Fall Creek Postfire Project, Payette National Forest, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Fall Creek Postfire Project, Payette National Forest, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: In the summer and fall of 1994, the Blackwell Fire covered

56,000 acres of Payette National Forest northeast of McCall, Idaho. The

Forest Service intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for

the Fall Creek portion of the wildfire area to assess and disclose the

environmental effects of a proposal. The purpose of the Proposed Action

is to remove fire-killed and imminently dead timber, recover its

economic value and meet socio-economic demands of local communities,

reduce fuel loading, reforest the area, and retain and enhance wildlife

habitat. [[Page 7159]]

All actions include provisions for snags, dead and down woody

debris, visual quality, cultural resources and TES species, and would

comply with the Bull Trout Conservation Agreement and PACFISH

guidelines for water quality and fisheries.

This project would be accomplished through a salvage sale of burned

timber on about 1,000 acres and commercial thinning of about 100 acres

of western larch stands, using helicopter logging (no road construction

or reconstruction); planting of conifer seedlings; and establishing owl

and goshawk nest structures. The salvage sale proceeds would finance

the other activities.

The project is approximately three miles northeast of McCall, in

the Fall Creek drainage, a tributary to Payette Lake. It lies within

the Secesh Roadless Area.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Fitch, McCall District Ranger (208 634-0400); or Chris Brunner,

Interdisciplinary Team Leader (208 634-0421).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: From July to October 1994, wildfires covered

a total of about 290,000 acres of Payette National Forest. The

Blackwell Fire was ignited in early August by lightning strikes three

miles northeast of the city of McCall, and eventually covered about

56,000 acres until stopped by winter weather in mid-October. Within

this perimeter, it burned in a mosaic pattern of fire intensities

including some unburned areas.

In October, Payette National Forest convened three

interdisciplinary groups of Forest resource specialists to assess the

landscapes affected by the fires: one each for the Blackwell landscape,

the Corral landscape, and the Chicken landscape. Each landscape was

composed of two or more watersheds. The Blackwell landscape encompassed

over 93,000 acres in the Upper North Fork Payette River and Payette

Lake watersheds. The Forest also convened a team to assess the broad-

scale area, which encompasses the three landscapes plus the Thunderbolt

landscape to the south.

In January 1995, each landscape team produced a landscape

assessment encompassing their analysis area. The teams used a

ecosystem-based approach to assess the fires' effects and to propose

target landscape conditions, based on the Forest Plan and the historic

range of variation. Each team identified management opportunities that

could be implemented this year and in the future to move their postfire

landscape toward the target landscape design. The Forest leadership

team selected a package of proposed actions for each landscape to bring

forward into the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis

process.

The Proposed Action for Fall Creek described herein is one product

of the Blackwell landscape assessment: it proposes the high-priority

short term projects related to timber salvage and other postfire

resource opportunities consistent with the target landscape design for

the Blackwell landscape.

Burn intensities, as defined by degree of three mortality, in the

Blackwell landscape varied from intensely burned to unburned. Within

the Blackwell landscape, which includes portions of both the Blackwell

and Corral fires, approximately 29,000 acres burned at high intensity

(tree mortality greater than 90%), 12,800 acres at moderate intensity

(tree mortality greater than 30% and less than 90%), and 6,400 acres at

low intensity (tree mortality less than 30%). The remainder of the

landscape did not burn.

An estimated 28,100 acres of the Secesh Roadless Area lie within

the Blackwell landscape.

Simultaneous with this Notice of Intent, Payette National Forest is

also publishing two Notices of Intent for other postfire proposals. The

``Lower South Fork Salmon River Postfire Project'' EIS will cover the

Chicken landscape, and the ``Main Salmon River Postfire Projects'' EIS

will cover the Corral landscape. The Forest Service will analyze the

two projects concurrently with this ``Fall Creek Postfire Project''

proposal. It will also analyze in an environmental assessment (EA) the

``North Fork Payette River Postfire Project'' proposal covering another

portion of the Blackwell landscape.

Purpose and Need

The need is to move toward the desired future conditions, goals and

objectives as described in the Payette Forest Plan and the target

landscape design in the Blackwell Landscape Assessment. The Blackwell

Landscape Assessment was tiered to the Forest Plan and identifies a

strategy to implement the plan in an exosystem management context. The

proposed action is derived from management opportunities in the

landscape assessment. The purpose of each element of the proposed

action is:

Salvage: To recover economic value of burned timber for counties

and timber-related industries and provide wood fiber for society. Past

experience with wildfire timber recovery in south-central Idaho

indicates that prompt harvest is needed to recover the economic value

of fire-killed trees. The trees in the project area, mostly Douglas-

fir, grand fir, and lodgepole pine, are expected to lose an estimated

50% of their economic value by the end of 1996. Part of the salvage

sale proceeds will finance the regeneration and wildlife habitat

elements of the project.

Thinning: To perpetuate a larch stand for wildlife habitat and

reduce fuel loading adjacent to State and private land. This harvest

needs to take place concurrently with the salvage due to economic

efficiency.

Regeneration: To promptly return to production those lands within

the suited base that contribute to the allowable sale quantity.

Wildlife: To replace habitat components lost in the fire.

Proposed Action

The Proposed Action has the following components:

1. Salvage harvest fire-killed and imminently dead trees on

approximately 1,000 acres. Harvest by helicopter to protect domestic

watershed conditions and fish habitat. Construct two helicopter

landings: no road construction or reconstruction is proposed.

Harvesting would comply with the Draft Bull Trout Conservation

Agreement. The proposal would not harvest within PACFISH Riparian

Habitat Conservation Areas, which include riparian corridors along

perennial and intermittent streams, wetlands, landslides, and landslide

prone areas, where riparian-dependent resources receive primary

emphasis. Site specific integrated prescriptions to provide for snags/

large wood debris, visual quality, cultural resource protection, and

TES plant and animal needs would be developed consistent with the

Forest Plan, landscape assessment, and current policy/research.

2. Commercially thin unburned western larch stands on 100 acres.

Harvest by helicopter only; no road construction or reconstruction is

proposed.

3. Regenerate productive forest suited acres within the project

area by planting conifer seedlings or ensuring natural regeneration.

4. Construct great gray owl and goshawk nest platforms adjacent to

burned areas.

Forest Plan Amendment

Amendment to the Forest Plan may be needed to:

1. Allow plantation stocking levels below Forest Plan standards and

guidelines to reflect natural stand conditions. [[Page 7160]]

2. Allow postfire activities as described in the Fall Creek

Postfire Project to proceed without on Order 2 soil survey. Soil

information of sufficient detail to address NEPA issues and required

effects disclosure will be provided.

Preliminary Issues

The Forest Service has identified six preliminary issues raised by

the Proposed Action:

1. Effects on water quality in the North Fork Payette River and

Payette Lake, which supplies domestic water to McCall. The river is

designated a Stream Segment of Concern by the State of Idaho.

2. Effects on fish habitat in the North Fork Payette River and its

tributaries, habitat for westslope cutthroat trout and former habitat

for bull trout (sensitive species). The North Fork Payette River is a

key watershed in the draft Bull Trout Conservation Agreement between

Idaho Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest

Service.

3. Effects on sensitive wildlife species including the boreal owl

and three-toed woodpecker.

4. Effects on visual quality as seen from the city of McCall.

5. Effects on wilderness characteristics within the Secesh Roadless

Area.

6. The economic efficiency of proposed projects, and effects on

soci-economic and social systems around the Payette National Forest.

Possible Alternatives

The Forest Service has identified two alternatives to the Proposed

Act: a no action alternative, and an alternative that uses tractor,

skyline, and helicopter logging with road construction. As the public

raises additional logging with road construction. As the public raises

additional issues and provides more information, the Forest may develop

additional alternatives.

Decisions To Be Made

The Payette National Forest Supervisor will decide:

Whether to allow salvage logging and/or thinning.

If so, where and how to harvest.

Whether to plant after harvest.

Whether to implement the wildlife projects.

What management requirements and mitigation measures are required

as part of the project.

What monitoring requirements are appropriate to evaluate project

implementation. And,

What Forest Plan amendment(s) are required.

Public Involvement Meetings

The Forest will hold five public scoping meetings to introduce the

Proposed Actions for the three burned landscapes and to invite public

comment: Riggins--February 15, 4-9 p.m., City Hall. McCall--February

16, 4-9 p.m., McCall Smokejumper Base. Council--February 21, 4-9 p.m.,

Council Ranger District office. Boise--February 23, 4-9 p.m., Red Lion

Downtowner. Grangeville--February 27, 1-3 p.m., Nez Perce National

Forest Supervisor's office. In addition, Forest Service personnel will

make added public presentations on request.

Agency/Public Contacts

The Forest is mailing a summary of the Proposed Action, preliminary

issues, and background information on the analysis to key individuals,

groups, and agencies for comment. The mailing list includes those on

the Payette postfire mailing list and those generally interested in

Payette National Forest NEPA projects.

Schedule

Draft Environmental Impact Statement, May 1995. Final EIS, August

1995. Implementation, September 1995.

Comments

Comments on the Proposed Action and analysis should be received in

writing on or before March 10, 1995. Send comments to: Forest

Supervisor, Payette National Forest, P.O. Box 1026, 106 W. Park Street,

McCall, ID 83638; telephone (208) 634-0700; FAX (208) 634-0281.

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 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 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 and respond to them

in the final environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

raised by 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.

Responsible Official

David F. Alexander, Forest Supervisor, Payette National Forest,

P.O. Box 1026, 106 West Park, McCall, ID 83638.

Dated: January 31, 1995.

David F. Alexander,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95-2915 Filed 2-6-95; 8:45 am]

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