Iron Honey Resource Area, Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, ID

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Iron Honey Resource Area, Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District,

Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, ID

AGENCY: Forest Services, 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 disclose the potential environmental effects of

implementing aquatic, vegetative, and wildlife habitat improvement

activities in the Iron Honey Resource Area on the Coeur d'Alene River

Ranger District, Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

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

April 20, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposal, or

requests to be placed on the project mailing list, to Glenn Truscott,

Project Team Leader, Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, 2502 E.

Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glenn Truscott, Project Team Leader,

Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, (208) 769-3000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objectives of the proposal are to

improve water quality, fish habitat, and riparian habitat by reducing

sediment and increasing large woody debris in streams; to trend

vegetative species composition toward historical levels, which included

species more resistant to insects and disease; and to improve old-

growth habitat.

The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of

these will be the ``no action'' alternative, under which there would be

no change from current management of the area. Additional alternatives

will represent a range of strategies to manage natural resources in the

Iron Honey Resource Area. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests Land and

Resource Management Plan provides guidance for management objectives

within the potentially affected area through its goals, objectives,

standards and guidelines, and management area direction. Approximately

88% of National Forest System lands in the area have been allocated to

Management Area 1, to provide for long-term growth and production of

commercially valuable wood products on those lands that are suitable

for timber production. Approximately 6% of the area is allocated to

Management Area 6, to provide high quality elk summer habitat and wood

products, through road management and scheduling of harvest activities.

Approximately 4% is allocated to Management Area 9 to maintain and

protect existing improvements and resource productive potential.

Another 4% is allocated to Management Area 19, to manage for a semi-

primitive recreation setting while providing low levels of timber

harvest with minimum standard roads. Management Area 16 addresses

streamside (riparian) areas, with primary goals of managing those areas

to feature riparian-dependent resources (fish, water quality, certain

vegetation and wildlife communities) while producing other resource

outputs at levels compatible with the objectives for dependent

resources. Inland Native Fish Strategy guidelines (USDA Forest Service,

1995) supersede Forest Plan guidelines established for riparian areas.

The public was first notified of this proposal and the intention to

prepare an environmental assessment in October, 1996. Comments provided

by the public and other agencies have been used to develop strategies

for management of natural resources in the Iron Honey Resource Area.

Based on information gathered during the environmental assessment

process, it has been determined that an environmental impact statement

will be prepared instead. Comments provided to date by the public will

be used in preparation of the environmental impact statement. The

public is encouraged to visit with Forest Service officials during the

analysis and prior to the decision. The Forest Service is also 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 actions.

The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed

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

review in May 1998. At that time, the EPA will publish a Notice of

Availability of the draft environmental impact statement in the Federal

Register. The comment period on the draft environmental impact

statement will be 45 days from the date the EPA publishes the Notice of

Availability in the Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes 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 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 Wisconisn 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 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 the final environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concerns regarding 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 environmental impact 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. 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.

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 may not have

standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Part 215.

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

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agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the

comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within a

specified number of days.

I am the responsible official for this environmental impact

statement. My address is Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, 2502 E.

Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814.

Dated; February 19, 1998.

Susan Jeheber-Matthews,

District Ranger.

[FR Doc. 98-5785 Filed 3-5-98; 8:45 am]

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