[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43046-43047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17890]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Lolo National Forest; Montana; Center Horse Landscape Restoration 
EIS

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) on a proposal to implement restoration activities, 
including vegetation management, road and trail management, and 
watershed improvement activities within the Monture, Dunham, Shanley, 
Cottonwood and Spring Creek drainages, Lolo National Forest, Seeley 
Lake Ranger District, Powell County, Montana. This EIS will tier to the 
Lolo National Forest Plan Final EIS (April 1986).

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by 30 days from date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register. The draft environmental impact statement is expected May 2013 
and the final environmental impact statement is expected March 2014.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Center Horse Landscape Restoration 
Project Leader, USDA Forest Service, 3583 Highway 83, Seeley Lake, MT 
59868. Comments may also be sent via email to [email protected] or via facsimile to 406-677-3902.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tami Paulsen, Project Leader, (406) 
329-3731.
    Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Action

    The Center Horse Landscape Restoration Project is being designed 
to: (1) Improve/restore forest composition, spatial arrangement and 
structure, (2) restore fire adapted ecosystems, (3) improve water 
quality, restore or enhance fish and wildlife habitat, and conserve and 
improve soil resources, and (4) right size the existing transportation 
network to meet public and administrative needs while at the same time 
eliminating unneeded or environmentally impactive roads and trails.

Proposed Action

    The Center Horse Landscape Restoration project area of 
approximately 61,300 acres is located east of Seeley Lake, Montana 
within T16N, R11W; T16N, R12W; T16N, R13W; T16N, R14W; T17N, R12W; 
T17N, R13W, T17N, R14W, P.M.M. Within this area, the Lolo National 
Forest proposes the following activities to achieve the purpose and 
need for the project: (1) Timber harvest and prescribed burning on 
approximately 5000 acres; (2) Commercial/non-commercial mechanical 
vegetation treatments and prescribed burning on about 1500 acres; (3) 
Precommercial thinning and prescribed burning on about 1325 acres; (4) 
Ecosystem maintenance burning preceded by hand slashing on 
approximately 8650 acres; (5) whitebark pine restoration on about 70 
acres; (6) temporary road construction (about 5 miles); (7) re-route 5 
road segments to improve fish habitat; (8) add existing roads to system 
(about 23.5 miles), add existing roads to system and store (about 8 
miles), construct system road for re-route (about 2.5 miles), convert 
road to trail (about 10 miles), road decommissioning (about 160 miles), 
reconstruct road and add to system for alternate route (about 2.5 
miles), reconstruct system road for alternate route (about 0.5 miles), 
store existing system road (about 7 miles), and change travel 
management (about 0.5 miles); (9) development and rehabilitation work 
at two existing gravel pits; (10) culvert replacements/removals; (11) 
evaluate 40 miles of user created non-system trails for inclusion into 
trail system inventory; (12) weed treatment, (13) soil resource 
improvement projects including weed treatment, landing and skid trail 
rehabilitation, and shrub and tree planting.
    If, after the completion of the environmental analysis and review 
of public comments the Responsible Official decides to select an action 
alternative, implementation could begin in 2015 and would continue for 
several years.

Responsible Official

    Lolo National Forest Supervisor.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Forest Supervisor will decide whether to implement the proposed 
action, take an alternative action that meets the purpose and need, or 
take no action. A site-specific amendment to the Lolo National Forest 
Plan is not anticipated.

Preliminary Issues

    Preliminray issues include: (1) A significant portion of this 
analysis area is in the Bear-Marshall-Scapegoat-Swan Inventoried 
Roadless Area. While only noncommercial treatments ((i.e., ecosystem 
maintenance burning with incidental slashing (about 5,220 acres) and 
road decommissioning (about 3.2 miles)) are proposed in this IRA. 
Treatments in IRAs can be controversial; (2) Proposed activities could 
affect wildlife and wildlife habitat. Portions of the analysis area are 
within Lynx Analysis Units and the Northern Continental Divide 
Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Recovery Area; and, (3) The analysis area 
includes new acquisitions which need considerable restoration, 
particularly in terms of current numbers of roads, amount of invasive 
species, and altered forest conditions. They also present challenges 
due to limited availability of survey and inventory data and possible 
access limitations.

Permits or Licenses Required

    Montana Stream Preservation Action--124 permit for instream work.

[[Page 43047]]

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. Information on 
the proposed action will be posted on the forest Web site at: 
fs.usda.gov/lolo. A public meeting will be held on July 26, 2012 at 
4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Ovando Fire Hall (700 Pine St., Ovando, MT) 
about the proposed project.
    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of 
the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be 
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly 
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record 
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be 
accepted and considered, however.

    Dated: July 16, 2012.
Beverly A. Yelczyn,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012-17890 Filed 7-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P