[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28110-28111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10529]



[[Page 28110]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Thorne Bay Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, AK; North 
Thorne Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Thorne Bay Ranger District proposes to implement a series 
of timber, road, and vegetation management projects in the 35,750-acre 
North Thorne project area near the community of Throne Bay, Alaska. The 
goal of this project is to implement Tongass National Forest Land and 
Resource Management Plan direction and move the project area toward the 
desired future condition described in that plan. Proposed actions 
include: harvest of about 10 million board feet of timber, construction 
of 4.7 miles of road, reconstruction of 31 miles of road, storage of 15 
miles of drivable road, storage of 15 miles of non-drivable road, and 
treatment of 3,800 acres of young second-growth timber.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
within 30 days of the date of this notice. The draft environmental 
impact statement is expected December 2004 and the final environmental 
impact statement is expected April 2005. Public meetings are scheduled 
at the Thorne Bay Ranger District office, Thorne Bay Alaska: June 3, 
2004, 6 p.m. and June 5, 2004, 10 a.m.

ADDRESSES: You may comment on the project in the following ways:
     Mail: Thorne Bay Ranger District, Attn: North Thorne EIS, 
PO Box 19001, Thorne Bay, AK, 99919.
     FAX to 907-828-3902.
     E-mail: [email protected] 
Subject: comments north thorne eis.
     Hand delivery: Thorne Bay Ranger District, Forest Service 
Dr, Thorne Bay AK. Include your name, address, and organization name if 
you are commenting as a representative. Scanned signatures are accepted 
on e-mails.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Howell, North Thorne EIS Project 
Leader, PO Box 19001, Thorne Bay, AK, 99919. Phone 907-828-3263.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Purpose and Need for Action: The goal (need) of the North Thorne 
project is to implement Forest Plan direction and move the project area 
toward the desired future conditions described in that plan. The 
objectives (purpose) of the project are to:
    1. Provide socio-economic opportunities for local communities and 
Southeast Alaska through timber harvest, road construction and 
maintenance, and vegetation management projects.
    2. Improve vegetation conditions and wildlife habitat by treating 
densely stocked second-growth timber.
    3. Manage access and reduce damage to aquatic habitats by replacing 
or removing road crossing structures that restrict fish passage, 
reducing sedimentation, and improving maintenance of drivable roads.
    Background: The proposed project area is located on the Thorne Bay 
Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest in Township 69, 70 and 
71 South, Range 82, 83 and 84 East, Copper River Meridian in Southeast 
Alaska. The project are covers 35,750 acres and is located in VCUs 
5750, 5780, 5790, 5800, 5810, 5830, 5840, 5850, 5860, 5971, 5972. The 
project area consists of three land use designations (LUDs) that allow 
for timber harvest: Timber Production (18,898 acres), Modified 
Landscape LUD (4,752 acres), Scenic Viewshed LUD (1,178 acres). There 
are alos three LUDs that either limit or prohibit timber harvest: Old-
growth Habitat (6,726 acres), Scenic River (3,062 acres), and 
Recreation River (1,133 acres).
    The Thorne Bay Ranger District completed field reconnaissance of 27 
potential timber harvest units in the North Thorne drainage between 
1995 and 2000. An environmental assessment called North Thorne Timber 
Sale Project was scoped in September 2000 as a 5 MMBF environmental 
assessment. Internal and external concerns about the cumulative effects 
of past timber harvest on watershed health (especially fish and 
wildlife habitat), and the desire to make more volume available 
elevated the NEPA analysis level to an environmental impact statement. 
This project was sidelined until resources were available to complete 
the analysis.
    Responsible Official: Forrest Cole, Tongass National Forest 
Supervisor, 648 Mission Street, Ketchikan, Alaska, 99901.
    The Forest Supervisor will decide:
    1. The amount, location and method of timber harvest and vegetation 
treatment.
    2. Road management objectives including which roads will remain 
open to vehicle traffic.
    3. Whether there may be a significant restriction on subsistence 
uses.
    4. Watershed and stream restoration projects including which stream 
crossing structures will be replaced/removed.
Scoping Process: In addition to this notice and the two public meetings 
listed under DATES, notices will be placed in the Juneau Empire and the 
Island News newspapers. The Juneau Empire is the official newspaper of 
record for this project. Scoping letters were mailed to individuals and 
agencies on the Thorne Bay Ranger District's public involvement list on 
May 10, 2004.
    Preliminary Issues: Previous scoping efforts have identified three 
preliminary issues: maintenance of a timber supply and local employment 
opportunities, management of roads in the project area, the cumulative 
effects of past harvest and road construction on vegetation conditions 
and fish and wildlife habitat.
    Early notice of public participation: a draft environmental impact 
statement will be prepared for comment. 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 thinks, 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, 
533 (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, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 
F. Sup. 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

[[Page 28111]]

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.
    Comments received, including the names and address 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.

Forrest Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 04-10529 Filed 5-17-04; 8:45 am]
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