[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 212 (Friday, November 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62205-62206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5457]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District, MN, Glacier 
Project Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Glacier Project. The 
proposed activities would manage forest vegetation composition, 
structure, and spatial patterns (including habitat de-fragmentation), 
and the transportation system associated with these activities.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by November 30, 2007. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected in January 2008 and the final environmental impact statement 
is expected in May 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mark E. Van Every, Kawishiwi 
District Ranger, Glacier Project EIS, 1393 Hwy 169, Ely, MN 55731. Send 
electronic comments to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Duffy, Glacier Project Leader, 
1393 Hwy 169, Ely, MN 55731, Telephone (218) 365-2097.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose of the Glacier Project is to move the area towards the 
vegetation and landscape ecosystem desired conditions described in the 
2004 Superior National Land and Resource Management Plan.

Proposed Action

    The Proposed Action would manage forest vegetation composition, 
structure, and spatial patterns and the transportation system 
associated with these activities. Proposed activities include: creating 
young forest on approximately 5,500 acres, improving stand structure 
and within-stand diversity on approximately 2,500 acres, and restoring 
stand conditions through a variety of non-harvest activities such as 
planting, biomass removal, and conducting prescribed burns to reduce 
risk of wildfire on approximately 5,200 acres. The project has been 
specifically designed to:
     Maintain existing patches of mature forest greater than 
300 acres that would not lose interior forest qualities during the next 
ten years.
     Create one 300-plus-acre patch of young forest by 
harvesting a mature patch that will not meet interior forest 
characteristics in ten years.
     Reduce fragmentation by proposing regeneration harvests 
adjacent to existing young stands, including those proposed to be 
harvested on other ownership.
     Maintain and improve habitat needed for threatened, 
endangered, and sensitive species.

Possible Alternatives

    Alternative 1 is the no-action alternative. Alternative 2, the 
Modified Proposed Action, was developed based on the proposed action 
that was included in the Scoping Report and incorporates comments from 
the public and additional field information. Alternative 3 was 
developed to address the significant issues raised by the public during 
the Scoping comment

[[Page 62206]]

period. The Responsible Official directed the interdisciplinary team to 
develop an alternative that would not harvest or build roads directly 
adjacent to the BWCAW and would not harvest in an area perceived to be 
at higher risk from non-native invasive species.

Responsible Official

    Mark E. Van Every, Kawishiwi District Ranger, 1393 Hwy 169, Ely MN, 
55731.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    An environmental analysis for the Glacier Project will evaluate 
site-specific issues, consider management alternatives, and analyze the 
potential effects of the proposed action and alternatives. The scope of 
the project is limited to decisions concerning activities within the 
Glacier Project Area that meet the Purpose and Need, as well as desired 
conditions. An environmental impact statement will provide the 
Responsible Official, Mark E. Van Every, with the information needed to 
decide which actions, if any, to approve.

Scoping Process

    The District Ranger mailed the Glacier Project Scoping Report to 
area landowners and other interested individuals and groups in May 
2007. Based on comments received during the scoping period and 
additional information gathered by resource specialists, the District 
Ranger has directed the Glacier Project Interdisciplinary Team to 
develop an Environmental Impact Statement. The public will be notified 
that an EIS is being developed and will have an additional opportunity 
to submit comments before the Draft EIS will be completed. The public 
will be notified of the significant issues and possible alternatives 
that will be used to disclose the effects of the project. A public 
meeting is planned during the comment period on the Draft EIS.

Preliminary Issues

    For significant issues were identified based on comments the public 
submitted on the May 2007 Scoping Report. These issues involve 
vegetation and associated road management adjacent to the Boundary 
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, project activities that have the 
potential to affect lynx and lynx habitat, concern about non-native 
invasive species, and impacts to Forest Plan Inventoried Roadless 
Areas.

Permits or Licenses Required

    Easement or permission to cross non-federal property may be needed 
to access some treatment units to implement Forest Service activities.

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. Written comments 
will be solicited through a notice that will be sent to the Glacier 
Project mailing list.
    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 court. 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: October 26, 2007.
Mark E. Van Every,
Kawishiwi District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 07-5457 Filed 11-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M