Revised East Beaver and Miner's Creek Timber Sale and Prescribed Burning Project, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Revised East Beaver and Miner's Creek Timber Sale and Prescribed

Burning Project, Targhee National Forest, Clark County, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent to prepare environmental impact

statement.

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SUMMARY: This is a revised Notice of Intent for the East Beaver Creek

Timber Sale and Prescribed Burning Project. A Notice of Intent was

originally published on April 20, 1998 pages 19470 and 19471 of the

Federal Register. The project is being revised to add the Miner's Creek

Timber Sale as part of the environmental impact statement. The project

will now be referred to as the East Beaver and Miner's Creek Timber

Sale and Prescribed Burning Project. The Forest Supervisor of the

Targhee National Forest gives notice of the agency's intent to prepare

an environmental impact statement. The revised proposed action would

harvest 7.4 million feet of timber from 2,145 acres and prescribe burn

2,220 acres with 518 acres of the burning in the timber sale harvest

units. The remaining 1,702 acres of burning would be in nonforest

types. Two miles of temporary roads would be built, 2.6 miles of

existing roads reconstructed, and 4.4 miles of new specified roads

would be constructed. Project area is located approximately 15 miles

northeast of Dubois, Idaho. Alternatives will include the proposed

action, no action, and any alternatives that respond to significant

issues generated during the scoping process. A more detailed

description is available from the Dubois Ranger District; see address

below.

DATES: Send written comments and suggestions on the issues concerning

the proposed action by July 20, 1998. Comments received in response to

this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment,

will be considered part of the public record on the 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 a standing to appeal the subsequent decision

under 39 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

should be aware that, under the FOIA, confidentiality may be granted in

only very limited circumstances, such as to protect 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 resubmitted with or without name and address

within 15 days.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Clarence M. Murdock, District

Ranger, Dubois Ranger District, P.O. Box 46, Dubois, ID 83423.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Councilman, Interdisciplinary Team Leader, phone (208) 558-7301.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The revision to this project is being made

to include the Miner's Creek Timber Sale. An environmental assessment

was prepared for Miner's Creek in 1995 and the sale was sold in 1996.

After sale, a lawsuit was filed by two environmental groups. The Forest

Service's decision to log the sale was upheld at the local Federal

court level but this decision was appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of

Appeals. The 9th Circuit Court reversed the lower court's decision and

directed the Forest Service to prepare an environmental impact

statement. The Miner's Creek Timber Sale and the East Beaver Creek

Timber Sale and Prescribed Burning Project are within the same

watersheds, have similar issues and could be implemented at the same

time. Therefore, it made sense to combine the projects into a single

analysis.

The Targhee Revised Land Management Plan was approved in 1997. One

of the decisions in the Revised Plan was to allow for the production

and utilization of wood fiber from certain areas of the Forest. The

geographic area where the proposed action would take place has

primarily a prescription of timber management with emphasis on big game

security (5.1.4b).

[[Page 35905]]

Prescriptions for other lands in the area are described below.

Aquatic Influence Zones (2.8.3)--Management emphasis is directed at

the application of ecological knowledge to restore and maintain the

health of these areas in ways that also produce desired resource

values, products, protection, restoration, enhancement, interpretation,

and appreciation of these areas.

Visual Quality Maintenance (2.1.2)--This prescription emphasizes

maintaining the existing visual quality within major travel corridors

with quality natural vistas, while allowing livestock production, and

other compatible commodity outputs. There is no scheduled timber

harvesting. No scheduled harvests means timber removed from these areas

does not contribute toward the Forests annual allowable sale quantity.

Initial public involvement will include mailing maps and a project

description to interested parties to solicit comments on the proposal.

Preliminary issues include: water quality, fisheries, elk habitat, and

motorized access by the public.

Additional opportunity to comment on the project will occur on the

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS). The draft EIS is

expected to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and

available for public review in October of 1998.

The comment period on the draft EIS will be 45 days from the date

the Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability appears in

the Federal Register. At the same time, copies of the draft EIS will be

distributed to interested and affected agencies, organizations, tribes,

and members of the public for their review and comment. It is very

important that those interested in the proposed action participate at

that time.

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 reviewers' position and

contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,

553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could have been raised

at the draft stage but that are not raised until after completion of

the final environmental impact statement may be waived or dismissed by

the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, (9th Circuit, 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 concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft

environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible.

Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft environmental

impact 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 January of 1998. In

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

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 decisions on this

proposal.

Responsible Official

Jerry B. Reese, Forest Supervisor, is the responsible official. As

responsible official, he will document the selected alternative for the

East Beaver and Miner's Creek Timber Sale and Prescribed Burning

Project EIS and his rationale in a Record of Decision.

The decision will be subject to Forest Service Appeal Regulations

(36 CFR Part 215).

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Richard N. Rine,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98-17464 Filed 6-30-98; 8:45 am]

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