[Federal Register: August 12, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 155)]
[Notices]
[Page 52439-52441]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Flathead National Forest, Tally Lake Ranger District, Flathead
County, State of Montana; Logan Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) for a proposal to harvest timber; reclaim,
rehabilitate, and construct roads; change road and trail access; place
large logs in streams; construct large pool habitat; re-vegetate
habitat; and burn brushfields or forest understory trees within the
Logan Creek watershed. The area is located northwest of Whitefish,
Montana and southwest of Olney, Montana.
The Forest Service is seeking further information and comments from
federal, state, and local agencies and other individuals or
organizations who may be interested in or affected by the proposed
actions. These comments will be used to prepare the draft and final
EIS.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by September 12, 2002. The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the
Environmental Protection Agency and made available for public review in
December, 2002. The comment period on the draft EIS will end 45 days
from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice
of availability in the Federal Register. No date has yet been
determined for filing the final EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may request to be placed on the project mailing list or
direct questions, comments, and
[[Page 52440]]
suggestions about the proposed action and EIS to Bryan Donner, EIS Team
Leader, or Jane Kollmeyer, District Ranger, at Tally Lake Ranger
District, 1335 Highway 93 West, Whitefish, MT 59937. Phone: (406) 863-
5400.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Donner, EIS Team Leader, or Jane
Kollmeyer, District Ranger, at Tally Lake Ranger District, 1335 Highway
93 West, Whitefish, MT 59937. Phone: (406) 863-5400.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Affected Area
The Logan Creek assessment area, west of Whitefish, Montana,
encompasses approximately 61,200 acres of which the Forest Service
administers 48,300 acres. Private land accounts for 6047 acres, with
the remainder evenly split between corporate (3553 acres) and state
lands (3300 acres). Elevation ranges from 3100 feet at Round Meadow to
6300 feet at Ashley Mountain. Numerous recreational activities exist in
this area and logging has been, and continues to be, active in the
drainage. There are no existing wilderness or inventoried roadless
areas within the watershed boundary.
The watershed assessment area includes eight major streams in
addition to Logan Creek. The drainage supports several species of
native and non-native fish as well as many amphibians and reptiles.
Temperate coniferous forests dominate the landscape and provide habitat
for terrestrial wildlife that includes several threatened, endangered,
and sensitive species.
Purpose and Need for Action
A variety of current conditions in the watershed, identified from a
recent Logan Creek watershed analysis, have generated a purpose and
need for management action in this area. High fuel accumulations
threatening public and private lands; undesirable vegetation
composition, density, cover types, and structure classes; high tree
mortality due to a Douglas-fir bark beetle epidemic; altered wildlife
habitat; less than optimal fish habitat; and local economic issues have
created a need for this project.
The purpose of this proposal is to reduce hazardous fuels to
varying degrees across the landscape; to enhance fire suppression
control efforts by reducing fire intensity; restore or maintain a
historical pattern of vegetation cover and diversity; reduce the
vulnerability of the forest to large scale, dramatic disturbance such
as insects, disease, and unwanted fire; provide an ecosystem that
sustains habitat for wildlife; improve water quality and reduce
sediment delivery; improve aquatic habitat to enhance the recreational
fishery; and meet the social and economic needs of the local
communities.
Proposed Action
The proposed action to reduce accumulated fuels, manage insect
infested stands, and improve fisheries and wildlife habitat are being
considered together because they represent either connected or
cumulative actions as defined by the Council on Environmental Quality
(40 CFR 1508.25).
The proposed action describes 10,057 acres of vegetation treatments
and fuel reductions that combine varying intensities of timber harvest,
pre-commercial thinning, and prescribed burns. Sixteen miles of road
reclamation, 5.0 miles of temporary roads, 4.4 miles of new specified
road construction, and 143.9 miles of road rehabilitation (drainage
improvements) would be included in this project. An additional 7.5
miles of road are proposed for access change. Large woody debris would
be placed in 3.8 miles of streams, distributed between 12 different
streams, and 5 large pools would be constructed on lower Logan Creek to
improve fish habitat. Shrubs would be planted (500 acres) and slashed
(25 acres) to improve ungulate browse. Harvested areas would also be
re-vegetated with trees and shrubs to improve wildlife habitat.
Responsible Official
Cathy Barbouletos, Forest Supervisor, Flathead National Forest,
1935 3rd Ave. East, Kalispell, MT 59901
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The responsible official will decide if the Forest Service should
implement the proposed action or any action to meet the purpose and
need or to defer any action at this time within the Logan Creek
watershed.
Scoping Process
Public and internal scoping on this project has consisted of one
open house; one mailing to federal, state and local agencies,
organizations, and individuals; personal conversations between
interdisciplinary team members and the public, and news media releases.
A public field trip is planned for October 23, 2002.
Preliminary Issues
Based on public and internal scoping, the following main issues
emerged:
1. Effects of timber harvest, prescribed burning and road and trail
access on wildlife security
2. Effects of vegetation treatment on fragmentation of existing and
future old growth habitat
3. Effects of vegetation treatments on the size, shape, continuity, and
edge effect on some late seral patches of trees
4. Effects of proposed action on forest connectivity that serves as a
link for wildlife movement between important habitat such as riparian
forests and ridgelines
5. Effects of timber harvest and road building on water quality, water
yields, fish habitat, and stream channel stabilization
6. Effects of road reclamation on future management opportunities, fire
suppression, and public recreation opportunities
Comment Requested
This notice of intent is a major component of the scoping process
and guides the development of the EIS. A draft EIS will be prepared and
open for public comment for 45 days from the date that the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in
the Federal Register. Comments received will be analyzed, considered,
and responded to by the Forest Service in the final EIS.
Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review
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 EIS 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 EIS stage, but that are not raised
until after completion of the final EIS, 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 EIS.
[[Page 52441]]
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft EIS should
be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to
specific pages or chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address
the adequacy of the draft EIS 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
(NEPA) at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
and will be available for public inspection (Authority: NEPA 40 CFR
1501.7, 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 21). The
responsible official for the preparation of the EIS will make a
decision regarding this proposal by considering the comments and
responses, environmental consequences discussed in the final EIS, and
applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The rationale for the
decision will be documented in a Record of Decision. That decision will
be subject to appeal under applicable Forest Service regulations.
Dated: August 5, 2002.
Earl Applekamp,
Acting Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 02-20297 Filed 8-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P
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