[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 221 (Tuesday, November 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63830-63831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30656]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Pend Oreille Priest Beetle Project; Idaho Panhandle National
Forests, Bonner County Idaho and Pend Oreille County, Washington;
Colville National Forests, Pend Oreille County, Washington
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to disclose the potential environmental effects of
proposed activities in forest stands infested with Douglas-fir bark
beetle. Activities include reducing fuels in urban interface areas,
restoring historic vegetation patterns in areas of significant
mortality, and accomplishing other ecosystem restoration opportunities
to benefit aquatic, watershed and wildlife habitat areas in the
southern portion of the Priest Lake and the Newport Ranger Districts.
DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before
December 17, 1998. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
available for public review in January, 1999. A Final Environmental
Impact Statement will be published no sooner than February 16, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposal or
requests to be placed on the project mailing list to Kent Dunstan,
Priest Lake Ranger District, 32203 Hwy. 57, Priest River, ID 83856.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pete Zimmerman, Sandpoint Ranger District, 1500 Hwy. 2, Suite 110,
Sandpoint, ID 83864, (208) 263-5111.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Snow, ice and wind during the winter of
1996-97 damaged trees on the Idaho Panhandle (IPNF) and Colville
National Forests. These events created a tremendous amount of forest
debris on the ground in many areas including tops, limbs, and standing
dead and down trees. Douglas-fir bark beetle populations increased
after breeding in the winter storm damaged and weakened trees. Standing
trees were attacked in the spring and summer of 1998. Aerial detection
surveys conducted in 1998 showed extensive numbers of dead, mature
Douglas-fir trees on national forest system, state, and private lands,
especially in areas of past ice and winter storm damage.
Since the bark beetle outbreak is so widespread, we recognize there
is not much we can do to control or stop it. There is, however, an
opportunity to care for the lands affected by the beetle by focusing on
restoration of the ecosystems where the beetle is causing significant
amounts of the Douglas-fir trees to die.
With the amount of downed fuels and high level of public use in
certain areas, the risk of severe fires is much higher. Fires igniting
in these areas will be more difficult to control and the increased fuel
loading is likely to result in more intense fires. Highly used
recreation areas and areas adjacent to private land are particularly
vulnerable because the potential for ignition is greater. In areas
where urban or private values are at risk due to fuel accumulations
related to the Douglas-fir beetle outbreak, fuels would be treated by
timber harvest, burning and/or piling so as to reduce the risk of
losing these values to wildfire.
In many of the beetle-attacked stands, there is almost twice as
much Douglas-fir on the landscape than what was historically present,
and a significant decrease of seral species such as ponderosa pine,
white pine and larch, which are more resistant to insects and some
diseases. In these areas, the intent would be to restore stand
composition and structure to more closely resemble historic vegetation
conditions. Regeneration harvest activities would be proposed in stands
of at least five acres in size where greater than 50% of the stand
within the area is projected to die from the current Douglas-fir beetle
outbreak. Activities include harvest, site preparation and/or fuels
hazard reduction with fire or by mechanical methods and tree planting.
In stands affected by Douglas-fir beetle that do not meet criteria
for urban interface or vegetation restoration, selective harvest
treatment activities would be proposed in stands where less than 50% of
the stand within the area is projected to die from the current Douglas-
fir beetle outbreak and also in areas of special management need or
where public safety issues are a concern. Activities include harvest
and fuel hazard reduction by fire or mechanical methods.
Aquatic, watershed and wildlife restoration activities would
include closing or obliterating roads for watershed health and wildlife
security and modifying, by reconstruction, other road elements that
pose risks to watersheds. These activities may not be associated with
timber sales. Where activities are associated with timber sales and
along haul routes, watershed restoration would be achieved when
practical.
Prescribed fire use to reduce fuel hazard and to prepare sites for
regeneration would not be limited to timber harvest areas but may also
be used where harvest is not practical.
Pest management techniques, including application of pheromones to
protect high valued stands, would be used in those areas where such
treatment would likely be effective.
As part of the proposed action, timber harvest will not occur in:
(1) Allocated old-growth that maintains old-growth characteristics, (2)
Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas, (3) Inventoried Roadless Areas,
(4) stands where a minimum number of snags cannot be maintained, (5)
areas of known populations of sensitive plant species, (6) areas where
they result in a likely to adversely affect determination for
Threatened or Endangered Species, (7)
[[Page 63831]]
areas where harvest can affect sphagnum peatlands, and (8) proposed or
designated Research Natural Areas. In addition, no permanent roads will
be constructed as part of the Proposed Action. Temporary roads may be a
part of the proposed action.
Preliminary issues identified are loss of road access, risk of fire
in untreated areas, loss of timber value, effects on plants, wildlife
and fish, and amount of ecosystem restoration accomplished.
The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of
these will be the ``no action'' alternative, under which there would be
no change from current management of the Forest. Additional
alternatives will represent a range of strategies to accomplish the
goals of this project. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests Land and
Resource Management Plan and the Colville National Forest Plan as
amended provide guidance for management objectives within the
potentially affected area through its goals, objectives, standards and
guidelines, and management area direction. Inland Native Fish Strategy
guidelines (USDA Forest Service, 1995) supercede Forest Plan guidelines
established for riparian areas.
Public participation will begin with the publication of this
notice. Comments provided by the public and other agencies will be used
to develop alternative strategies to this proposal. The public is
encouraged to visit with Forest Service officials during the analysis
and prior to the decision. The Forest Service is also seeking
information, comments, and assistance from federal, state and local
agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be interested
in or affected by the proposed actions.
The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed
with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public
review in January, 1999. At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of
Availability of the draft environmental impact statement in the Federal
Register. The comment period on the draft environmental impact
statement will be 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. A final environmental impact
statement will be published after all comments are reviewed and
responded to. Two Records of Decision will be published at that time:
one for the Priest Lake Ranger District and one for the Newport Ranger
District.
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 in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
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 statement may be
waived or dismissed by the courts (City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d
1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 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 regarding 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 environmental impact 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.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the
public record on this proposed action and will be available for public
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments may not have
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR part 215.
Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the
agency ti withhold a submission from the public record by showing how
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Persons requesting such confidentiality should be aware that, under the
FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in only very limited
circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest Service
will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding the
request for confidentiality, and where the request is denies, the
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within a
specified number of days.
We are the responsible officials for this environmental impact
statement and will decide which projects will be implemented. Addresses
are: Priests Lake Ranger District, 32203 Hwy 57, Priest River, ID 83856
and Colville National Forest, 765 S. Main St., Colville, WA 99114.
Dated: November 9, 1998.
Kent L. Dunstan,
District Ranger, Priest Lake Ranger District, Idaho Panhandle National
Forests.
Dated: November 10, 1998.
Robert L. Vaught,
Forest Supervisor, Colville National Forest.
[FR Doc. 98-30656 Filed 11-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
