[Federal Register: December 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 236)]
[Notices]
[Page 74455-74456]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08de08-23]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Intermountain Region, Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth National
Forests; ID; Amendment to the 2003 Land and Resource Management Plans:
Wildlife Conservation Strategy (Forested Biological Community)
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Correction of notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS).
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SUMMARY: On September 14, 2007, the Forest Service published an NOI to
prepare an EIS to disclose the environmental effects of proposed
nonsignificant amendments to the three Southwest Idaho Ecogroup (SWIE)
2003 Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans). The September
2007 NOI noted that amendments to the 2003 Forest Plans for the Boise,
Payette, and Sawtooth National Forests (NFs) will add, and/or modify
existing, management direction, as needed, to implement a
comprehensive, Forest Plan-level, wildlife conservation strategy (WCS).
This NOI is being corrected to reflect a delay of more than a year in
filing the draft EIS. This corrected NOI also provides notice of a
change in the approach to the amendment process, in that the amendment
process now has been tentatively divided into four phases, each
supported by its own environmental impact statement.
DATES: Comments concerning this first proposed environmental analysis
must be received within 30 days following the date of publication of
this NOI. The draft ETS is expected to be available in spring 2009 for
a 45-day public comment period. The final EIS and three Records of
Decision (RODs), one for each Forest Plan, are expected to be completed
by summer 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Randall Hayman, Forest Planner,
Boise National Forest; 1249 South Vinnell Way, Suite 200; Boise, Idaho
83709; or by fax at 208 373-4111; or you may hand-deliver your comments
to the Boise Forest Supervisor's Office, located at 1249 South Vinnell
Way, Suite 200, Boise, during normal business hours from 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an e-mail
message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc) to:
comments-intermtn-boise@fs.fed.us.
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 appeal the subsequent decision.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randall Hayman, Forest Planner, Boise
National Forest at the address above. 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: Separate RODs for revised Forest Plans were
issued in July 2003 for the Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth NFs. The RODs
implemented Alternative 7, as identified in the single 2003 final EIS
that disclosed the environmental effects of the seven alternatives.
Forest Implementation of the three revised Forest Plans began in
September 2003.
On September 14, 2007, the Forest Service published an NOT to
prepare an EIS to disclose the environmental effects of proposed
nonsignificant amendments to the three SWIE 2003 Forest Plans (Federal
Register, Vol. 72, No. 178, pp. 52540-52542). In late 2007, following a
long summer of wildfire, the Responsible Officials for the proposed
amendments recognized that, since the Forest Plans were first
implemented in 2003, all three Forests have experienced extensive
wildfires that may have substantially changed vegetative conditions in
many areas from those that existed in 2003. Because this change could
affect the type of amendments needed, the three Forests decided to
delay preparation of the proposed Forest Plan amendments and EIS so
that vegetation baseline conditions could be updated and incorporated
in the WCS and amendment process.
This vegetative baseline update and integration into the WCS
analysis processes will be completed in the winter of 2009 and
incorporated into the draft EIS for the forested biological community,
to be released spring 2009, along with important new information
concerning wildlife species and their habitat relationships.
Consequently, this NOT is being corrected to reflect a delay of more
than a year in filing the draft EIS, which was originally expected to
be available in mid- to late-winter 2008 (FSH 1909.15, 21.2).
The September 14, 2007, NOT identified that all habitats across
major biological communities on each of the three NFs would be
addressed in a single environmental analysis. However, because the WCS
and related amendments must address many species and associated
habitats and, therefore, be extremely complex, the amendment process
has now been divided into four phases, each with an individual
environmental impact statement. The first phase will address the
forested biological community, with subsequent phases slated to address
rangeland; unique combinations of rangeland and forest; and riparian/
wetland biological communities. This corrected NOT, which reflects the
change in the approach to the amendment process, has been prepared for
the EIS addressing the forested biological community in the first
phase.
Purpose and Need for Action: Assessments supporting Forest Plan
revision in 2003 identified more habitat areas in need of restoration
for a variety of species within each planning unit than could be moved
toward desired conditions by natural processes or management activities
within the 10- to 15-year planning period. As a result, the 2003 Forest
Plans for the Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth NFs identified that
maintaining and restoring habitats for species of concern should be
prioritized based upon the greatest risks to the persistence of certain
species (Boise and Payette Forest Plans, p. 11-10 and Sawtooth Forest
Plan, p. 11-9).
To address this need, each Forest Plan included a wildlife
objective, WIOB03, to prioritize wildlife habitat to be restored at a
mid- or Forest-scale, using information from sources such as species
habitat models and fine scale analyses. The WCS currently being
developed includes a prioritization framework for implementation of
this forest plan direction that managers can use to help focus limited
resources and funds for restoration on areas most important to species
of concern.
WCS assessments completed to date indicate that most species of
concern associated with the forested biological community are linked to
habitats found in late-seral multi- or singlestoried montane and lower
montane forests, including in some cases ``old forest'' habitat.
Historically, these habitats contained an abundance of large diameter
trees and snags (>20 inches diameter at breast height [d.b.h.]) with
cavities important to species nesting, foraging or both.
Preliminary findings suggest there has been an overall reduction in
the abundance of large trees and snags across most habitats, and the
subsequent quality of these habitats, over the last 100 years. Of
particular concern is the
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extent of reductions in single-storied late-seral and old forest
habitats within the lower montane forests over the last 100 years that
were previously dominated by large ponderosa pine trees and snags.
These changes over the last 100 years are largely due to stand
replacement wildfires, historical timber harvest, fire exclusion and
increases in human occupancy and use.
There is a need to reconsider Forest Plan direction in response to
new information and changed resource conditions:
Forestwide and management area objectives need to consider
the WCS habitat prioritization framework currently being developed.
Management prescription MPC 5.2 allocations may need to be
reallocated to management prescriptions with desired conditions
consistent with habitat conservation, maintenance and restoration.
Forest plan standards and guidelines pertaining to large
tree-dominated habitat (e.g., wildlife standard WIST01) and large snags
need to be reviewed to assure that these habitat components are
conserved, maintained or restored, especially in lower montane and
montane forests.
There is a need to evaluate whether Forest Plan direction
should be added that specifically addresses conservation of the subset
of large tree-dominated habitat in lower montane forests called ``old
forest'' habitat.
Impacts resulting from increases in human occupancy and use in
priority habitat areas for species of concern need to be considered.
Proposed Action: The Proposed Action is threefold:
(1) Develop a Forest Plan Wildlife Conservation Strategy (WCS) that
provides the information needed to improve Forest Plan strategies in a
way that focuses limited funds and resources toward the highest
priority habitats and species of concern, while minimizing threats to
those species or habitats;
(2) Determine if amendments to Forest Plan management direction
and/or other components of the three Forest Plans are needed to reflect
findings and priorities identified in the WCS; and
(3) Update the wildlife assessments pertaining to 36 CFR 219.19
(1982), as needed, to reflect findings in updated analyses supporting
the WCS, as well as outcomes anticipated from implementing the amended
Forest Plans.
Responsible Officials: The Responsible Officials are the three
Forest Supervisors for the Boise, Payette, and Sawtooth NFs.
Nature of Decision To Be Made: The Responsible Officials will
review the final ETS and determine if the 2003 Plan for her respective
Forest should be amended and/or modified, or if the current Forest Plan
should remain unchanged.
Scoping Process: This corrected notice of intent continues the
scoping process, which guides development of the ETS. Written comments
must be received within 30 days following publication of this NOI in
the Federal Register. Providing comments within this time period
ensures that they will be available to the Forest Service at a time
when it can meaningfully consider them during preparation of the
specific proposed amendments and Draft EIS.
Beginning in December 2008, information about and status updates of
this amendment process will be available on the Web site, http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://fs.usda.gov/boise (click on ``Wildlife Conservation Strategy'').
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of
the EIS. Therefore, comments should be provided prior to the close of
the comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer's
concerns and contentions. The submission of timely and specific
comments can affect a reviewer's ability to participate in subsequent
administrative appeal or judicial review.
Dated: December 2, 2008.
Cecilia R. Seesholtz,
Forest Supervisor, Boise National.
[FR Doc. E8-28915 Filed 12-5-08; 8:45 am]
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