Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area Conceptual Development Plan; Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area Conceptual Development Plan;

Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to develop the Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area

which includes management of a 1,700+/-acre tract of land of which

approximately 242 acres would be devoted to alpine ski trail

development. The ski area would have a vertical rise of 2,700 feet with

the potential to increase to 3,500 feet and would include a separate

beginner/teaching slope with its own chairlift as well as trails and

chairlifts for novice, low intermediate, intermediate, advanced

intermediate and expert skiers. The proposal includes the construction

of ski trails, chair lifts, base lodge and facilities and parking

facilities. The base lodge will provide the full range of skier

services including food service, rest rooms, lockers, rental, retail

and first aid. The proposal also includes a forest plan amendment to

change Kootenai Forest land allocations from MA8 (Proposed Wilderness),

MA-13 (Designated Old-growth), MA-14 (Grizzly Bear habitat) and MA-16

(Timber with viewing allocation) to MA6 (Developed Recreation).

The proposed Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area is approximately

five miles west of US Highway 2 and one mile south of Libby in Lincoln

County, Montana, ninety miles south of the Canadian border and thirty

miles east of the Idaho border. The proposed ski area is located

adjacent to the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness Area and within the

Municipal Watershed for the town of Libby, Montana. Approximately half

of the proposed ski area is located within the Inventoried Roadless

Area #671--Cabinet Face East. The decision area is also occupied

Grizzly Bear habitat.

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received on or before

September 8, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The Responsible Official is Robert L. Schrenk, Forest

Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest. Written comments and suggestions

concerning the scope of the analysis should be sent to Lawrence A.

Froberg, District Ranger, Libby Ranger District, 12557 US Hwy 37 N,

Libby, Montana, 59923.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Charnon, Project Coordinator,

Libby Ranger District. Phone: (406) 293-7773.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Historical Context

A preliminary proposal for the Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area

was presented to the Libby Ranger District, U.S. Forest Service, Libby,

Montana, in September 1990. This was followed by a request for land

designation change presented to the U.S. Senate in 1991. An evaluation

of the proposed Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area was compiled in

June 1992 followed by modifications to the evaluation in 1994. In March

1995, the Lincoln County Economic Development Council was presented

with a Conceptual Development Plan and Feasibility Study prepared by

Barnhart Malcolm, Inc. The evaluation of this report was that the

proposed Treasure Mountain Winter Sports Area site has superior

physical attributes for regional destination alpine ski potential

customers to generate cumulative positive cash flow. Finally, in

November

[[Page 42741]]

1995, the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development

Administration awarded the Lincoln County Economic Development Council

a long-term Economic Deterioration Adjustment Strategy Grant to provide

the final information needed to determine the feasibility of

development of the Treasure Mountain site.

Proposed Action

LCEDC resubmitted the proposal for the Treasure Mountain Winter

Sports Area to the Libby Ranger District, on October 23, 1996. Based on

this proposal the decisions to be made are:

Should a Special Use Permit be authorized for Treasure Mountain

Winter Sports Area and if so how and under what conditions,

What mitigation measures would be required for protection of

National Forest resources, and

Are Forest Plan amendments necessary to proceed with the

Proposed Action within the decision area. If so, what are they and

are they significant amendments?

The Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan

provides overall management objectives in individual delineated

management areas (MA's). The decision area is allocated to MA-8

(Recreation wilderness), MA-13 (Designated Old-growth), MA-14 (Grizzly

Bear habitat) and MA-16 (Timber with viewing allocation).

Preliminary Issues

Several preliminary issues of concern have been identified by the

Forest Service. These issues are briefly described below:

Potential impacts to grizzly bear (the proposed ski area

is within designated grizzly bear habitat).

Potential effects to the Libby municipal watershed.

Potential impacts on the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness

(adjacent to the proposed ski area).

Potential socio-economic effects (market demand and need

for the ski resort).

Public Involvement and Scoping

Public participation is an important part of the analysis,

commencing with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7), which will

occur August 1997 to September 1997. In addition, the public is

encouraged to visit with Forest Service officials at any time during

the analysis and prior to the decision. The Forest Service will be

seeking information, comments, and assistance from Federal, State, and

local agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be

interested in or affected by the proposed action. The proposed project

will be presented at two Open Houses at the Libby City Hall, 952 E.

Spruce, on August 14, 1997. The presentations will be at 10:00 am and

at 7:00 pm. Representatives from Lincoln County Economic Development

Council (LCEDC) and the Kootenai National Forest will be available at

the open houses to discuss the proposed project and provide additional

information.

Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in

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

1. Identify potential issues.

2. Identify major issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.

4. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action and

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

5. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of

these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in which none of the

proposed activities would be implemented. Additional alternatives will

examine varying levels and locations for the proposed activities to

achieve the proposal's purposes, as well as to respond to the issues

and other resource values.

The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative

environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present, and projected

activities on both private and National Forest lands will be

considered. The EIS will disclose the analysis of site-specific

mitigation measures and their effectiveness.

Estimated Dates for Filing

The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by

January, 1998. At that time EPA will publish a notice of availability

of the draft EIS in the Federal Register. The comment period on the

draft EIS will be 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the notice of

availability in the Federal Register.

The final EIS is scheduled to be completed in September, 1998. In

the final EIS, the Forest Service is required to respond to comments

and responses received during the comment period that pertain to the

environmental consequences discussed in the draft EIS and applicable

laws, regulations, and policies considered in making a decision

regarding the proposal.

Reviewer's Obligations

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 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 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 and respond to them in the final EIS.

To be most helpful, comments on the draft EIS should be as specific

as possible and may address the adequacy of the statement or the merit

of the alternatives discussed. 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

Robert L. Schrenk, Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest, 506

US Highway 2 West, Libby, MT 59923 is the Responsible Official. As the

Responsible Official I will decide which, if any, of the proposed

projects will be implemented. I will document the decision and reasons

for the decision in the Record of Decision. That decision will be

subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations.

Dated: July 31, 1997.

Robert L. Schrenk,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97-20898 Filed 8-7-97; 8:45 am]

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