North Lochsa Face Vegetative Management; Clearwater National Forest; Idaho County, ID

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

North Lochsa Face Vegetative Management; Clearwater National

Forest; Idaho County, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Clearwater

National Forest will prepare an EIS (environmental impact statement)

for vegetative management activities, within the North Lochsa Face

analysis area, that will restore and maintain the health of forest

ecosystems and support the economic and social needs of people and

their communities. The analysis area is located on the Lochsa Ranger

District on the Clearwater National Forest, headquartered in Orofino,

Idaho.

The EIS will tier to the Clearwater National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan Final EIS of September, 1987, which provides

overall guidance of all land management activities on the Clearwater

National Forest. Analyses will also be conducted in compliance with the

Stipulation of Dismissal agreed to for the lawsuit between the Forest

Service and the Sierra Club, et al (signed September 13, 1993).

The agency invites written comments and suggestions on the issues

and management opportunities for the area being analyzed.

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

by no later than September 23, 1996, to receive timely consideration in

the preparation of the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is anticipated to be

filed with the Environmental Protection Agency in December 1996. The

Final EIS and Record of Decision are expected to be issued in May 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed

action or requests to be placed on the project mailing list to James L.

Caswell, Forest Supervisor, Clearwater National Forest, 12730 U.S.

Highway 12, Orofino, ID, 83544, FAX: 208-476-8329.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: (George Harbaugh, Interdisciplinary

Team Leader, Lochsa Ranger District, P.O. Box 398, Kooskia, ID 83539,

telephone (208) 926-4275.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The North Lochsa Face analysis area covers

approximately 128,000 acres of mostly forested, steep mountains on the

Lochsa Ranger District. It lies between Highway 12 and the Lolo

Motorway (Forest Road 500) just north of the small communities of

Lowell and Syringa. Lewiston is 95 miles west of the area on Highway

12; Missoula is 130 miles to the east. The Lochsa River, a designated

Wild and Scenic River, runs alongside Highway 12. The Lochsa District

boundary and the Lolo Motorway form the north border of the analysis

area. The Pete King Creek drainage forms the southwest boundary.

Highway 12 and the Lochsa River form the south/southeast boundary up to

Fish Creek, and the remaining boundary is the eastern watershed divide

of Fish Creek.

The area is relatively isolated and undeveloped. However, U.S.

Highway 12, the only highway in central Idaho that connects Washington

and Montana, carries a great deal of traffic year-round. It is the

primary route for trucks hauling grain, logs and other products from

Montana and the northern tier of states, as well as southern Canada, to

the shipping port of Lewiston. This route also provides the quickest

crossing for passenger traffic from the Portland, Oregon, area to

points in the northern tier of states. Recreation traffic on this

highway, especially in the summer, can be heavy.

Two small communities, Lowell and Syringa, lie at the southern tip

of the analysis area. Both offer motels and a service station for

highway travelers and tourists. Within a 60 mile radius of the analysis

area lie the towns of Kooskia, Kamiah, Grangeville, Orofino, Pierce,

Weippe, and Sites. All are primarily timber-dependent communities,

whose economies are directly affected by Forest Service management. The

analysis area is within Idaho County, but any activity in the analysis

area would also affect those communities within adjacent Clearwater and

Lewis Counties.

The Clearwater Forest Plan provides guidance through its goals,

objectives, standards, guidelines and management area direction. The

analysis area consists of Management Areas A6, A7, C3, C4, C6, C8S, E1,

M1, and US, with inclusions of Management Area M2 in all areas. Below

is a brief description of the applicable management direction.

Management Area A6--Historic Lolo Trail Corridor (11,262 acres)--

Manage to provide opportunity for recreational activities oriented to

traveling over, understanding, and appreciating the route as a historic

travel route. Minimize timber harvest activity conflicts with

recreation.

Management Area A7--Middle Fork of the Clearwater Wild and Scenic

River Corridor (4,105 acres)--Protect and enhance scenic values,

cultural values, water quality, big game, non-game, and fishery

habitats with special emphasis on the anadromous fishery, and developed

and dispersed recreation that will contribut to public use and

enjoyment of the free flowing rivers and their immediate environment.

Harvest timber when enhancement of key resources will occur and adverse

impacts to key resources would be of low magnitude and short duration,

and to achieve specific vegetation management objectives.

Management Area C3--Elk Winter Range (16,797 acres)--Provide winter

forage and thermal cover for big-game. Classify this land as unsuitable

for timber production.

Management Area C4--Elk Winter Range/Timber (14,979 acres)--Provide

sufficient winter forage and thermal cover for existing and projected

big game populations while achieving timber production outputs.

Management Area C6--Elk Summer Range (28,263 acres)--Protect the

soil and water from adverse effects of man's activities. Classify this

land as unsuitable for timber production.

Management Area C8S--Elk Summer Range/Timber (22,900 acres)--Manage

these areas to maintain high quality wildlife and fishery objectives

while producing timber from the productive Forest land.

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Management Area E1--Timer Management (24,640 acres)--Provide

optimum, sustained production of timber products in a cost-effective

manner while protecting soil and water quality.

Management Area M1--Lochsa Research Natural Area (1,022 acres)--

Manage established RNAs to protect their inherent natural features and

maintain them in undisturbed ecosystems.

Management Area M2--Riparian Areas (inclusions)--Manage under the

principles of multiple use as areas of special consideration,

distinctive values, and integrated with adjacent management areas to

the extent that water and other riparian-dependent resources are

protected.

Management Area US--Unsuitable Land (3,764 acres)--Manage to

maintain and protect soil and watershed values and vegetative cover.

Manage for resources other than timber such as dispersed recreation,

and big-game summer range as appropriate.

The proposed actions are based on the North Lochsa Face Landscape

and Watershed Assessment, April 1996, which was a National Forest

Management Act (NFMA) analysis completed by a team of Forest and

District specialists. The team was given two major objectives. The

first was to prepare a scientific assessment of the ecological

condition of the North Lochsa Face area, focusing on structure,

function, and composition. The second major objective was to describe

the social values associated with this piece of land, and integrate

those social values into future management of the area. The analysis

also provided an opportunity to modify interim PACFISH watershed

guidelines. Copies of the assessment are available upon request from

the District office.

The proposed actions reflect treatment needs identified for this

landscape from a scientific basis. Numerous social constraints have not

been overlaid on the proposed actions, but will be reflected in future

alternative development. Also, in replicating natural disturbance

patterns, it is likely that some of the timber harvest and/or

prescribed burning proposals will result in Forest openings greater

than 40 acres. The following actions are proposed for the North Lochsa

Face area during the next 5-year planning period (1997-2001):

Proposed Action: Timber Harvest-Approximately 6,900 acres of highly

stocked stands in the Fish and Hungery Creek drainages, 4,000 acres in

the Canyon and Deadman Creek drainages, 2,500 acres in the Pete King

drainage, and 6,000 acres in the remaining small drainages along the

northern face of the Lochsa River are proposed for harvest. Stand

diagnoses are still needed to determine the type of harvest treatment.

However, at this time, it is anticipated that the primary type of

proposed treatments will consist of commercial thinnings, with some

regeneration harvest and selection cuts. Where needed, proposed road

activities will consist mostly of reconstruction or reconditioning. It

is anticipated that there will be minimal need, if any, for the

construction of new roads. Almost two-thirds of the total area proposed

for harvest is unroaded and will require helicopter yarding. Those

remaining areas having existing road systems would be logged using

conventional systems (skyline and tractor yarding). An additional 840

acres of roadside salvage, mostly in the Canyon and Deadman Creek

drainages, are proposed within a 200 foot strip on both sides of 23

miles of open roads. Where economically feasible, opportunities for

salvage harvesting will be considered beyond the roadside strips.

Conventional systems would be used to yard the dead, dying, and high

risk trees proposed for salvage. The total estimated volume to be

harvested will be available after further data analysis and field

reconnaissance.

Purpose: To reduce stand densities, change species composition, and

achieve age class/size distribution and structure patterns to desired

levels; to reduce the risk of wildfire; to reduce burn intensities on

the breaklands; to salvage dead, dying and high risk trees; to improve

Forest health; and to provide a supply of timber for logging-dependent

communities.

Need: Many years of fire suppression have allowed a majority of the

stands proposed for harvest to have basal areas higher than the normal

range of variability. Increased stand densities, combined with the

drought conditions of recent years, have stressed the trees, making

them more susceptible to attack by bark beetles, root rots, and other

pests. As the incidence of insects and disease has increased, higher

fuel loads have resulted, increasing the risk of higher intensity

fires. Also, since many of these acres are on the breaklands, the stand

densities need to be reduced through timber harvest, before the

following proposal on prescribed burning can be implemented.

Known stands in need of commercial thinning are less than 100 years

old with over 175 trees per acre. There is a need to thin these stands

back to about 100 trees per acre to reduce stress, redistribute growth,

and reduce fuel loads.

Many stands along open roads are experiencing declaring growth

rates resulting from age, insects, disease, and overcrowding. The

recent emergency salvage effort, conducted under authority of the

Rescission Act, focused on similar stands through the Forest. Another

23 miles of open roads within this analysis area have dead and dying

stands along them, plus, recent aerial surveys have detected insect and

disease damage in much of the analysis area. These stands need to be

salvaged and regenerated to improve productively reduce attack by

insects and disease, and utilize volumes usually lost to mortality.

Historically, logging has been the primary means of support and a

way of life for local community residents. Most communities were hit

hard by the timber shortages of the 1980s, and there has been some

movement towards economic diversification. However, logging still plays

a significant role in the area, and the above mention harvest proposals

would benefit those people who work in the mills and wood products

industry.

Proposed Action: Prescribed Burning--Approximately 5,000 to 8,000

acres of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir habitats, mostly within the

breaklands, are proposed for understory burns. Prescribed natural fire

may take up additional acres, should lightening strikes occur in

desirable areas. A prescribed natural fire management plan will be

prepared as part of this analysis. Also, a Forest Plan amendment will

be proposed to change the contain/confine status in brushfields in an

effort to balance the suppression costs with resource values.

Purpose: To use prescribed fire to maintain healthy ecosystems; and

to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

Need: Historically, the breaklands have had a short term fire

regime of 26 to 50 years. Frequent fires maintained a very diverse

structure composition, keeping stands open and allowing Douglas-fir,

western larch, and to a lesser extent ponderosa pine to dominate a

stand a regenerate. Over 60 years of fire suppression has caused the

seral species to become less dominant in the overstory and replaced by

uniform standards of trees with dense understories of western redcedar,

grand fir, subalpine fir, and Douglas-fir. Under these conditions, the

risk of a large catastrophic fire occurring in the breaklands is high.

This risk is highest in Rye Patch Creek, lower Canyon Creek, Apgar

Creek, and Glade Creek. Under-story burns will help perpetuate

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the types of stand composition and structure naturally occurring when

fire is reincorporated as an ecological process on the landscape.

Proposed Action: Stocking Control--Approximately 7,500 acres of

stands having more than 1,000 trees per acre, less than 7'' diameter

breast height (dbh), are proposed to be thinned back to 400-500 trees

per acre, using chainsaws or natural prescribed fire as methods of

treatment. These stands are scattered throughout the analysis area, and

further screening based on accessibility will probably eliminate those

stands out of reach. Another estimated 860 acres of overstocked stands

are proposed to have their tolerant species (grand fir, cedar,

subalpine fir, and mountain hemlock) thinned back to increase the

percentage of seral species (Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, white pine,

larch, and lodgepole pine) left in the stand. These stands will also be

screened for accessibility.

Purpose: To reduce the number of trees per acre in overstocked

stands; and where desired, to reduce the density of tolerant species in

favor of the seral species.

Need: High stocking levels, especially on the drier LTAs, lead to

limited availability of water and nutrients for individual trees,

predisposing them to insect and disease problems and increased fire

risk. Shade-tolerant species on a site are more sensitive to water

deficits, with the same results as overstocking. Also, stands having

high percentages of seral species are better adapted to fire regimes.

Proposed Action: Planting Riparian Areas--Approximately 450 acres,

consisting of a strip 300 feet wide, 6 miles long on both sides of Fish

Creek, are proposed to be interplanted with conifers such as cedar and

spruce, and cottonwoods. Approximately 150 acres, consisting of a

similar strip along 2 miles of Pete King Creek, are proposed to be

full-planted with cedar and white pine tree species.

Purpose: To reduce stream temperatures by re-establishing stands of

trees (shade) in riparian areas.

Need: The stream terraces within both of these drainages would

typically have a high percentage of old-growth trees. However, only

remnants remain due to the 1934 fire that overran these areas. With

shade being limited, stream temperatures in both Pete King Creek and

Fish Creek are currently above water quality standards. The re-

establishment of shade providing trees is needed to reduce stream

temperature to desired levels.

Proposed Action: Reforestation of Shrubfields--There are

approximately 5,300 acres of shrubfields with none or low tree

stocking, mostly within the Fish, Hungery, Deadman, Bimerick, and Glade

Creek drainages. Currently, a mechanical slash buster is being used on

about 600 acres of shrubfields in the Middle Butte area. As the brush

is cut back, the prepared sites are being planted with seral tree

species. At this time, it is proposed to monitor the effectiveness of

this treatment and research that of other treatments, such as, slashing

followed by a light burn, underplanting followed by release, and

possible ground applications of herbicides. Following this monitoring

and research effort, some or all of the 5,300 acres of shrubfields may

be proposed for treatment.

Purpose: To comply with the NFMA mandate to restore and maintain

appropriate forest cover; to put suitable lands back into optimal

timber production; to allow for soil recovery; and to provide future

thermal cover for wildlife.

Need: Seral shrubfields, comprised of ninebark, mountain maple,

alder, snowberry, ocean spray, willow, and other species, have come to

dominate these areas after repeated large fires eliminated tree seed

sources. These past fires have reduced site productivity through

changing soil physical and chemical properties along with surface soil

erosion losses. Forest vegetation is slowly returning to areas with

deeper soils, but without treatment, some of the shrubfields may remain

for many years.

Although these shrubfields represent an important early seral

stage, the areas they occupy must proceed through natural successional

processes to allow soil recovery from past fires. To accommodate big

game use, shrubfields must be permitted to shift spatially across the

landscape over time. This process creates a mosaic pattern of forage

and thermal cover areas beneficial to big game while allowing for soil

restoration to occur.

Proposed Action: Restoring Native Species Composition--Off-site

ponderosa pine plantations occupy a total of 330 acres in the Boundary

Peak area and 1,950 acres in the Bimerick Creek drainage. During this

planning period, approximately 1,000 acres of off-site ponderosa pine

are proposed to be removed by use of timber harvest, slashing, and/or

burning. Use of timber harvest is still very questionable at this time,

since these trees are of poor form and quality (low value), and access

to them is very limited. Local seed sources would be used to replant

the sites with genetically adapted seral species.

Purpose: To better utilize these sites by replacing off-site

ponderosa pine with adapted stock; and to prevent the contamination of

the local gene pool, which could affect the species' ability to adapt

and thrive.

Need: After the 1934 fire these areas were planted with ponderosa

pine by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The trees planted were from

distant sources, including the Bitterroot, Cabinet, Chelan, and

Deschutes National Forests. Recent research has shown that ponderosa

pine is genetically adapted to specific elevations and geographic

areas. This stock was not matched to the planting sites with those

criteria. As a result, these trees have been slower growing than those

from local seed sources, and are now falling victim to diseases that

would normally not affect trees of this age. Root rots, blights, needle

casts, and insect infestations have all been noted.

Proposed Action: Control of Noxious Weeds--The initial proposal is

to prioritize where to control noxious weeds along all roads and

trails, plus the grazing allotment area near Woodrat Mountain. The

proposal will be further refined to concentrate control efforts on

those areas receiving high use, such as, recreation areas and open

roads. Methods of control to be analyzed include herbicides, manual or

mechanical eradication, prescribed fire, and available biological

control agents.

Purpose: To control new infestations and minimize the spread of

noxious weeds; to comply with the Idaho Noxious Weed Law; and to

participate in the integrated weed management system.

Need: Forest travel-ways (roads and trails) are the main seed

depositories and transportation corridors for invasive/non-native plant

species. Given the nature of use of the travel-ways within the analysis

area (logging equipment, livestock grazing, backcountry horsemen, and

weekend explorers), it would be safe to assume that all roads and

trails have at least one invasive/non-native weed species established

on them.

Surveys conducted along US Hwy 12 documented Spotted Knapweed

(Centaurea maculosa) present continually from Kooskia to Lolo Pass,

with scattered patches of Canada thistle (cirsium arvense), Meadow

Hawkweed (Hieracium pretense), Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), Common

crupina (Crupina vulgaris), St. Johnswort (Hypericum preforatum),

Dalmation Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), Field bindweed (Convolvulus

arvensis), and Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium). Also documented

were two potential invaders, Sulfur cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) and

Everlasting peavine (Lathyrus

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latifolius). Sulfur cinquefoil is the only species present that is

known to persist under a forested canopy. It is not yet a listed

Noxious Weed species in Idaho, but is considered a serious threat to

big game winter range habitat.

In 1995, FS Road 101 was surveyed from U.S. Hwy 12 to Mex Mountain.

This survey revealed Spotted Knapweed present almost continually on

both sides of the road as well as scattered infestations of Dalmation

toadflax, Canada thistle, Everlasting peavine, St. Johnswort and Orange

Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum). Roads 417, 514, 455 and 418 were also

traveled during this survey. Spotted Knapweed, Orange Hawkweed and

Canada thistle were found on these roads.

Proposed Action: Watershed Restoration and Rehabilitation--Of all

the watersheds within the analysis area, Pete King has had the greatest

amount of mass wasting. Due to more stable landforms or timber

management associated activities, the other watersheds have experienced

less mass wasting. Treatments proposed include: removing sediment from

stream channels; placing large organic debris in the creeks; placing

seed, fertilizer, and straw mulch on exposed soil surfaces; and

rehabilitating over-steepened road cutslopes and old skid trails and

roads that remain exposed to rainfall and running water.

Purpose: To identify and stabilize stream sediment sources and

provide a pathway of actions that lead to a healthy functioning

watershed.

Need: The analysis area is composed of relatively managed

watersheds, with the exceptions of Fish/Hungery Creeks and some of the

face watersheds. Mass wasting, such as debris torrents associated with

channels, increased substantially after the large fire in 1934. Large

landslide events, mostly related to roads, occurred in the 1970s, 1987,

and 1996. This year's event can be related to higher than normal

rainfall and saturated soils. Except for Canyon/Deadman Creeks, the

other major drainages are in the upper ranges of natural variability

for sediment. Data on Canyon and Deadman Creeks show sediment gradually

declining, but these low energy systems do not clean themselves out.

A range of alternatives will be considered, including a no action

alternative and the proposals identified above. Based on the issues

identified through scoping, all action alternatives will vary in the

number and location of acres to be treated, the type of treatment, and

the kind of mitigation measures. Issues will drive the formulation of

feasible alternatives.

The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect and cumulative

environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present and projected

activities on National Forest lands will be considered. The EIS will

disclose the analysis of site-specific mitigation measures and their

effectiveness.

Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in

preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process will continue to be

used to:

1. Identify potential issues.

2. Identify major issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Eliminate minor issues or those which have been covered by a

relevant previous environmental analysis, such as the Clearwater Forest

Plan EIS.

4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.

5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action

and alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect and cumulative effects).

6. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

Preliminary issues identified as a result of internal and public

scoping include: effects of the proposal on watersheds, air quality,

economics, roadless areas, research natural areas, ecosystem

management, social aspects, visual quality, heritage resources, the

possible use of herbicides, helicopter logging systems, and safety.

These issues will be verified, expanded and/or modified based on

continued scoping for this proposal.

Public participation is important all through the analysis process.

Two key time periods have been identified for receipt of formal

comments on the proposal and analysis:

1. Scoping period, which starts with publication of this notice and

continues for the next 45 days; and

2. Review of the Draft EIS in December 1996 thru February 1997. The

Forest Service expects to file the Draft EIS with the Environmental

Protection Agency in December 1996. 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. The Final

EIS and Record of Decision are expected in May 1997.

The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers

notice, at this early stage, of several court rulings related to public

participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of

a draft EIS 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. 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 EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

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 EIS.

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 at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.)

The Forest Supervisor is the responsible official for this

environmental impact statement. His address is Clearwater National

Forest, Forest Supervisor's Office, 12730 Highway 12, Orofino, ID

83544.

Dated: July 30, 1996.

James E. Caswell,

Forest Supervisor, Responsible Official.

[FR Doc. 96-20286 Filed 8-8-96; 8:45 am]

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