[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 437-438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-195]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District Small Sales EIS, Idaho 
Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental effects of 
utilizing timber harvest in numerous small, specific areas of the Coeur 
d'Alene River Ranger District to salvage merchantable timber in stands 
damaged by ice storms, insect infestation and disease, and to reduce 
the level of fire risk to the National Forest and to private lands 
adjacent to National Forest lands.

DATE: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by January 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Coeur d'Alene River Ranger 
District, 2502 East Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814-5899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Rehnborg or Dennis Adams, Project 
Team Leaders, (208) 769-3000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The stands being considered for treatment 
are widely scattered across the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District and 
are declining due to damage incurred during recent ice storms and the 
resulting Douglas-fir bark beetle infestation. To date, specific areas 
being considered for treatment are located in the Canfield, Fernan 
Creek, Lancaster Creek, Blue Creek, Rantenan Creek and Thompson Creek 
watersheds on the west side of the district; and in the Shoshone Creek, 
Falls Creek, Beaver Creek, Trail Creek, West Fork Downey Creek, and 
Pony Gulch watersheds on the east side of the district, as well as in 
several right-of-way areas. Some of the stands adjacent to private 
ownership are currently managed for their old-growth characteristics. 
Adjacent landowners have expressed concern with the increased fire 
risks associated with the amount of dead or dying timber in these 
areas. Several stands are within an inventoried roadless area. Other 
specific treatment areas and treatment methods will be identified 
during scoping.
    The proposal will include the following possible actions: timber 
harvest, prescribed fire, and tree planting. Timber harvest could be 
accomplished through the use of a combination of methods, including: 
horse logging, helicopter yarding, skyline yarding or tractor yarding. 
The scope of this analysis is limited to activities related to the 
purpose and need, and measures necessary to mitigate the effects these 
activities may have on the environment. The decision will identify if, 
when, how and where the schedule activities to meet these goals.

[[Page 438]]

    Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in 
preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to:
    (1) Identify additional potential issues;
    (2) Eliminate minor issues or those issues which have been covered 
by a relevant previous environmental analysis;
    (3) Identify additional treatment areas;
    (4) Identify additional alternatives to the proposed action;
    (5) Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action 
and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect and cumulative effects).
    While public participation in this analysis is welcome at any time, 
comments received within 30 days of the publication of this notice will 
be especially useful in the preparation of the draft EIS, which is 
expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and 
available for public review 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 of 
the draft EIS in the Federal Register.
    In addition, the public is encouraged to visit with Forest Service 
officials at any time during the analysis and prior to the decision. 
The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, and 
assistance from federal, state, and local agencies, the Coeur d'Alene 
Tribe, and other individuals or organizations that may be interested in 
or affected by the proposed action.
    The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal. 
District Ranger Susan Jeheber-Matthews is the responsible official.
    The Forest Service believes it is important at the early stage 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. 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 
on the draft EIS 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.

    Dated: December 17, 1999.
Susan Jeheber-Matthews,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 00-195 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M