[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54860-54862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26242]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
East Slate Project; Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Shoshone
County, ID
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
[[Page 54861]]
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The St. Joe Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National
Forest is considering vegetation activities in the East Slate Project.
The project area is located approximately one mile west of the town of
Avery on the St. Joe River.
The interdisciplinary team has reviewed the current conditions
which indicated the project area could benefit from treatment. The
purpose and need is summarized below.
1. Reduce the risk of blending genetic material from poorly
adapted, non-local ponderosa pine trees planted earlier this century
with that of the native ponderosa pine. Replace the poorly adapted
trees with more sustainable native species.
2. Speed development of larger stand structures with large trees
and reverse the trend toward increasing dominance by mid and late
succession species.
3. Maintain larch dominance where it is a significant stand
component.
4. Promote vegetation structures and compositions that are more
consistent with those which naturally occur under fire and pathogen
disturbance regimes.
5. Restore western white pine.
6. Contribute wood to the local timber supply when timber is
feasible and cost effective and can help achieve landscape objectives.
7. Improve big game wildlife habitat.
8. Promote conditions for safe and effective control of prescribed
fires and wildfires.
9. Provide a safer vehicle turn-around at gate on Road #1934.
The project consists of vegetation management, including timber
harvesting and associated road construction and prescribed burning. It
also plans for wildlife habitat improvement and natural fuels reduction
through burning.
DATES: Comments should be postmarked on or before November 8, 1999.
Please include your name and address and the name of the project you
are commenting on.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed
management activities or request to be placed on Project mailing list
to George Bain, District Ranger, St. Joe Ranger District, PO Box 407,
St. Maries, ID 83802. George Bain is the Responsible Official.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Ratcliffe, Project Team Leader,
St. Joe Ranger District, (208) 245-4517.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the
public record on this proposed action and will be available for public
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or
217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing
how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Persons requesting such confidentiality may be granted in only very
limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest
Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding
the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 10
days.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Vegetation Management
Vegetation management under this proposal is designed to meet
several needs, including providing timber products to local markets,
protecting and enhancing wildlife forage and cover needs, providing for
long term growth and yield as directed in the Idaho Panhandle National
Forests Forest Plan, increasing fire resiliency, reducing fire hazards,
and moving the vegetation to the conditions the area historically had
in terms of tree species composition and density. Treatment include:
Approximately 406 acres of commercial timber harvesting including
commercial thinning, shelterwood preparation and seed cuttings,
liberation cuts, sanitation cuts and clearcuts. This would include an
estimated 235 acres of clearcuts with reserves, 86 acres of commercial
thimming, 18 acres of liberation cuts, 21 acres of sanitation salvage,
19 acres of seedtree harvest and 27 acres of shelterwood harvest with
reserves.
Approximately 240 acres of brush field burning for maintenance of
big game browse and wildlife habitat improvement.
Approximately 203 acres would be treated for natural fuels
reduction.
Approximately 1.6 miles of road construction to access timber
harvesting units.
Preliminary Issues
We expect issues and concerns with this project to include the
impacts on wildlife, fish, water quality, and recreation, as well as
road construction, clearcutting and economic feasibility. Issues will
be developed and analyzed based on public comment and the
interdisciplinary team's analysis of effects on reasoures. Alternatives
will be developed to modify or eliminate the impacts from proposed
activities and still meet the purpose for this project.
Additionally, some of the vegetation treatment may result in
opening of over 60 acres. While we would like comments that would
affect alternatives early, comments on the size of openings and their
effects will be accepted for 60 days after publication of this notice.
The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed
with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public
review in December 1999. The final environmental impact statement is
expected to be completed in March 2000.
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.
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 an alerts and agency to the reviewer's position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,
533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the
draft environmental statement stage but that are not raised until after
completion of the final environmental 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 concern 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.
[[Page 54862]]
Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft environmental
impact statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and
discussed in the statement. Reviews 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 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits
discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital
or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of
communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape,
etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center ad (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TDD).
To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340
(voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity
employer.
Dated: September 29, 1999.
George Bain,
St. Joe District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 99-26242 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M