Eight Fathom Timber Sale(s), Tongass National Forest, Chatham Area, Sitka, AK

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Eight Fathom Timber Sale(s), Tongass National Forest, Chatham

Area, Sitka, AK

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised notice of intent.

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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 Eight Fathom project area. This

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

project, published in the Federal Register on April 22, 1993 (Vol. 58,

No. 76, pages 21559 and 21560). Planning activities for the proposed

project have been delayed by the collection of inventory data and the

termination of the Alaska Pulp Corporation Long-term Timber Sale

Contract. A revision of the Notice of Intent is necessary because over

six months have passed since notification of this proposal and the

purpose of the project has changed, in part.

The proposed action provides for: (1) construction of about 37

miles of road; (2) harvest of about 3,382 acres of timber, and

regeneration of new stands of trees; and (3) reuse of existing Log

Transfer Facility sites at Eight Fathom Bight and Salt Lake Bay. This

level of development would result in the harvest of about 117 million

board feet (MMBF) of sawlog and utility timber volume.

DATES: The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) during July 1995 and the Final EIS and Record

of Decision during January 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the proposed action should be directed to: Michael J.

Weber, Team Leader, Chatham Area, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, Alaska

99835, (907) 747-6671.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Eight Fathom project area is located about 60 air miles north

of Sitka, Alaska, and 8 miles west of Hoonah, Alaska, on the northern

part of Chichagof Island within Value Comparison Units (VCUs) 193, 194,

195, 196, 197, 198, 200, 201, 202, 222, and 223 as designated in the

Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP). These VCUs are located within

Management Areas C27, C28, and C29 as described in the TLMP on pages

57, 58, and 59. All three Management Areas are part of the former

Alaska Pulp Corporation contract area.

This EIS will tier to the 1979 Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP)

Final EIS and the 1985-86 and 1991 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.

A Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for

the Eight Fathom Timber Sales(s) was published in the Federal Register

on April 22, 1993 (Vol. 58, No. 76, pages 21559 and 21560). Public

comments were received during the scoping period that concluded on June

7, 1993. Inventory information was collected from the project area from

May to August 1993 and again from May to August 1994.

The April 1993 Notice of Intent stated that the purpose and need

for the proposed action was to make timber available to meet

requirements of the Alaska Pulp Corporation 50-year Timber Sale

Contract (APC Contract). On April 14, 1994, Regional Forester Michael

Barton made the decision to terminate the APC Contract. Termination

ended APC Contract volume obligations. An independent sale program

market assessment was completed in May 1994 to help define market

demand for timber in Southeast Alaska in the absence of the APC

Contract.

Proposed Action

The proposed action is to build about 37 miles of road; harvest

about 3,382 acres of timber and regenerate new stands of trees; and

utilize existing Log Transfer Facility sites located at Eight Fathom

Bight and Salt Lake Bay within the Eight Fathom project area on

Chichagof Island. This level of development would result in the harvest

of approximately 117 MMBF of sawlog and utility volume to support local

mills. The proposed action is one alternative to achieve the purpose

and need for the project.

Purpose of the Proposed Action

The purpose and need for the proposed action is to make 60 to 170

million board feet of timber available from the project area to

implement the Tongass Land Management Plan; to provide a sustained

level of wood products to meet local, national, and international

demand; and to improve the timber productivity of the project area. 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. This EIS may result in

two or more timber sales under the independent sale program or in

offerings to the Ketchikan [[Page 19881]] Pulp Company under the

conditions of its long-term timber sale contract.

Gary A. Morrison, Forest Supervisor, Chatham Area, will decide

whether or not to authorize timber harvest within the Eight Fathom

project area and, if so, the design of any timber sale offerings

consistent with meeting resource protection standards and guidelines in

the TLMP. He will decide: (a) how much volume to make available; (b)

the location and design of the arterial and collector road system

needed to develop the Eight Fathom area; (c) the location of timber

harvest units; (d) mitigation and monitoring measures for sound

resource management, and (e) 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.

Analysis of Public Scoping

A number of public comments were received in response to the April

1993 timber sale proposal. Based on comments from the public and other

agencies during the scoping effort, the following significant issues

have been identified:

1. Project effects on recreation and tourism

2. Subsistence Impacts

3. Potential Economic Impacts

4. Protection of Fish and Wildlife Resources

5. Cultural and Historical Resource Protection

6. Protection of Caves and Karst Features

7. Concerns about Impacts and Alternatives to Clearcutting.

These issues are being used to design alternatives to the proposed

action and to identify the potential environmental effects of the

proposed action and alternatives.

Continued Public Participation Encouraged

Public participation is an important part of the environmental

analysis process. The Forest Service will be seeking comments from

Federal, State, and local agencies as well as individuals and

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

timber sale(s) when the Draft EIS is released. The Draft EIS is

expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

during July 1995. The comment period on the Draft EIS will be 45 days

from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice

of availability in the Federal Register. Agencies and other interested

persons or groups are invited to visit with Forest Service officials at

any time during the process.

The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important

to alert reviewers about 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, 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 Draft EIS 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 is expected to be released in January 1996. 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 a Record of Decision.

Dated: April 7, 1995.

John C. Sherrod,

Planning Staff Officer.

[FR Doc. 95-9798 Filed 4-20-95; 8:45 am]

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