Lakeface-Lamb Fuel Reduction, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Bonner County, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Lakeface-Lamb Fuel Reduction, Idaho Panhandle National Forests,

Bonner 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 will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) to disclose the potential environmental effects of

reducing the wildfire risk and treating stands with insect and disease

problems in the Lakeface-Lamb project area on the Priest Lake Range

District, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Bonner County, Idaho.

The proposed action includes unit-specific fuel and silvicultural

treatments as well as reforestation needs, harvest techniques, and

other site-specific connected actions. The proposed action is divided

into several themes based on treatment needs responding to the purpose

and need.

These management activities will be administered by the Priest Lake

Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in Bonner

County, Idaho. This EIS will tier to the Idaho Panhandle National

Forests Forest Plan (September 1987).

DATES: Comments should be postmarked on or before December 29, 1999.

Please include your name and address and the name of the project you

are commenting on.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed

management activities or request to be placed on the project mailing

list to Kent Dunstan, Priest Lake Ranger District, 32203 Highway 57,

Priest River, Idaho 83856.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Asleson, Project Team Leader,

Priest Lake Ranger District, 32202 Highway 57, Priest River, ID 83856.

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 will not have

standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR Parts 215 or

217. 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 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

agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the

comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 10

days.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The public has raised concern about the threat of fires escaping

from National Forest lands and endangering private land values. On a

landscape level, the threat of severe lethal fires as defined in the

Interior Columbia Basin Science Assessment has increased by nearly 20

percent, including the moist forest types found in the project area.

The buildup of natural fuels is outside acceptable levels and the

frequency and

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intensity of fire is not within historic pattern for this area. The

developed and natural resources on the National Forest lands and

private property within the area are of considerable value both locally

and regionally. For these reasons, this area has been identified as a

top priority to reduce the wildfire potential.

The project includes approximately 7200 acres, encompassing 2030

acres of private lands and 5100 acres of National Forest lands. The

area is situated totally within Bonner Country, Idaho, approximately 22

airmiles north of the community of Priest River, Idaho. The legal

description for the project includes all or portions of the following

sections:

Sections 5-8; Township 59 North; Range 4 West

Sections 1-3 and 10-12; Township 59 North; Range 5 West

Sections 5-7, 17, 19, 20 and 29-32; Township 60 North; Range 4 West

Sections 1-3, 10-15, 22-27, and 34-36; Township 60 North; Range 5 West.

As Deciding Officer, I will decide how much and what, if any,

actions including fuel treatments, timber harvesting and related

activities, and road construction/reconstruction will occur on National

Forest lands. I also will decide specific project mitigation measures,

as necessary, to achieve Forest Plan objectives and standards for

affected resources.

Public participation plays an important role in the environmental

analysis process. The initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) for this

analysis began October 1999. Earlier public participation occurred

during the preparation of the Lakeface-Lamb Fuel Reduction

environmental assessment beginning in 1995. This environmental

assessment led us to the conclusion that we needed to further the

assessment in the format of an EIS, hence the issuance of this NOI. The

mailing list for public scoping will include those individuals who have

previously expressed interest in this project as well as those

responding to this NOI and to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests

Quarterly Schedule of Proposed Actions, October 1999. In addition, the

public is encouraged to visit with Forest Service officials during the

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

Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in

preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process is used to:

1. Identify potential issues.

2. Identify major issues to be analyzed in depth.

3. Eliminate minor issues or those covered by a relevant previous

environmental analysis

4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.

5. Identify potential environmental effects of the proposed action

and alternatives including cumulative effects.

Some public concerns have already been expressed through earlier

scoping and the following significant issues have been identified:

scenery; social; and white-tailed deer winter range.

This list will be verified, expanded, or modified based on public

scoping and interdisciplinary review for this proposal.

The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be filed

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

review in January 2000. The final environmental impact statement is

expected to be completed in March 2000. The comment period on the draft

environmental impact statement will be 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,

533 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the

draft environmental 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 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 final

environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concern on 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 chapter of the draft statement.

Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft environment impact

statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and discussed in

statement. Reviews 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 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits

discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital

or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of

communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape,

etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center ad (202) 720-2600 (voice and

TDD).

To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, call 1-800-245-6340

(voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity

employer.

Dated: November 22, 1999.

David J. Wright,

Forest Supervisor, Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

[FR Doc. 99-30865 Filed 11-26-99; 8:45 am]

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