[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 223 (Monday, November 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58673-58675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29444]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Skranak Road Construction Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln 
County, Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: Henry Skranak of Libby, Montana is the owner of record of 
landlocked private property located in portions of Section 12 and 13, 
Township 26 North, Range 31 West, Principal Montana Meridian. The 
Forest Service has received from Skranak a special use permit 
application for the construction of a dry season road to his property. 
The Libby Ranger District on the Kootenai National Forest intends to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess and disclose 
the environmental effects of road construction on National Forest. The 
Skranak decision area is located approximately 26 miles south of Libby, 
Montana.
    The EIS will tier to the Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan and Final EIS of September 1987, which provides overall 
guidance for forest management of the area.

DATE: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before 
December 18, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The Responsible Official is Robert L. Schrenk, Forest 
Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest. Written comments and suggestions 
concerning the scope of the analysis should be sent to Lawrence A. 
Froberg, District Ranger, Libby Ranger District, 12557 US Hwy 37 N, 
Libby Montana, 59923.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jon Jeresek, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Libby Ranger District. 
Phone: (406) 293-7773.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The west side of the Skranak property is the 
common boundary of a portion of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. All 
of the Skranak property and proposed road construction is located 
within the Inventoried Roadless Area #671--Cabinet Face East. The 
decision area is occupied grizzly bear habitat.

Proposed Action

    The Kootenai National Forest is proposing to issue a Special Use 
Permit to Henry Skranak to construct a 10 foot wide running surface 
road and use the

[[Page 58674]]

road to access private property. The construction is proposed to begin 
in 1997. The purpose of the project is to provide reasonable access to 
private land that is surrounded by National Forest as provided for 
under Public Law 96-487, the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (ANILCA). No proposed activities are located in areas 
considered for inclusion to the National Wilderness Preservation System 
as recommended by the Kootenai National Forest Plan.
    The Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan 
provides overall management objectives in individual delineated 
management areas (MA's). The decision area is allocated to MA-2, Semi-
Primitive Non-Motorized Recreation. Briefly described, MA-2 is managed 
to provide for the protection and enhancement of areas for roadless 
recreation use, and to provide for wildlife management where specific 
values are high. Within grizzly bear habitat, the goal of MA-2 is to 
provide habitat that will contribute to the recovery of the grizzly 
bear. Special Uses may be permitted in a case by case basis.

Preliminary Issues

    Several preliminary issues of concern have been identified by the 
Forest Service. These issues are briefly described below:
     Water Quality--How would the proposed action affect 
sediment production?
     Roadless Areas--The proposed road construction lies 
entirely within the Cabinet Face East Inventoried Roadless Area #671. 
What effect would the proposal have on the character of this Roadless 
Area?
     Grizzly Bear--The decision area lies within the recovery 
area for the Cabinet/Yaak grizzly bear ecosystem. How would the 
proposal protect and enhance grizzly bear habitat, and contribute to 
recovery efforts?
     Fisheries--The proposed road construction would cross 
Bramlet and 4th of July Creeks which are priority bull trout streams. 
How would the proposed action affect sediment production and bull trout 
habitat?
     Heritage Resources--The road construction is proposed to 
occur over the existing historic 4th of July Trail #115. Can the loss 
of this resource and associated sites be mitigated?

Forest Plan Amendment

    The Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan has 
specific management direction for the Skranak decision area. Prior to 
making a NEPA decision, a thorough examination of all standards and 
guidelines of the Forest Plan would be completed and, if necessary, 
plan exceptions or amendments would be addressed in the EIS.

Decisions To Be Made

    The Kootenai Forest Supervisor will decide the following:
    Should road construction to the Skranak property be permitted and 
if so how and where;
    What mitigation measures would be required for protection of 
National Forest resources; and
    If Forest Plan exception or amendments are necessary to proceed 
with the Proposed Action within the decision area.

Public Involvement and Scoping

    An open house will be scheduled during the winter 1997, to provide 
an opportunity for the public to review the proposed action. 
Consultation with appropriate State and Federal agencies will be 
initiated. Preliminary effects analysis indicated that the proposed 
road construction may significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment. These potential effects prompted the decision to prepare 
an EIS for the Skranak Road Construction.
    This environmental analysis and decision making process will enable 
additional interested and affected people to participate and contribute 
to the final decision. Public participation will be requested at 
several points during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking 
information, comments, and assistance from Federal, State, local 
agencies, and other individuals or organizations who may be interested 
in or affected by the proposed projects. This input will be used in 
preparation of the draft and final EIS. The scoping process will 
include:
     Identifying potential issues.
      Identifying major issues to be analyzed in depth.
      Exploring additional alternatives which will be derived 
from issues recognized during scoping activities.
      Identifying potential environmental effects of this 
project and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects 
and connected actions).
    The analysis will consider a range of alternatives, including the 
proposed action, no action, and other reasonable action alternatives.

Estimated Dates for Filing

    The draft Skranak Road Construction EIS is expected to be filed 
with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for 
public review by March, 1997. At that time 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 EPA publishes 
the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by July, 1997. In the 
final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments and 
responses received during the comment period that pertain to the 
environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable 
laws, regulations, and policies considered in making a decision 
regarding the proposal.

Reviewer's Obligations

    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 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 and respond to them in the final EIS.
    To be most helpful, comments on the draft EIS should be as specific 
as possible and may address the adequacy of the statement or the merit 
of the alternatives discussed. 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.

Responsible Official

    Robert L. Schrenk, Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest, 506 
US Highway 2 West, Libby, Mt 59923 is the Responsible Official. As the 
Responsible Official I will decide which, if any, of the proposed 
projects will be implemented. I will document the decision and reasons 
for the decision in

[[Page 58675]]

the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service 
Appeal Regulations.


    Dated: November 6, 1996.
Robert L. Schrenk,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-29444 Filed 11-15-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M