[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48518-48519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16360]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Yakus Creek Project, Clearwater National Forest, Idaho County, ID

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) to disclose the environmental effect of timber harvest 
and watershed restoration activities in the Yakus Creek project area on 
the Lochsa Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest. The Yakus 
Creek project area is located in the Yakus Creek drainage, a tributary 
to Lolo Creek, approximately 12 air-miles eat of the town of Kamiah, 
Idaho.

DATES: This project was previously scoped in February 2004, and the 
comments received will be included in the documentation for the EIS. A 
45-day public comment period will follow the release of the draft 
environmental impact statement that is expected in December 2005. The 
final environmental impact statement is expected in May 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and suggestions concerning the scope of 
this project should be sent to Cindy Land ([email protected]), District 
Ranger, Lochsa Ranger District, Rt. 1 Box 398, Kooskia, ID 83539.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Harbaugh ([email protected]), 
Project Leader, Lochsa Ranger District. Phone: (208) 926-4274.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Yakus Creek project area contains 
approximately 7,900 acres, of which 5,240 acres are National Forest 
lands and 2,660 acres are other ownership (State, timber companies, and 
private). The legal location is in portions of Sections 1, 2, 12, and 
13, T33N, R5E; Sections 3-9, 17, and 18, T33N, R6E; Sections 25, 26, 
35, and 36, T34N, R5E; and Sections 30-33, T34N, R6E, Boise Meridian, 
Idaho County, Idaho. The proposed actions would occur on National 
Forest lands and are all outside the boundaries of any inventoried 
roadless area or any areas considered for inclusion to the National 
Wilderness System as recommended by the Clearwater National Forest Plan 
or by any past or present legislative wilderness proposals.
    Purpose and Need for Action is to: (1) Improve forest health and 
start the shift towards desired patch sizes by: (1) Shifting species 
composition from grand fir to white pine and western larch; (b) 
reducing tree densities in immature stands; (c) regenerating decadent 
mature stands; (d) regenerating stands with insect and root rot 
problems; (e) creating desired patches (300-500 acres) with timber 
harvest; and (f) connecting existing seedling/sapling stands, where 
possible; (2) restore watershed function to improve soil productivity 
and instream conditions; and (3) manage the landscape to provide for 
goods and services deemed important to society.
    The Proposed Action would harvest timber through regeneration 
harvest and commercial thinning on approximately 670 acres of 
forestland within the Yakus Creek drainage. Regeneration harvest (520 
acres) would leave approximately 20-25 trees per acre as individual 
trees and in groups, where feasible, to provide future snags and down 
woody material for wildlife habitat. Commercial thinning (150 acres) 
would reduce the basal area in dense timbered stands down to about 160-
180 square feet. There is also an opportunity to precommercial thin 
approximately 1,620 acres of young stands scattered throughout the 
project area. Use of existing, temporary and permanent roads would be 
needed to access timber harvest areas. An estimated 1.8 miles of 
existing roads would be reconstructed in addition to 1.2 miles of new 
specified

[[Page 48519]]

road construction to facilitate timber removal. An estimated 2.2 miles 
of temporary roads would be constructed and obliterated following 
completion of sale related activities. Watershed restoration activities 
would consist of an estimated 11.6 miles of road decommissioning, an 
estimated 13.7 miles of existing roads put into intermittent storage 
(self-maintaining), and the decompaction of approximately 190 acres of 
old skid trains and landings.
    The Possible Alternatives the Forest Service will consider include 
the ``no action'' alternative in which none of the proposed activities 
would be implemented. Additional alternatives being considered examine 
varying levels and locations for the proposed activities to achieve the 
proposal's purpose and need, as well as to respond to the issues and 
other resource concerns.
    The Responsible Official is the Forest Supervisor of the Clearwater 
National Forest, 12730 Highway 12, Orofino, ID 83544. The Responsible 
Official will decide if the proposed project will be implemented and 
will document the decision and reasons for the decision in a Record of 
Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal 
Regulations. The responsibility for preparing the DEIS and FEIS has 
been delegated to Cindy Lane, District Ranger, Lochsa Ranger District, 
Rt. 1 Box 398, Kooskia, ID 83539.
    The Scoping Process was initiated with the release of a Scoping 
Letter on February 10, 2004. Comments received as a result of that 
effort will be included in the documentation for the EIS. Additional 
scoping will follow the release of the DEIS, expected in December 2005. 
This proposal also includes openings greater than 40 acres. A 60-day 
public review period and approval by the Regional Forester for 
exceeding the 40 acre limitation will occur prior to the signing of the 
Record of Decision. The 60-day public review period is initiated with 
this Notice of Intent.
    Preliminary Issues that could be affected by proposal activities 
include: air quality; economics; grazing; heritage resources; old 
growth habitat; recreation access; risk of landslides; scenic quality; 
size of openings; snag habitat; spread of noxious weeds; threatened, 
endangered and sensitive species of wildlife, fish and plants; tribal 
treaty rights; and water quality.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: 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 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, 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 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.
    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: August 10, 2005.
Thomas K. Reilly,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 05-16360 Filed 8-17-05; 8:45 am]
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