[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 251 (Thursday, December 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72243-72244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34719]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 251 / Thursday, December 31, 1998 / 
Notices  

[[Page 72243]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Good Creek Environmental Impact Statement; Flathead National 
Forest, Tally Lake Ranger District, Flathead and Lincoln Counties, 
State of Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for a proposal to harvest timber; reclaim, 
rehabilitate, and construct roads; change road and trail access; place 
large logs in streams; and burn brushfields or forest understory trees 
within the Good Creek watershed. The area is located west of Whitefish, 
Montana and southwest of Olney, Montana.
    The Forest Service is seeking further information and comments from 
Federal, State, and local agencies and other individuals or 
organizations who may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
actions. These comments will be used to prepare the draft EIS.

DATES: The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency and made available for public review in April, 1999. 
No date has yet been determined for filing the final EIS.
    The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will 
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESS: You may request to be placed on the project mailing list or 
direct questions, comments, and suggestions about the proposed action 
and EIS to Bryan Donner, EIS Team Leader, or Jane Kollmeyer, District 
Ranger, Tally Lake Ranger District, 1335 Highway 93 West, Whitefish, MT 
59937. Phone: (406) 863-5400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Nature and scope of the proposed action: The need for this proposal 
stems from conditions within the 72,000-acre Good Creek and Martin 
Creek watersheds in which high levels of accumulated fuels pose a 
threat of wildfire to national forest lands within the watershed and to 
human developments and private lands adjacent to the area. Also, the 
watershed contains large areas composed almost entirely of lodgepole 
pine. The lack of diversity in tree species, ages, and sizes and their 
numbers and distribution across the landscape has reduced available 
habitat for native wildlife, plant, and fish species.
    The purpose of the proposal is to reduce fuels to historic levels 
where appropriate or to levels which might prevent intense fires; to 
increase habitat for plants, animals, and fish; to maintain hydrologic 
function, protect water quality, and reduce sediment; to provide access 
for management activities over the next 10 years; to maintain a variety 
of recreation opportunities in the Good Creek area; and to meet social 
and economic needs of local communities.
    The proposal's actions to regenerate lodgepole pine stands and wind 
damaged stands, construct temporary roads or recondition roads 
necessary to access these stands, correct chronic sediment sources, and 
stabilize stream channels 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 proposed action outlines 11,914 areas of vegetation treatment, 
19 miles of road reclamation, 34 miles of drainage improvements on 
roads, new temporary road construction of 7 miles, new specified road 
construction of 13 miles, and culvert replacements on 10 sites, all 
over a 10 year period. The vegetation treatments proposed consist of 
combinations of prescribed burning, pre-commercial thinning, and 
varying intensities of timber harvest with associated fuels treatments 
and preparation for reforestation. In addition, road access changes are 
proposed for 37 miles, and fisheries habitat improvement (large woody 
debris placement) is proposed for a total of 2.6 miles on three 
streams.
    The Forest Service believes the current forest conditions resulting 
from large wildfires that occurred near the turn of the century and 
subsequent management decisions are causing adverse effects. These 
effects include an increased risk of property damage on both national 
forest and adjacent private land from large and intense wildfires; 
reduced individual tree health in some areas; and a low level of tree 
species diversity. The Forest Service also believes implementing a no 
action alternative will further increase these effects in the future. 
The proposed actions may have short term significant effects on 
wildfire, fisheries, and surface hydrology, but long term benefits to 
the function of the ecosystem are more desirable.
    This EIS will tier to the Flathead National Forest Land and 
Resource Management Plan (LRMP) and EIS of January, 1986, and its 
subsequent amendments, which provide overall guidance of all land 
management activities on the Flathead National Forest.
    Decision to be made: Should the Forest Service implement the 
proposed action or any action to meet the purpose and need or to defer 
any action at this time within the Good Creek and Martin Creek 
watersheds? The deciding official for this project is Catherine 
Barbouletos, Forest Supervisor, Flathead National Forest.
    Preliminary issues and alternatives: Public and internal scoping 
which has already occurred for this project includes one public open 
house; two public field trips; two mailings to Federal, State, and 
local agencies and other individuals or organizations; personal 
conversations with interdisciplinary team members and members of the 
public, and news media releases. An additional public mailing is 
planned to present a refined proposed action and give an update on 
progress. Based on public and internal scoping, the following 
significant issues emerged:
    1. Effects of vegetation treatments and road and trail access on 
wildlife security.
    2. Effects of vegetation treatments and road access on existing and 
future old growth habitat.
    3. Effects of vegetation treatments on the size, shape, continuity, 
and edge effects of some late seral patches of trees.
    4. Effects of the proposed action on some forested connections that 
serve as

[[Page 72244]]

links for wildlife movement between important habitat such as riparian 
forests and ridgelines.
    5. Effects of vegetation treatments and road building and 
reclamation on water quality, fish habitat, and fine sediment 
deposition.
    6. Effects of vegetation treatments and road building and 
reclamation on cutthroat trout populations in upper Good Creek.
    The interdisciplinary team has not yet developed any alternatives 
to the proposed action that respond to these significant issues.
    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 
and concerns 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. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft 
environmental impact statement 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.
    Following this comment period, the comments received will be 
analyzed, considered, and responded to by the Forest Service in the 
final environmental impact statement (FEIS). Catherine Barbouletos, 
Forest Supervisor, Flathead National Forest, 1935 Third Avenue East, 
Kalispell, MT 59901 is the responsible official for the preparation of 
the EIS and will make a decision regarding this proposal considering 
the comments and responses, environmental consequences discussed in the 
FEIS, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The decision and 
rational for the decision will be documented in a Record of Decision. 
That decision will be subject to appeal under applicable Forest Service 
regulations.

    Dated: December 16, 1998.
Jane Kollmeyer,
District Ranger, Tally Lake Ranger District, Flathead National Forest.
[FR Doc. 98-34719 Filed 12-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M