Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 92 / Friday, May 11, 2001 / Notices 24097

and applicable laws, regulations and

policies in making a decision regarding

this proposal. The responsible official

will document the decision and reasons

for the decision in a Record of Decision.

That decision will be subject to appeal

under 36 CFR part 215.

The responsible official is John R.

Schultz, District Ranger, Allegheny

National Forest, Bradford Ranger

District, HC 1, Box 88, Bradford, PA

16701.

Dated: April 24, 2001.

Dale Dunshie,

Acting Forest Supervisor,

[FR Doc. 01–11866 Filed 5–10–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Upper Middle Fork Payette River

Project, Boise National Forest, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The Cascade Ranger District

of the Boise National Forest will prepare

an environmental impact statement

(EIS) for a resource management project

in the Middle Fork of the Payette River.

The entire project area is located within

watersheds that drain directly into the

Middle Fork of the Payette River or its

tributaries. The project area is located

12 miles east of Cascade, Idaho, and

about 100 miles north of Boise, Idaho.

The agency invites written comments

and suggestions on the scope of the

analysis. The agency also hereby gives

notice of the environmental analysis

and decision-making process that will

occur on the proposal so interested and

affected people are aware of how they

may participate and contribute to the

final decision. At this time, no public

meetings to discuss the project are

planned.

Proposed Action: Two primary

objectives have been identified for the

project: (1) Reduce current and future

stand susceptibility to western spruce

budworm, Douglas-fir beetle, and

mountain pine beetle by moving stand

densities, structures, and/or species

compositions towards their historic

conditions, and; (2) improve long-term

stand growth to or near levels indicative

of healthy, sustainable forests.

The Proposed Action would treat an

estimated 881 acres in the 15,881 acre

project area. Proposed activities would

occur within a portion of the 67,637

acre Gold Fork/Clear Creek Management

Area 53. An estimated 4.0 MMbf of

timber would be harvested using

ground-based (697 acres), skyline (24

acres), and helicopter (160 acres)

yarding systems. The Proposed Action

would employ a variety of silvicultural

prescriptions including commercial thin

(169 acres), improvement cut/sanitation

(430 acres), seed cut shelterwood (95

acres), final removal shelterwood (147

acres), and clearcut with reserve trees

(40 acres). The existing transportation

system would be improved to facilitate

log haul and reduce sedimentation with

individual sections of 3.3 miles of road

being reconstructed. An estimated 0.5

miles of specified road and 0.2 miles of

temporary road would be constructed to

facilitate harvest. In addition, 0.7 miles

of the #409F road, currently closed yearround, would be decommissioned.

Preliminary Issues: Preliminary

concerns with the Proposed Action

include: (1) Potential impacts on

sediment delivery to area streams; (2)

potential impacts on bull trout, and; (3)

potential impacts on the visual quality

of the area.

Possible Alternatives to the Proposed

Action: One alternative to the Proposed

Action has been discussed thus far: (1)

a no action alternative. Other

alternatives will likely be developed as

issues are identified and information

received.

Decisions to be Made: The Boise

National Forest Supervisor will decide

the following. Should roads be built and

timber harvested within the project area

at this time, and if so; where within the

project area, and how many miles of

road should be built; and which stands

should be treated and what silvicultural

systems should be used? What design

features and/or mitigation measures

should be applied to the project? Should

the decommissioning of existing roads

be implemented at this time?

DATES: Written comments concerning

the proposed project and analysis are

encouraged and should be postmarked

on or before June 11, 2001.

Schedule: Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (DEIS), July 2001. Final

Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS),

September 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to Keith Dimmett, Cascade

Ranger District, P.O. Box 696, Cascade,

ID 83611. Comments received in

response to this request will be available

for public inspection and will be

released in their entirety if requested

pursuant to the Freedom of Information

Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Further information can be obtained

from Keith Dimmett at the address

mentioned above or by calling (208)

382–7430.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

NFMA planning for this project was

initiated in the spring of 2001 with the

Upper Middle Fork Payette River

Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed

Scale (EAWS). A letter announcing

plans to complete the EAWS and

soliciting comments was mailed to

interest individuals and/or groups in

March of 2001.

Roughly 70 percent of the project area

occurs within one of two inventoried

roadless areas (IRA’s). A portion of the

Peace Rock IRA occupies an estimated

8,947 acres, and a section of the Stony

Meadows IRA another 2,357 acres of the

project area. A large portion of the

project area also occurs within

Management Area 43 (Peace Rock). The

Proposed Action does not include any

management activities within either IRA

or within Management Area 43.

The Middle Fork Payette River

originates within, and runs through the

center of the project area. The Forest

Plan discloses that that segment of the

river from Railroad Pass to the Middle

Fork Bridge on the #409 road is

potentially eligible for inclusion in the

National Wild and Scenic River system

as a ‘‘wild’’ river. However, in June of

1991 the Forest Plan was corrected to

show that this segment of the river is

potentially eligible as a ‘‘recreational’’

river.

The comment period on the DEIS will

be 45 days from the date of 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 the DEIS 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 DEIS stage but are not

raised until after completion of the FEIS

may be waived or dismissed by the

courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.

2d 1016, 1002 (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 DEIS 45-day comment period so

that substantive comments and

objections are made available to the

24098 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 92 / Friday, May 11, 2001 / Notices

Forest Service at a time when it can

meaningful 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.

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.

Responsible Official: Anne F. Archie,

Acting Forest Supervisor, Boise

National Forest, 1249 South Vinnell

Way, Boise, ID 83709.

Dated: May 3, 2001.

Anne F. Archie,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 01–11611 Filed 5–10–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Idaho Panhandle/Kootenai/Lolo

National Forests Grizzly Bear Forest

Plan Amendment; Idaho Panhandle,

Kootenai and Lolo National Forests;

Lincoln and Sanders Counties, MT;

Boundary and Bonner Counties; Idaho;

and Pend Oreille County, WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare

environmental impact statement to

amend land and resource management

plans for the Idaho Panhandle,

Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests.

SUMMARY: The Forest Supervisors of the

Idaho Panhandle, Kootenai and Lolo

National Forests give notice of the

agency’s intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS) in

conjunction with the establishment of

new management direction for the

grizzly bear within the Selkirk and

Cabinet/Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery

Zones. The Forest Service has identified

the need to update management

direction, based on new information

regarding grizzly bear biology.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be postmarked by

June 11, 2001. The agency expects to file

a draft EIS with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and make it

available for public, agency, and tribal

government comment in the summer of

2001. A final EIS is expected to be filed

in February 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Bob Castaneda, Forest Supervisor,

Kootenai National Forest, 1101 US Hwy

2 West, Libby, MT 59923.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob

Carlin, Grizzly Bear Plan Amendment

Interdisciplinary Team Leader (406)

882–4451.

Responsible Officials: Pat Aguilar,

Idaho Panhandle National Forests—

Acting Forest Supervisor; Bob

Castaneda, Kootenai National Forests—

Forest Supervisor; and Deborah Austin,

Lolo National Forest—Forest

Supervisor.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1998,

the Selkirk/Cabinet-Yaak grizzly Bear

Subcommittee recommended new

access management direction to aid in

the recovery of the threatened grizzly

bear within the Selkirk/Cabinet-Yaak

Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones. This

direction was titled the ‘‘Interim Access

Management Strategy’’. Additional

information was provided in an

‘‘Interim Access Management Rule Set.’’

This new direction is based on new

information regarding grizzly bear

habitat needs, including the need for

core security areas. The purpose for the

amendment is to update Forest Plan

management direction to respond to the

recommendations and new information

presented by the Selkirk/Cabinet Yaak

Grizzly Bear Subcommittee.

Proposed Action

The Forest Supervisors are proposing

to amend their respective Forest Plans

regarding Forest Plan standards and

monitoring requirements that respond to

the recommendations of the Interim

Access Management Strategy and

Interim Access Management Rule Set.

The decision to be made is whether to

adopt the proposed action as designed,

with different requirements, or not at

all.

This amendment would result in a

new appendix to the Idaho Panhandle

and Lolo National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plans (Forest

Plans). It will be an addendum to the

Kootenai National Forest, Forest Plan,

Appendix 8.

The Interim Access Management

Strategy and Interim Access

Management Rule Set comprise a set of

access related guidelines developed

over the past few years by the Selkirk/

Cabinet-Yaak Subcommittee of the

Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee

(IGBC). The guidelines address the

following access management

parameters: (1) Habitat security, (2) core

area, (3) trial use of access related to

habitat quality/season, (4) motorized

access route density, (5) monitoring, and

(6) coordination with state wildlife

agencies. The Rule Set also clearly

discloses definitions of terminology

related to each specific parameter. The

complete text of these two documents is

available on the IGBC internet website

at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/

scy/main.htm. Copies may also be

requested by contacting Rob Carlin, ID

Team Leader, at 406–882–4451.

Preliminary Issues and Alternatives

Some preliminary issues have already

been identified and are listed below.

These issues apply only to National

Forest System lands on the units listed

previously in this notice.

The interim access management

strategy and rule set may affect the

ability to use roads and trails, the

construction of roads and trails, and the

closure and decommissioning of roads

and trails. This potentially influences

activities such as timber harvest,

recreation use, administrative

management activities, and other uses

associated with Forest Service roads and

trails.

The interim access management

strategy and rule set did not recommend

standards for total and open motorized

route density. Therefore, some people

are concerned that the strategy and rule

set do not fully address the habitat

needs of grizzly bears.

Public Involvement

The first public participation efforts

involving the Interim Access

Management Strategy and Rule Set

began in the spring and summer of 1997

with a series of seven workshops held

throughout Washington, Idaho, and

Montana. Nearly 300 individuals either

sent letters or asked to be placed on the

project mailing list. The key public

concerns identified at the workshops

were: (1) The need to consider habitat

needs in relation to timing of road

access restrictions; (2) the need to

consider hunting regulations and law

enforcement; and (3) the need to

consider access options to provide the

public a reasonable level of access to the

National Forests.

The Forest Supervisors are giving

notice that the Idaho Panhandle,

Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests are

beginning an environmental analysis

and decision-making process for this

proposed action so that interested or

affected people can participate in the

analysis and contribute to the final

decision. The Forest Service is seeking

comments from individuals,

organizations, tribal governments, and

Federal, State, and local agencies that

are interested or may be affected by the

proposed action. The public is invited