[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41252-41254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16534]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest; Idaho; Forest Plan Revision 
for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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

SUMMARY: As directed by the National Forest Management Act, the USDA 
Forest Service is preparing the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests' 
revised land management plan (forest plan), which requires preparation 
of an environmental impact statement (EIS). This notice briefly 
describes the nature of the decision to be made, the proposed action, 
and information concerning public participation. It also provides 
estimated dates for filing the EIS, the name and address of the 
responsible agency official, and the individuals who can provide 
additional information. Finally, this notice identifies the applicable 
planning rule that will be used for completing this plan revision. The 
revised forest plan will supersede the existing forest plans that were 
approved by the Regional Forester in 1987. The existing forest plans 
will remain in effect until the revised forest plan takes effect.
    As a result of this notice we are asking for comments on the 
proposed action and the list of potential species of conservation 
concern. The full text of the proposed action, large-scale color maps, 
information on public meetings, and the list of potential species of 
conservation concern can be found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nezperceclearwater/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5447338. 
Information gathered during this scoping period, as well as other 
information, will be used to prepare the draft plan and the draft EIS.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed action provided in this notice 
will be most useful in the development of the draft revised forest plan 
and EIS if received by September 15, 2014. The agency expects to 
release a draft revised forest plan and draft EIS for formal comment by 
June, 2015 and a final EIS and draft record of decision by June, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent via email to [email protected], or 
via facsimile to 208-935-4275. Send or deliver written comments to Nez 
Perce-Clearwater National Forest Supervisor's Office, Attn: Forest Plan 
Revision, 903 3rd Street, Kamiah, ID 83536.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timory Peel, Forest Planner, Nez 
Perce-Clearwater National Forests, 903 3rd Street, Kamiah, ID 83536, 
208-983-2513 or at [email protected]. Information regarding this 
revision is also available on the Forest's Web site at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nezperceclearwater/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5447338.
    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:

Responsible Official

    The responsible official who will approve the Record of Decision is 
Rick Brazell, Forest Supervisor for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National 
Forests, 903 3rd Street, Kamiah, ID 83536.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests (Forest) are preparing an 
EIS to revise the existing forest plans. The EIS process is meant to 
inform the Forest Supervisor so he can decide which alternative best 
maintains and restores National Forest System terrestrial and aquatic 
resources while providing ecosystem services and multiple uses, as 
required by the National Forest Management Act and the Multiple Use 
Sustained Yield Act. The revised forest plan will describe the 
strategic intent of managing the Forest for the next 10 to 15 years and 
will address the identified need to change the existing land management 
plans. The revised forest plan will provide management direction in the 
form of desired conditions, objectives, standards, guidelines, and 
suitability of lands. It will identify delineation of new management 
areas across the Forest, identify the timber sale program quantity, 
make recommendations to Congress for Wilderness designation, and list 
rivers and streams eligible for inclusion in the

[[Page 41253]]

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The revised forest plan will 
also provide a description of the plan area's distinctive roles and 
contributions within the broader landscape, identify watersheds that 
are a priority for maintenance or restoration, include a monitoring 
program, and contain information reflecting expected possible actions 
over the life of the plan.
    It is also important to identify the types of decisions that will 
not be made within the revised forest plan. The revised forest plan 
will represent decisions that are strategic in nature, but will not 
make site-specific project decisions and will not dictate day-to-day 
administrative activities needed to carry on the Forest Service's 
internal operations. The revised forest plan will provide broad, 
strategic guidance designed to supplement, not replace, overarching 
laws and regulations. Though strategic guidance will be provided, no 
decisions will be made regarding the management of individual roads or 
trails, such as those might be associated with a Travel Management plan 
under 36 CFR Part 212. Some issues (e.g., hunting regulations), 
although important, are beyond the authority or control of the National 
Forest System and will not be considered. No decision regarding oil and 
gas leasing availability will be made, though standards will be brought 
forward or developed that would serve as mitigations should an 
availability decision be necessary in the future.

Purpose and Need for Action

    In February 2013, a 5-year effort to consolidate leadership and 
programs across the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests 
culminated in a decision to combine the forests as a single 
administrative unit called the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. 
Monitoring and evaluation of implementation of the two existing plans, 
the 2014 Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Assessment (2014 
Assessment), and input from collaborative public outreach has 
identified new information that supports the preliminary need to revise 
the 27-year old forest plans.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is to revise the forest under the provisions of 
the 2012 planning regulations to provide the Forest consistent, 
adaptable management guidance in consideration of best available 
scientific information. This includes updating direction from the 
Inland Native Fish Strategy (INFISH) and PACFISH strategies with 
forest-specific aquatic conservation strategies, updating the Forest's 
lynx analysis unit boundaries per the 2007 Northern Rockies Lynx 
Management Direction and 2013 Lynx Conservation Strategy and Assessment 
information, and incorporating direction established in the Idaho 
Roadless Rule.
    The proposed action is a detailed document that includes 
preliminary identification of forestwide and management area desired 
conditions, objectives, standards, guidelines, and the suitability of 
lands for specific multiple uses, including those lands suitable for 
timber production. The proposed action includes preliminary 
identification of the long-term sustained yield and planned sale 
quantity for the Forest. It includes a description of the plan area's 
distinctive roles and contributions within the broader landscape, and 
the preliminary identification of priority restoration watersheds and 
proposed and possible actions that may occur on the plan area over the 
life of the plan. The proposed action also identifies the need for 
development of additional required plan content such as the monitoring 
program. And because of high level of interest and diverse public 
views, the proposed action includes two preliminary options for areas 
to be recommended to Congress for inclusion in the Wilderness 
Preservation System. Comments regarding these two recommended 
wilderness options, as well as other significant issues raised during 
scoping of the proposed action, will be used to develop draft plan 
alternatives for analysis in the EIS.

Public Involvement

    In the fall of 2012, the Forest co-hosted five community meetings 
with the County Commissioners in Orofino, Grangeville, Moscow, and 
Lewiston, ID, and Lolo, MT. These meetings were designed to inform the 
public of the Forest's efforts to initiate plan revision, gain input to 
the assessment, and begin the collaborative public process to develop a 
revised forest plan. Following the initial meetings, the Forests again 
partnered with the County Commissioners to host a 3-day Forest Plan 
Summit in Orofino, ID. The summit, designed and facilitated by the 
University of Idaho, provided a workshop environment to design and 
initiate the forest plan revision collaborative process. Subsequently, 
from November 2012 through May 2014, 11 full-day collaborative 
workshops were held to develop and refine the assessment while 
soliciting input on draft plan components across various resource 
areas. Five additional check-in meetings were held in February 2013 to 
provide the communities of Orofino, Grangeville, Moscow, and Lewiston, 
ID, and Lolo, MT an update on the revision process.
    The plan revision collaborative process was designed to gather 
input from a broad range of interested participants including those who 
live in the small, remote communities ``imbedded'' within the Forest, 
as well as those interested participants residing in larger local, 
regional, and national communities and cities. The full-day, Forest 
Service staff facilitated workshops allowed resource working groups, 
comprised of locally based participants and regionally-based conference 
participants from the Missoula, MT and Boise, ID areas, to share local 
knowledge and information considering multiple interests and values. In 
addition, the Forest posted all documentation to the Web and provided 
e-collaboration tools such as an online mapping tool and a comment 
inbox to solicit information to share with all interested participants, 
including those not able or interested in participating in the full-
day-workshops. Online discussion groups hosted on the Google Groups 
platform allowed participants to blog with each other regarding 
revision topics.
    Youth engagement was initiated in January of 2014 through an 
agreement with the University of Idaho as a graduate student started 
outreaching to local school classrooms, community youth groups, and 
camp programs. The University hosts a youth-targeted social media site 
giving interested youth an opportunity to blog about their personal 
interests related to management of the Nez Perce-Clearwater National 
Forests.
    Tribal outreach has been initiated through cooperative agreements 
for a Nez Perce Tribal liaison to participate in the collaborative 
workshops, to present preliminary Tribal concerns and desired 
conditions at the May 10, 2014 workshop, and to co-facilitate a Tribal 
technical staff and Forest Service resource staff interdisciplinary 
meeting. An invitation to initiate formal government to government 
tribal consultation was sent in early July of 2014.
    An initial draft assessment was released to the public in September 
2013 with an updated version released in June of 2014. Any comments 
related to the 2014 Assessment received following the publication of 
this Notice may be considered in describing the affected environment 
portion of the environmental impact statement.

[[Page 41254]]

Applicable Planning Rule

    Preparation of the revised forest plan for the Nez Perce-Clearwater 
National Forests began with the publication of a Notice of Initiation 
in the Federal Register on July 11, 2013 [78 FR 41782] and was 
initiated under the planning procedures contained in the 2012 Forest 
Service planning rule (36 CFR 219 (2012)).

Permits or Licenses Required To Implement the Proposed Action

    No permits or licenses are needed for the development or revision 
of a forest plan.

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. Written comments 
received in response to this notice will be analyzed to further develop 
the revised forest plan and identify potential significant issues. 
Significant issues will, in turn, form the basis for developing 
alternatives to the proposed action. Community meetings are scheduled 
for the local communities of Orofino, ID (July 22), Grangeville, ID 
(July 24), Lewiston, ID (July 28), Moscow, ID (July 30), and Lolo, MT 
(August 4). Please see the Forest Web site for meeting times and 
specific locations (http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nezperceclearwater/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5447338).
    It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times 
and in such a manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation 
of the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments on the 
proposed action will be most valuable if received within 60 days of the 
publication of this notice, and should clearly articulate the 
reviewer's opinions and concerns.
    Comments received in response to this notice, including the names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record. 
Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered, 
however, see the following description concerning the requirements for 
eligibility to file an objection.
    Refer to the Forest's Web site (http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nezperceclearwater/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5447338) for 
information on when public meetings will be scheduled for refining the 
proposed action and identifying possible alternatives to the proposed 
action.

Decision Will Be Subject to Objection

    The decision to approve the revised forest plan for the Nez Perce-
Clearwater National Forests will be subject to the objection process 
identified in 36 CFR Part 219 Subpart B (219.50 to 219.62). According 
to 36 CFR 219.53(a), those who may file an objection are individuals 
and entities who have submitted substantive formal comments related to 
plan revision during the opportunities provided for public comment 
during the planning process.

Documents Available for Review

    The full proposed action text, describing preliminary desired 
conditions, objectives, standards, guidelines, and other plan content, 
the 2014 Assessment, summaries of the public meetings and public 
meeting materials, and public comments are posted on the Forest's Web 
site at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nezperceclearwater/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5447338. As necessary or 
appropriate, the material available on this site will be further 
adjusted as part of the planning process using the provisions of the 
2012 planning rule.

    Dated: July 7, 2014.
Rick Brazell,
Forest Supervisor, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.
[FR Doc. 2014-16534 Filed 7-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P