Goodenough Vegetation Management Project; Caribou National Forest, Bannock County, ID

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Goodenough Vegetation Management Project; Caribou National

Forest, Bannock County, ID

AGENCY: Forest Service.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement to document the analysis and disclose the environmental

impacts of proposed actions to thin timber stands in the Goodenough and

Mormon Canyons on the Westside Ranger District of the Caribou National

Forest. The need for the proposal is to improve the condition of the

vegetation and maintain other resource values. The trees in these

standards are growing too close together, forcing them to compete for

sunlight, moisture and nutrients. Thinning the live trees will free up

needed moisture, nutrients and sunlight for the remaining trees which

will allow them to better resist insect attacks and improve the

condition of the vegetation. Opening up these stands and removing some

of the merchantable dead trees will help reduce large wildfire

potential and create stand conditions which better approximate timber

stand conditions before fire prevention was practiced.

The Westside Ranger District of the Caribou National Forest

proposes to thin stands of trees on the north facing slopes of

Goodenough and Mormon Canyons. Commercial and precommercial thinning

will be used to improve stand conditions and salvage high risk trees.

Approximately 26 stands are proposed for treatment on approximately 500

acres. Because of steep slopes and identified resource concerns,

helicopters will be used for commercial thinning, and hand crews will

be used for precommerical thinning. No new roads are planned, although

there may be some improvement to switchbacks on the existing road. Best

Management Practices, Caribou Land and Resource Management Plan

``Standards and Guides'', and current management direction will be met

during project implementation.

DATES: Written comments concerning the scope of the analysis described

in this Notice should be received by January 25, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Caribou National Forest, Westside

Ranger District, 250 South Fourth Ave., Federal Building Suite 187,

Pocatello, Idaho 83201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Questions concerning the proposed action and EIS should be directed to

Michele Lawson, Project Leader, or Jerald Tower, Westside District

Ranger, Caribou National Forest (Telephone: (208) 236-7500).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS will tier to the final EIS for the

Caribou National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan). The Caribou National Forest Plan provides the overall guidance

(Goals, Objectives, Standards, and Management Area direction) to

achieve the Desired Future condition for the area being analyzed and

contains specific management area prescriptions for the entire Forest.

The current management prescription for the area is water yield. During

the analysis it will be determined if the current management

prescription is appropriate or if a different prescription is more

appropriate.

Possible alternatives to the proposal are not to treat any timber

stands or to treat only some of the stands at this time.

Public scoping letters have been sent to individuals, and published

in the Idaho State Journal. Initial scoping comments indicated concerns

about the project's impacts on water quality and roadless area

characteristics. At this time, no public scoping meetings have been

planned.

Preliminary issues and concerns identified to date are:

1. The proposed project is located in the Scout Mountain Roadless

Area, #04152. The environmental analysis will need to determine how the

proposed action may affect existing roadless characteristics.

2. Beneficial uses must be protected and regulatory water quality

standards met.

3. Damage to existing roads in the project area could occur from

logging truck traffic.

4. The project may affect wildlife habitat.

5. Snag and potential snags should be retained for cavity dependent

species.

6. Without treatment, timber stands may have increased insects and

disease occurrence.

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7. The project proposal may affect timber stand productivity.

8. The project proposal may affect timber stand vigor.

9. The project proposal may affect how wildfires will burn through

the project area.

10. The project proposal may not be physically feasible due to the

existing terrain.

11. The project proposal may not be economically feasible for

helicopter logging.

12. Project proposal needs to address the safety of recreational

users during the timber harvest.

13. Project proposal may increase the potential for avalanche

damage to resources.

A Biological Assessment of threatened, endangered and proposed

species will be completed as part of the environmental analysis. A

Biological Evaluation will be completed as part of the environmental

analysis and documented in the EIS.

A Cultural Resource Survey of the area will be completed as part of

the environmental analysis, and any cultural resources found would be

protected.

No permits or licenses are required to implement the proposed

action.

The tentative date for filing the Draft EIS is May 1999. The

tentative date for filing the final EIS is August 1999. The comment

period on the draft environmental impact statement will be open for 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 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 but 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, 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 of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement 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. Agency representatives and other

interested people are invited to visit with Forest Service officials at

any time during the EIS process.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concerns on the proposed action, comments 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. Comments

may also address the adequacy of the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement 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 USDA, Forest Service is the lead agency in preparing the

Environmental Impact Statement for this proposal. The responsible

official is Jerry B. Reese, Forest Supervisor, Caribou National Forest,

250 South Fourth Avenue, Federal Building, Pocatello, ID 83201.

Dated: December 14, 1998.

Jerry B. Reese,

Forest Supervisor, Caribou National Forest.

[FR Doc. 98-34176 Filed 12-23-98; 8:45 am]

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