Department of Agriculture March 8, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee (RACNAC) will meet in Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the status of the state specific rulemaking for inventoried roadless area management in the State of Idaho and to discuss temporary roads and other related issues.

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).