[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 228 (Monday, November 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66609-66610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30865]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Lakeface-Lamb Fuel Reduction, Idaho Panhandle National Forests,
Bonner County, Idaho
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
reducing the wildfire risk and treating stands with insect and disease
problems in the Lakeface-Lamb project area on the Priest Lake Range
District, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Bonner County, Idaho.
The proposed action includes unit-specific fuel and silvicultural
treatments as well as reforestation needs, harvest techniques, and
other site-specific connected actions. The proposed action is divided
into several themes based on treatment needs responding to the purpose
and need.
These management activities will be administered by the Priest Lake
Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in Bonner
County, Idaho. This EIS will tier to the Idaho Panhandle National
Forests Forest Plan (September 1987).
DATES: Comments should be postmarked on or before December 29, 1999.
Please include your name and address and the name of the project you
are commenting on.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed
management activities or request to be placed on the project mailing
list to Kent Dunstan, Priest Lake Ranger District, 32203 Highway 57,
Priest River, Idaho 83856.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Asleson, Project Team Leader,
Priest Lake Ranger District, 32202 Highway 57, Priest River, ID 83856.
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 will not have
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or
217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27 (d), any person may request
the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing
how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.
Persons requesting such 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 denied, the
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 10
days.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The public has raised concern about the threat of fires escaping
from National Forest lands and endangering private land values. On a
landscape level, the threat of severe lethal fires as defined in the
Interior Columbia Basin Science Assessment has increased by nearly 20
percent, including the moist forest types found in the project area.
The buildup of natural fuels is outside acceptable levels and the
frequency and
[[Page 66610]]
intensity of fire is not within historic pattern for this area. The
developed and natural resources on the National Forest lands and
private property within the area are of considerable value both locally
and regionally. For these reasons, this area has been identified as a
top priority to reduce the wildfire potential.
The project includes approximately 7200 acres, encompassing 2030
acres of private lands and 5100 acres of National Forest lands. The
area is situated totally within Bonner Country, Idaho, approximately 22
airmiles north of the community of Priest River, Idaho. The legal
description for the project includes all or portions of the following
sections:
Sections 5-8; Township 59 North; Range 4 West
Sections 1-3 and 10-12; Township 59 North; Range 5 West
Sections 5-7, 17, 19, 20 and 29-32; Township 60 North; Range 4 West
Sections 1-3, 10-15, 22-27, and 34-36; Township 60 North; Range 5 West.
As Deciding Officer, I will decide how much and what, if any,
actions including fuel treatments, timber harvesting and related
activities, and road construction/reconstruction will occur on National
Forest lands. I also will decide specific project mitigation measures,
as necessary, to achieve Forest Plan objectives and standards for
affected resources.
Public participation plays an important role in the environmental
analysis process. The initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) for this
analysis began October 1999. Earlier public participation occurred
during the preparation of the Lakeface-Lamb Fuel Reduction
environmental assessment beginning in 1995. This environmental
assessment led us to the conclusion that we needed to further the
assessment in the format of an EIS, hence the issuance of this NOI. The
mailing list for public scoping will include those individuals who have
previously expressed interest in this project as well as those
responding to this NOI and to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests
Quarterly Schedule of Proposed Actions, October 1999. In addition, the
public is encouraged to visit with Forest Service officials during the
analysis and prior to the decision. The Forest Service will also be
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.
Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in
preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process is used to:
1. Identify potential issues.
2. Identify major issues to be analyzed in depth.
3. Eliminate minor issues or those covered by a relevant previous
environmental analysis
4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.
5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action
and alternatives including cumulative effects.
Some public concerns have already been expressed through earlier
scoping and the following significant issues have been identified:
scenery; social; and white-tailed deer winter range.
This list will be verified, expanded, or modified based on public
scoping and interdisciplinary review for this proposal.
The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed
with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public
review in January 2000. The final environmental impact statement is
expected to be completed 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 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,
533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the
draft environmental 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 final
environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concern 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 chapter of the draft statement.
Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft environment impact
statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and discussed in
statement. Reviews 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 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits
discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital
or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of
communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape,
etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center ad (202) 720-2600 (voice and
TDD).
To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, call 1-800-245-6340
(voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity
employer.
Dated: November 22, 1999.
David J. Wright,
Forest Supervisor, Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
[FR Doc. 99-30865 Filed 11-26-99; 8:45 am]
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