[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 213 (Thursday, November 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60158-60160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28846]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


West Mountain North Project, Boise National Forest, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Cascade Range District of the Boise National Forest will 
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for an integrated 
resource management project in the North Fork of the Payette River. The 
entire project area is within watersheds that drain directly into 
Cascade Reservoir or into the North Fork Payette River above Cascade 
Reservoir. The project area is located 12 miles northwest of Cascade, 
Idaho, and about 100 miles north of Boise, Idaho.

    The agency invites written comments and suggestions on the scope of 
the analysis. The agency also hereby gives notice of environmental 
analysis decisionmaking process that will occur on the proposal so 
interested and affected people are aware of how they may participate 
and contribute to the final decision. At this time, no public meetings 
to discuss the project are planned.
    Proposed Action: Four primary objectives have been identified to 
the project: (1) reduce current and future stand susceptibility to 
western spruce budworm; (2) improve long-term stand growth to or near 
levels indicative of healthy, sustainable forests; (3) implement the 
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Plan by reducing by 30 percent the 
total phosphorus delivery from existing sources within the project 
area, and resulting in an no net increase of total phosphorus from 
proposed activities; and; (4) contribute to the local economy through 
the supply of forest

[[Page 60159]]

products and associated employment opportunities.
    The proposed action would treat a total of 1,659 acres in the 
10,048-acre project area. The project area itself encompasses all of 
the 2,800-acre Poison Creek Management Area 52A, and a portion of the 
19,069-acre West Mountain North Management Area 52. An estimated 12.0 
MMBF of timber would be harvested using ground-based (827 acres), 
skyline (319 acres), and helicopter (513 acres) yarding systems. The 
proposed action would employ variety of silvicutural prescriptions 
including commercial thin (148 acres), improvement cut (512 acres), 
sanitation/salvage (340 acres), individual tree selection (18 acres), 
seed cut shelterwood (224 acres), and final removal shelterwood (417 
acres). The existing transportation system would be improved to 
facilitate long haul and reduce sedimentation with individual sections 
of 17.9 miles of road being reconstructed. An estimated 0.8 mile of 
specified road and 0.4 mile of temporary road would be constructed to 
facilitate harvest. In addition, 4.9 miles of road not needed for the 
long-term management of the area would be decommissioned, and, 1.8 
miles closed year-round and 1.1 miles closed seasonally (September 15 
to June 1) to motorized use with the exception of snowmobiles and 
administrative use.
    Management direction in the Boise National Forest Land and Resource 
Management Plan (LRMP) of the 2,800-acre Poison Creek Management Area 
(MA) 52A was developed in anticipation of the proposed ValBois Resort. 
The VlBois project, which was still in its conceptual stage when the 
LRMP was published in 1990, included numerous developments associated 
with skiing on Forest Service administered lands with in MA 52A. Due to 
a number of circumstances, the ValBois project is no longer being 
considered. Although a similar proposal, WestRock, is currently under 
consideration on adjacent private and State-owned lands, WestRock 
officials have stated they have no intention of requesting a permit to 
operate on Forest Service administered lands. Nonetheless, the LRMP 
direction for MA 52A still reflects ValBois as a potential activity and 
would require amending prior to implementation of the proposed action. 
Given the ongoing LRMP revision and the anticipated timeframes of the 
effort, proposed amendments would be specific to the West Mountain 
North Project. Future management of the area would be deferred to that 
prescribed in the revised LRMP. The following LRMP amendments are 
included as a part of the proposed action:
    Amend the Visual Quality Objectives on page IV-438 of the LRMP to 
foreground retention and middleground partial retention for the West 
Mountain Cascade Reservoir Road No. 422, and, middleground partial 
retention for the Cascade Reservoir Area. Visual Quality Objectives 
specific to Proposed Developments associated with the ValBois Resort 
would not apply to this project.
    Amend the standard on page IV-439 of the LRMP that limits timber 
harvesting to allow management activities, including timber harvest, 
proposed with the West Mountain North Project.
    Preliminary Issues: Preliminary concerns with the proposed action 
include: (1) impacts on phosphorus delivery to Cascade Reservoir; (2) 
economic returns of the project given projected implementation costs 
and revenues; (3) impacts on the visual quality of the area as seen 
from sensitive viewpoints, and (4) potential impacts on boreal owl.
    Possible Alternative to the Proposed Action: Two alternatives to 
the proposed action have been discussed thus far: (1) a no action 
alternative, and, (2) an alternative that would increase the number of 
acres treated. Other alternatives may be developed as issues are 
identified and information received.
    Decision to be Made: The Boise National Forest Supervisor will 
decide the following: Should roads be built and timber harvested within 
the West Mountain North Project Area at this time, and if so, where 
within the project area, and how many miles of road should be built; 
and which stands should be treated and what silvicultural systems 
should be use? What mitigation/watershed enhancement measures should be 
applied to the project? Should the decommissioning of portions of roads 
Nos. 186H1, 186C, 186A3, and other existing roads be implemented at 
this time? Should the LRMP be amended to allow proposed activities in 
MA 52A?

DATES: Written comments concerning the proposed project and analysis 
are encouraged and should be postmarked on or before December 6, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Keith Dimmett, Cascade 
Ranger District, P.O. Box 696, Cascade, ID 83611. Comments received in 
response to this request will be available for public inspection and 
will be released in their entirety if requested pursuant to the Freedom 
of Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Further information can be obtained 
from Keith Dimmett at the address mentioned above or by calling 208-
382-7433.

SCHEDULE: Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), February 2000. 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), May 2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NFMA planning for this project was 
initiated in the fall of 1997 with the Cascade Reservoir Ecosystem 
Analysis at the Watershed Scale. In addition to public announcements in 
The Idaho Statesman (May 14, 1998) and The Long Valley Advocate (May 
13, 1998), a scoping package describing a similar proposed action was 
mailed to 50 individuals and/or groups. A predecisional environmental 
assessment (EA) was distributed for a 30-day comment period in November 
1998. Five letters were received commenting on the EA. A Decision 
Notice and Finding of No Significant Impacts was distributed in 
February 1999. The Forest Supervisor withdrew that decision in April 
1999 citing recent judicial interpretations of NEPA at the rationale 
for preparation of a DEIS.
    A large portion of an unroaded area, roughly 5,300 acres in size, 
occurs within the southern portion of the West Mountain North Project 
Area. Although this area was not identified in the roadless inventory 
completed in preparation of the LRMP in 1990, it was identified in 
September 1999 during the ongoing LRMP revision effort. While the 
proposed action does not include any management activities within this 
unroaded area, other alternatives developed over the course of this 
analysis may include timber harvest activities within this area.
    The comment period on the DEIS 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 relates to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
the DEIS 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 DEIS stage but are not raised until after 
completion of the FEIS may be waived or dismissed by the courts. City 
of Angoon v. Hodel, 803

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F.2d 1016, 1002 (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 DEIS 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 FEIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the DEIS should be as 
specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific 
pages or chapters of the draft 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.
    Responsible Official: David D. Rittenhouse, Forest Supervisor, 
Boise National Forest, 1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200, Boise, ID 
83709.

    Dated: October 28, 1999.
W. Wayne Patton,
Range, Watershed, Air, Minerals, Wildlife, and Fisheries Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-28846 Filed 11-3-99; 8:45 am]
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