[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25642-25644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9929]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Ketchikan-Misty FiordsFiords Ranger District; Tongass National 
Forest; Alaska; Central Gravina Timber Sale Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture will 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (ETS) on a proposal to 
construct roads and harvest timber in central Gravina Island on the 
Ketchikan Misty Fiords Ranger District, Tongass National Forest. Two 
Alternatives have been developed for the public to comment on. These 
Proposed Alternatives would harvest between 18 and 38 million board 
feet (MMBF) of timber on between 515 and 1,250 acres and would 
construct between 7 and 16 miles of road respectively.

DATES: Opportunities for comments are available throughout the analysis 
process. Comments concerning the scope of the analysis will be most 
helpful if received within 30 days of the date of this notice. 
Additional opportunities for comment will be provided after release of 
both the Draft Environmental Impact Statement which is expected to be 
published November 2008 and the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
and Record of Decision are expected in May 2009.

ADDRESSES: Send or hand deliver written comments to the Ketchikan Misty 
Fiords Ranger District, Attn: Central Gravina ElS, Tongass National 
Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901; telephone (907) 225-
2148. The FAX number is (907) 225-8738.
    Send e-mail comments to: [email protected] with Central Gravina EIS on the subject line. 
Include your name, address, and organization name if you are commenting 
as a representative.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, mail 
correspondence to Lynn Kolund, District Ranger, Ketchikan Misty Fiords 
Ranger District, Tongass National Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue, 
Ketchikan, AK 99901, telephone (907) 228-4100 or Linda Pulliam, 
Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Ketchikan Misty Fiords Ranger District, 
Tongass National Forest, 3031 Tongass Avenue, Ketchikan, AK 99901, 
telephone (907) 228-4124.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will tier to the 2008 Tongass Land 
and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) that provides overall 
guidance, goals, objectives, and management area direction to achieve 
the desired condition for the project area.
    The project area is administered by the Ketchikan-Misty Fiords 
Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan, Alaska and 
occurs in Value Comparison Units (VCUs) 7610 and VCU 7630 as designated 
by the Forest Plan. The Central Gravina project area is located between 
Bostwick Inlet and Vallenar Bay on Gravina Island, which is located 
approximately 5 miles west of Ketchikan. The land use designation (LUD) 
for the project area is Timber Production. As part of the Forest Plan 
update certain LUDs on Gravina Island were adjusted based on comments 
received from the public during the Forest Plan draft EIS review. LUDs 
to the south and west of the Central Gravina project area have been 
adjusted and allocated to more restrictive non development LUDs. The 
proposed timber harvest units and roads are within the Gravina 
Inventoried Roadless Area 522. Slightly over three-quarters of 
inventoried roadless acres are included in non-development LUDS. The 
Forest Plan allocates 24% of the inventoried roadless acres to 
development LUDs; only three percent of the land in inventoried 
roadless areas would be included in the suitable land base. The Central 
Gravina project area falls within this three percent inventory roadless 
area that lies within a Timber LUD. The 2008 Forest Plan Timber Sale 
Program Adaptive Management Strategy identified three phases of 
projected timber development. The Central Gravina project area falls 
within the Phase 1, which includes most of the roaded portion of the 
ASQ land base and most of the lower valued inventoried roadless areas.

Purpose and Need for Action

    The purpose and need for the proposed action responds to the goals 
and objectives identified by the 2008 Tongass Land and Resource 
Management Plan, and helps move the area toward the Forest Plan desired 
conditions. Forest Plan goals, objectives, and desired conditions that 
apply to the project include:
    1. Maintain and promote wood production from suitable forest lands, 
providing a continuous supply of wood to meet society's needs.
    2. Manage Forest lands for sustained long-term timber yields.
    3. Seek to provide a supply of timber that meets the annual and 
planning-

[[Page 25643]]

cycle market demand, consistent with the standards and guidelines for 
this LUD.

Proposed Action (Alternative 3)

    The Central Gravina Timber Harvest proposed action (Alternative 3) 
is to harvest approximately 38 million board feet (MMBF) of timber 
volume from approximately 1,250 acres of forested land in 53 harvest 
units while meeting Forest Plan standards. The proposed action includes 
using ground-based shovel, cable, helicopter yarding systems. Areas 
suitable for ground-based or cable logging would be harvested with 
even-aged (clearcut) harvest prescriptions. Helicopter logging areas 
would be harvested either with even-aged (clearcut) or uneven-aged 
(group or single tree selection) harvest prescriptions depending on 
terrain, tree species, economics, or environmental concerns. All timber 
harvest will use silviculture prescriptions suited to meet the 
standards and guidelines for the Tongass Forest Plan.
    The proposed action includes construction of approximately 14 miles 
of National Forest System and 2 miles of temporary road would be 
constructed. All logs would be hauled by truck to a privately owned log 
transfer facility located near Pacific Log and Lumber on Tongass 
Narrows.

Alternative 2

    An alternative to the proposed action is to build roads to harvest 
timber units only on the east side of the central valley on Gravina 
Island. This alternative would harvest approximately 515 acres from 25 
Units yielding 18 MMBF of timber volume. This proposes construction of 
approximately 6 miles of National Forest System and 1 mile of temporary 
road would be constructed. All logs would be hauled by truck to a 
marine access facility located near Pacific Log and Lumber on Tongass 
Narrows. Alternative 2 provides an option for roadless area concerns.

Public Participation

    This notice initiates the scoping process which guides the 
development of the environmental impact statement. The Forest Service 
will be seeking information, comments, and assistance from Tribal 
Governments, Federal, State, and local agencies, individuals and 
organizations may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed 
activities. In addition to this Notice of Intent, legal notices and 
display ads will be placed in the Ketchikan Daily News. The Ketchikan 
Daily News is the official newspaper of record for this project. 
Written scoping comments are being solicited through a scoping letter 
that was mailed to interested individuals and agencies on May 6, 2008. 
The scoping process includes: (1) Identification of potential issues; 
(2) identification of issues to be analyzed in depth; and (3) 
elimination of non-significant issues or those that have been covered 
by a previous environmental review. Based on results of scoping and the 
resource capabilities within the project area, alternatives including a 
``no-action'' alternative will be developed for the Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement. Subsistence hearings, as provided for in Title VIII, 
Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(ANILCA), will be conducted, if necessary, during the comment period on 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

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 Statement 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 Environmental Impact 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. 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 215 or 217.

Permits or Licenses Required

1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

     Approval of discharge of dredge or fill material into the 
waters for the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act;
     Approval of the construction of structures or work in 
navigable waters of the United States under Section 10 of the Rivers 
and Harbor Act of 1899;

2. Environmental Protection Agency

     General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
for Log Transfer Facilities in Alaska;
     Review Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan;

3. State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

     Tideland Permit and Lease or Easement;
     Certification of Compliance with Alaska Water Quality 
Standards (401 Certification) Chapter 20

4. Alaska State Division of Natural Resources (DNR)

     Division of Coastal and Ocean Management (DCOM)--ACMP 
Consistency Determination

Comment Requested

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides 
the development of the environmental impact Statement.

Responsible Official

    Forrest Cole, Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, Federal

[[Page 25644]]

Building, 648 Mission Street, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor will decide:
    1. If the project will proceed under a chosen alternative, as a 
modified alternative, or not at all.
    2. The design criteria, mitigations and monitoring requirements the 
Forest Service will apply to the project.
    The responsible official will consider the comments, responses, 
disclosure of environmental consequences, and applicable laws, 
regulations and policies in making the decision and state his rationale 
in the Record of Decision.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 21)

    Dated: April 29, 2008.
Forrest Cole,
Forest Supervisor.
 [FR Doc. E8-9929 Filed 5-6-08; 8:45 am]
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