[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4377-4378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01126]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Coeur d'Alene River Ranger
District, Shoshone County, ID; Beaver Creek Project
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) on a proposal to accomplish vegetation management in
the Beaver Creek Resource Area, which is located on National Forest
System lands administered by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in
Shoshone County, Idaho.
The proposed action would include timber harvest (commercial thin,
shelterwood, improvement cut, and seed tree treatments); hazardous
fuels treatment (underburning, jackpot burning, mastication, grapple
piling and yarding tops associated with the timber harvest); prescribed
burning not associated with timber harvest; and watershed restoration
(decommissioning roads currently not open to motorized use, upgrading
aquatic organism passage barriers; and road construction (both
permanent and temporary). Other activities included in the proposed
action are road storage, road reconstruction and maintenance, site
preparation, reforestation, and fuel break development.
This project is designed to achieve the goals of enhanced forest
stand resilience and resistance, hazardous fuel reduction, and
restoration of water quality and aquatic habitats.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by February 21, 2013. Additional opportunity for formal comments will
be accepted after release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS), which is expected to be published in April 2013. The Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is expected to be published in
August 2013.
[[Page 4378]]
ADDRESSES: Send or hand-deliver written comments to the Coeur d'Alene
River Ranger District, Attn: Project Leader Lauren Goschke, 2502 E
Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814. Comments may also be sent via
email to [email protected], or via
facsimile to 208-769-3062.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Goschke, Project Leader, Coeur
d'Alene River Ranger District, 2502 E. Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene
ID, 83814; telephone (208) 769-3046, email [email protected], or
Jeanne White, Ecosystems Staff Officer, telephone (208) 769-3022, email
[email protected], also at the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District.
Additional information is available on the Idaho Panhandle National
Forests internet web page: http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/ipnf/landmanagement/projects.
Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose of the Beaver Creek proposed action is to move the
project area towards the desired conditions identified by the Forest
Plan. There is a need to maintain existing and recruit additional long-
lived early seral species to facilitate greater forest health and
increased resiliency to disturbance. There is a need to manage the
landscape arrangement of forest structure and age class within the
Beaver Creek watershed to ensure diverse and sustainable forest stands.
Dead and dying trees throughout the project area are increasing
fuel loading throughout the watershed. Treatment is needed to reduce
the risk of hazardous fuels which could threaten wildland urban
interface areas.
There is also a need to restore water quality and aquatic habitats
in the Beaver Creek watershed to meet State water quality standards,
improve the abundance of fisheries and other aquatic organisms, and
improve the longevity of road conditions by reducing maintenance costs
and providing for long term public access.
Proposed Action
The proposed action would harvest timber (commercial thin,
shelterwood, improvement cuts, and seed tree treatments) and treat
hazardous fuels (underburning, jackpot burning, mastication, grapple
piling and yarding tops associated with the timber harvest) on
approximately 2,000 acres, Prescribed burning would occur on an
additional 2,300 acres NOT associated with the timber harvest.
Watershed restoration activities would include decommissioning 64
miles of road currently not open to motorized use, upgrading 20 aquatic
organism passage barriers, constructing 1.5 miles of permanent road and
1.2 miles of temporary road. Other activities included in the proposed
action are road storage, road reconstruction and maintenance, site
preparation, reforestation, and fuel break development.
Possible Alternatives
Scoping comments will be used by the Forest Service to develop a
range of alternatives in response to any significant issues that are
identified. A no-action alternative will be analyzed during the
analysis process.
Responsible Official
The responsible official for the decision on this project is the
Forest Supervisor for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, 3815
Schreiber Way, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The Forest Supervisor will decide whether to implement the action
as proposed or as modified by an alternative, or whether to take no
action at this time. If it proceeds, she will also decide what project
design features and monitoring requirements will be applied to the
project.
Preliminary Issues
Preliminary concerns identified by the project team include (1)
effects of the proposed activities on forest vegetation; (2) effects of
the proposed activities on hazardous fuel levels; (3) effects of the
proposed activities on elk thermal cover, (4) effects of the proposed
activities on public recreation access, (5) effects of the proposed
activities on water quality, water quantity, and fish distribution; and
(6) revenues and the local economy.
Permits or Licenses Required
Due to the nature of some of the restoration activities, such as
culvert upgrades to facilitate aquatic organism passage or to improve
hydrologic function, it is anticpated that permits associated with
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act will be required.
Scoping Process
This project was previously scoped as an Environmental Assessment.
This notice of intent, which guides the development of the EIS,
continues the scoping process. A scoping document was mailed to
potentially interested or affected members of the public on October 5,
2012. It is available on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests internet
Web site (http://fs.usda.gov/goto/ipnf/projects). Please refer to the
October 5, 2012 scoping document to obtain project details and project
maps. It is not necessary to resubmit your comments if you responded to
the October 5, 2012 scoping letter. Comments already submitted in
response to the October 5, 2012 scoping letter will be used in the
preparation of the EIS. While public participation in this analysis is
welcome at any time, additional comments can best be used to prepare
the EIS if received within 30 days of publication of this notice.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such a manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation
of the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be
accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide
the respondent with standing to participate in subsequent
administrative or judicial review.
Dated: January 14, 2013.
Mary Farnsworth,
Forest Supervisor, Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
[FR Doc. 2013-01126 Filed 1-18-13; 8:45 am]
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