Plum Creek Checkerboard Access Project, Wenatchee National Forest, Kittitas County, Washington

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Plum Creek Checkerboard Access Project, Wenatchee National

Forest, Kittitas County, Washington

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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

statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental impacts of a

site-specific proposal to issue easements and authorize construction of

roads across National Forest System (NFS) lands located in the Yakima

River Basin. The action is proposed in response to an application from

Plum Creek Timber Company (PCTC) who seeks legal access to

approximately 45 parcels of PCTC land within the Wenatchee National

Forest boundary, on the Cle Elum and Naches Ranger Districts. The

proposed access locations range from approximately 5 to 20 miles south

and southeast, and 5 to 25 miles north and northeast of the town of Cle

Elum, Washington, and both north and south of Interstate 90, east of

Snoqualmie Pass.

The purpose of the EIS will be to develop and evaluate a range of

alternatives including a No Action Alternative, to respond to issues

identified during the scoping process. The proposed project will be in

compliance with direction in the Wenatchee National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (March 1990) as amended by the Northwest

Forest Plan (April 1994), which provides the overall guidance for

management of the area. The non-Federal lands involved are covered by

PCTC's Cascade Habitat Conservation Plan (1996).

The agency invites written comments on the scope of this project.

In addition, the agency gives notice of this analysis so that

interested and affected people are aware of how they may participate

and contribute to the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of this proposal must be received

by November 5, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions to Sonny J. O'Neal,

Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee National

[[Page 52966]]

Forest, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee, Washington 98801.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and comments about this EIS

should be directed to Floyd Rogalski, Project Planner, Cle Elum Ranger

District, 803 West Second Street, Cle Elum, Washington 98922; phone

509-674-4411, ext. 315.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Service is initiating this action

in response to an application filed by PCTC. The applicant requests

permanent easements across NFS lands for the purpose of constructing

and maintaining access roads to approximately 45 separate parcels of

land owned by the PCTC. Because these lands form a ``checkerboard''

ownership patter, the parcels to be accessed are surrounded by NFS

lands; no legal road access to the sections currently exists.

The applicant seeks legal access pursuant to Section 1323 of the

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). The ANILCA

directs the Forest Service to grant access to inholdings of non-Federal

land within the National Forest boundary for the reasonable use and

enjoyment of those lands by the landowner. The applicant has stated

that it intends to manage the lands to be accessed for long term timber

management under its approved Habitat Conservation Plan. The applicant

intends to build roads on the authorized rights-of-way sufficient to

support the intended use of the land. The proposed access involves a

total of approximately 24 miles of road across 194 acres of NFS land in

45 different locations. These include the Gold Creek, Rock Creek,

Little Naches, Big Creek, Little Creek, and North and South Forks and

Taneum Creek drainages, all south of I-90 and Cle Elum, Washington; and

lands to the east and west of Lakes Keechelus, Kachess and Cle Elum;

Little Salmon La Sac Creek, Salmon La Sac Creek, Paris Creek, Boulder

Creek and Fortune Creek in the Cle Elum River drainage; and the West

Fork Teanway River drainage; all north of I-90 and Cle Elum,

Washington. Management allocations of the NFS lands under the Northwest

Forest Plan are predominately Adaptive Management Area (Snoqualmie Pass

AMA) and Late Successional Reserves, with some Matrix.

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

alternative. Other alternatives will be developed in response to issues

received during scoping.

The major issues that have been identified to date include: the

impact to heritage resources; the potential reduction in the spectrum

of recreational opportunities currently available; the impact on the

economy of the county; the impact to the roadless areas; the impact to

late-successional habitat; and the impact to water quality.

Public participation will be especially important at several points

during the analysis. The Forest Service will be seeking information,

comments, and assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies,

Tribes, and other organizations or individuals who may be interested in

or affected by the proposed action. This information will be used in

preparation of the draft EIS. The scoping process includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those which have been

covered by a relevant previous environmental process.

4. Exploring and identifying additional alternatives.

5. Identifying potential environmental effects of the proposed

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

and connected actions).

6. Determining potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.

Public meetings are not scheduled prior to the release of the draft

EIS. Meetings will be held during the comment period between the draft

and final EIS. The location of these meetings will be determined by the

addresses on the project mailing list. Notice of meeting dates and

locations will be published in the newspaper of record for the

Wenatchee National Forest, The Wenatchee World, and the following

localized newspapers: Northern Kittitas County Tribune; Ellensburg

Record; and Yakima Herald Republic.

The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

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

December, 1997. 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 notice appears in the Federal

Register.

Copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to interested and

affected agencies, organizations, and members of the public for their

review and comment. It is very important that those interested in the

management of the Wenatchee National Forest participate at that time.

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 review'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. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 f.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir,

1986) and Wisconsisn 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 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 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 final EIS is scheduled to be completed in October 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 the decision

regarding this proposal.

Sonny J. O'Neal, Forest Supervisor, Wenatchee National Forest, is

the responsible official. The responsible official will document the

decision and rationale for the decision in the Record of Decision. That

decision will be subject to Forest Service appeal regulations (36 CFR

part 215).

Dated: October 3, 1997.

Sonny J. O'Neal,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97-26982 Filed 10-9-97; 8:45 am]

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