Proposed Brownlee Timber Sale and Other Activities Within the Sheep Gulch Roadless Area, Payette National Forest, Washington County, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Proposed Brownlee Timber Sale and Other Activities Within the

Sheep Gulch Roadless Area, Payette National Forest, Washington County,

Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is proposing these activities for the

Brownlee Subwatershed: harvest and regeneration of timber, changing the

timing of grazing and combining the West Pine/Brownlee and Limestone

Allotments, and prescribed fire to reduce fuels and enhance plant

growth and mountain quail habitat.

The agency gives notice of the environment analysis and decision-

making process so that interested and affected people know how they may

anticipate and contribute to the final decision. The agency invites

written comments and suggestions on the scope of the analysis and the

issues to address.

DATES: Comments must be received by June 18, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to David Alexander, Forest Supervisor,

Payette National Forest, P.O. Box 1026, McCall, Idaho 83638.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action

should be directed to Dautis Pearson, NEPA Coordinator, phone (208)

253-0134; or John Baglien, District Ranger, phone (208) 549-4201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The USDA Forest Service is proposing

projects within the 45,011 acre Brownlee Subwatershed. About 4-6 MMBF

of timber from 600-800 acres will be harvested by thinning and

regeneration methods, using tractor, skyline, and helicopter logging

systems. About 300-400 acres will be regenerated. No road construction

is planned for the timber sale, which lies partially within the Sheep

Gulch Roadless Area, Washington County, Idaho.

This proposal follows direction in the Payette National Forest Land

and Resource Management Plan.

Proposals for the range allotments include changes in timing of

grazing and combining the West Pine/Brownlee and Limestone Allotments.

The number of days for grazing and the number of AUMs would remain the

same for these allotments.

Fire management activities would focus on reduction of fuels

following timber harvest and reintroduction of fire into the ecosystem.

Piling with burning and underburning of logged areas would reduce

existing and created fuels, preparing some of these areas for planting.

Fire would be reintroduced into vegetation communities that burn

frequently (every 10 to 50 years) under natural disturbance regimes.

Prescribed fire activities would occur on a total of about 4,000 acres

of open ponderosa pine stands, aspen communities, and grass/shrublands

to enhance plant growth and diversity.

Preliminary issues identified are roadless area quality, forest

health in stringer habitat, and the economic and resource effects of

longer return intervals into the subwatershed.

Initial scoping began in October, 1997. The Forest Service is

conducting preliminary analysis and will be seeking additional

information, comments, and assistance from Federal, State, and local

agencies and other individuals or organizations who may be interested

or affected by the proposed projects. Additional input will help

identify key issues and develop alternatives in preparation of the

draft EIS.

The scoping process includes:

1. Identification of potential issues.

2. Identification of issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Elimination of insignificant issues or those which have been

covered by a relevant previous environmental process.

4. Exploration of additional alternatives based on the issues

identified during scoping.

5. Identification of potential environmental effects of the

proposed action and alternatives.

The Forest Service expects to file the draft EIS with the

Environmental Protection Agency and have it available for public review

by July 1, 1999. 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.

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

DEISs must structure their participation in the environmental review of

the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts the agency to the

reviewer's positions and contentions. Vermont Yankee Power Corp. v.

NRDC 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, courts may waive or dismiss

environmental objections that could be raised at the DEIS stage but

that are not raised until after completion of the final environmental

impact statement (FEIS). 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 FEIS.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

raised by the proposed action, comments should be as specific as

possible. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental

Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

The Responsible Official is David F. Alexander, Forest Supervisor,

Payette National Forest.

Dated: April 28, 1999.

Carol Feider,

Operations Branch Chief.

[FR Doc. 99-11239 Filed 5-4-99; 8:45 am]

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