[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67616-67617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33664]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 248 / Monday, December 29, 1997 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Sawtooth Ridge Trail and Improvement Project, Okanogan and 
Wenatchee National Forest, Okanogan County, WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the Sawtooth Ridge Trail and Improvement Project. 
The proposed action is to develop new trails, improve existing trails, 
and improve campgrounds and other areas to provide a diverse network of 
trails for motorized and non-motorized trail use and protect resources 
in the Sawtooth non-wilderness backcountry
    The EIS will develop and evaluate a range of alternatives for 
providing motorized and non-motorized trails and access within the 
analysis area. The alternatives will include the no-action alternative, 
involving no change in current management, and no construction of new 
trails or improvement of existing trails, and additional alternatives 
in response to issues identified during the scoping process.
    To date, a number of issues have been identified. The major issues 
focus on the following: on congestion at Horsehead Pass from Eagle Lake 
to Boiling Lake; conflicts between specific user groups; intrusion of 
recreationists into remote wildlife habitat within the late 
successional reserve (LSR); damage to riparian areas, stream banks, wet 
meadows, and other sensitive areas; lack of links between trailheads 
for motorcycles; and lack of trailhead and campground facilities to 
meet user needs.
    This EIS will be consistent with and tier to the Okanogan and 
Wenatchee National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest 
Plan) and the Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and 
Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the 
Northern Spotted Owl (Northwest Forest Plan).
    The agency invites written comments on this project. In addition, 
the agency gives notice of this analysis so that interested and 
affected people are aware of how they may participate and contribute to 
the decision making process.

DATE: Comment concerning this proposal must be received by January 30, 
1998.

ADDRESS: Submit written comments and suggestions to Margi Gromek, 
Writer/Editor, Chelan Ranger District, 428 West Woodin Avenue, Chelan, 
Washington 98816.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Direct questions concerning proposed action and environmental analysis 
to Jim Archambeault, Project Coordinator, Methow Valley Ranger 
District, P.O. Box 188, Twisp, Washington 98856, phone 509-997-9738, or 
Margi Gromek, Writer/Editor, Chelan Ranger District, 428 West Woodin 
Avenue, Chelan, Washington 98816, phone 509-682-2576.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this project is to provide 
trails and facilities for diverse motorized and non-motorized use in a 
mostly sub-alpine, semi-primitive recreation setting in the 77,000 acre 
Sawtooth non-wilderness backcountry. The need for the project is shown 
by: increasing use by all user groups in the area; conflicts between 
motorized and non-motorized users; commitments made in the Forest Plan 
to provide motorized, sub-alpine, semi-primitive recreation in the 
area; and concerns about soil and aquatic resources, particularly in 
LSRs and riparian areas.
    The proposed action includes the following activities:

--Reduce congestion on Horsehead Pass from Eagle Lake to Boiling Lake 
by widening the trail and/or constructing turnouts.
--Construct a non-motorized user trail from the end of the Summer 
Blossom trail to the Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Widerness boundary near 
Boiling Lake.
--Construct a motorized trail crossing Sawtooth Ridge near Bryan Butte 
from Foggy Dew drainage to the Summer Blossom/South Navarra area.
--Provide legal access from Crater Creek and Foggy Dew trailhead to 
Foggy Dew Campground and from Safety Harbor to South Navarre trailhead 
on or adjacent to existing Forest Service roads.
--Improve Crater Creek trailhead and Foggy Dew Trailhead and campground 
to meet the needs of trail users, including adding group sites and 
possible closure on some sites not meeting the Northwest Forest Plan's 
aquatic conservation strategy.
--Restrict travel to designated trails to protect interior and remote 
habitats in LSRs, and Safety Harbor and Falls Creek areas; and
--Re-route trails, use educational signs and/or close trails in 
riparian areas and around lakes.

    This EIS will be consistent with and tier to the amended Forest 
Plans which provide forest-wide and management area specific standards 
and guidelines and desired future conditions for the various lands on 
the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests.
    The Okanogan Forest Plan primarily allocates the analysis area to 
Management Area 4M, which emphasizes year round semiprimitive motorized 
recreation opportunities in a generally unroaded setting. The remaining 
part of the project area on the Okanogan National Forest side is 
allocated to Management Area 5, which provides recreation and scenic 
viewing opportunities in a roaded natural setting; Management Area 25, 
which emphasizes intensive timber and range management; Management Area 
14, which emphasizes wildlife habitat diversity, including deer winter 
range, while producing merchantable wood fiber; Management Area 26 
which emphasizes deer winter range; and Management Area 26 which 
emphasize deer winter range; and Management Area 17, which emphasizes 
developed recreation opportunities in a roaded, extensively modified 
setting.
    The Wenatchee Forest Plan allocates its portions of the analysis 
area to RM-1, ST-2, Re-2a, and GF:

--RM-1 emphasizes intensive range management;
--ST-2 provides for near natural appearing foreground and middle ground 
along scenic travel corridors;

[[Page 67617]]

--RE-2a emphasizes dispersed, unroaded recreation in a semi-primitive 
setting having existing or potential trails for motorbikes, hikers and 
horseback riders;
--GF emphasizes long-term growth and production of commercially 
valuable wood products at a high level of investment in silvicultural 
practices.
    The Northwest Forest Plan primarily allocates the area to late 
successional reserve, which is managed to protect and enhance 
conditions of late-successional and old-growth forest ecosystems. Other 
lands in the project area are allocated to matrix and administratively 
withdrawn in the Northwest Forest Plan. Matrix is designed to provide 
connectivity between the LSRs, and habitat for species needing both 
late successions and younger forests. Administratively withdrawn areas 
are areas identified in the current Forest Plans where management 
emphasis precludes scheduled timber harvest. All allocations in the 
Northwest Forest Plan are overlayed with Riparian Reserve direction 
designed to maintain and restore riparian structures and functions, 
benefit riparian dependent and other species, enhance habitat 
conservation for species dependent on transition zones between upland 
and riparian areas, improve travel and dispersal corridors for many 
terrestrial animals and plants, and provide for greater watershed 
connectivity.
    Most of the lands affected lie within the Sawtooth Roadless Area, 
inventoried in Appendix C of the Okanogan Land and Resource Management 
Plan, final EIS.
    The analysis will develop a range of alternatives to address the 
significant issues, from the no-action alternative which would not 
construct or improve any facilities and would not change current 
management of the trail network, to alternatives that address the 
significant issues to varying degrees.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis. The Forest Service is seeking information, 
comments and assistance from Federal, State, Indian Tribes, local 
agencies, and other individuals or organizations who may be interested 
in or affected by the proposed project. This input will be used in 
preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process began in April, 1996, 
and resulted in significant issues being raised that could relate to 
significant impacts to the environment. The scoping process includes:
    1. Identifying potential issues;
    2. Identifying significant issues to be analyzed in depth;
    3. Identifying issues which have been covered by a relevant 
previous environmental analysis;
    4. Exploring additional alternatives based on themes which will be 
derived from issues recognized during scoping activities;
    5. Identifying potential environmental effects (i.e., direct, 
indirect and cumulative effects, and connected actions);
    6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments;
    7. Notifying interested members of the public of opportunities to 
participate in the process. Public involvement includes keeping the 
public informed through the media and/or written material.
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency 9EPA) and to be available for public review by July, 
1998. Your comments and suggestions are encouraged and should be in 
writing. 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 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. (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.)
    The final EIS is scheduled to be completed by January, 1999. 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. Sam Gehr, Forest Supervisor for the Okanogan 
National Forest, and Sonny O'Neal, Forest Supervisor for the Wenatchee 
National Forest are the responsible officials. The responsible 
officials will document the decision and rationale for the Sawtooth 
Ridge Trail and Improvement Project decision in the Record of Decision, 
which will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR Part 
215).

    Dated: December 16, 1997.
Allen N. Garr,
Acting Forest Supervisor, Okanogan National Forest.

    Dated: December 18, 1997.
Paul Hart,
Acting Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee National Forest.
[FR Doc. 97-33664 Filed 12-24-97; 8:45 am]
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