Boise River Wildfire Recovery Project, Boise National Forest, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Boise River Wildfire Recovery Project, Boise National Forest,

Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Rabbit Creek, Bannock Creek and Star Gulch Wildfires

burned a total of 182,000 acres in July, August, and September of 1994.

Approximately 173,000 acres burned within the boundaries of National

Forest System lands. Personnel on the Boise National Forest intend to

prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to assess opportunities to

salvage the economic value of fire killed and imminently dead trees in

combination with treatments to promote regeneration of trees on

forested areas, maintain or improve hydrologic conditions of affected

watersheds, and protect long-term soil site productivity. These

activities are to occur on 95,000 acres of the Idaho City and Mountain

Home Ranger Districts.

All proposals will provide visual resource needs on river segments

eligible for wild, scenic, or recreational classification under the

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and provide for wildlife and fisheries

habitat.

Past experience with wildfire timber recovery efforts on the Boise

National Forest have proved that prompt action is required to recover

the economic value of fire killed trees. The trees, mostly ponderosa

pine and Douglas-fir, are expected to lose 20 to 80 percent of their

economic value after just one summer season. In addition, there is an

expected benefit to watershed recovery from the slash that is created

by salvage harvest operations.

Proposals for treatment of the area will be based on area burn

intensity, slope characteristics, soil and land types, wildlife habitat

needs, soil erosion and sediment reduction techniques, visual quality

protection, and economics.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There are approximately 23,000 acres burned

within Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs). The IRAs affected are

Breadwinner, Grand Mountain, Mt. Heinen and Ten Mile/Black Warrior. In

addition, approximately 35,000 acres of an area recommended for

wilderness designation burned. Approximately 30,000 acres burned within

the Sawtooth Wilderness.

Within the burn area are approximately 1,000 acres of the 6,865-

acre Boise Basin Experimental Forest, slightly more than 300 acres of

the 445-acre Bannock Creek Research Natural Area, and approximately 100

acres of the proposed 874-acre North Fork Boise River Research Natural

Area.

Approximately 45 miles of eligible Wild, Scenic and Recreational

River segments (North Fork Boise, Middle Fork Boise, Crooked, and Bear

Rivers) were included in the fire area. Many acres of wildlife and fish

habitat were affected.

Burn intensities in the fire area varied considerably. Within the

fire perimeter, approximately 46,000 acres burned at high intensity,

46,000 acres burned at moderate intensity and 85,000 acres burned at

low intensity. Approximately 5,000 acres inside the fire perimeter did

not burn.

Proposed Action

Treat approximately 95,000 acres of National Forest System lands to

recover the economic value of the timber, promote regeneration of trees

on forested areas, maintain or improve hydrologic conditions of

affected watersheds, and protect long-term soil site productivity.

Approximately 18,000 acres of suitable timber lands are not

expected to regenerating naturally, and will be planted. Of these,

approximately 4,000 acres are within the IRAs. All other suitable

timber acres are projected to reforest naturally and will be monitored

for natural regeneration success.

The fire area includes the Boise Basin Experimental Forest which

will be treated as lands suitable for harvest.

Salvage harvest may occur in the IRAs (Breadwinner, Grand Mtn., Mt.

Heinen, and Ten Mile/Black Warrior outside of Management Area 28).

No harvest will occur within the Recommended Wilderness (Forest

Plan Management Area 28 portion of the Ten Mile/Black Warrior IRA) or

the Sawtooth Wilderness.

No harvest will occur within the Research Natural Areas, or within

the one-quarter mile corridor of river segments eligible for wild or

scenic classification.

In moderate to high intensity burn areas, only dead trees will be

harvested. In low intensity burn areas, dead and imminently dead trees

(those with more than 75 percent of the crown scorched or infested with

bark beetles) will be harvested.

Snags required for wildlife habitat or shade for regeneration will

be left in all areas.

Protection of bald eagle and osprey roost trees will be achieved by

maintaining a strip at least 200 feet wide along the North Fork Boise

River. Trees may be removed for public safety.

Visual quality objectives will be met on river segments eligible

for recreational classification, and on trails and roads.

Cultural resource sites will be protected.

Riparian areas will be protected.

Sensitive plant habitat which remains will be protected.

The Cottonwood drainage is important for elk calving and big game

summer range, and receives high levels of use from people. In

recognition of this, the treatment prescription for this area will

maintain security habitat for big game.

On areas where surplus trees occur, a combination of helicopter,

skyline, jammer and tractor systems will be used in the harvest effort.

To protect watersheds and fisheries habitat, tractor logging will be

limited to slopes less than 30 percent in moderate to high intensity

burn areas, and less than 40 percent in low intensity burn areas.

Harvest trees will be fully suspended from the ground during logging

operations in riparian areas. One end suspension will be allowed in

skyline areas unless analysis shows full suspension is needed to limit

erosion. The Idaho Forest Practices Act and watershed and fisheries

evaluation guidelines will be used to determine protection measures on

streams.

Some temporary road construction will be required to access

helicopter landings. Minor amounts of reconstruction of existing roads

will also be required. No roads or log landings will be constructed in

the IRAs.

Issues

Initial scoping has indicated that a key issue to the Proposed

Action is salvage harvesting in IRAs and the potential effect it may

have on the wilderness attributes of the area.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

Two alternatives to the Proposed Action have been identified. They

are the No Action alternative and an alternative that would not include

salvage harvesting in the IRAs. Other alternatives may be developed as

issues are raised and information is received.

Decision To Be Made

The Boise National Forest Supervisor will decide the following:

what amount, type and distribution of dead and imminently dead trees,

within the fire areas are needed to maintain post-fire ecological

function, how should dead and imminently dead trees within fire areas,

not needed to maintain ecosystem function be harvested, and still

protect those functions, and what forested acres need to be planted to

aid ecosystem recovery.

Public Involvement Meetings

Open houses have been conducted in Boise and Idaho City, Idaho in

October, 1994. Additional presentations will be made upon request.

Agency/Public Contacts

Contacts have been made with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as

to threatened and endangered species listed for the project area, area

residents, conservation groups, and timber industry. A summary of the

project methodology was mailed to key individuals, groups and agencies

for a response to the Proposed Action and issues identification. This

mailing list consisted of about 350 people who are generally interested

in the Boise National Forest and Idaho City NEPA projects, and people

who were interested in the Boise National Forest's Foothills Wildfire

Timber Recovery Project in 1992.

Schedule

Draft Environmental Impact Statement, November 30, 1994. Final EIS,

January, 1995. Implementation, March, 1995.

Comments

Comments concerning the proposed project and analysis should be

received in writing on or before November 26, 1994. Mail comments to

Terry Padilla, Idaho City Ranger District, Boise National Forest, PO

Box 129, Idaho City, ID 83631, Telephone, (208) 364-4330. Further

information can be obtained at the same location.

The comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact 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, 1002 (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 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 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 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.

Responsible Official

Cathy Barbouletos, Acting Forest Supervisor, Boise National Forest,

1750 Front Street, Boise, ID 83702.

Dated: October 18, 1994.

Cathy Barbouletos,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 94-26369 Filed 10-24-94; 8:45 am]

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