Clearwater Ecosystem Management and Timber Sale Projects; Seeley Lake Ranger District, Lolo National Forest, Missoula County, Montana

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Clearwater Ecosystem Management and Timber Sale Projects; Seeley

Lake Ranger District, Lolo National Forest, Missoula County, Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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

statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of timber

harvest, reforestation, temporary road construction, road access

changes including closures, and prescribed and ecosystem management

burning in a 7,000 acre project area approximately 12 miles northeast

of Seeley Lake, Montana.

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

August 3, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed

management activities or a request to be placed on the project mailing

list to Timothy G. Love, Ranger District, Lolo National Forest, HC 31,

Box 3200, Seeley Lake, MT 59868.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon Klinkhammer, EIS Team Leader, District Silviculturist, Lolo

National Forest, Phone (406) 677-3925.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The responsible official who will make

decisions based on this EIS is Charles Wildes, Forest Supervisor, Lolo

National Forest, Building 24, Fort Missoula, Missoula, MT, 59804. He

will decide on this proposal after considering comments and responses,

environmental consequences, applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

The decision and rationale for the decision will be documented in a

Record of Decision.

The Forest Service proposes to harvest 3 million board feet of

timber from 550 acres. Approximately 300 acres will be in openings

ranging from 5-100 acres. Openings will retain approximately one-third

of the trees growing on the site. Trees in these openings will then be

burned to create fire-killed dead and the areas regenerated. To

accomplish this, approximately 2 miles of temporary road will be built.

An estimated 6.5 miles of road will be obliterated after harvest and

additional road closures put into effect. In addition, ecosystem

management burning on approximately 250 acres to improve wildlife

Habitat is planned. Area affected is within the Upper and East For

Clearwater River Drainages approximately 12 miles northeast of Seeley

Lake, MT.

The purpose of this proposal is to carry out the goals and

direction stated in the Lolo National Forest Plan using ecosystem

management principles. The objectives are to:

Reduce road densities in order to meet inter-agency access

standards for grizzly bear.

Reduce the risk of mature lodgepole stands to mountain

pine beetle mortality, to maintain the health and vigor of seral

species stands, and to contribute to the forest plan expectations for

timber production through harvesting.

Reduce existing sources of sediment to water and fisheries

resources caused by existing roads.

Reintroduce and simulate low and moderate intensity fires

in fire-dependent ecosystems in order to create fire-killed dead trees

on the landscape and improve wildlife habitat.

Treat noxious weeds.

Create vistas of Swan mountains along the Clearwater Loop

Road

Precommercially thin young stands to achieve desired

species composition and density.

Public scoping was conducted on most elements of this proposal

during June, 1997. Since then the proposal has been reduced in scale

and modified. Issues and comments identified during this earlier

scoping process will be carried forward and addressed in this analysis.

The following key issues were identified and will be used to

develop alternatives and assess environmental consequences:

1. The project area has high value grizzly bear habitat, important

bull trout spawning habitat, sensitive soils, and high value water

quality. The current density of roads is high enough to result in

adverse effects on those resources. The density of open and closed

roads exceeds the inter-agency standard for grizzly bears. Culverts and

drainage features on many of the roads in the project area are

inadequate for the high volume run-off typical to the area. To meet

current resource standards, roads in the project area need: (1) an

overall reduction in density; (2) removal or upgrade of roads or

culverts most at risk of failing during high run-off events; and (3) an

upgrade of drainage features to reduce sediment during run-off events.

2. Management of the project area is subject to a number of laws,

standards, interim regulations, and special allocations. The area is

within occupied, essential grizzly bear habitat (USDI, 1993). Road

densities exceed the standard for grizzly bear habitat. While the

Clearwater River is not a ``Water Quality Limited'' segment as

determined by Montana State in the current 305(b) Report, Seeley Lake,

approximately 12 miles down-stream is identified as Water Quality

Limited. The USDI Fish, Wildlife Service made a decision to list

bulltrout as a threatened species within the Columbia River Basin in

early June, 1998. Current road densities and past management activities

have resulted in a decrease in large woody debris and an increase in

sediment within streams of the analysis area.

[[Page 36209]]

3. As a result of past management activities, including fire

suppression, there has been a shift in fire regime, forest structure,

species composition and patch size across the landscape. Of particular

concern is the extent of mature lodgepole pine stands at risk to

mountain pine beetle mortality. Some level of vegetative treatment

could stabilize stands, reduce risks to insect and disease mortality,

and maintain vigor. Reintroduction of fire to simulate natural

processes and patterns is desirable to improve wildlife habitat.

4. Recreational values and demand are high and need to be

considered. At present the Clearwater area abounds with recreation

opportunities such as driving the Clearwater Loop Road, hunting,

fishing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, berry-picking and hiking.

Unique and outstanding opportunities include scenic drives and canoeing

on pristine Clearwater Lake. Management actions should not detract from

the existing opportunities.

5. The area east of Clearwater Loop Road is in RARE II area 01485.

The boundary of the RARE II area 01485 coincides with portions of Road

4370. Portions were precommercially thinned and roaded about 30 years

ago. The roads are currently over-grown with brush and undrivable. Past

wilderness proposals included areas above 5800 feet but did not include

this area. Any treatments proposed within the RARE II area will be

analyzed to determine impacts on roadless character and will be

consistent with agency regulations and policies.

In addition to these key issues, secondary issues include:

treatment of noxious weeds to curtail spread, the effects of treatments

on old growth stands and the species that use them, effects of

treatments on management indicator species or sensitive plan and

wildlife species, biodiversity, fragmentation and corridors, cultural

resources and precommercial thinning of young stands.

The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. Other

alternatives will examine varying levels and locations for activities

in response to issues and other resource values. In addition to the

proposed action, one of these will be the ``no action'' alternative--in

which none of the proposed activities would be implemented. Another

alternative, in addition to the treatments in the proposed action, will

address the impacts of commercial thinning from existing open roads.

This concept is further broadened in an alternative that adds areas

that can only be accessed from existing road and must be logged during

the winter using snow roads.

Public participation is an important part of the analysis,

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

occur during July, 1998. In addition to this initial scoping, the

public may visit 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. Consultation with the USDI

Fish, Wildlife Service on grizzly bear and bulltrout will occur. No

public meetings are scheduled at this time.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and available for public review in January,

1999. At that time, the 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's notice of availability

appears in the Federal Register. It is very important that those

interested in management of the Clearwater project area participant at

that time. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed by April, 1999.

The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important

to give reviewers notice of several count 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 statements stage buts that are not raised

until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may

be waived or dismissed by the courts. City of Agoon 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 30-day scoping 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 developing issues and alternatives. To assist the Forest

Service in identifying and considering issues, comments should be as

specific to this proposal as possible. 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.

Dated: June 23, 1998.

Charles C. Wildes,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 98-17666 Filed 7-1-98; 8:45 am]

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