94-1502. Proposed Crystal Creek Timber Sale within the Council Mountain Roadless Area, Payette National Forest, Adams County, ID  

  • [Federal Register Volume 59, Number 15 (Monday, January 24, 1994)]
    [Unknown Section]
    [Page 0]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 94-1502]
    
    
    [[Page Unknown]]
    
    [Federal Register: January 24, 1994]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
     
    
    Proposed Crystal Creek Timber Sale within the Council Mountain 
    Roadless Area, Payette National Forest, Adams County, ID
    
    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 for the proposed Crystal Creek Timber Sale, Council Ranger 
    District, Payette National Forest, Idaho. The proposed sale would 
    construct road and harvest timber within a portion of the Council 
    Mountain Roadless area that the Payette National Forest Land and 
    Resource Management Plan (1988) allocated to multiple use management.
        The agency gives notice of the environmental analysis and decision-
    making process that is beginning on the proposal so that interested and 
    affected people know how they may participate and contribute to the 
    final decision. The agency invites comments and suggestions on the 
    scope of the analysis, including issues to be addressed during the 
    analysis.
        A scoping meeting will be held to gather comments from the public 
    on the proposed action. The meeting will be Thursday, February 3, 7 
    p.m. at the Council Ranger District office conference room in Council, 
    Idaho. Forest Service officials will explain the proposed action and 
    planning process, and accept public input.
        A scoping document explaining the proposed action and analysis 
    process is also available from the contacts identified below.
    
    DATES: Comments on the scope of the analysis should be received by 
    February 14, 1994, to assure timely consideration.
    
    ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Pete L. Johnston, District Ranger, 
    Council Ranger District, Payette National Forest, P.O. Box 567, 
    Council, ID 83629.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Johnston, District Ranger, or 
    Tracy Beck, EIS Team Leader, phone 208-253-4215.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA Forest Service is proposing to 
    construct 10.0 miles of road and harvest about 14.9 million board feet 
    of timber from 1,145 acres of suitable timber lands within the Crystal 
    Creek timber sale area. A mix of silvicultural treatments is proposed, 
    including 8 acres of commercial thinning, 101 acres of shelterwood 
    (about 35 percent crown canopy closure), 643 acres of reserve tree 
    (about 5 trees per acre), and 393 acres of sanitation/salvage. This mix 
    of silvicultural prescriptions seeks to retain suitable habitat for 
    sensitive species within all treatment units where it currently exists, 
    improve forest health (resilience and resistance to insect and 
    disease), and increase dominance of seral ponderosa pine and douglas-
    fir.
        Helicopter logging is proposed for 354 acres (31 percent of the 
    treatment acreage). Skyline logging is proposed for 322 acres (28 
    percent of the treatment acreage). Tractor logging is proposed for 469 
    acres (41 percent of the treatment acreage). The proposed mix of 
    logging systems seeks to protect leave stands and regenerate stands in 
    a cost efficient and cost effective manner.
        This sale lies within the council Mountain Roadless Area, Adams 
    County, Idaho. Crystal Creek and Lake Creek are the two drainages 
    within the proposed timber sale area; both are tributaries of the 
    Middle Fork Weiser River.
        The proposal follows direction in the Payette National Forest Land 
    and Resource Management Plan, 1988 (Forest Plan). The decision to be 
    made is whether the sale area should be entered at this time for timber 
    harvest and associated activities, and, if so, the specific conditions 
    of entry.
        Preliminary issues include the proposal's effect on roadless 
    characteristics, vegetation, water quality, biological diversity, 
    fisheries, soils, wildlife habitat, and economics.
        Preliminary alternatives being considered include no action, an 
    alternative that seeks to achieve forest Plan objectives to maximize 
    timber growth and yield, and the proposed action alternative that 
    modifies timber management intensity in response to the preliminary 
    issues.
        A draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) considering the 
    proposed action and a reasonable range of alternatives will be 
    prepared. The DEIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
    Protection Agency and to be available for public review by March 1995. 
    The comment period on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the 
    Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in the 
    Federal Register.
        The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important 
    to give reviewers early 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 that proposal so that it 
    is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewers position and 
    contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 
    553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could have been 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 Circut, 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.
        The final environmental impact statement is scheduled to be 
    completed by July 1995.
        The Responsible Official is David F. Alexander, Forest Supervisor, 
    Payette National Forest, McCall, ID 83638.
    
        Dated: January 10, 1994.
    David F. Alexander,
    Forest Supervisor.
    [FR Doc. 94-1502 Filed 1-21-94; 10:00 am]
    BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
01/24/1994
Department:
Agriculture Department
Entry Type:
Uncategorized Document
Action:
Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
Document Number:
94-1502
Dates:
Comments on the scope of the analysis should be received by February 14, 1994, to assure timely consideration.
Pages:
0-0 (1 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Federal Register: January 24, 1994