Proposed Brown Creek Timber Sale, Payette National Forest, Idaho

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Proposed Brown Creek Timber Sale, Payette National Forest, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

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

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) for the proposed Brown Creek Timber Sale, New Meadows

Ranger District, Payette National Forest, Idaho. The proposed action

would harvest timber, obliterate roads to reduce sediment, and close

other roads to reduce wildlife vulnerability. The Forest prepared an

environmental assessment (EA) for this project and issued a decision

notice in September 1998. The Forest withdrew the decision in December

1998 so that an updated analysis of roadless and old growth could be

made and will prepare an EIS. The EA analyzed three alternatives,

including a no action alternative. The proposed action would harvest

within the Patrick Butte Roadless Area; however, no new roads would be

constructed. All actions will follow the Chief's interim rule on road

building. The alternatives considered in the EA, which would be

analyzed in the draft EIS (DEIS), would harvest up to 4.3 million board

feet of timber. Other alternatives will be developed depending on new

issues raised.

The agency gives notice of the full environmental analysis and

decision making process that is continuing on the proposal so that

interested and affected people know how they may participate and

contribute to the final decision. The Forest conducted public scoping

and addressed subsequent issues in the EA. The Forest now invites

comments on the scope of the analysis and the issues to be addressed.

DATES: Comments on the scope of the analysis must be received by April

10, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions to Jack Irish, Brown

Creek Team Leader, New Meadows Ranger District, Payette National

Forest, PO Box J, New Meadows, Idaho 83654.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the project should be

directed to Jack Irish, phone (208) 347-0300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Payette National Forest Plan (1988)

provides Forest-wide direction for management of the resources of the

Payette National Forest, including timber. The environmental impact

statement for the Forest Plan (1988) analyzed a range of alternatives

for management of the Brown Creek watershed. The Plan allocated this

area to general forest, including timber management, and assigned it to

Management Area #11. The area has had previous entries for timber

harvest.

As well as Forest-wide direction, the plan gives specific direction

for this management area. It requires integrated protection of multiple

resources

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including fish, wildlife, range, soil and water, timber, and fire/

fuels.

Public participation will be especially important at several points

during the analysis, particularly during scoping of issues and during

review of the DEIS.

The scoping process includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in detail.

3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those covered by a relevant

previous environmental analysis.

4. Determining potential cooperating agencies and responsibilities.

Issues that were considered and analyzed in the EA were water

quality and soils, wildlife habitat, vegetation, fire and fuels,

roadless character and wilderness potential, air quality, biodiversity,

economics and socio-economics, fish habitat, heritage resources,

noxious weeds, range, recreation and visual quality, roads and access,

threatened, endangered and sensitive plant species, and wetlands and

floodplains. It is important to bring any new issues to the attention

of the Forest now so that they may be considered in the EIS.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Commerce, and

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior, have been

consulted on potential impacts to threatened and endangered species.

The second major opportunity for public input is with the DEIS. The

DEIS will analyze a range of alternatives to the proposed action,

including the no-action alternative. The DEIS is expected to be filed

with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for

public review in May, 1999. EPA will then publish a notice of

availability of the DEIS in the Federal Register. Public comments are

invited.

The comment period on the DEIS will be 45 days from the date the

EPA 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

DEIS's must structure their participation in the environmental review

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

reviewers 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 DEIS stage but that are not raised until after

completion of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) 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 the FEIS.

To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues

and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the DEIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific

pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also address the

adequacy of the DEIS 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.

In the FEIS the Forest Service is required to respond to comments

received (40 CFR 1503.4). The responsible official will consider the

comments, responses, environmental consequences discussed in the FEIS,

which is expected to be completed in August, 1999, and applicable laws,

regulations, and policies in making the final decision regarding this

proposal. The responsible official will document the decision and

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

to appeal under 36 CFR 215.

David F. Alexander, Forest Supervisor of the Payette National

Forest, McCall, Idaho, is the responsible official for this EIS.

Dated: March 4, 1999.

David F. Alexander,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 99-6037 Filed 3-10-99; 8:45 am]

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