Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District Small Sales EIS, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District Small Sales EIS, Idaho

Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental effects of

utilizing timber harvest in numerous small, specific areas of the Coeur

d'Alene River Ranger District to salvage merchantable timber in stands

damaged by ice storms, insect infestation and disease, and to reduce

the level of fire risk to the National Forest and to private lands

adjacent to National Forest lands.

DATE: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received

in writing by January 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Coeur d'Alene River Ranger

District, 2502 East Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814-5899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Rehnborg or Dennis Adams, Project

Team Leaders, (208) 769-3000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The stands being considered for treatment

are widely scattered across the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District and

are declining due to damage incurred during recent ice storms and the

resulting Douglas-fir bark beetle infestation. To date, specific areas

being considered for treatment are located in the Canfield, Fernan

Creek, Lancaster Creek, Blue Creek, Rantenan Creek and Thompson Creek

watersheds on the west side of the district; and in the Shoshone Creek,

Falls Creek, Beaver Creek, Trail Creek, West Fork Downey Creek, and

Pony Gulch watersheds on the east side of the district, as well as in

several right-of-way areas. Some of the stands adjacent to private

ownership are currently managed for their old-growth characteristics.

Adjacent landowners have expressed concern with the increased fire

risks associated with the amount of dead or dying timber in these

areas. Several stands are within an inventoried roadless area. Other

specific treatment areas and treatment methods will be identified

during scoping.

The proposal will include the following possible actions: timber

harvest, prescribed fire, and tree planting. Timber harvest could be

accomplished through the use of a combination of methods, including:

horse logging, helicopter yarding, skyline yarding or tractor yarding.

The scope of this analysis is limited to activities related to the

purpose and need, and measures necessary to mitigate the effects these

activities may have on the environment. The decision will identify if,

when, how and where the schedule activities to meet these goals.

[[Page 438]]

Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in

preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to:

(1) Identify additional potential issues;

(2) Eliminate minor issues or those issues which have been covered

by a relevant previous environmental analysis;

(3) Identify additional treatment areas;

(4) Identify additional alternatives to the proposed action;

(5) Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action

and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect and cumulative effects).

While public participation in this analysis is welcome at any time,

comments received within 30 days of the publication of this notice will

be especially useful in the preparation of the draft EIS, which is

expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and

available for public review 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 of

the draft EIS in the Federal Register.

In addition, the public is encouraged to visit with Forest Service

officials at any time during the analysis and prior to the decision.

The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, and

assistance from federal, state, and local agencies, the Coeur d'Alene

Tribe, and other individuals or organizations that may be interested in

or affected by the proposed action.

The USDA Forest Service is the lead agency for this proposal.

District Ranger Susan Jeheber-Matthews is the responsible official.

The Forest Service believes it is important at the early stage 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. 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

on the draft EIS 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.

Dated: December 17, 1999.

Susan Jeheber-Matthews,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 00-195 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-11-M