[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62098-62099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24569]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest; Idaho; Johnson Bar Fire 
Salvage

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service gives notice of its intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Johnson Bar Fire Salvage 
Project. The Proposed action would utilize ground based (tractor and 
skyline) and helicopter logging systems to harvest trees killed by the 
Johnson Bar Fire. Harvested areas would be replanted with early seral 
species such as ponderosa pine, western white pine and western larch. 
Approximately 3 miles of roads would be decommissioned to reduce 
sediment related impacts to the watershed. The EIS will analyze the 
effects of the proposed action and alternatives. The Nez Perce-
Clearwater Forests invites comments and suggestions on the issues to be 
addressed. The agency gives notice of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) analysis and decision making process on the proposal so 
interested and affected members of the public may participate and 
contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by November 17, 2014. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected in March 2015 and the final environmental impact statement is 
expected July 2015.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Mike Ward or Tam White, 
Interdisciplinary Team Leaders; 502 Lowry Street, Kooskia, Idaho 83539. 
Comments may also be sent via email to [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Ward, Interdisciplinary Team 
Leader, (208) 926-6413 or Tam White, Interdisciplinary Team Leader 
(208) 926-6416.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of the Johnson Bar Fire 
Salvage Project would be to recover the economic value of the timber 
burned in the fire and move the area towards desired species 
compositions (ponderosa pine, western white pine and western larch) 
through reforestation as well as improve watershed conditions.
    Purpose: Provide a sustained yield of resource outputs at a level 
that will help support the economic structure of local communities and 
provide for regional and national needs (Nez Perce Forest Plan, II-1)
    Need: There is a need to utilize dead trees resulting from the fire 
in a timely manner to provide social and economic benefits before they 
lose commercial value and merchantability, which would contribute to 
the supply of timber for local, regional, and national needs.
    Purpose: Reduce potential sediment inputs into the aquatic 
ecosystem.
    Need: Sediment input from gravel and native surface roads can flow 
into streams, negatively affecting fish habitat and water quality. 
Improvement of watershed function and stream conditions can be 
accomplished by reducing road densities and repairing existing roads 
and culverts to reduce sediment and improve drainage.
    The Proposed Action would: Salvage harvest approximately 4,000 
acres of dead trees within the approximate 13,000 acre fire area. 
Harvesting operations would primarily utilize skyline and helicopter 
logging systems with a small component of ground based tractor skidding 
where appropriate. Openings are likely to exceed 40 acres.
    Approximately 23 segments of temporary roads would be built to 
provide line machine access from existing system roads. These spurs 
generally average approximately 0.16 miles each and would be removed 
following harvest.
    Fire killed or ``dead'' trees for the purposes of this project are 
determined using guidelines that determine mortality by the amount of 
scorch and fire severity surrounding the roots and lower trunk. Field 
validation of these guidelines indicates they are accurate for the 
forest types and fire severity in the project area. All live trees will 
be generally retained however incidental removal may occur to 
facilitate harvest operations.
    Reforestation would plant long lived early seral tree species such 
as ponderosa pine, western white pine and western larch. This strategy 
would allow us to continue towards the goal of restoring more resilient 
tree species across the landscape. Seventeen to thirty-three tons per 
acre of standing and down large woody debris would be left across the 
treatment area to provide soil microclimate and habitat, long term 
nutrients, soil stability, and snag habitat. For safety reasons, 
retention would generally occur in clumps rather than individual snags 
distributed across the units. Retention would generally favor the 
largest snags. Approximately 3 miles of unneeded roads may be 
decommissioned by placing them in a hydrologically stable condition. 
This may involve a range of road decommissioning methods from culvert 
removal to full recontouring.
    As they are developed, additional information and maps will be 
posted to ``NEPA Projects'' page on the Forests Web site: http://data.ecosystem-management.org/nepaweb/project_list.php?forest=110117.

Responsible Official and Lead Agency

    The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal. The 
Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest Supervisor is the responsible official.
    The Decision To Be Made is whether to adopt the proposed action, in 
whole or in part, or another alternative; and what mitigation measures 
and management requirements will be implemented.
    The Scoping Process for the EIS is being initiated with this 
notice. The scoping process will identify issues to be analyzed in 
detail and will lead to the development of alternatives to the 
proposal. The Forest Service is seeking

[[Page 62099]]

information and comments from other Federal, State, and local agencies; 
Tribal Governments; and organizations and individuals who may be 
interested in or affected by the proposed action. Comments received in 
response to this notice, including the names and addresses of those who 
comment, will be a part of the project record and available for public 
review.
    Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent 
Environmental Review: A draft environmental impact statement will be 
prepared for comment. The second major opportunity for public input 
will be when the draft EIS is published. The comment period for the 
draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes the notice of availability in the Federal Register. 
The Draft EIS is anticipated to be available for public review in April 
2015.

    Dated: October 7, 2014.
Rick Brazell,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2014-24569 Filed 10-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P