Northwest Baranof Timber Sale(s), Tongass National Forest, Chatham Area, Sitka Ranger District, Sitka, AK

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Northwest Baranof Timber Sale(s), Tongass National Forest,

Chatham Area, Sitka Ranger District, Sitka, AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revise the July 12, 1993 notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental

impacts of proposed actions within the Northwest Baranof project area.

This notice is an amendment to the original notice of intent for this

project, published July 12, 1993. The proposed action provides for: (1)

Construction of approximately 28 miles of new road, and reconstruction

of approximately 7 miles of existing road in conjunction with up to

seven timber sales; (2) harvest of approximately 1,800 acres of timber,

and regeneration of new stands of trees. This level of development

would result in the harvest of approximately 58 million board feet of

sawlog and utility timber volume; (3) 1,000 foot uncut timber buffers

along Nakwasina Passage, St. John Baptist Bay, and the north side of

Fish Bay for the protection of wildlife and subsistence uses; (4) log

transfer facilities in Nakwasina Passage and Nakwasina Sound, St. John

Baptist Bay (barge facility), Schulze Cove, and Rodman Bay; (5) no

clearcut harvest in areas which are visible from the Alaska Marine

Highway route (6) no harvest in VCU 289 or 290; and (7) no harvest in

the Rodman Creek drainages and limited harvest in Fish Bay drainage.

The Forest Service is seeking information and comments from

Federal, State and local agencies as well as individuals and

organizations who may be interested in, or affected by, the proposed

action.

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

in writing by October 21, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Northwest Baranof Planning Team,

USDA Forest Service, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, Alaska 99835.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gordon Anderson, Team Leader, USDA Forest Service, 204 Siginaka Way,

Sitka, AK 99835, (907) 747-6671.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will tier to the 1979 Tongass Land

Management Plan (TLMP) EIS, including the 1985-86 and 1990 amendments.

The TLMP provides the overall guidance (Goals, Objectives, Standards,

and Management Area direction) to achieve the desired future condition

for the area in which the project is proposed.

The Northwest Baranof Project Area is located about 10 air miles

north of Sitka, Alaska, and 30 miles east of Angoon, Alaska, on the

northwestern part of Baranof Island. It encompasses ten Value

Comparison Units (VCUs) including 287 through 292, 299, 301, and

portions of 300 and 302 as designated in the TLMP. These VCUs are

located within Management Areas C40 and C41 as described in the TLMP.

VCUs 310, 312, and 313 were dropped from the project area following

initial field review. The project area is administered by the Sitka

Ranger District of the Chatham Area, Tongass National Forest in Sitka,

Alaska.

The purpose and need for the Northwest Baranof project is to make

30-100 million board feet of timber available through up to seven

independent timber sales or offerings to the Ketchikan Pulp Company

under the conditions of its long-term timber sale contract. This timber

is needed to provide a sustained level of wood products to meet local,

national, and international demand; and to provide local employment in

the wood products industry. A comparison of the desired future

condition for the project area (as identified in the TLMP) with the

existing condition shows the need to convert suitable stands of old-

growth timber to managed productive stands capable of long-term timber

production.

Gary A. Morrison, Forest Supervisor, Chatham Area, is the

Responsible Official and will decide whether or not to authorize timber

harvest within the Northwest Baranof Project Area. He will decide (1)

If the design of the timber sale offerings are consistent with meeting

resource protection standards and guidelines in the TLMP; (2) how much

timber volume to make available; (3) the location and design of the

arterial and collector road system needed to develop the project area;

(4) the location and design of timber harvest units and log transfer

facilities; (5) mitigation and monitoring measures for sound resource

management; and (6) whether there may be a significant restriction on

subsistence uses, and if so, other determinations required by section

810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Issues are expected to revolve around: (1) Management of wildlife

and fish habitat; (2) subsistence needs; (3) location, design and

impacts of log transfer facilities; (4) recreation and visual impacts;

and (5) the economic health of Southeast Alaska.

To proceed with the timber harvest as proposed, various permits

must be obtained from other agencies. The agencies and their

responsibilities are as follows: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the

responsibility for approval of discharge of dredged or fill materials

into the waters of the United States (Section 404 of the Clean Water

Act), and approval of construction of structures or work in navigable

waters of the United States (Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act

of 1899); EPA has responsibility for the National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System review (Section 402 of the Clean Water Act). Other

agencies which will participate are as follows: State of Alaska,

Department of Natural Resources has responsibility for authorization

for occupancy and use of tidelands and submerged lands; State of

Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation has responsibility for

the Solid Waste Disposal Permit (Section 402 of Clean Water Act) and

the Certificate of Reasonable Assurance (Section 404 of Clean Water

Act); U.S. Coast Guard has responsibility for Coast Guard Bridge

Permits (in accordance with the General Bridge Act of 1946) required

for all structures constructed within the tidal influence zone. Both

the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will participate as

cooperating agencies in preparation of the EIS.

Preparation of the EIS began with public notification and scoping

in June, 1993. EIS preparation will continue with the following

additional steps: (1) Public notification and scoping (approximately 45

days beginning on the date of publication of this Notice in the Federal

Register); (2) identification of issues related to the proposed action

(significant issues) and a discussion of reasons for not considering

other issues (non-significant issues) in this analysis; (3)

identification of issues to be analyzed in depth; (4) development of

reasonable alternatives to the proposed action which meet the stated

purpose and need for the proposed action and address significant

issues; and (5) identification of the potential environmental effects

of the alternatives.

For step 1, scoping announcements will be published in the Sitka

Daily Sentinel newspaper on or about August 26 and September 14, 1994,

and copies of the announcement will be mailed to interested persons.

This announcement will describe the timing and location of the proposed

project and will request comments. It will also contain specific

information about the location and timing of public involvement

meetings. Scoping meetings will be held in Sitka, Alaska on September

21 and October 6, 1994, in the Maksoutoff Room of the Centennial

Building from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., and Angoon, Alaska September

28 through 30, 1994. Exact locations and times of the Angoon scoping

meetings will be announced in local newspapers and on radio station

public service announcements.

For steps 2 and 3, the Interdisciplinary Team will review comments

received during both scoping periods to determine issues which are

significant and within the scope of this project.

Step 4 will consider a range of alternatives developed to address

significant issues. One of these will be the ``No Action'' alternative,

in which there is no harvest or road building activity. Other

alternatives may consider various levels and locations of harvest and

regeneration in response to issues and non-timber objectives.

Step 5 will analyze the environmental effects of each alternative.

The direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of each alternative will

be analyzed and documented. In addition, site specific mitigation

measures for each alternative will be identified and their

effectiveness evaluated.

In addition to commenting on the proposed action and the Draft EIS

when it is released, agencies and other interested persons or groups

are invited to contact Forest Service officials at any time during the

planning process.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the EPA during the

summer of 1995. 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 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 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 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.

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 statement. 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, 40

CFR 1503.3, in addressing these points.

The Final EIS and Record of Decision is expected to be released in

the winter of 1995-96. The Forest Supervisor for the Chatham Area of

the Tongass National Forest will, as the responsible official for the

EIS, make a decision regarding this proposal considering the comments,

responses, and environmental consequences discussed in the Final EIS,

and applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The decision and

supporting reasons will be documented in the Record of Decision.

Dated: August 22, 1994.

Carl M. Burgeson,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 94-21436 Filed 8-30-94; 8:45 am]

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