point is during the scoping process (40 CFR 
1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information and comments 
from Federal, State, and local agencies, The Klamath Tribes, and other 
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by 
the proposed action. This input will be used in preparation of the 
draft EIS. The scoping process includes:
    1. Identifying potential issues;
    2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth;
    3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been 
covered by a previous environmental analysis;
    4. Exploring additional alternatives; and
    5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed 
action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects 
and connected actions).
    Public scoping meetings will be held in Klamath Falls on October 
28, in Medford/Ashland on November 4, and in Rocky Point, Oregon, on 
November 6, 1996. Meetings will be advertised through a project 
newsletter and the media.
    A range of alternatives for the master plan will be considered 
including the No Action alternative. As issues are identified other 
potential alternatives will be developed.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review in 
December 1997. The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from 
the date EPA's Notice of Availability appears in the Federal Register.

[[Page 54411]]

    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice at this early stage of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
a draft EIS 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 EIS stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final EIS 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 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. (Reviewer 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).
    After the 45 day comment period ends on the draft EIS, the comments 
will be analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the 
final EIS. The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by August 1998. 
In the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to the 
comments received (40 CFR 1503.4). The responsible official, Forest 
Supervisor Bob Castaneda, will consider the comments, responses, 
environmental consequences discussed in the EIS and applicable laws, 
regulations, and policies in making a decision regarding this proposal. 
The responsible official will document the decision and reasons for the 
decision in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to 
review under 36 CFR Part 215.

    Dated: October 10, 1996.
Bob Castaneda,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-26753 Filed 10-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M