[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 185 (Friday, September 22, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57310-57312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24366]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Ashland Post-Fire Project, Custer National Forest, Rosebud and 
Power River Counties, 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) for a proposal to move toward Forest Plan goals and 
objectives by supporting restoration practices and rehabilitation 
efforts within the Tobin and Stag Fires on the Ashland Post-Fire 
Project Area. The Forest Plan goals and objectives that will be met 
include minimizing public safety hazards through hazard tree removal, 
maintaining soil productivity and minimizing soil erosion by managing 
fuel loading and arrangement, and capturing economic values associated 
with restoration activities as a result of timely harvest of fire-
damaged trees (dead or where mortality is imminent). We are not 
proposing to remove any live trees. The proposed action will be 
accomplished through restoration activities stipulated as part of 
harvest operations and through restoration activities funded by 
Knutsen-Vandenberg collection from post-fire harvest. The EIS will tier 
to the 1987 Custer National Forest and Grasslands Land and Resource 
Management Plan (Forest Plan) which provide the overall management 
direction for the area. The proposed action is consistent with the 
Forest Plan.
    The proposed activities are located within the Tobin and Stag Fire 
perimeters that include the Three-Mile, King, Odell, Cow, Brian, and 
Padget drainages on the Ashland Ranger District, in Eastern Montana. 
The analysis area consists of approximately 71,200 acres with proposed 
activities within approximately 4,500 acres. The following activities 
are proposed: (1) Minimize the potential for public safety hazards by 
harvesting fire-damaged trees within one and a half tree lengths from 
the edge of Forest Service Transportation System roads; (2) maintain 
soil productivity and minimize accelerated erosion; (3) limit fuel 
loads and their spatial arrangement through treatment of dead and dying 
trees through various activities from harvest operations; and (4) 
capture economic values associated with restoration activities as a 
result of harvesting fire-damaged trees within a timely manner. The 
projects would be

[[Page 57311]]

implemented from fiscal year 2001 into the year 2002. The agency 
invites written comments and suggestions on the scope of this project. 
In addition, the agency gives notice of this analysis so that 
interested and affected people are aware of how they may participate 
and contribute to the planning process and final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis should be received 
in writing by October 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written concerns and comments to Elizabeth A. 
McFarland, District Ranger, Ashland Ranger District, P.O. Box 168, 
Ashland, Montana 59003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct questions about the proposed 
action and EIS to Kim Reid, Project Coordinator, 1310 Main St., 
Billings, Montana 59105, phone (406) 657-6200 ext. 233 or (406) 784-
2344.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Forest Service proposal 
is to further movement towards desired conditions outlined in the 
Forest Plan, by:
    <bullet> Manipulating fuel loading in order to reduce the potential 
for high intensity fire effects to resources and to reduce difficulty 
in future suppression activities with the treatment areas.
    <bullet> Capture economic values associated with restoration 
activities as a result of harvesting fire-damaged trees (dead or where 
mortality is imminent) within a timely manner.
    <bullet> Reduce public safety hazards caused by fire-damaged trees 
within one and a half tree lengths from edge of Forest transportation 
system roads.
    The proposed action will be consistent with the Forest Plan, which 
provides goals, objectives, standards and guidelines of the various 
activities and land allocations on the forest. The Forest Plan 
allocates the project area into six management areas (MAs): MA B--
Rangeland Emphasis; MAD--Wildlife/Timber/Rangeland; MAG--Timber 
emphasis; MAJ--Riding and Hiking emphasis; MAN--Riparian emphasis; and 
MAM--Hardwood Draw emphasis. Private lands (about 1000 acres in the 
Stag Fire and a little over 40 acres in the Tobin Fire areas) are also 
included within the project area boundary. Although excluded from 
Forest Service activities, project access and the condition of private 
lands will be considered during alternative development and when 
analyzing potential cumulative effects.
    The key issue topics identified to date include:
    <bullet> Long-term fuel loading and spatial arrangement,
    <bullet> Timeliness and economic feasibility of harvest in order to 
recuperate economic value,
    <bullet> Loss of soil productivity due to potential accelerated 
runoff events,
    <bullet> Impacts on soil properties, infiltration, and surface 
overland flow,
    <bullet> Public safety, and,
    <bullet> Wildlife habitat and other species considerations.
    A range of reasonable alternatives will be considered, including a 
no action alternative. Based on the issues gathered through scoping, 
the action alternatives will vary in (1) the amount and location of 
acres considered for treatment, (2) the number, type, and location of 
activity, (3) the silvicultural and post-harvest practices prescribed, 
(4) the amount of temporary road constructed for access, and (5) the 
amount of time needed to move the area toward a desired condition.
    Public participation will be especially important at several points 
during the analysis, beginning with the scoping process (40 CFR 
1501.7). The Forest Service will be seeking information, comments, and 
assistance from Federal, State, local agencies, tribes and other 
individuals or organizations who may be interested in or affected by 
the proposed project. This input will be used in preparation of the 
draft EIS. Continued scoping and public participation efforts will be 
used by the interdisciplinary team to identify new issues, determine 
alternatives in response to the issues, and determine the level of 
analysis needed to disclose potential biological, physical, economic, 
and social impacts associated with this project. The scoping process 
includes:
    <bullet> Identification of potential issues.
    <bullet> Identification of issues to be analyzed in depth.
    <bullet> Elimination of insignificant issues that have been covered 
by a relevant previous environmental process.
    <bullet> Exploration of additional alternatives based on the issues 
identified during the scoping process.
    <bullet> Identification of potential environmental effects of the 
proposed action and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative 
effects and connected actions).
    The draft EIS is expected to be filed with the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and to be available for public review by mid 
October 2000. 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 notice appears in the Federal 
Register. At that time, copies of the draft EIS will be distributed to 
interested and affected agencies, organizations, and members of the 
public for their review and comments. It is important that those 
interested in the proposal on the Ashland Ranger District, of the 
Custer National Forest, participate at that time.
    The Forest Service believes it is important to give reviewers 
notice, at this early stage, of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
a draft EIS must structure their participation in the environmental 
review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts the 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 EIS stage but that are not 
raised until after completion of the final EIS 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 and respond to them in the final EIS. To 
assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues and 
concerns on the proposed actions, comments on the draft EIS should be 
as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to 
specific pages or chapters of the draft EIS. Comments may also address 
the adequacy of the draft EIS or 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.) The final EIS is schedules for 
completion by December 2000. In the final EIS, the Forest Service is 
required to respond to substantive comments received during the comment 
period for the draft EIS. Nancy T. Curriden, Forest Supervisor of the 
Custer National Forest, is the responsible official. She will decide 
which, if any, of the proposed project alternatives will be 
implemented. Her decision and reason for the decisions will be 
documented in the Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to 
Forest Service appeal regulations (36 CFR part 215).


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    Dated: September 18, 2000.
Nancy T. Curriden,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 00-24366 Filed 9-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M