[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 437-438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-195]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District Small Sales EIS, Idaho
Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Idaho
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental effects of
utilizing timber harvest in numerous small, specific areas of the Coeur
d'Alene River Ranger District to salvage merchantable timber in stands
damaged by ice storms, insect infestation and disease, and to reduce
the level of fire risk to the National Forest and to private lands
adjacent to National Forest lands.
DATE: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
in writing by January 31, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Coeur d'Alene River Ranger
District, 2502 East Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814-5899.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Rehnborg or Dennis Adams, Project
Team Leaders, (208) 769-3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The stands being considered for treatment
are widely scattered across the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District and
are declining due to damage incurred during recent ice storms and the
resulting Douglas-fir bark beetle infestation. To date, specific areas
being considered for treatment are located in the Canfield, Fernan
Creek, Lancaster Creek, Blue Creek, Rantenan Creek and Thompson Creek
watersheds on the west side of the district; and in the Shoshone Creek,
Falls Creek, Beaver Creek, Trail Creek, West Fork Downey Creek, and
Pony Gulch watersheds on the east side of the district, as well as in
several right-of-way areas. Some of the stands adjacent to private
ownership are currently managed for their old-growth characteristics.
Adjacent landowners have expressed concern with the increased fire
risks associated with the amount of dead or dying timber in these
areas. Several stands are within an inventoried roadless area. Other
specific treatment areas and treatment methods will be identified
during scoping.
The proposal will include the following possible actions: timber
harvest, prescribed fire, and tree planting. Timber harvest could be
accomplished through the use of a combination of methods, including:
horse logging, helicopter yarding, skyline yarding or tractor yarding.
The scope of this analysis is limited to activities related to the
purpose and need, and measures necessary to mitigate the effects these
activities may have on the environment. The decision will identify if,
when, how and where the schedule activities to meet these goals.
[[Page 438]]
Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in
preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to:
(1) Identify additional potential issues;
(2) Eliminate minor issues or those issues which have been covered
by a relevant previous environmental analysis;
(3) Identify additional treatment areas;
(4) Identify additional alternatives to the proposed action;
(5) Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action
and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect and cumulative effects).
While public participation in this analysis is welcome at any time,
comments received within 30 days of the publication of this notice will
be especially useful in the preparation of the draft EIS, which is
expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and
available for public review in March 2000. 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 of
the draft EIS in the Federal Register.
In addition, the public is encouraged to visit with Forest Service
officials at any time during the analysis and prior to the decision.
The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, and
assistance from federal, state, and local agencies, the Coeur d'Alene
Tribe, and other individuals or organizations that may be interested in
or affected by the proposed action.
The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal.
District Ranger Susan Jeheber-Matthews is the responsible official.
The Forest Service believes it is important at the early stage to
give reviewers 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 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. 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
on the draft EIS 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.
Dated: December 17, 1999.
Susan Jeheber-Matthews,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 00-195 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
