Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 52 / Friday, March 17, 1995 / Notices 14417

Preliminary issues identified as a

result of internal and public scoping

include: equal value of land being

exchanged, plus, effects of the proposal

on wildlife habitat, old growth habitat,

water quality, riparian areas, fisheries,

roadless areas, federal investigations

already made, revenues to the counties,

road access, deferred road maintenance,

fire protection boundaries, timber

program, visual quality of the area,

recreation, and effects on threatened,

endangered and sensitive species. This

list will be verified, expanded and/or

modified based on continued scoping

for this proposal.

Public participation is important all

through the analysis process. Two key

time periods have been identified for

receipt of formal comments on the

proposal and analysis:

1. Scoping period, which starts with

publication of this notice and

continues for the next 45 days; and

2. Review of the Draft EIS in September

and October, 1995.

The Forest Service expects to file the

Draft EIS with the Environmental

Protection Agency in August 1995. The

comment period on the Draft EIS will be

45 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency

publishes the notice of availability in

the Federal Register. The Final EIS and

Record of Decision are expected in

December 1995.

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 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 draft EIS stage but that are

not raised until after completion of the

final EIS may be waived or dismissed by

the courts. Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v.

Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D.

Wisc. 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 Final EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues on

the proposed action, 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 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.)

I am the responsible official for this

environmental impact statement. My

address is Clearwater National Forest,

Forest Supervisor’s Office, 12730

Highway 12, Orofino, ID 83544.

Dated: March 8, 1995.

James L. Caswell,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95–6551 Filed 3–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Nosiy Divide Timber Sale and Other

Integrated Resource Projects, Colville

National Forest, Pend Oreille County,

WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Cancellation Notice.

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, USDA, is

no longer involved in the preparation of

an environmental impact statement for

the Noisy Divide Timber Sale and Other

Integrated Resource Projects on the

Sullivan Lake Ranger District of the

Colville National Forest (Pend Oreille

County, Washington). The Notice of

Intent, published in the Federal

Register on January 2, 1991 is hereby

rescinded (56 FR 58).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tim Bertram, Project Leader, Sullivan

Lake Ranger District, Colville National

Forest; at Metaline Falls, Washington

99153, or phone 509–446–2681.

Dated: March 7, 1995.

George T. Buckingham,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95–6626 Filed 3–16–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

North Sherman and Fritz Timber Sales,

Colville National Forest, Ferry County,

WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, USDA,

will prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) on a proposal to harvest

and regenerate timber and to construct

and reconstruct roads. The proposed

projects will be in compliance with the

1988 Colville National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (The Plan)

which provides the overall guidance for

management of this area for the next ten

years. The projects are proposed within

portions of the Sherman Creek and

South Fork Sherman Creek drainages on

the Kettle Falls Ranger District in fiscal

year 1996. The Colville National Forest

invites written comments and

suggestions on the scope of the analysis.

The agency will give notice of the full

environmental analysis and decision

making process that will occur on the

proposal so as to provide interested and

affected people awareness as to how

they may participate and contribute in

the final decision.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be received in

writing by April 30, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and

suggestions concerning the management

of this area to Meredith Webster, District

Ranger, 225 W. 11th, Kettle Falls,

Washington 99141.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Questions about the proposed project

work and EIS should be directed to

Ralph Egan, Planning Assistant, 225 W.

11th, Kettle Falls, Washington 99141

(phone: 509–738–6111).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

proposed action includes harvesting

timber and constructing roads on North

Sherman and Fritz timber sales.

The timber sales are proposed within

the Sherman Creek and South Fork

Sherman Creek drainages on the Kettle

Falls Ranger District. This analysis will

evaluate a range of alternatives for

implementation of the timber sales. The

area being analyzed is 69,557 acres.

The North Sherman timber sale would

be located north of Washington State

Highway 20 with the proposed harvest

centered between McGahee and Elbow

Creeks. The majority of the harvest

would be landscape scale selection

harvest. The proposed sale would

harvest 10.0 MMBF from 2,000 acres.

The Fritz timber sale would be

located south of Washington State

Highway 20 with the proposed harvest

centered around upper Fritz Creek,

Scalawag Ridge and Paradise Peak. The

majority of the harvest would be

landscape scale selection harvest. The

proposed sale would harvest 10.0

MMBF from 2,000 acres.

The Draft EIS will be tiered to The

Plan. The Plan’s Management Area

direction for this analysis area is

approximately 4.1 percent Old Growth

Dependent Species Habitat, 8.3 percent

Recreation, 30 percent Scenic/Timber,

1.3 percent Scenic/Winter Range, 22.1