[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 6, 1997)] [Notices] [Pages 24634-24635] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-11749] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Private Property Access-Road Construction; Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The owner of record of landlocked private property located in portions of Sections 33 and 34, Township 27 North, Range 31 West, Principal Montana Meridian and the owner of record of landlocked private property located in portions of Sections 12 and 13, Township 26 North, Range 31 West, Principal Montana Meridian have requested special use permit applications for the construction and reconstruction of roads to their 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 the proposed road construction and reconstruction. The decision areas are located approximately 24 and 26 air miles respectively 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. DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before June 5, 1997. 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 U.S. Hwy 37 N, Libby, Montana 59923. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jon Jeresek, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Libby Ranger District. Phone: (406) 293-7773. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All of the properties and proposed road constructions are located within the Inventoried Roadless Area #671-- Cabinet Face East. The decision areas are occupied grizzly bear habitat. Proposed Action: The Kootenai National Forest is proposing to issue two special use permits for permanent access to West Fisher private property and to allow reconstruction of roads to allow passenger traffic. The purpose of the projects is to access private land that is surrounded by National Forest. 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. 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 actions affect sediment production? Roadless Areas--The proposed road construction lies entirely within the Cabinet Face East Inventoried Roadless Area #671. What effect would the proposals 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 proposals protect and enhance grizzly bear habitat, and contributes 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 by mitigated? Forest Plan Amendment: The Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan has specific management direction for the Harpole [[Page 24635]] and 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 amendments would be addressed in the EIS. Decisions To Be Made: The Kootenai Forest Supervisor will decide the following: Should road construction to the private properties be permitted and if so how and where, What mitigation measures would be required for protection of National Forest Service resources, and If Forest Plan amendments are necessary to proceed with the Proposed Action within the decision area. Public Involvement and Scoping: Notices will be mailed to interested parties from a mailing list, to provide an opportunity for the public to review and comment on 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 road construction proposals. 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 EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by August, 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 in November, 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 alternative 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 U.S. 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 the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations. Dated: April 28, 1997. Robert L. Schrenk, Forest Supervisor. [FR Doc. 97-11749 Filed 5-5-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-11-M