Preparation of a joint Environmental Impact Statement / Environmental Impact Report for Federal and State Actions Associated with Furthering the Purposes of the September 28, 1996, Agreement Between the United States, State of California, and MAXXAM, Inc. and its Subsidiary, Pacific Lumber Company

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Preparation of a joint Environmental Impact Statement /

Environmental Impact Report for Federal and State Actions Associated

with Furthering the Purposes of the September 28, 1996, Agreement

Between the United States, State of California, and MAXXAM, Inc. and

its Subsidiary, Pacific Lumber Company

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. (Lead Agency)

Cooperating Agencies:

National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, Commerce.

Environmental Protection Agency

Forest Service, Agriculture

Bureau of Land Management, Interior

California State Resources Agency

California State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

California State Department of Fish and Game

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively ``the

Services''), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Bureau of Land

Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and California Resources

Agency (Agency), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

(CDF), and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) intend to

gather information necessary for the preparation of an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS)/ Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The EIS/EIR

will consider the Federal and State actions associated with the

September 28, 1996 agreement, (agreement) namely:

(1) Transfer of the Headwaters Forest and the Elk Head Forest and

adjacent forest lands, totaling approximately 7,500 acres, to the

United States and California in exchange for (i) the Elk River Exchange

Property (described below), and (ii) property and other consideration

from both the United States and California (including cash) having an

aggregate fair market value of $300 million;

(2) Acquisition by the United States and California of the

approximately 9,600-acre Elk River Timber Company property through

exchange for up to 10,000 acres of National Forest System lands in the

Eldorado, Plumas, Stanislaus, and Tahoe National Forests or other

considerations;

(3) Transfer of approximately 7,775 acres of the Elk River Timber

Lands (the Elk River Exchanged Property) to the Pacific Lumber Company

and its parent MAXXAM, Inc. in return for acquisition of the Headwaters

Forest and Elk Head Forest; with the remaining approximately 1,825

acres of the Elk River Timber lands becoming part of the Headwaters-Elk

Head Reserve;

(4) Issuance of an incidental take permit under the Endangered

Species Act (Act) by the Services in anticipation of a permit

application by The Pacific Lumber Company (a subsidiary of MAXXAM,

Inc.) to take federally listed species and requesting assurances

regarding other species occurring or potentially occurring on the

remaining lands of The Pacific Lumber Company, the Elk River Property,

and any other timberlands or timber harvesting rights acquired by

Pacific Lumber and its parent MAXXAM, Inc. as a result of the above

described transactions; and

(5) Approval of The Pacific Lumber Company's Sustained Yield Plan

(SYP) by CDF including consideration of conservation measures or plans

addressing State-listed species.

The EIS/EIR will also consider any actions by other Federal or

State agencies that are necessary or appropriate to perform the

agreement.

This notice is being furnished pursuant to the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing The Procedural

Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Regulations

(40 CFR sections 1501.7 and 1508.22) to obtain suggestions and

information from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues

and alternatives to be considered in preparation of the EIS.

To satisfy both Federal and State environmental policy act

requirements, the above Federal agencies and California agencies are

conducting a joint scoping process for the preparation of environmental

documents. In order to expedite the planning process, the above

agencies request all scoping

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comments to this notice be received by February 10, 1997.

DATES: As an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the scope

of the EIS, public scoping meetings are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, January 16, 1997, Oakland Convention Center,

West Hall, 550 Tenth Street (at Broadway), Oakland, California

Thursday, January 23, 1997, Red Lion Hotel, 3100 Camino

del Rio Court, Bakersfield, California

Tuesday, January 28, 1997, Red Lion Hotel, 1830 Hilltop

Drive, Redding, California

Thursday, January 30, 1997, Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure

Lane, Sacramento, California

Wednesday, February 5, 1997, Redwood Acres Fairgrounds,

Franceschi Hall, 3750 Harris Street, Eureka, California

All scoping meetings will be held from 1:00 p.m. to no later than

4:00 p.m., and from 6:00 p.m. to no later than 9:00 p.m.

ADDRESS: Comments regarding the scope of the EIS should be addressed to

Mr. Bruce Halstead, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1125 16th Street,

Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521-5582. Comments should be received on or

before January 31, 1997, at the above address. Written comments may

also be sent by facsimile to (707) 822-8136. Comments received will be

available for public inspection by appointment during normal business

hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) at the above

office; please call for an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Mackey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181, Telephone:

(503) 231-6241. Specific information regarding the location of the

National Forest System lands proposed for exchange may be obtained from

Phil Bayles, 630, Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, (415) 705-

2772.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MAXXAM, Inc. and its subsidiary, Pacific

Lumber Company own and manage approximately 200,000 acres of commercial

forest land in Northern California. Pacific Lumber Company and MAXXAM

Corporation signed an agreement on September 28, 1996, with the United

States, and the State of California. The agreement calls for transfer

of approximately 7,500 acres of private forest lands in the Headwaters

and Elk Head forests to State and Federal ownership in exchange for the

Elk River Exchange Property and a combination of cash and yet to be

determined assets, valued at $300 million. The Federal and State assets

currently proposed for exchange include the following, however, it

should be noted these may change during the planning process and any

changes would be disclosed in the appropriate environmental documents:

Approximately 2,967 acres of timber land in Humboldt

County, California (estimated to contain 11 million board feet of

timber) managed by the BLM,

Federal mineral interests in California, managed by BLM,

many of which are located in Kern County,

Approximately 30 acres of excess land adjacent to Chet

Holifield Federal Office in Laguna Niguel, California,

Not more than 17,000 acres of National Forest System lands

are proposed for exchange to Elk River Timber Company for a portion of

the lands known as the Elk River Timber Company property. The 17,000

acres are identified on four National Forests, including 7,000 on the

Eldorado National Forest, 2,000 on the Plumas National Forest, 7,000 on

the Stanislaus National Forest , and 1,000 on the Tahoe National

Forest. The precise acreage that would actually be exchanged will be

that amount equaling approximately $30,000,000 in value based on actual

appraisal, current at the time of decision. Cash or other valuable

considerations up to $30,000,000 in value may be substituted, and

Approximately 9,013 acres of State property within the

Latour State Forest, 1,100 acres of State agricultural land in San

Bernardino County, approximately 1,313 acres (in 18 parcels, 13 of

which are less than 40 acres) of State General Surplus property,

including the 488- acre California Department of Forestry (CDF) Black

Mountain property, 140-acre CDF Deadwood Camp property, and 415-acre

Rector Canyon property, 5 parcels approximating 110 acres within the

city limits of Eureka, and 25 parcels of surplus Caltrans property (24

of which are less than 10 acres), including the Transbay Bus Terminal.

The USFS, pursuant to National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of

1976, and BLM, pursuant to Federal Land Policy and Management Act

(FLPMA) of 1976 are agencies authorized to acquire, excess, exchange,

and transfer Federal lands and will be the agencies primarily

responsible for furthering the federal realty actions.

The agreement also calls for the expedited development and

submission by Pacific Lumber Company and processing by the Services of

an application for an incidental take permit, which would be

accompanied by a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), pursuant to the

provisions of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. Under the terms of the

agreement, Pacific Lumber Company is to develop a multi-species habitat

conservation plan for forested lands currently within their ownership,

as well as other lands which would be acquired by Pacific Lumber under

the agreement. It is anticipated that the permit application for

incidental take will include the threatened northern spotted owl (Strix

occidentalis caurina), the threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus

marmoratus marmoratus), the threatened bald eagle (Haliaeetus

leucocephalus), and the endangered American peregrine falcon (Falco

peregrinus anatum) as well as an agreement covering conservation of

unlisted species including the proposed threatened steelhead

(Oncorhynchus mykiss) and proposed threatened coho salmon (Oncorhynchus

kisutch).

Once completed, it is expected that Pacific Lumber Company will

submit the HCP as part of the incidental take permit application

process, as required under the provisions of section 10(a)(2)(A) of the

Act. The Service and NMFS will evaluate the incidental take permit

application and associated HCP in accordance with section 10(a)(2)(B)

of the Act, and its implementing regulations. The environmental review

of the HCP will be conducted in accordance with the Act and the

requirements of NEPA and its implementing regulations. A No Action/No

Project alternative will be considered consistent with the requirements

of NEPA and CEQA. As a cooperating agency EPA will also review the plan

for consistency with the provisions of the Clean Water Act. Several

streams in watersheds in which Pacific Lumber owns land are listed as

water quality limited under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. If

feasible, EPA will work with Pacific Lumber Company, sister Federal

Agencies, the State, and the public to address water quality issues of

these limited waterbodies at the same time the HCP and SYP are

developed.

As a party to the agreement, the Agency has agreed to the expedited

development and submission by Pacific Lumber and processing by the CDF

of a Sustained Yield Plan pursuant to the provisions under Article 6.75

of the California Forest Practice Rules including consideration of

conservation measures or plans addressing State-listed species under

the California Endangered Species Act. Land transactions proposed under

the agreement may be subject to the approval of the Eureka City

Council, California Transportation Commission,

[[Page 68287]]

or the State of California legislature. The State-sponsored actions are

being reviewed under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Dated: December 19, 1996.

Michael J. Spear,

Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 96-32926 Filed 12-26-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-P