[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67397-67399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29909]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Helena National Forest, Montana, Snow Talon Fire Salvage; Intent 
To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Snow Talon Fire Salvage. The Snow Talon Fire 
Salvage EIS will disclose the environmental effects of a salvage 
harvest of trees burned in the Snow Talon Fire on the Lincoln Ranger 
District of the Helena National Forest. The 2003 Snow Talon Fire burned 
37,706 acres in the Copper Creek, Landers Fork, and Falls Creek 
drainages, approximately 10 miles northeast of Lincoln, Montana. The 
proposed action includes commercial harvest of approximately 20 to 25 
million board feet of trees over 2700 acres in the wildfire area, 
roadwork to meet Best Management Practices (BMP) standards, and 
rehabilitation of 105 acres of jammer trails. Harvest is not proposed 
within Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs), Riparian Habitat Conservation 
Areas (RHCAs), or Research Natural Areas (RNAs). An EIS will be 
prepared displaying alternatives and the anticipated effects of the 
above activities to the resources and human uses of the analysis area.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be postmarked 
by January 15, 2004. The draft EIS is expected March 2004 and the final 
EIS is expected June 2004.

ADDRESSES AND FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For further 
information, to be placed on the project mailing list, or to provide 
comment addressing this proposed action, please e-mail, call, or mail 
correspondence to Dan Seifert--Snow Talon Fire Salvage 
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Lincoln Ranger District, 1569 Highway 
200, Lincoln, MT 59639; phone number is (406) 362-4265; e-mail address 
is [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background Information

    During August and September of 2003, the Snow Talon Fire burned 
37,706 acres, with 34,362 of these acres on National Forest Lands. 
Approximately 26,500 acres burned with high severity (as defined in the 
USFS Burned Area Emergency Response Handbook FSH 2509.13, Amendment No. 
2509.13-95-7).

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of this project is to salvage timber in response to the 
Snow Talon Fire. The immediate need is to recover the value of the 
burned commercial timber products before they decay and have no 
commercial viability (Helena National Forest Land and Resource Plan 
[Forest Plan] II-1, Goal 11 and Goal 16). The 
proposed commercial timber salvage harvest would provide economic 
opportunities for rural communities and is consistent with Forest Plan 
goals to provide a sustained timber yield that is responsive to local 
industry and national needs (Forest Plan Forest-Wide Goal 11). 
Management Area direction for the majority of the proposed for harvest 
areas designates goals emphasizing cost-effective timber production 
while protecting the soil productivity (Forest Plan Management Areas T-
1, T-3, T-4). While some of the actions proposed will help restore 
resources affected by the fire, the intent of including these actions 
with this salvage harvest project is to mitigate for the effects of 
salvage activities. Jammer trail reclamation is included in the 
proposed action to mitigate for the overall effects of salvage 
activities to soils. It is not the intent of this project to fully 
address all the effects of the Snow Talon Fire. Currently, a 
restoration team is addressing long-term restoration needs through a 
variety of other projects.

Proposed Action

    The Helena National Forest proposes to harvest 20 to 25 million 
board feet of commercial timber over approximately 2700 acres. The 
following yarding methods, by percentage of proposed harvest acreage, 
would be utilized: 55% helicopter, 20% skyline, 25% tractor. To 
facilitate harvest, approximately \1/2\ mile of temporary roads and 30 
helicopter landing areas are proposed and would be rehabilitated 
following harvest. Two temporary bridges would also be needed, and 
would be removed following harvest and rehabilitation activities. Only 
dead or dying trees would be removed; however, a few green trees may 
have to be cut to meet safety requirements in helicopter

[[Page 67398]]

landing areas and skyline corridors. To minimize impacts to burned 
soils, the proposed action specifies that all tractor and skyline 
logging would occur under winter conditions (either 4 inches of frozen 
soil and/or 6 inches of packed snow). Reclamation of 105 acres of 
jammer trails originally constructed for logging in the 1960s is 
included in the proposed action to mitigate for harvest activities by 
improving soil quality. BMPs that promote long-term water quality, 
maintain existing road systems, and minimize erosion are also proposed. 
BMP activities would include, but not be limited to, improving road 
drainage features, installing and replacing ditch-relief culverts, 
gravelling portions of the road system, re-vegetation, and other 
practices to minimize erosion. The proposed action does not include 
timber harvest or temporary road construction in IRAs, RNAs, or RHCAs.

Responsible Official

    Thomas J. Clifford, Forest Supervisor--2880 Skyway Drive, Helena, 
MT 59602.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The decision framework refers to the scope of the decision that 
will be issued at the conclusion of this analysis by the responsible 
official. The responsible official's decision will be based on 
information disclosed in the environmental document, information 
contained in the Project Analysis File, comments submitted during the 
scoping of the proposed action and the comment period, comment 
responses, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies in making the 
decision and stating the rationale in the Record of Decision.
    The responsible official may decide whether or not to
    [sbull] Select the proposed action,
    [sbull] Select an alternative to the proposed action, or
    [sbull] Select portions from the developed range of alternatives 
and combine them in a logical package.
    In selecting one of the above options, the terms and conditions of 
the selection will be fully displayed and understood. Within the 
parameters of this decision space, it will also be determined if a 
Helena Land and Resource Management Plan amendment would be necessary. 
The responsible official will take into consideration relationships of 
alternatives to the identified significant issues.

Scoping Process

    Proposed Action scoping period--Scoping begins the day this notice 
is published in the Federal Register and ends January 15, 2004. A 
scoping document will be mailed to Federal, State, and local agencies, 
tribal governements, and other individuals or organizations who may be 
interested in or affected by the proposed project. The scoping document 
will also be posted on the Helena National Forest Web site on the 
Internet at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/helena/. A public open-house 
scoping meeting is tentatively scheduled from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., 
December 17, 2003 in Lincoln, Montana. Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement release, 45-day comment period and public meetings--begins in 
March 2004.
    Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision--June 
2004.

Preliminary Issues

    The Snow Talon Interdisciplinary Team has identified the following 
preliminary issues to be addressed in the EIS:
    [sbull] Copper Creek is the most heavily used yearlong recreational 
areas on the Lincoln Ranger District, both for non-commercial and 
permitted commercial recreational activities. Public safety concerns 
may necessitate delays and/or temporary closures of portions of the 
Copper Creek drainage to public use when proposed activities are 
occurring.
    [sbull] The analysis area provides habitat for the grizzly bear and 
lynx, which are both species listed as threatened under the Endangered 
Species Act. The analysis area is within the Northern Continental 
Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery area.
    [sbull] Copper Creek provides critical spawning habitat for upper 
Blackfoot River fluvial bull trout, a species listed as threatened 
under the Endangered Species Act.
    [sbull] Other animal and plant species listed as sensitive by the 
U.S. Forest Service and the State of Montana are known to be present in 
the Copper Creek area.

Possible Alternatives

    Alternatives being considered at this time are this proposed action 
and the no action alternative (not to conduct a salvage harvest).

Permits or Licenses Required

    In order to proceed, the proposed action may require the following 
permits:
    [sbull] State of Montana Floodplain Development Permit.
    [sbull] Short-Term Exemption from Montana's Surface Water Quality 
Standard (3A Authorization).
    [sbull] State of Montana Stream Protection Act 124 Permit.
    [sbull] Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the EIS. Scoping comments addressing this proposed 
action are due to the Forest Service by January 15, 2004. Concerns or 
issues should display points of dispute or debate relevant to the 
proposed action. Identifying significant issues is key in the process 
of developing alternatives.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: A draft EIS will be prepared for comment. The 45-
day comment period on the draft EIS will begin in March 2004 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 EISs 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 EIS stage but that are not raised 
until after completion of the final EIS 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 DEIS comment period so that substantive comments and 
objections are made available at a time when the Forest Service can 
meaningfully consider and respond to them in the final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS 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 EIS 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 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1503.3 in addressing these points.

[[Page 67399]]

Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal 
and will be available for public inspection.

    (Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21).


    Dated: November 25, 2003.
Thomas J. Clifford,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 03-29909 Filed 12-1-03; 8:45 am]
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