[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 54 (Friday, March 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13013-13014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6197]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Payette National Forest, Idaho; Meadows Slope Wildland Fire 
Protection Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service published a Notice of Intent to 
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Meadows Slope 
Wildland Fire Protection Project in the Federal Register on December 2, 
2002 (Volume 67, Number 231, pages 71531-71532). A revised Notice of 
Intent is being issued for several reasons (Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, part 21.2):
    1. It has been more than six months since filing the original 
Notice of Intent;
    2. Specifics of the proposed action have been refined and better 
described due to more site-specific information;
    3. The Payette National Forest's revised Land and Resource 
Management Plan was approved in July 2003; and
    4. The project falls under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 
2003, Pub. L. 108-148.

The USDA Forest Service will prepare the Meadows Slope Wildland Fire 
Protection Project EIS. The proposed action is to create a half-mile 
wide fuelbreak on National Forest System lands to reduce the risk of 
damage to rural homes, private property, and National Forest resources 
from wildland fires. The agency gives notice of the full National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and decision-making process so 
that interested and affected people know how they may participate and 
contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments need to be received by April 19, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Kimberly A. Brandel, District 
Ranger, New Meadows Ranger District, Payette National Forest, P.O. Box 
J, New Meadows, Idaho, 83654.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
should be directed to Sylvia Clark, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, at 
the above address, phone (208) 347-0300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Meadows Slope project area is about four 
miles east of New Meadows and three miles northwest of McCall, and 
approximately 6,450 acres in size. It is located in Sixmile-Threemile, 
Lower Goose, Little Creek, Little Goose Creek, Middle North Fork 
Payette River, and Payette Lake sub-watersheds on the New Meadows and 
McCall Ranger Districts. The purpose and need for this action is to (1) 
reduce crown fire risk, (2) reduce forest fuel loading, and (3) reduce 
risk to life, property, natural resources, and suppression resources on 
National Forest System lands surrounding the Timber Ridge, Rock Flat, 
King's Pine, and Crescent Rim Subdivisions, and additional private 
developments adjacent to the project area.
    The proposed action includes a variety of activities to meet the 
purpose and need. (1) Harvest timber on approximately 3,292 acres, 
producing approximately 12.7 million board feet (MMBF), using tractor 
and skyline logging systems. The silvicultural method used would be 
free thinning with reserve shelterwood/seed tree. (2) Hand pile and 
burn approximately 939 acres within Riparian Habitat Conservation 
Areas. (3) Non-commercial thin approximately 1481 acres. (4) Salvage 
dead and dying timber killed by fir engraver beetle and other pests or 
weakened due to light, water, or nutrient competition which may 
increase the fire potential within the project area. (5) Restore 74 
acres of unproductive soil by obliterating roads, skid trails and/or 
landings in order to meet the Forest Plan Standard for total soil 
resource commitment (TSRC). (6) Road management would include 43 miles 
of maintenance, 20 miles of reconstruction, and 1.25 miles of new 
construction. (7) Ensure desired species composition by planting and/or 
natural regeneration of fire-tolerant Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and 
western larch seedlings on 804 acres following fuelbreak activities. 
(8) Treat harvest-generated fuels on approximately 4,773 acres (both 
commercial and non-commercial harvest acres). Treatments would include 
machine piling and burning (excavator piling would be used where slopes 
exceed 35 percent); broadcast burning; and/or yarding tops. (9) Monitor 
and treat noxious weeds, if created, within the fuelbreak area. A total 
of 5,712 acres would be treated with this proposed action.
    Preliminary issues for this project include effects on water 
quality, soil productivity, wildlife, habitat, recreation, access 
management, visual quality, forest vegetation, and fish habitat.
    The Healthy Forest Restoration Act, Title I, Section 104(c), sets 
forth requirements on alternatives to be analyzed. This document will 
analyze a no-action alternative, the proposed action, and an additional 
alternative

[[Page 13014]]

proposed by the local community. The no-action alternative will serve 
as a baseline for comparison of alternatives.
    Comments received in response to this notice, including names and 
addresses of those who comment, will be part of the project record and 
available for public review.
    The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from other 
Federal, State, and local agencies; Tribal governments; organizations; 
and individuals who may be interested in or affected by the proposed 
action. This input will be used in preparation of the EIS.
    Comments will be appreciated throughout the analysis process. The 
draft EIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
and is anticipated to be available for public review by autumn 2004. 
The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days. It is important 
that those interested in the management of the Payette National Forest 
participate at that time.
    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 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. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F. 
2d 1016, 1002 (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 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 
raised by 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.
    After the 45-day comment period ends on the draft EIS, the Forest 
Service will analyze comments received and address them in the final 
EIS. The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in spring 2005. The 
Responsible Official is the Payette National Forest Supervisor. The 
decision will be documented, including the rationale for the decision, 
in a Record of Decision (ROD). The final environmental impact statement 
will be subject to review under the Forest Service Predecisional Review 
for Proposed Hazardous Fuel Reduction Projects at 36 CFR 218, Subpart 
A.

    Dated: March 12, 2004.
Robert S. Giles,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-6197 Filed 3-18-04; 8:45 am]
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