Nez Perce Fork Vegetation Management Project; Bitterroot National Forest, Ravalli County, MT

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Nez Perce Fork Vegetation Management Project; Bitterroot National

Forest, Ravalli County, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service, 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 environmental effects of management

activities proposed in the Nez Perce Fork area on the West Fork Ranger

District of the Bitterroot National Forest. Proposed management

activities include management ignited prescribed fire, timber harvest,

reforestation, and road reconstruction. The Nez Perce Fork area is

located in Ravalli County, Montana, approximately 30 miles southwest of

the city of Hamilton. The Nez Perce Fork area includes the entire Nez

Perce Fork drainage and several other tributary drainages of the West

Fork Bitterroot River, including Boulder Creek, Christisen Creek, Baker

Creek and Pierce Creek.

A variety of management activities proposed in the project are

being considered together because they represent either connected or

cumulative actions as defined by the Council on Environmental Quality

(40 CFR 1508.25). The purposes of the project are: (1) To restore fire

and its associated ecological benefits, (2) to reduce fuel

accumulations, (3) to modify timber stand structure and species

composition in order to maintain or restore ecosystem diversity, (4)

modify the edges of two older clear cut units so they better comply

with visual quality objectives, (5) improve habitat conditions for

bighorn sheep and other big game species, (6) reduce sediment sources

on open roads and stabilize a segment of one road by constructing a

retaining wall, and (7) to utilize surplus biomass removed in

fulfilling purposes 1 through 5, above, by providing raw materials for

forest products. This project level EIS will tier to the Bitterroot

National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) and

Final EIS (September, 1987), which provides overall guidance for all

land management activities on the Bitterroot National Forest.

DATES: Written comments and suggestions should be received by October

22, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The Responsible Official is David M. Campbell, District

Ranger, West Fork Ranger District, Bitterroot National Forest, Darby,

Montana 59829. Written comments and suggestions concerning the scope of

the analysis or a request to be included on the project mailing list

should be sent to him at that address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stuart Lovejoy, Resource Team Leader, Sula Ranger Station, Bitterroot

National Forest, Phone (406) 821-3201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The project encompasses approximately 86,000

acres of land in southwestern Montana on the Bitterroot National

Forest. The Nez Perce Fork area includes lands drained by the Nez Perce

Fork and several other tributaries of the West Fork Bitterroot River

including Boulder Creek, Christisen Creek, Baker Creek and Pierce

Creek. A map and legal descriptions are available on request.

Management ignited prescribed fire and timber harvest are proposed

on approximately 10,500 acres and 1,400 acres, respectively. Proposed

management ignited fire and harvest activities focus primarily on low

to mid elevations and drier aspects, which are considered more at risk

ecologically due to fire absence.

An analysis of the Nez Perce Fork area reveals changes in how the

forest vegetation currently looks and functions compared to the past.

Natural patterns and stand structures have changed, largely due to the

absence of fire during this century in this fire dependent ecosystem.

This has caused notable changes in vegetation species composition,

plant density, stand structures, fuels, seral species regeneration, and

the health and vigor of forest stands. The primary purpose of

prescribed fire and timber harvest in the Nez Perce Fork area is to

maintain or restore ecosystem diversity, function, and health. There is

also an opportunity to address ecological trends and at the same time

utilize surplus biomass for forest products. Maintaining plant

community diversity will promote the range of habitats that native

plants and animals evolved in. Management prescriptions to promote

diversity include low to moderate intensity management ignited

prescribed fire, and on some sites prescribed fire would be used in

combination with silvicultural practices. Silvicultural treatments

proposed include pre-commercial thinning, commercial thinning,

irregular shelterwood harvest, seed tree harvest, sanitation salvage

harvest, improving cutting, and reforestation.

Managing fuels using fire and silvicultural practices would

decrease the risk of uncharacteristically intense fires and associated

undesirable effects. These activities could also increase the ability

of the Forest Service to allow more naturally occurring fires to burn

in the adjoining Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Area by reducing fuels

near private property at lower elevations. This would to some degree

reduce the risks to private property from natural fires allowed to burn

in the Wilderness.

Prescribed fire is proposed in 13 acres totaling about 9,700 acres,

with special focus on the ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir community, which

have been most altered due to fire absence.

Big game forage, including some winter range areas, would be

improved in the areas to be understory burned. Bighorn sheep forage

vigor would also be improved in four underburn areas that are located

within the Nez Perce sheep herds range.

Fire would also be reintroduced in a portion of the Boulder Creek

Research Natural Area, presenting the opportunity to conduct research

on the effects of fire absence and reintroduction. These opportunities

have been discussed with representatives of the Rocky Mountain Research

Station from Missoula, Montana and the research would fulfill a need

for additional information regarding fire absence and the effects of

fire reintroduction.

Seven areas totaling 307 acres are proposed for commercial

thinning. Following the thinning, understory burning is prescribed in

the areas within the ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir

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community. Pre-commercial thinning is also needed on 311 acres of

densely stocked sub-merchantable trees in order to maintain desirable

species composition, tree growth, and vigor.

Four areas totaling 93 acres would be harvested using an

``irregular shelterwood'' method to regenerate them. All areas would be

treated with understory burning following harvest in order to reduce

fuels, prepare sites for regeneration, and to maintain fire as an

ecosystem process. The irregular shelterwood treatment would provide

the relatively open conditions necessary for ponderosa pine tree

seedlings to become established and provide for future stands that are

dominated by large ponderosa pines.

One even aged mature lodgepole pine stand is prescribed for seed

tree harvest and prescribed burning. Within the Nez Perce area, there

has been a shift toward more late seral stands during this century due

to fire absence. This treatment would to some degree simulate a stand

replacing fire event, thereby increasing early seral stage habitat.

Two areas totalling 177 acres are proposed to receive a sanitation

salvage harvest, an intermediate harvest treatment designed to remove

individual dead, dying, and diseased trees. One of these areas would be

understory burned following harvest and activity fuels in the other

area would be limbed and lopped and/or hand-piled and burned. Fire

absence in the Nez Perce area has allowed for higher than historic

levels of dwarf mistletoe and other disease or insect disturbance

levels, adding to heavy fuel accumulations.

Improvement cutting and prescribed fire would be used to restore

more favorable conditions for wintering big game animals and spring/

early summer range for bighorn sheep in one area. The resulting open

stand with an increased ratio of ponderosa pine would provide improved

sheep habitat and would more closely resemble historic conditions that

can be maintained with fire.

Two older clear-cut units that are visible from main roads are

proposed to have their edges modified in order to better meet visual

quality objectives. The visual impact of these two openings is proposed

to be reduced by modifying their geometric shape and straight edges.

The fill slope of Soda Springs Road (#5365) is eroding and is

proposed to be stabilized by construction of a bin retaining wall. The

bin wall is needed to stabilize the chronic sediment source from the

fill slope and to provide a safer and easier to maintain road facility.

Roads on which timber would be hauled would have surface improvement

work completed, such as installing drivable dips and gravelling. These

are needed to reduce sediment sources, thereby protecting water quality

and aquatic habitat.

The Bitterroot Forest Plan provides guidance for management

activities through its goals, objectives, standards, and management

area direction. The areas of proposed timber harvest occur in

Management Areas 1, 2, and 3a. Prescribed burning is proposed on lands

within Forest Plan Management Areas 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 5, and 6. The

management direction for these areas are briefly described, as follows.

Management Area 1 emphasizes timber management, livestock and big game

forage production, and roaded dispersed recreation activities.

Management Area 2 emphasizes elk winter range habitat, allows for

timber management and providing roaded dispersed recreation

opportunities. Management Area 3a emphasizes visual quality, allows

timber management, and providing roaded dispersed recreation

opportunities. Management Area 3b emphasizes protection of riparian

habitat and water quality and providing for water-related recreation.

Management Area 5 emphasizes semi-primitive recreation and elk

security. Management Area 6 includes areas recommended for Wilderness

designation.

This project proposal was analyzed in an Environmental Assessment

(EA) that was issued in February, 1998. Public scopeing meetings and

opportunities for interested parties to review and comment on the EA

were included in that analysis effort. That planning effort lead to the

decision to prepare an EIS. Public participation is also an important

part of this analysis, commencing with additional scoping (40 CFR

1501.7), which will occur during September and October, 1999. In

addition, the public is encouraged to visit with 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. No additional public meetings are scheduled at

this time.

Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in

preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process will be used to

identify issues and alternatives to the proposed action. Some public

comments have already been received in conjunction with an analysis

documented in the Nez Perce Fork Vegetation Management Project EA

(February, 1998). The following issues have already been identified: 1.

How would the proposed timber harvest (improvement cutting) between

Watchtower and Sheepshead Creeks and above the Nez Perce Road change

the undeveloped character of this portion of the Selway Bitterroot

Roadless area? 2. How would the proposed activities affect threatened,

endangered and sensitive fish and wildlife species that inhabit the

area? 3. How would the proposed activities affect the movement of

wildlife through the area? 4. Can the vegetation diversity and

ecological purposes of the project be met without any further timber

extraction in the area? 5. To what degree would the proposed activities

contribute to the spread of noxious weeds in the area? Other issues

commonly associated with prescribed fire and timber harvest include:

potential effects on cultural resources, water quality, air quality,

soils, old growth, and scenery values. This list may be verified;

expanded, or modified based on public scoping for this proposal.

The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives in the

EIS. One of these will be the ``no action'' alternative, in which none

of the proposed activities would be implemented. Additional

alternatives will examine varying levels and locations for the proposed

activities to achieve the proposal's purposes, as well as to respond to

the issues and other resource values. the EIS will analyze the direct,

indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of the alternatives.

Past, present, and scheduled activities on both private and National

Forest lands will be considered. The EIS will disclose the analysis of

site specific mitigation measures and their effectiveness.

The Draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental

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

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 Nez Perce Fork area participate at that

time. To be most helpful, comments on the Draft EIS should be as

specific as possible. The Final EIS is scheduled to be completed in

April, 2000.

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,

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reviewers of draft environment 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 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 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 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

on the proposed action, comments should be as specific 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.

The responsible official for this environmental impact statement is

David M. Campbell, West Fork District Ranger. His address is West Fork

Ranger District, Bitterroot National Forest, 6735 West Fork Road,

Darby, Montana 59829. He will decide which, if any, of the proposed

actions will be implemented and will document the decision and reasons

for the decision in a Record of Decision. That decision will be subject

to Forest Service Appeal Regulations.

Dated: September 9, 1999.

Jeff Amoss,

Acting Forest Supervisor, Bitterroot National Forest.

[FR Doc. 99-24347 Filed 9-17-99; 8:45 am]

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