[Federal Register: November 2, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 212)]
[Notices]
[Page 64509-64511]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02no06-24]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Clearwater National Forest; ID; Selway Bitterroot Wilderness
Invasive Plants Management Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The project proposes to contain and control the spread of non-
native invasive plant species within the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness
and non-Wilderness lands forming the margins of the Wilderness.
Chemical and biological treatments are proposed along with other site-
specific methods such as hand pulling and grubbing. All treatments
would be ground-based.
DATES: Comments concerning this analysis must be received by December
1, 2006. The draft environmental impact statement is expected in
October, 2007 and the final environmental impact statement is expected
April, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice or a request to be
placed on the project mailing list should
[[Page 64510]]
be addressed to: Chad Benson (cbenson@fs.fed.us), district Ranger,
Powell Ranger Station, Lolo, MT 59847. Electronic comments may be
submitted to: comments-northern-clearwater@fs.fed.us. If you choose to
comment by e-mail, please include your name and regular mailing address
with your comment. The subject line must contain the name of the
project for which you are submitting comments (i.e. SBW invasive Plants
Project). Acceptable formats are MS Word, WordPerfect, or RTF.
All comments, including names and address when provided, are placed
in the record and are available for public inspection and copying. The
public may inspect comments received at the Powell Ranger District
Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Benson, District Ranger, Powell
Ranger District. Phone: (208) 942-0307. Additional information is also
available on the Forest Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/Projects
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Project Area
The project area consists of the entire Selway Bitterroot
Wilderness (1,348,000 acres) as well as key areas adjacent to the
wilderness on the Nez Perce, Clearwater, Bitterroot, and Lolo National
Forests in western Montana and north central Idaho. Non-wilderness
areas involve portions of the road and trail network leading into or
passing through the wilderness and other specifically identified
priority area. The project area is approximately 1,398,000 acres in
size.
Purpose and Need for Action
Non-native invasive plants are a growing problem in the Selway
Bitterroot Wilderness and surrounding areas. Without efforts to control
these weeds, they will continue to expand into new areas and the number
of new weed species will increase. The purpose of this project is to
prevent the establishment of new invaders and reduce the impacts of
established invasive plants on native plant community stability,
sustainability and diversity within the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness.
Inside the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, approximately 111,000
acres are currently occupied to some degree by spotted knapweek sulfur
cinquefoil, St. Johnswort (goatweed) and oxeye daisy. Spotted knapweek
accounts for approximately 90 percent of the occupied acres. Newer
invaders such as Dalmatian toadflax, musk thistle, and meadow hawkweed
occupy very small acreages at the present time. Outside the Wilderness
but within the project area, approximately 5,000 acres are occupied by
invasive species with the potential to expand into new areas of the
Wilderness.
Proposed Action
The National Forests of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness propose to
apply integrated and adaptive approaches to reduce the effects of non-
native invasive plant species on natural plant communities and
ecosystems within the project area. Approximately 500 to 1500 acres a
year are proposed for physical treatments including: chemical
treatments, hand pulling, and revegetation with native plants.
Biological control organisms would be applied to approximately 10,000
additional acres within the project area. Aerial spray application is
not proposed. Grazing of domestic animals to reduce weeds within the
Wilderness is not proposed. All treatments and applications would be
ground-based. The emphasis of the treatments would be to eradicate new
invaders as they are discovered and to contain the spread of
established non-native plants.
Possible Alternatives
The Forest Service will consider alternatives to the proposed
action including a ``no action'' alternative in which none of the
proposed activities would be implemented. Additional alternatives being
considered examine varying levels and locations for the proposed
activities to achieve the proposal's purpose and need, as well as
respond to issues and other resource concerns.
Responsible Official
The Responsible Official is the Forest Supervisor of the Clearwater
National Forest, 12730 Highway 12, Orofino, Idaho 83544. The
Responsible Official will decide if the proposed project will be
implemented and will document the decision and reasons for the decision
in a Record of Decision. That decision will be subject to Forest
Service Appeal Regulations. The responsibility for preparing the DEIS
and FEIS has been delegated to the District Ranger, Powell Ranger
Station, Lolo, MT 59847.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decision would specify methods and materials to be used or
applied to contain and control unwanted plant species within the
project area. The decision would specify the areas to be treated as
well as the terms and conditions under which treatment methods and
materials would be applied. Administrative actions to monitor effects
and effectiveness as well as promote prevention through public
awareness and education would also be specified. The anticipated life
of the decision would be 10 to 15 years.
Scoping Process
Each of the National Forests managing a portion of the Selway
Bitterroot Wilderness maintains a listing of individuals and
organizations that have expressed an interest in being informed of and
providing input to projects including these types of activities or in
this specific location. All of these contacts will be sent the initial
scoping document. A legal notice describing the scoping process will be
published in the paper of record for each of the National Forests.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. Early Notice of
Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent Environmental Review:
A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for comment.
The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will be
45 days from the date 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 ruling related to public
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of
draft environmental impact statements 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 environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised
until after completion of the final environmental impact statement 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 them and respond to
them in the final environmental impact statement.
[[Page 64511]]
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the
draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement 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.
Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal
and will be available for public inspection.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 21)
Dated: October 26, 2006.
Thomas K. Reilly,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 06-9016 Filed 11-1-06; 8:45 am]
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