Eagle Bird Project; Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Shoshone County, ID

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Eagle Bird Project; Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Shoshone

County, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The St. Joe Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National

Forest is considering vegetation, road and trail activities in the

Eagle Bird Project. The project area is located approximately 13 miles

east of the town of Avery on the St. Joe River.

The interdisciplinary team has reviewed the current conditions

which indicated the project area could benefit from treatment. The

purpose and need is summarized below.

1. Restore properly functioning hydrologic conditions. 2. At the

project level, implement the Idaho Governor's Bull Trout Plan. 3. Move

vegetation toward historical conditions. 4. Reduce the risk of mountain

pine beetle in the

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lodgepole pine forest type. 5. Meet wildlife security needs. 6. Restore

rare vegetation communities and habitat. 7. Provide a spectrum of

recreation opportunities that are appropriate for the National Forest

System lands within the area. 8. Provide quality dispersed camping,

single-track trail, all terrain vehicle (ATV) route, hunting and

fishing opportunities in a roaded natural setting. 9. Promote fire use

and control strategies for safety, efficiency of suppression, resource

values, and reduce risks. To create a trend toward allowing fires to

play a role as a disturbance mechanism. Reduce the risk of stand

replacing fires through vegetation management and promote beneficial

fire effects. 10. Where feasible and cost effective, contribute to the

timber supply by using timber harvest (one or more timber sales) to

achieve this and other project objectives. Inasmuch as it is compatible

with other objectives, harvest activities will maintain or improve the

long term growth and production of commercially valuable wood products

from the sites.

The project consists of three main parts. One part is vegetation

management, including timber harvesting and associated road

construction and prescribed burning. Another part is restoration of

stream channel conditions and fish habitat. The third part is

recreational trail development.

DATES: Comments should be postmarked on or before January 9, 1998.

Please include your name and address and the name of the project you

are commenting on.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed

management activities or request to be placed on project mailing list

to Brad Gilbert, District Ranger, St. Joe Ranger District, HC Box 1,

Avery ID 83802. Brad Gilbert is the Responsible Official.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cameo Flood, Project Team Leader, St. Joe Ranger District, (208) 245-

4517.

Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names

and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the

public record on this proposed action and will be available for public

inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and

considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have

standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR parts 215 or

217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request

the agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing

how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality.

Persons requesting such confidentiality may be granted in only very

limited circumstances, such as to project trade secrets. The Forest

Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding

the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied, the

agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the

comments may be submitted with or without name and address within 10

days.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Vegetation Management

Vegetation management under this proposal is designed to meet

several needs, including providing timber projects to local markets,

protecting and enhancing wildlife forage and cover needs, providing for

long term growth and yield as directed in the Idaho Panhandle National

Forests Forest Plan, increasing fire resiliency, reducing fire hazards,

and moving the vegetation to the conditions the area historically had

in terms of tree species composition and density. Treatments include:

Approximately 4,900 acres of commercial timber harvesting including

commercial thinning, shelterwood preparation and seed cuttings, group

shelterwoods, irregular group shelterwoods, and clearcuts. The attached

map shows proposed treatment areas by regeneration and intermediate

harvest. Regeneration treatments (1850 acres total) would be clearcuts

or some of the shelterwood cuts that would take most of the trees off

the units, leaving room to regenerate the stands to other species.

Intermediate harvests (3056 acres total) are the commercial thinning

and irregular cuts that remove some of the undesirable trees and favor

the size and types of trees needed to meet vegetation goals.

Approximately 691 acres of brush field burning for maintenance of

large, open spaced douglas-fir, ponderosa pine reestablishment and

wildlife habitat. Although these areas are not well stocked, commercial

harvesting is proposed prior to burning where feasible.

Approximately 15 acres of broadcast burning for white bark pine.

Approximately 218 acres would be treated to create a hazard

reduction zone. This treatment would include thinning out the canopy

for a width of 150 to 300 feet along a ridge, and removing small trees

from the understory.

Approximately 8.4 miles of road construction to access timber

harvesting units.

Stream Channel and Fish Habitat Restoration

The St. Joe District is considering elimination of either the Eagle

Creek or Bird Creek roads, or both, and active work instream to restore

natural channel function. In the case of both of the roads being

eliminated, an alternative road would be provided to allow recreational

access to portions of both streams. If one road is eliminated,

recreational and management access would be routed over the other

remaining road.

Eagle Creek Road

This is the most likely road to eliminate, rehabilitate the

riparian area and restore riparian function, because bull trout are

currently using this stream and improvements in conditions made there

would benefit the fish sooner. The road from the West Fork of Eagle

Creek down stream to the St. Joe River would be eliminated and

alternate access would be provided by improving a connecting road from

the Bird Creek System. Vehicle and ATV access to this 3.5 mile section

would be eliminated. Foot, horse, bicycle and most likely motorcycle

access would be provided.

Bird Creek Road

This stream has been more affected by the riparian road system than

Eagle Creek. No bull trout were found here in surveys done this summer,

but cutthroat trout are abundant. The upper reaches of the stream would

be good bull trout spawning habitat and the lower could be good rearing

habitat if the road was removed and instream improvements implemented.

If the 2.8 miles of streamside road from the upper bridge to the St.

Joe were removed, alternate access would be provided by improving a

connecting road from the Eagle Creek system. Vehicle and ATV access to

this section would be eliminated. Foot, horse, bicycle and most likely

motorcycle access would be provided.

Both Roads

If both riparian system roads were removed, alternate access into

the area would be developed. This could be over the Turner road system

(Road 1281) connected into the upper portion of the Bird Creek system

and on into the Eagle Creek System, or some other appropriate access.

There are additional roads that have caused watershed problem that

are not in riparian areas. These include specifically, Road 1281

(Turner Peak), Road 1286 (Bluebird) and Road 3638 (Mirror Creek). These

roads will be reconstructed where necessary to reduce the hazard of

future road failures that would adversely impact the stream.

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Part of this portion of the project will be to eliminate or close

other roads in the area. These roads are currently closed to public

use. Most roads that will not be needed for timber management within

ten years or more would have hazardous fills pulled back to the

contour, drainage structures removed and be barricaded with a permanent

structure. Many of them have been overgrown with brush and trees.

ATV Trail Development

The district would like to look at the possibility of designating

or developing acceptable ATV routes to provide this recreation

opportunity. The Eagle Bird area offers several miles of potential ATV

opportunities along existing roads, if those roads were closed to

general vehicle traffic and managed as ATV routes. When used in

conjunction with open system roads, these routes could offer loop

opportunities, as well as connections to the Coeur d'Alene River and

Superior Ranger Districts to the north. The attached maps show

potential ATV routes on both open and restricted system roads.

Following management activities within the area, identified system

roads would be closed to general vehicle traffic to provide ATV

opportunities. Approximately one mile of single-track trail would also

be widened to provide an additional ATV loop opportunity.

Single-Track Trail Management

The area would continue to provide single-track trails for mixed

use by hikers, horseback riders, mountain bicyclists and motorcyclists.

These routes are identified on the attached map.

Float Trailhead Development

A float trailhead would be developed on the St. Joe River Road to

provide river access for Skookum Canyon, a popular destination for

whitewater enthusiasts during high spring runoff. Located at an

existing roadside parking area northeast of Tourist Creek, the

trailhead would provide a pathway to the river and singing.

Preliminary Issues

We expect issues and concerns with this project to include the

impacts on wild-life, fish, water quality, and recreation, as well as

road construction, clearcutting and economic feasibility. Issues will

be developed and analyzed based on public comment and the

interdisciplinary team's analysis of effects on resources. Alternatives

will be developed to modify or eliminate the impacts from proposed

activities and still meet the purpose for this project.

Additionally, some of the vegetation treatment may result in

openings of over 60 acres. While we would like comments that would

affect alternatives early, comments on the size of openings and their

effects will be accepted for 60 days after publication of this notice.

The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public

review in March 1998. The final environmental impact statement is

expected to be completed in May 1998.

The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will

be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes

the notice of availability in the Federal Register.

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 and 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 statement stage but that are not raised until after

completion of the final environmental 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 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

environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concern on the proposed action, comments on the draft environmental

impact statement 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 environmental

impact statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statement. Reviews 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 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits

discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital

or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of

communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center ad (202) 720-2600 (voice and

TDD).

To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340

(voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity

employer.

Dated: December 1, 1997.

Bradley Burmark,

St. Joe Deputy District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 97-32313 Filed 12-9-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-11-M