[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37093-37094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17476]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Meadow Smith Project Environmental Impact Statement; Flathead 
National Forest, Swan Lake Ranger District, Lake and Missoula 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, commercial and pre-
commercial tree thinning, burn brush fields or forest understory trees, 
reclaim and construct roads, change road access, improve fish passages, 
wet land restoration, and reduce sediment sources within the Meadow 
Smith Project area. The project area is located in the upper Swan 
Valley and is approximately 35 miles air miles southeast of Bigfork, 
Montana in the vicinity of the community of Condon.
    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 August, 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.

ADDRESSES: You may request to be placed on the project mailing list or 
direct questions, comments, and suggestions about the proposed action 
and EIS to Keith Soderstrom, EIS Team Leader, or Chuck Harris, District 
Ranger, Swan Lake Ranger District, 200 Ranger Station Road, Bigfork, MT 
59911. Phone: (406) 837-7500.

    The proposal's actions listed above 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 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. 
Specifically, the encroachment of shade tolerant tree species on dry 
sites historically dominated by open-grown, large-tree communities has 
caused an overall reduction of individual tree health; increased risk 
of property damage on both national forest and adjacent private land 
from large and intense wildfires; and, a decrease in the presence of 
open-grown, large tree ponderosa pine and western larch forests. 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 wildlife, but long term benefits 
to the function of the ecosystem are more desirable.
    The 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 Meadow Smith Project area? The deciding official for this 
project is Chuck Harris, Swan Lake District Ranger, Flathead National 
Forest.

Preliminary Issues and Alternatives

    Public and internal scoping which has already occurred for this 
project includes two public meetings, four public field trips; three 
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 
Environmental Assessment has been completed for this proposal and made 
available for public comment;

[[Page 37094]]

based on comments received, the Forest Service has decided to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement. Through public and internal scoping, 
the following significant issues emerged:

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Nature and Scope of the Proposed Action

    Ponderosa pine and western larch forests in the Swan Valley were 
once a mosaic of open, park like stands that supported large trees. 
Fire suppression and timber harvesting in this century have changed 
these forests. Many of the remaining stands of ponderosa pine and 
western larch have become densely overgrown with mid-story and 
understory Douglas-fir, subalpine fir, spruce, and grand fir trees. 
These shade tolerant species are growing into the crowns of the older 
ponderosa pine and western larch. This creates ``fuel ladders'' that 
put ponderosa pine and western larch at increased risk should a fire 
occur. Historically, the low intensity ground fires will have thinned 
out these shades tolerant species. Trees in these dense stands are also 
susceptible to insects and pathogens. Dead or diseased trees increase 
the risk of fire. The closed forest canopy is also shading and reducing 
the vigor of shrub, grass, and forb populations associated with open 
forest conditions.
    This proposal addresses the need to restore old growth forest 
characteristics within the Upper Swan Valley. The proposed management 
actions are intended to increase the presence of open-grown, large-tree 
ponderosa pine and western larch forests; lower the risks of loss of 
mature large trees from insects, disease, and lethal fire; and return 
fire, in the form of prescribed fire, as a process of forest 
succession.
    The proposed action outlines 2,090 acres of vegetation treatments 
which include prescribed burning, pre-commercial thinning, and varying 
intensities of timber harvest with associated fuels treatments and 
preparation for reforestation. The proposed action includes 2.9 miles 
of road reclamation, 3.3 miles of temporary road construction and 
subsequent restoration, improved fish passages at 3 sites, culvert 
replacement at one site, wetland restoration (filling a man-made ditch) 
at one site, and approximately 5.5 miles of fuel breaks on upland sites 
adjacent to private lands. In addition, road access changes are 
proposed for 3.0 miles, and establishing approximately 5.5 miles of 
fuel breaks on upland sites adjacent to private lands.
    1. Effects of vegetation treatments on big game winter range 
habitat.
    2. Effects of vegetation treatments on existing and future old 
growth forest communities. The interdisciplinary team has developed 
alternatives to the proposed action that respond to these significant 
issues.
    The Forest Service believes 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). Chuck Harris, District 
Ranger, Swan Lake Ranger District, 200 Ranger Station Road, Bigfork, MT 
59911 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: July 2, 1999.
Chuck Harris,
District Ranger, Swan Lake Ranger District, Flathead National Forest.
[FR Doc. 99-17476 Filed 7-8-99; 8:45 am]
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