[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4481-4482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1766]


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 Notices
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 20 / Friday, January 30, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 4481]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Robert Wedge Post Fire Project, Flathead National Forest, 
Flathead County, MT

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) for a resource management project within the Robert and 
Wedge Canyon Fire Areas which burned approximately 13,000 acres and 
21,000 acres respectively on National Forest System lands in July-
September of 2003. The project area is on the Hungry Horse/Glacier View 
Ranger District, Flathead National Forest, and is bordered on the east 
by Glacier National Park and the North Fork of the Flathead River. The 
city of Columbia Falls, Montana is located approximately 8 miles south 
of the Robert Fire and approximately 40 miles south of the Wedge Canyon 
Fire.

DATES: Substantive comments concerning the proposed project and 
analysis should be received in writing on or before February 27, 2004. 
A public scoping meeting will be held in the town of Kalispell, Montana 
in February of 2004. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) is 
expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and made 
available for public review in May 2004. The final environmental impact 
statement (FEIS) is expected to be published in September 2004.

ADDRESSES: Substantive comments should be submitted to Project Leader, 
Robert Wedge Post Fire Project, P.O. Box 190340, Hungry Horse, Montana 
59919, fax (406) 387-3889 or electronically to [email protected] Substantive comments are 
those with the scope of, are specific to, and have a direct 
relationship to the proposed action, and include supporting reasons 
that the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision. 
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: Kathy Ramirez, Project Leader, (208) 
331-5908, fax (208) 387-0842 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This project proposal will be conducted 
under Title IV--The Flathead and Kootenai National Forest 
Rehabilitation Act which was included in the Department of Interior and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2004 and approved by President 
Bush in November 2003. The findings of this title include that the 
Robert and Wedge fires of 2003 caused extensive resource damage on the 
Flathead National Forest, and the rehabilitation of burned areas needs 
to be completed in a timely manner in order to reduce the long-term 
environmental impacts. Wildlife and watershed resource values will be 
maintained in areas effected by the Robert and Wedge fires while 
exempting the rehabilitation effort from certain applications of the 
National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act.
    This environmental impact statement will not be required to study, 
develop, or describe any alternative to the proposed agency action. 
Consistent with the Clean Water Act and Montana Code 75-703(10)(b), the 
Secretary is not prohibited from implementing projects under this title 
due to a lack of Total Maximum Daily Load as provided for under section 
303(d) of the Clean Water Act, except that the Secretary shall comply 
with any best management practices required by the State of Montana. If 
a consultation is required under section 7 of the Endangered Species 
Act for a project under this title, the Secretary of Interior shall 
expedite and give precedence to such consultation over any similar 
requests.
    To encourage meaningful participation during preparation of a 
project under this title, the Secretary shall facilitate collaboration 
among the State of Montana, local governments, and Indian tribes, and 
participation of interested persons, in a manner consistent with the 
Implementation Plan for the 10 year Comprehensive Strategy of a 
Collaborative Approach for reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities 
and the Environment (May 2002).
    A collaborative process involving over 100 participants occurred 
January 5-10 of 2004 in Kalispell, Montana, to develop ideas for 
restoration, salvage and road management in areas affected by the 
Robert and Wedge Canyon Fires. The entire group came to agreement on 
the following statements; coordinate salvage entries with other 
rehabilitation treatments, protect sites as necessary with horizontal 
placement and retention of woody debris, complete salvage harvest in a 
timely manner to maximize economic return, utilize Best Management 
Practices to minimize soil erosion and protect water quality, and in 
some riparian areas, where INFISH rules can be met, salvage, 
restoration, rehabilitation, reforestation shall occur. The results of 
this collaborative process were used to guide the proposed action. The 
purpose of the proposal is to recover merchantable wood fiber affected 
by the Robert and Wedge Canyon Fires in a timely manner to support 
local communities, contribute to the long term yield of forest products 
and to rehabilitate areas within the fire perimeters to enhance site 
productivity.
    The proposed action includes salvage harvest of approximately 4500 
acres of fire killed or tree damaged by the fires and likely to die. An 
estimated 35 million board of timber would be available for harvest 
using tractor, cable, and helicopter logging systems. Planting of 
conifer seedlings would also be included.
    Access for salvage would include the use of existing classified and 
unclassified roads. Ground based logging would require new temporary 
roads that would be recontoured or rehabilitated after logging 
activities. No new permanent roads would be constructed for salvage 
activities. The proposed action does not include timber harvest or 
temporary road construction in Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs).
    The proposed action would include activities to modify wheeled 
motorized access within the Lower Whale and Canyon McGinnis grizzly 
bear subunits to improve grizzly bear security.

[[Page 4482]]

Approximately 5 miles of open yearlong/seasonally open road would be 
restricted yearlong and 16 miles of road would be decommissioned in 
both grizzly bear subunits. The Flathead Forest Plan has open motorized 
access, total motorized access, and security core standards that would 
be amended with a project specific amendment in this project.
    More detailed scoping information and maps can be accessed on the 
Flathead National Forest Internet site at http://www.fs.fed.us/rl/flathead/.
    This EIS will tier to the Flathead National Forest Land and 
Resource Management Plan and EIS of January 1986, and its subsequent 
amendments, which provides overall guidance for land management 
activities on the Flathead National Forest.
    Preliminary issues and concerns with the proposal include potential 
impacts on threatened and endangered species such as grizzly bear, 
lynx, and bull trout, and on motorized access. Alternatives being 
considered at this time are this proposed action and the no action 
alternative.
    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 it is important to give reviewers 
notice at this early stage 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 
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).
    The Responsible Official is the Forest Supervisor of the Flathead 
National Forest, 1935 3rd Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana 59901. The 
Forest Supervisor will make a decision regarding this proposal 
considering the comments and responses, environmental consequences 
discussed in the final EIS, and applicable laws, regulations, and 
policies. The Responsible Official will decide whether or not to select 
the proposed action, and if so, what design features and/or mitigation 
measures would be applied to proposed activities. The decision and 
rationale for the decision will be documented in a Record of Decision. 
That decision will be subject to appeal under applicable Forest Service 
regulations.

    Dated: January 22, 2004.
Cathy Barbouletos,
Forest Supervisor--Flathead National Forest.
[FR Doc. 04-1766 Filed 1-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M