South Manti Timber Salvage; Manti-La Sal National Forest, Sanpete and Sevier Counties, UT

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

South Manti Timber Salvage; Manti-La Sal National Forest, Sanpete

and Sevier Counties, UT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose the environmental

impacts of proposed actions to salvage harvest timber and improve

productivity of stands of trees in portions of the Muddy Creek,

Twelvemile Creek, Sixmile Creek, and Ferron Creek Drainages. The

project is located approximately 10 air miles southeast of Manti, Utah.

The entire proposal area involves some 30,000 acres of which

approximately 10,000 acres is forested with an Engelmann spruce cover

type. A bark beetle epidemic has affected the major portion of this

type. the need for the proposal is established by the silvicultural

condition of the affected timber stands and forest goals as outlined in

the Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan.

Six areas that were inventoried as roadless as part of the RARE II

evaluation are adjacent to and in some cases overlap the proposal.

These areas were released back to full Multiple Use management by the

Utah Wilderness Act and were evaluated for a variety of designations in

the Forest's analysis during the Forest Land and Resource Plan process

which was completed in 1986. The current analysis will document effects

that would substantially alter the undeveloped character of these

areas.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis described

in this Notice should be received on or before March 30, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Manti-La Sal National Forest, 599

West Price River Drive, Price, Utah 84501.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions concerning the proposed action and EIS should be addressed to

Arthur J. Vasten Jr., Project Timber Staff, Manti-La Sal National

Forest, phone (801) 637-2817.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will tier to the final EIS for the

Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan). The Manti-La Sal Forest Plan provides the overall guidance

(Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area Direction) to

achieve the Desired Future Condition for the area being analyzed, and

contains specific management area prescriptions for the entire Forest.

A National forest Management Act Analysis for this proposal was

completed in 1993. As a result of that analysis and additional scoping

the Manti-La Sal concluded the proposal may have a significant effect

on the roadless character of some of the surrounding areas, and because

of the scope of the project size it was decided to prepare this EIS.

The previous scoping and analysis also identified the following

potential issues related to the proposed action:

What will be the effects of the proposal on the habitats, behavior,

and local population of certain wildlife species?

What effect will the proposed activities have on the access,

quality, and safety of the recreational opportunities of the area?

How will the proposal alter the present visual quality?

What will be the effects of the proposal on cultural resources?

How will potential build up of dead, down, woody, ground fuels be

effected by the proposal?

How will the proposal contribute to a healthy, productive forest

that will economically provide timber for the market place on a

sustainable basis for the present and the future?

What effect will the proposal have on the transportation systems

presently serving the area?

What will be the impacts on wetlands, and riparian areas?

What will the impacts be on the water quality and chemistry?

What will be the economics of the proposed action?

How will the proposal affect the roadless character of certain

areas?

How will the local economies be affected by the proposal?

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. The Forest Service invites written comments and suggestions on

the issues related to the proposal and the area being analyzed.

Information received will be used in preparation of the Draft EIS and

Final EIS. For most effective use, comments should be submitted to the

Forest Service within 30 days from the date of publication of this

Notice in the Federal Register. Preparation of the EIS will include the

following steps:

1. Define the purpose of and need for action.

2. Identify potential issues.

3. Eliminate issues of minor importance or those that have been covered

by previous and relevant environmental analysis.

4. Select issues to be analyzed in depth.

5. Identify reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.

6. Describe the affected environment.

7. Identify the potential environmental effects of the alternatives.

Steps 2, 3, and 4 will be completed through the scoping process.

Step 5 will consider a range of alternatives developed from the key

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

alternatives will consider various methods, levels and locations of

harvest, regeneration, and related road development/improvement in

response to issues, and non-timber objectives.

Step 6 will describe the physical attributes of the area to be

affected by this proposal, with special attention to the environmental

factors that could be adversely affected.

Step 7 will analyze the environmental effects of each alternative.

This analysis will be consistent with management direction outlined in

the Forest Plan. The direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of each

alternative will be analyzed and documented. In addition, the site

specific mitigation measures for each alternative will be identified

and the effectiveness of these mitigation measures will be disclosed.

The approximate boundary of the area covered for this analysis will

be from the southern Forest boundary along White Mountain north along

Skyline Drive to the Ferron and Sixmile drainages.

The proposed management activities would be administered by the

Sanpete and Ferron Ranger Districts of the Manti-La Sal National Forest

in Sanpete and Sevier Counties, Utah.

Agency representatives and other interested people are invited to

visit with Forest Service officials at any time during the EIS process.

Two specific time periods are identified for the receipt of formal

comments on the analysis. The two comment periods are, (1) during the

scoping process, the next 30 days following publication of this Notice

in the Federal Register, and (2) during the formal review period of the

Draft EIS.

The Draft EIS is estimated to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in June, 1994.

At this time the EPA will publish an availability notice of the Draft

EIS in the Federal Register.

The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days from the date

the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in

the Federal Register. It is very important that those interested in

this proposed action participate at that time. To be the most helpful,

comments on the Draft EIS should be as specific as possible and may

address the adequacy of the statement or the merits of the alternatives

discussed (See The Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental

Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3).

In addition, Federal court decisions have established that

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 reviewers' position and

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,

553 (1978). Environmental objections that could have been raised at the

draft stage may be waived if not raised until after completion of the

final environmental impact statement. City of Angoon v. Hodel, (9th

Circuit, 1986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp.

1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). The reason for this to ensure 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.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concerns related to the proposed action, comments on the Draft EIS

should be as specific as possible. Referring to specific pages or

chapters of the Draft EIS is most helpful. 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 is expected to be released September 16, 1994.

The Forest Supervisor for the Manti-La Sal National Forest, who is

the responsible official for the EIS, will then make a decision

regarding this proposal, after considering the comments, responses, and

environmental consequences discussed in the Final Environmental Impact

Statement, and applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The reasons

for the decision will be documented in a Record of Decisions.

Dated: February 17, 1994.

George A. Morris,

Forest Supervisor, Manti-La Sal National Forest.

[FR Doc. 94-4420 Filed 2-25-94; 8:45 am]

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