[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7666-7667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4051]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Helena National Forest Weed Treatment Project Helena National 
Forest, Powell, Lewis & Clark, Jefferson, Broadwater, and Meagher 
Counties, Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for weed treatments on the Helena National Forest 
including wilderness and roadless areas. The treatment plan will 
utilize an integrated pest management approach, utilizing a variety of 
chemical, biological and mechanical controls. Chemical treatments will 
include both ground and aerial herbicide applications.
    Further analysis of the proposed action and alternatives to that 
proposal may result in a decision(s) that includes amendments to the 
Forest Plan.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing no later than June 1, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The responsible official is Thomas J. Clifford, Forest 
Supervisor, Helena National Forest, Supervisor's Office, 2880 Skyway 
Drive, Helena, MT 59601. Phone: (406) 449-5201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dea Nelson, Townsend Ranger District, 
415 So. Front Townsend, MT 59644. Phone: (406) 266-3425.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The project would occur on National Forest 
lands of the Townsend, Helena, and Lincoln Ranger Districts. Treatments 
would take place in general forest zones as well as the Elkhorn 
Wildlife Management Area, the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area, 
the Scapegoat Wilderness Area and inventoried roadless areas. The 
treatment plan will utilize an integrated pest management approach, 
utilizing a variety of chemical, biological and mechanical controls. 
Chemical treatments will include both ground and aerial herbicide 
applications. Approximately 18,000 acres will be treated with ground 
based application equipment and approximately 5,000 acres with aerial 
equipment, either fixed wing or helicopters. Chemical applications will 
take place at the appropriate time of year for the individual weed 
species. Biological controls will be introduced where appropriate and 
as they become available. These will include insects, pathogens, and 
grazing of livestock such as sheep or goats to control weeds in 
situations where similar practices have been successful in other 
locations. Some particularly sensitive area or areas of small, new 
infestations may be treated mechanically, which could include hand 
pulling or cultivation.
    This EIS will tier to the Helena Forest Plan Final EIS of April 
1986, that provides program goals, objectives, and standards and 
guidelines for conducting management activities in this area. All 
activities associated with the proposal will be designed to maintain or 
enhance the resource objectives identified in the Forest Plan.
    The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from 
Federal, State, and local agencies together with organizations or 
individuals who may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
action. The Forest Service invites written comments and suggestions on 
the issues for the proposal and the area being analyzed. Information 
received will be used in preparation of the Draft EIS.
    Preparation of the EIS will include the following steps:

[[Page 7667]]

    1. Identification of issues to be analyzed in depth.
    2. Identification of additional reasonable alternatives.
    3. Identification of potential environmental effects of the 
alternatives.
    Alternatives to this proposal will include the ``no action'' 
alternative, and other alternatives will examine variations in the 
amount and method of weed treatment.
    The preliminary issues identified are:
    1. The potential impacts of noxious weed treatment on wildlife.
    2. The potential impacts of noxious weed treatment on water quality 
and fisheries.
    3. The potential impacts of noxious weed treatment on native 
grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees.
    4. The potential effects on human health from herbicide use.
    5. The potential effects of noxious weed treatment in Wilderness 
Areas on the quality of the wilderness experience.
    The Forest Service will analyze and disclose in the DEIS and FEIS 
the environmental effects of the proposed action and a reasonable range 
of alternatives. The DEIS and FEIS will disclose the direct, indirect 
and cumulative environmental effects of each alternative and its 
associated site-specific mitigation measures.
    Public participation is especially important at several points of 
the analysis. Interested parties may visit with the Forest Service 
officials at any time during the analysis. However, two periods of time 
are specifically identified for the receipt of comments. The first 
comment period is during the scoping process when the public is invited 
to give written comments to the Forest Service. The Helena National 
Forest would like to receive scoping comments by June 1, 2002. The 
second review period is during the 45 day review of the DEIS when the 
public is invited to comment on the DEIS.
    The DEIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and available for public review in August, 2002. At that 
time, the EPA will publish a notice of availability of the DEIS in the 
Federal Register.
    The comment period on the DEIS will be 45 cays from the date the 
notice of availability is published in the Federal Register.
    At this early stage in the scoping process, 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, reviews of 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). Secondly, 
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft 
environmental impact statement stage, but that are not raised until 
after completion of the FEIS may be waived or dismissed by the courts. 
City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 2d 10 1 6, 1022 (9th cir. 1986) and 
Wisconsin Hermitages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 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 FEIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considered 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. Comments may also address the 
adequacy of the DEIS 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.)
    After the comment period ends on the DEIS, the comments will be 
analyzed and considered by the Forest Service in preparing the FEIS. 
The FEIS is expected to be filed in January, 2003.

    Dated: February 12, 2002.
Thomas J. Clifford,
Forest Supervisor, Helena National Forest.
[FR Doc. 02-4051 Filed 2-19-02; 8:45 am]
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