[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12911-12913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5696]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Fry-Zim EIS; Kootenai National Forest; Lincoln County, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental impacts of 
fire recovery and salvage activities. The project is located on the 
Three Rivers Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, 
Montana, in the Northeast Yaak Phsiographic Area located about 34 air 
miles northeast of Troy, Montana. Part of the proposed activities lie 
within an Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA), Mt. Henry # 666.
    The Proposed Action was developed in response to the major fire 
events that burned over 2,200 acres in the Fish Lakes and Zimmerman 
Hill areas in August 1994, and mortality caused by mountain pine beetle 
infestations in Basin Creek Compartment #29. The proposal is to salvage 
timber, construct and reconstruct roads, reduce fuel concentrations, 
revegetate with trees/native shrubs/grasses, and obliterate roads. 
These actions 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 purpose of the Proposed 
Action's activities are to harvest fire- and insect-killed timber in a 
timely manner, manage road systems, reduce future potential for 
catastrophic fire, sustain site productivity, improve wildlife and 
riparian habitat (specifically for Threatened, Endangered, or Sensitive 
(TES) species), and accelerate watershed recovery.
    Overall guidance of land management activities on the Kootenai 
National Forest, including timber harvest and road management, are 
regulated by the Kootenai National Forest Land and Resource Management 
Plan (Forest Plan, September, 1987). The Proposed Action was developed 
using various principles of Ecosystem Management. In doing so, the 
post-fire conditions are characterized at a broad scale with 
consideration to natural processes that historically shaped this 
ecosystem. Based on this analysis we developed a Proposed Action that 
would require a Forest Plan amendment to allow timber harvest in 
Management Area 2 (semi-primitive, non-motorized recreation). In 
addition, some areas previously designated as old growth which, due to 
the intensity of the fires no longer exhibit old growth 
characteristics, will be redesignated to other areas. Some of these 
burned areas will be harvested, meeting objectives of surrounding 
management areas.

DATES: Written comments should be received within 30 days following 
publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions on the proposed 
management activities or a request to be placed on the project mailing 
list to Michael L. Balboni, District Ranger, Three Rivers Ranger 
District, Kootenai National Forest, 1437 North Highway 2, Troy, Montana 
59935.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jack Zearfoss, Fry-Zim EIS Team Leader, Three Rivers Ranger District 
(406) 295-4693.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The timber salvage activities under 
consideration would occur within the 89,687 acre Northeast Yaak 
Physiographic Area. The general areas considered are the Fish Lakes, 
Windy Creek, and Basin Creek areas. Primary salvage activities would 
occur in two specific fire-affected areas: the Fish Fry Fire (1470 
acres) located within all or portions of Sections 18 and 19, T36N, 
R30W, and Sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 23 and 24, T36N, R31W, PMM, Lincoln 
County, Montana: the Zimmerman Fire (733 acres) located within portions 
of Sections 3, and 4, T36N, R31W, and Sections 26 and 35, T37N, R31W, 
PMM, Lincoln County, Montana. Previous planning efforts (Boppin Basin 
Environmental Impact Statement) have identified other salvage 
opportunities outside of the fire-affected areas which have been 
incorporated into this proposal and are located within all or portions 
of Sections 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, and 34, T36N, R30W, 
PMM, Lincoln County, Montana.
    Salvage harvest of dead and dying trees is proposed on 2536 acres 
of forested land within the two fire areas and the Basin Creek 
drainage. [[Page 12912]] Helicopter, conventional cable, and ground-
based logging systems would be utilized for harvest operations. This 
includes 480 acres within the 733 acre Zimmerman fire, 798 acres within 
the 1470 acre Fish Fry fire, and 1,258 acres within the 11,521 acre 
Basin Creek Compartment #29. Openings of greater than 40 acres in size 
would result from this Proposed Action. Fuel reduction accomplished in 
conjunction with harvest includes grapple piling and prescribed 
burning. Watershed restoration activities are proposed within and in 
the vicinity adjacent to the harvest areas. This includes road 
obliteration with an estimated 2.90 miles of recontouring, 11.80 miles 
of ripping and seeding, and 8.70 miles of seeding, plus the removal of 
approximately 21 in-stream culverts. Placement of woody debris would 
occur along about 1.0 mile of stream channel, and approximately 11 
acres of riparian revegetation is proposed. Replanting would occur on 
approximately 2694 acres of land (of which 96 acres are burned 
plantations), including both conifer seedlings for reforestation and 
native shrubs and herbaceous plants for wildlife habitat (approximately 
187 acres). The timber harvest operations would require approximately 
3.88 miles of new road construction, 6.58 miles of reconstruction, and 
an estimated 1.70 miles of temporary road construction. Road 
maintenance would occur on about 13.73 miles of existing road.
    Approximately 498 acres proposed for harvest lie within the Mt. 
Henry #666 IRA. An estimated 3.60 miles (of the 3.88 miles) of road 
construction would occur within this area.
    The decision to be made is, what action (if any) should be taken in 
the Northeast Yaak Physiographic Area to:
    (1) Recover the fire-affected areas and move the area towards the 
desired conditions of the physiographic areas involved.
    (2) Provide goods and services to the local economy and U.S. 
citizens
    (3) Reduce the risk for high-intensity wildfire in the future
    (4) Develop and manage the road system to facilitate the removal of 
timber, post-harvest treatments, reduce sedimentation, restore stream 
channel equilibrium, and maintain or improve wildlife habitat.
    The Kootenai Forest Plan provides guidance for management 
activities within the potentially affected area through its goals, 
objectives, standards and guidelines, and management area direction. 
The areas of proposed activities would occur within Management Areas 2, 
12, 13, 14, and 19. Timber harvest would occur in all Management Areas 
except Management Area 13, which would be redesignated. Road 
construction would occur in Management Areas 13 and 14. Below is a 
brief description of the applicable management direction.
    Management Area 2--These areas are characterized by a natural 
appearing environment offering roadless recreation opportunities and 
are within an unsuitable timber base.
    Management Area 12--These are areas that contain productive timber 
lands which are suitable for timber harvest, provided that big game 
summer habitat objectives are met.
    Management Area 13--These are areas that contain special habitat 
characteristics which are allocated as Old-Growth. Local road 
construction is permitted, provided that they are restricted following 
use to protect snag characteristics.
    Management Area 14--These are areas that contain productive timber 
lands which are suitable for timber harvest, provided that grizzly bear 
habitat objectives are met.
    Management Area 19--These are areas that contain steep slopes 
requiring only activities which minimize surface disturbance and 
maintain a healthy vegetative cover.
    For Management Area 2, which is classified as unsuitable for timber 
production, an amendment to the Forest Plan would be required to 
implement the ecosystem management-based proposal or any alternative 
which would harvest timber in these management areas.
    The Forest Service will consider a range of alternatives. One of 
these will be the ``No Action'' alternative, in which none of the 
proposed activities will be implemented. Additional alternatives will 
examine varying levels and locations for the proposed activities to 
achieve the desired conditions, as well as to respond to the issues and 
other resource values identified by the public.
    The principle issues identified to date are related to:
    1. The effects of the Proposed Action on the characteristics of 
Inventoried Roadless Areas and Management Areas designated as 
unsuitable for timber production.
    2. The effects of the Proposed Action on water quality and fish 
habitat.
    3. The effects of the Proposed Action on ecosystem health and the 
risk of catastrophic wildfires and insect or disease outbreaks.
    4. The effects of the Proposed Action on Threatened, Endangered, 
and Sensitive (TES) species.
    5. The effects of the Proposed Action on the socio-economics of the 
area.
    Other issues commonly associated with salvage harvesting and road 
construction include: heritage resources, soils, and scenery 
management. This list may be verified, expanded, or modified based on 
public scoping for this proposal.
    The EIS will analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative 
environmental effects of the alternatives. Past, present, and projected 
activities on National Forest Lands will be considered. The EIS will 
disclose the analysis of site-specific mitigation measures and their 
effectiveness.
    Public participation is an important part of the analysis. It will 
start with the initial scoping process (40 CFR 1501.7) which will begin 
with the publication of this notice. 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. Comments from the public and other agencies 
will be used in preparation of the Draft EIS. The scoping process will 
be used to:
    1. Identify potential issues.
    2. Identify major issues to be analyzed in depth.
    3. Eliminate minor issues or those which have been covered by a 
previous environmental analysis, such as the Kootenai Forest Plan EIS.
    4. Identify alternatives to the proposed action.
    5. Identify potential environmental effects of the Proposed Action 
and alternatives (i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative effects).
    6. Determine potential cooperating agencies and task assignments.
    Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been 
ongoing with regard to listed species. The Montana Department of Health 
and Welfare-Division of Environmental Quality, Montana Department of 
Fish and Game, and the Kootenai Salish Indian Tribe will also be 
consulted.
    While public participation in this analysis is welcome at any time, 
comments received within 30 days of the publication of this notice will 
be especially useful in the preparation of the Draft EIS, which is 
expected to be filed with the EPA and available for public review in 
July, 1995. A 45-day comment period will follow publication of a Notice 
of Availability of the Draft EIS in the Federal Register. The final 
[[Page 12913]] EIS is expected to be completed in November, 1995.
    The Forest Service believes it is important at this early stage to 
give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft EIS's 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, 513 (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 30 day comment period so that substantive comments and objections 
are available to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningfully 
consider them and respond to them in the Final EIS.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
and concerns 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.
    Responsible Official: Robert L. Schrenk, Forest Supervisor, 
Kootenai National Forest, Supervisor's Office, 506 Hwy 2 West, Libby, 
MT 59923 is the Responsible Official. As the Responsible Official I 
will decide which, if any, of the proposed projects will be 
implemented. That decision will be documented in a Record of Decision. 
I have delegated the responsibility to prepare the Fry-Zim 
Environmental Impact Statement to Michael L. Balboni, District Ranger, 
Three Rivers Ranger District.

    Dated: February 28, 1995.
Robert L. Schrenk,
Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest.
[FR Doc. 95-5696 Filed 3-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M