[Federal Register: May 8, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 89)]
[Notices]
[Page 30866-30867]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08my02-50]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Wildland Urban Interface Project; Caribou-Targhee National
Forest, Fremont County, ID
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service is
beginning to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to
document the analysis and disclose the environmental impacts of the
Wildland Urban Interface Project in Island Park, ID. Within the project
area, different treatment methods would be used to reduce the fire
hazard depending upon the forest and fuel conditions. In the young and
regenerated noncommercial lodgepole pine stands, trees would be
thinned. Fuel reductions in larger diameter stands would be in the form
of shaded fuel breaks. The shaded fuel breaks would be located in
tactically important areas to provide firefighters an anchor from which
to safely fight fire. Proposed fuel breaks would be up to 500 feet
wide. These fuel breaks would be created along the interface between
National Forest Service land and private property.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received
within 30 days of the date of pu8blication of this notice in the
Federal Register. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
November of 2002 and the final environmental impact statement is
expected February 2003.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Ashton/Island Park Ranger
District, Attn: Jim Cox/Becky Nedrow, Island Park Ranger Station, 3726
Highway 20, Island Park, ID.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Further information and questions
concerning this proposed action and EIS contact Jim Cox at (208) 558-
7301 or Becky Nedrow at (208) 652-7442. Jim can also be reached at
jcox@fs.fed/us. Becky can be reached at bnedrow@fs.fed.us
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine forest
types are included in the project area as are some sagebrush/
grasslands. The Douglas-fir forest type occurs throughout the
Centennial and Henrys Lake Mountains. Within the Douglas-fir type,
mature forest makes up 79 percent of the forested areas. Because of the
large component of mature Douglas-fir,
[[Page 30867]]
severe first are a concern in these areas. The lodgepole pine forest
type is primarily in the Island Park Caldera. Large areas of the
lodgepole type were clearcut between 1960 and the late 1980's to
salvage trees damaged or killed during a mountain pine bettle epidemic.
Purpose and Need for Action
A combination of accumulating fuels and increasing development on
private lands along with existing residences under permit on the
National Forest (National Forest summer homes) has led to an increase
risk to human life and property from wildfire. The purpose of this
project is to reduce the threat to human life and private property by
reducing or removing the amount of woody material on National Forest
System Lands adjacent to these private lands.
Proposed Action
The Ashton/Island Park Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee
National Forest is proposing a hazardous fuels reduction project
located in the Island Park area of eastern Idaho. Implementation is
expected to start in 2003 and continue through 2005. The project would
create fuel breaks along the interface (boundary) between public and
private lands (urban interface). These fuel breaks would reduce the
risk to private lands from wildfire and provide for greater public and
firefighter safety. The project includes only National Forest System
Lands adjacent to private land, developed campgrounds, and those summer
home areas under special use permit on the National Forest. No private
or State land would be treated.
Proposed activities include:
Thinning of small diameter noncommercial size trees
Hand piling of thinning and other slash followed by
burning
Public firewood gathering
Removal of fuels by private contractors
Commercial timber sales (total volume from the project
area is estimated at less than 1 million board feet with only temporary
road construction)
Prescribed burning where it is safe and at minimal risk to
private property with appropriate involvement of property owners
Responsible Official
Jerry B. Reese, Forest Supervisory, Caribou-Targhee National Forest
is the responsible official for this EIS.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Forest Supervisor will decide on whether to implement one of
the alternatives for hazardous fuels reduction or defer any action at
this time.
Scoping Process
Public scoping will be completed through letters, news releases,
and public meetings. The meeting may be held in Idaho Falls or Island
Park.
Preliminary Issues
Preliminary Issues identified are:
Public safety
Effects on visual quality of private property adjacent to
National Forest land
Reduction of wildlife hiding cover
Risk to private property by burning to remove fuels
Heritage resources
Unauthorized structures or personal property on National
Forest System lands
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for
comment. 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 impact 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 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.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21)
Dated: April 18, 2002.
Jerry B. Reese,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-11383 Filed 5-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M
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