97-11749. Private Property Access-Road Construction; Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana  

  • [Federal Register Volume 62, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 6, 1997)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 24634-24635]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 97-11749]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
    
    Forest Service
    
    
    Private Property Access-Road Construction; Kootenai National 
    Forest, Lincoln County, Montana
    
    AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
    
    ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
    
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    SUMMARY: The owner of record of landlocked private property located in 
    portions of Sections 33 and 34, Township 27 North, Range 31 West, 
    Principal Montana Meridian and the owner of record of landlocked 
    private property located in portions of Sections 12 and 13, Township 26 
    North, Range 31 West, Principal Montana Meridian have requested special 
    use permit applications for the construction and reconstruction of 
    roads to their property.
        The Libby Ranger District on the Kootenai National Forest intends 
    to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess and 
    disclose the environmental effects of the proposed road construction 
    and reconstruction. The decision areas are located approximately 24 and 
    26 air miles respectively south of Libby, Montana.
        The EIS will tier to the Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource 
    Management Plan and Final EIS of September 1987, which provides overall 
    guidance for forest management of the area.
    
    DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before 
    June 5, 1997.
    
    ADDRESSES: The Responsible Official is Robert L. Schrenk, Forest 
    Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest. Written comments and suggestions 
    concerning the scope of the analysis should be sent to Lawrence A. 
    Froberg, District Ranger, Libby Ranger District, 12557 U.S. Hwy 37 N, 
    Libby, Montana 59923.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Jon Jeresek, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, Libby Ranger District. 
    Phone: (406) 293-7773.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All of the properties and proposed road 
    constructions are located within the Inventoried Roadless Area #671--
    Cabinet Face East. The decision areas are occupied grizzly bear 
    habitat.
        Proposed Action: The Kootenai National Forest is proposing to issue 
    two special use permits for permanent access to West Fisher private 
    property and to allow reconstruction of roads to allow passenger 
    traffic. The purpose of the projects is to access private land that is 
    surrounded by National Forest. No proposed activities are located in 
    areas considered for inclusion to the National Wilderness Preservation 
    System as recommended by the Kootenai National Forest Plan.
        The Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan 
    provides overall management objectives in individual delineated 
    management areas (MA's). The decision area is allocated to MA-2, Semi-
    Primitive Non-Motorized Recreation. Briefly described, MA-2 is managed 
    to provide for the protection and enhancement of areas for roadless 
    recreation use, and to provide for wildlife management where specific 
    values are high. Within grizzly bear habitat, the goal of MA-2 is to 
    provide habitat that will contribute to the recovery of the grizzly 
    bear.
        Preliminary Issues: Several preliminary issues of concern have been 
    identified by the Forest Service. These issues are briefly described 
    below.
         Water Quality--How would the proposed actions affect 
    sediment production?
         Roadless Areas--The proposed road construction lies 
    entirely within the Cabinet Face East Inventoried Roadless Area #671. 
    What effect would the proposals have on the character of this Roadless 
    Area?
         Grizzly Bear--The decision area lies within the recovery 
    area for the Cabinet/Yaak grizzly bear ecosystem. How would the 
    proposals protect and enhance grizzly bear habitat, and contributes to 
    recovery efforts?
         Fisheries--The proposed road construction would cross 
    Bramlet and 4th of July Creeks which are priority bull trout streams. 
    How would the proposed action affect sediment production and bull trout 
    habitat?
         Heritage Resources--The road construction is proposed to 
    occur over the existing historic 4th of July Trail #115. Can the loss 
    of this resource and associated sites by mitigated?
        Forest Plan Amendment: The Kootenai National Forest Land and 
    Resource Management Plan has specific management direction for the 
    Harpole
    
    [[Page 24635]]
    
    and Skranak decision area. Prior to making a NEPA decision, a thorough 
    examination of all standards and guidelines of the Forest Plan would be 
    completed and, if necessary, plan amendments would be addressed in the 
    EIS.
        Decisions To Be Made: The Kootenai Forest Supervisor will decide 
    the following:
        Should road construction to the private properties be permitted and 
    if so how and where,
        What mitigation measures would be required for protection of 
    National Forest Service resources, and
        If Forest Plan amendments are necessary to proceed with the 
    Proposed Action within the decision area.
        Public Involvement and Scoping: Notices will be mailed to 
    interested parties from a mailing list, to provide an opportunity for 
    the public to review and comment on the proposed action. Consultation 
    with appropriate State and Federal agencies will be initiated. 
    Preliminary effects analysis indicated that the proposed road 
    construction may significantly affect the quality of the human 
    environment. These potential effects prompted the decision to prepare 
    an EIS for the road construction proposals.
        This environmental analysis and decision making process will enable 
    additional interested and affected people to participate and contribute 
    to the final decision. Public participation will be requested at 
    several points during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking 
    information, comments, and assistance from Federal, State, local 
    agencies, and other individuals or organizations who may be interested 
    in or affected by the proposed projects. This input will be used in 
    preparation of the draft and final EIS. The scoping process will 
    include:
         Identifying potential issues.
         Identifying major issues to be analyzed in depth.
         Exploring additional alternatives which will be derived 
    from issues recognized during scoping activities.
         Identifying potential environmental effects of this 
    project and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects 
    and connected actions).
        The analysis will consider a range of alternatives, including the 
    proposed action, no action, and other reasonable action alternatives.
        Estimated Dates for Filing: The draft EIS is expected to be filed 
    with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for 
    public review by August, 1997. At that time EPA will publish a Notice 
    of Availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment 
    period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA publishes 
    the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
        The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in November, 1997. In 
    the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments 
    and responses received during the comment period that pertain to the 
    environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable 
    laws, regulations, and policies considered in making a decision 
    regarding the proposal.
        Reviewer's Obligations: 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 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 and respond 
    to them in the final EIS.
        To be most helpful, comments on the draft EIS should be as specific 
    as possible and may address the adequacy of the statement or the merit 
    of the alternative discussed. 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.
        Responsible Official: Robert L. Schrenk, Forest Supervisor, 
    Kootenai National Forest, 506 U.S. Highway 2 West, Libby, MT 59923 is 
    the Responsible Official. As the Responsible Official I will decide 
    which, if any, of the proposed projects will be implemented. I will 
    document the decision and reasons for the decision in the Record of 
    Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal 
    Regulations.
    
        Dated: April 28, 1997.
    Robert L. Schrenk,
    Forest Supervisor.
    [FR Doc. 97-11749 Filed 5-5-97; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
05/06/1997
Department:
Forest Service
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
Document Number:
97-11749
Dates:
Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before June 5, 1997.
Pages:
24634-24635 (2 pages)
PDF File:
97-11749.pdf