Selkirk Mountain Range Winter Travel Plan, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Bonner and Boundary Counties, ID and Pend Oreille County, WA, 10489-10490 [07-1082]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Forest Service

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 45 (Thursday, March 8, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10489-10490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1082]


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 45 / Thursday, March 8, 2007 / 
Notices

[[Page 10489]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Selkirk Mountain Range Winter Travel Plan, Idaho Panhandle 
National Forests, Bonner and Boundary Counties, ID and Pend Oreille 
County, WA

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to document and disclose the potential environmental 
effects of a proposed winter travel plan for the Selkirk Mountain Range 
on the Bonners Ferry, Priest Lake and Sandpoint Ranger Districts, Idaho 
Panhandle National Forests (IPNF). The Selkirk Mountain Range is 
located immediately northwest of Sandpoint, Idaho. The geographic area 
for this travel plan is defined as the National Forest System lands on 
the INPF that are bounded by US Highway 2 on the south, the Pend 
Oreille Divide on the west, the international border with Canada on the 
north, and US Highway 95 on the east. The proposal was designed using 
science from assessments including the Situation Summary and Management 
Strategy for caribou and winter recreation prepared by the IPNF in 
2004. The proposal will result in a Selkirk Mountain Range winter 
travel plan reflecting designated areas and routes of travel, and 
applicable restrictions and types of use for each route or area by:
    (1) Responding to court direction relating to winter recreation use 
within the woodland caribou recovery area.
    (2) Adapting management actions and land uses to changed 
information and conditions in wildlife management, particularly for 
threatened, endangered and sensitive species.
    (3) Providing for public access and motorized winter recreation 
travel in the Selkirk Mountain Range considering both the quantity and 
quality of opportunities provided.
    (4) Establishing objectives and/or restrictions to prevent and/or 
correct any unacceptable resource impacts that are occurring.
    Activities would include: (1) Developing a winter motorized travel 
plan for public access and recreation use considering both the quantity 
and quality of experiences provided, in balance with resource 
management objectives, (2) identifying the types of use and 
restrictions associated with each resource management objective, and 
(3) developing a new travel map reflecting winter motorized use, 
designated areas and routes of travel, and applicable restrictions and 
types of use for each route or area. Specifically the proposal will 
allow winter motorized travel on 46 miles of designated routes, 90,028 
acres will be closed to winter motorized use based on existing yearlong 
closures, 13,639 acres would be closed seasonally to winter motorized 
use from 4/1 until 6/30, and 40,404 acres would be added as closed to 
winter motorized use. Under the proposal the remaining 434,760 acres of 
National Forest Lands within the project area would be open to winter 
motorized use.
    The Idaho Panhandle National Forests in Bonner and Boundary 
Counties, Idaho and Pend Oreille County, Washington will administer 
these activities. The EIS will tier to the Idaho Panhandle National 
Forests Forest Plan. (September 1987).

DATES: Comments should be postmarked within 30 days after publication 
of this notice. Please include your name and address and the name of 
the project you are commenting on.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and suggestions on the proposed 
management activities or request to be placed on the project mailing 
list by writing to: Selkirk Mountains Winter Travel Plan, Attn: Greg 
Hetzler, Sandpoint Ranger District, 1500 Hwy 2, Suite 110, Sandpoint, 
ID 83864.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Hetzler, Project Team Leader, 
Sandpoint Ranger District at 208-263-5111 or by e-mail at 
ghetzler@fs.fed.us.
    Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names 
and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the 
public record on this proposed action and will be available for public 
inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and 
considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have 
standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 CFR part 215. 
Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may request the 
agency to withhold a submission from the public record by showing how 
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) permits such confidentiality. For 
persons requesting such confidentiality, it may be granted in only very 
limited circumstances, such as to protect trade secrets. The Forest 
Service will inform the requester of the agency's decision regarding 
the request for confidentiality, and where the request is denied; the 
agency will return the submission and notify the requester that the 
comments may be resubmitted with or without name and address within 10 
days.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: More information about the Selkirk Mountain 
Range Winter Travel Plan can be found on the internet at https://
www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/kaniksu/wintertravelplan/. The purpose of the EIS 
will be to analyze and disclose a range of appropriate winter motorized 
recreational opportunities, while ensuring that these recreational 
activities are in an appropriate setting and do not impair or 
irreparably harm national forest resources or values. Alternatives to 
be considered in the EIS will respond to the purpose and need. 
Specifically, the Forest Service will include alternatives allowing 
varying amounts and types of winter motorized use. Major issues to be 
addressed in the EIS include the environmental effects of motorized 
winter use on wildlife, providing appropriate levels and types of 
motorized use, visitor experience, and socioeconomics.
    Two periods are specifically designated for comments on this 
analysis: (1) During the scoping period which is 30 days from the date 
of this notice in the Federal Register and (2) during the draft EIS 
comment period. In accordance with 36 CFR 215.5, as published in the 
Federal Register, Volume 68 No. 107, June 4, 2003, the draft EIS 
comment period will be the designated time in which comments will be 
considered. The mailing list for this project will include those 
individuals who have expressed interest

[[Page 10490]]

in this project as well as adjacent landowners and those responding to 
this NOI or to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests Quarterly Schedule 
of Proposed Actions. In addition, the public is encouraged to contact 
or visit with Forest Service officials during the analysis and prior to 
the decision. The Forest Service will continue to seek information, 
comments, and assistance from Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
agencies and other individuals or organizations that may be interested 
in or affected by the proposed actions. The United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service will be consulted concerning any effects to threatened 
and endangered species. The agency invites written comments and 
suggestions on this action, particularly in terms of identification of 
issues and alterative development.
    Comments from the public and other agencies will be used in 
preparation of the Draft EIS to identify potential issues and concerns, 
potential alternatives to the proposed action and to promote 
communications with members of the public or other agencies. The draft 
environmental impact statement (DEIS) will be field with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and made available for public 
review in the summer of 2007. The final environmental impact statement 
is expected to be completed in winter of 2008. 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 rulings related to public 
participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of 
draft environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and 
alerts and 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 statement stage but that are not raised until after 
completion of the final environmental 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 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.
    To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues 
related to 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.
    The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 
discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national 
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital 
or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, 
etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 
TDD). To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 
(voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity 
employer.
    The Idaho Panhandle National Forests Supervisor is the Deciding 
Officer on this project. The decision will be made after considering 
comments and responses, environmental consequences discussed in the 
Final EIS, and applicable laws, regulations and policies. The decision 
and supporting reasons will be documented in a Record of Decision upon 
release of the Final EIS.

    Dated: March 2, 2007.
Ranotta K. McNair,
Forest Supervisor, Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
[FR Doc. 07-1082 Filed 3-7-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M