[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7189-7190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3154]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Proposed 3 Basins Timber Sale; Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 
Bear Lake and Caribou Counties, Idaho

AGENCY: USDA Forest Service.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement to document the analysis and disclose the environmental 
impacts of proposed actions of harvesting timber, constructing, 
reconstruction, and obliterating roads, and regenerating new stands of 
trees in the Cheatbeck Basin, Middle Cheatbeck Basin and South 
Cheatbeck Basin areas of the Caribou National Forest in bear Lake and 
Caribou counties of Idaho. The proposed project is located within the 
following legal description:

Township 10 South Range 41 East, Sections 35 and 36
Township 11 South Range 41 East, Sections 1, 2, 11, 12 and 13
Township 11 South Range 42 East, Sections 7 and 18, Boise Meridian.

Implementing regeneration harvests on timbered sands will provide an 
Allowable Sale Quantity of sawlogs to industry. The proposed action 
will aid in moving timbered stands towards the desired future 
conditions (DFC) for lodgepole pine and aspen/conifer by simulating 
natural patch sizes and shapes, enhancing and maintaining aspen, and 
improving stand structure and composition on suitable timberlands 
within the greater Cheatbeck Basin area.
    Montpelier Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest 
proposes to mechanically harvest timber from approximately 590 acres, 
of this approximately 80 acres is within the Soda Peak Roadless Area 
04171. The Revised Forest Plan (RFP) for the Caribou National 
Forest (February 2003) has assigned a prescription of 5.2-forest 
vegetation management, to all of the acreage proposed for treatment. 
This prescription emphasizes wood-fiber production, timber growth and 
yield while maintaining or restoring forested ecosystem processes and 
functions (RFP 4-71). Mechanical harvest will be accomplished by 
clearcutting and leaving reserve islands and groups of trees to 
simulate the patterns of a mixed severity fire, and to serve as the 
seed source for natural regeneration. All acreages, following harvest, 
will be broadcast burned to reduce the fuel loading and to accomplish 
site preparation for natural regeneration. The size of some of the 
proposed clearcuts will exceed the 40-acre maximum and are contingent 
upon Regional Forester approval.
    In addition, the use of prescribed fire for aspen restoration, 
without pretreatment by logging, is proposed on approximately 118 acres 
of aspen/conifer within Soda Peak Roadless area.
    Proposed, new road construction, in non-roadless areas, totals 
approximately 0.8 miles. Total temporary road construction is estimated 
to be 1.4 miles of which 1.1 miles is in non-roadless areas, with an 
estimated 0.3 miles of temporary new road construction in the Soda Peak 
Roadless Area. A total of approximately 0.8 miles of road obliteration 
is proposed as well. No net increase in motorized travel miles is 
proposed. Two potential haul routes, totaling approximately 17.0 miles 
will also be analyzed.

[[Page 7190]]

    The issues identified during scoping and the analysis process will 
determine alternatives to the proposed action. The no action 
alternative will be analyzed as well.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis described 
in this Notice should be received within 30 days of the date of 
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. No meetings are 
planned at this time. Information received will be used in preparation 
of the draft EIS and final EIS.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Caribou-Targhee National 
Forest, Montpelier Ranger District, 322 North 4th Street, Montpelier, 
ID 83254.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the proposed 
action and EIS should be directed to Ken Klingenberg, Caribou-Targhee 
National Forest, Montpelier Ranger District, 322 North 4th Street, 
Montpelier, ID 83254. [Telephone; (208) 847-0375.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service is seeking information 
and comments from Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as 
individuals and organizations that may be interested in, or affected 
by, the proposed action. The Forest Service invites written comments 
and suggestions on the issues related to the proposal and the area 
being analyzed.
    Information received will be used in preparation of the draft EIS 
and final EIS. For the most effective use, comments should be submitted 
to the Forest Service within 30 days from the date of publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register.
    The Responsible Official is Jerry B. Reese, Forest Supervisor, 
Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 1405 Hollipark Dr., Idaho Falls, ID 
83401.
    The decision to be made is: Whether to continue the present course 
of action (the no action alternative) or to implement the proposed 
action with applicable mitigation measures, or to implement an 
alternative to the proposed action with its applicable mitigation 
measures.
    The tentative date for filing the Draft EIS is June 1, 2004. The 
comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will be open 
for 45 days from the date of 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 EIS's 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 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 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 chapter of the draft EIS. Comments may also address the 
adequacy of the draft EIS or the merits of the alternatives formulated 
and discussed in the draft EIS. 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. Comments received in response to 
this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, 
will be considered part of the public record on this proposed action 
and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted 
anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit 
anonymous comments will not have standing to appeal the subsequent 
decision under 36 CFR parts 215 or 217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 
1.27(d), any person may request the agency to withhold a submission 
from the public record by showing how the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) permits such confidentiality. Persons requesting such 
confidentiality should be aware that, under the FOIA, confidentiality 
may be granted in only limited circumstances, such as to protect trade 
secrets. The Forest Service will inform the requestor of the agency's 
decision regarding the request for confidentiality, and where the 
request is denied, the agency will return the submission and notify the 
requester that the comments may be resubmitted with or without name and 
address within 10 days.

    Dated: February 6, 2004.
Jerry B. Reese,
Forest Supervisor, Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Intermountain 
Region, USDA Forest Service.
[FR Doc. 04-3154 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M