80 FR 36503 - Boise National Forest and Sawtooth National Forest; Idaho and Utah; Forest-Wide Invasive Plant Treatment Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 122 (June 25, 2015)

Invasive plants have been identified as a major threat to the biological diversity and ecological integrity within and outside the Boise National Forest and the Sawtooth National Forest (the Forests). Invasive plants create many adverse environmental effects, including, but not limited to: Displacement of native plants; reduction in functionality of habitat and forage for wildlife and livestock; threats to populations of threatened, endangered and sensitive species; alteration of physical and biological properties of soil, including productivity; changes to the intensity and frequency of fires; and loss of recreational opportunities. Within the 2,110,408 acres of the of the Sawtooth National Forest and with the 2,203,703 acres of the Boise National Forest, approximately 247,603 acres are identified as being infested with invasive, non-native, and/or State-listed noxious weeds. These invasive plant infestations have a high potential to expand on lands within and adjacent to the Forests, degrading desired plant communities and the values provided by those communities. Forest lands are also threatened by `potential invaders', invasive plants that have not been found on the Forests but are known to occur in adjacent lands, Counties, or States. Infestations can be prevented, eliminated, or controlled through the use of specific management practices. A clear and comprehensive integrated invasive plant management strategy would allow for the implementation of timely and effective invasive plant management and prevention for projects and programs on the Forests. In the absence of an aggressive invasive plant management program, the number, density, and distribution of invasive plants on both Forests will continue to increase.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 122 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36503-36505]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15609]



[[Page 36503]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Boise National Forest and Sawtooth National Forest; Idaho and 
Utah; Forest-Wide Invasive Plant Treatment Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: Invasive plants have been identified as a major threat to the 
biological diversity and ecological integrity within and outside the 
Boise National Forest and the Sawtooth National Forest (the Forests). 
Invasive plants create many adverse environmental effects, including, 
but not limited to: Displacement of native plants; reduction in 
functionality of habitat and forage for wildlife and livestock; threats 
to populations of threatened, endangered and sensitive species; 
alteration of physical and biological properties of soil, including 
productivity; changes to the intensity and frequency of fires; and loss 
of recreational opportunities. Within the 2,110,408 acres of the of the 
Sawtooth National Forest and with the 2,203,703 acres of the Boise 
National Forest, approximately 247,603 acres are identified as being 
infested with invasive, non-native, and/or State-listed noxious weeds. 
These invasive plant infestations have a high potential to expand on 
lands within and adjacent to the Forests, degrading desired plant 
communities and the values provided by those communities. Forest lands 
are also threatened by `potential invaders', invasive plants that have 
not been found on the Forests but are known to occur in adjacent lands, 
Counties, or States. Infestations can be prevented, eliminated, or 
controlled through the use of specific management practices. A clear 
and comprehensive integrated invasive plant management strategy would 
allow for the implementation of timely and effective invasive plant 
management and prevention for projects and programs on the Forests. In 
the absence of an aggressive invasive plant management program, the 
number, density, and distribution of invasive plants on both Forests 
will continue to increase.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received 
by August 10, 2015. The draft environmental impact statement is 
expected April, 2016 and the final environmental impact statement is 
expected November, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Sawtooth National Forest--
Supervisor's Office; Attn: Invasive Species Project; 2647 Kimberly Road 
East, Twin Falls, ID 83301. The office business hours for those 
submitting hand-delivered comments are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday 
through Friday, excluding holidays. Comments can be sent via facsimile 
to (208) 737-3236. Electronic comment should be submitted as part of 
the actual email message or as an attachment in Microsoft Word, rich 
text format (rtf) or portable document format (pdf) only and sent to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Brown, Sawtooth Forest 
Environmental Coordinator; (208) 622-5371; via mail at Ketchum Ranger 
Station; P.O. Box 2356; Ketchum, ID 83340; or at the Ketchum Ranger 
Station located at 206 Sun Valley Road, Ketchum, Idaho.
    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 overall purpose of the proposed action is to reduce the 
negative effects of invasive plants on the structure and function of 
native plant communities and on other natural resource values that can 
otherwise be adversely impacted by invasive plants and to update 
analysis of the effects of Forest-wide integrated invasive plant 
management. The proposal is in response to an underlying need to 
implement policy and direction provided at the National, Regional, 
State, and Forest levels, which includes control and containment of 
invasive plants on the Forests (Executive Order 13112--Invasive 
Species, 2004 National Invasive Species Strategy and Implementation 
Plan, 2008-2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan, 2009 
Intermountain Region Invasive Species Management Strategy, 2005 Idaho 
Strategic Plan for Managing Noxious and Invasive Weeds, amended 2010 
Boise National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, and the 
amended 2012 Sawtooth National Forest Land and Resource Management 
Plan). The need of the proposed action is multifaceted: Invasive plants 
are diminishing the natural resource values of the Forest. Forest 
resources are negatively impacted by existing and expanding invasive 
plant species populations. These species are known to out-compete 
native plants, which can result in reduced productivity and 
biodiversity, habitat loss, and associated economic impacts. There must 
be a timely response to new infestations, new invasive plant species, 
and landscape scale disturbances. On the Forests, landscape level tree 
mortality and disturbance from insects and wildfires have increased and 
are likely to continue to increase the potential for invasive plant 
infestations. The Forests need the flexibility to treat expanded and/or 
newly identified infestations in a timely manner. Existing decisions 
for invasive plant management on the Forests do not address new species 
or provide priorities for managing new infestations. Updating these 
decisions would allow the Forests to satisfy the need to incorporate 
early detection and rapid response into the invasive plant management 
program. Existing invasive plant populations on the Forests require 
active and adaptive management. Invasive plant infestations already 
exist throughout the Forests and without management will likely 
increase in density and distribution. Active and adaptive integrated 
pest management is necessary to contain invasive plants within existing 
boundaries, reduce infestation densities, and retard the establishment 
of new infestations. Control efforts should be focused on infestations 
that can realize the greatest resource benefits--those with the highest 
risk of spread, those that have not become established, and those that 
have the best likelihood of success of control. New analysis and 
planning is needed to make available the most current tools and guide 
their best use. Rehabilitation of degraded landscapes can inhibit the 
spread and establishment of invasive plants. Appropriate rehabilitation 
efforts are a critical component of a fully functional invasive plant 
management program. The goals of rehabilitating degraded areas may 
include preventing new infestations, preventing the reoccurrence of 
eradicated infestations, and/or reducing the density and spread of 
existing infestations. Post-fire rehabilitation efforts may incorporate 
one or more of the established control techniques outlined in the 
Proposed Action. Federal, State, and Forest Service laws, regulation, 
policy and direction relating to invasive plant management must be 
implemented and followed. Implementing invasive species laws and 
policies requires aggressive invasive plant management. This analysis 
would identify the strategies that the Forests would use to comply with 
laws and policies

[[Page 36504]]

pertaining to invasive plant management.

Proposed Action

    The Forests propose to implement adaptive and integrated invasive 
plant management on current and potential infested areas Forest-wide, 
including the Sawtooth Wilderness, but excluding the Frank Church-River 
of No Return Wilderness. The overall management objective is to 
maximize the control of invasive and noxious weed species using an 
Integrated Weed Management (IWM) approach. Management activities would 
include inventory and assessment designed to support `Early Detection 
Rapid Response' (EDRR), control methods, implementation and 
effectiveness monitoring, and rehabilitation. Activities would be 
implemented with partners at the federal, state, and local level where 
opportunities exist. To provide for EDRR, the Forests would design a 
plan that allows treatment of invasive plant infestations located 
outside of currently identified infested areas. Infestations outside of 
currently identified areas may include new sites that arise in the 
future, or sites that currently exist, but have not been identified in 
Forest inventories to date. The intent of EDRR is to allow timely 
control, so that new infestations can be treated when they are small, 
preventing establishment and spread, while reducing the costs and 
potential side effects of treatment. The Proposed Action includes the 
use of ground-based and aerial herbicide applications, manual and 
mechanical, aquatic treatments, biological, and combinations of these 
treatments to treat noxious weeds. Proposed control methods would be 
based on integrated pest management principles and methods known to be 
effective for each target species. They include, but are not limited 
to, mechanical techniques, such as mowing and pulling; cultural 
practices, such as the use of certified noxious weed-free hay; 
biological control agents, such as pathogens, insects, and controlled 
grazing; and herbicides that target specific invasive plant species. 
Control methods could be employed alone or in combination to achieve 
the most effective control. Treatment methods would be based on the 
extent, location, type, and character of an infestation and would be 
implemented using project design features. A maximum of 20,000 acres 
for each Forest is proposed for treatment annually: 2,000 Acres 
biocontrol, 2000 acres manual/mechanical treatment, and 16,000 acres 
chemical treatment. Management priority would be based on factors such 
number and size of known infestations, proximity to vectors or 
susceptible habitat, and ability to outcompete desirable plant species. 
The priority of species to be treated would vary based on these factors 
and could change over time. These priorities would be used to guide 
selection of specific management activities for particular 
infestations.
    Rehabilitation activities would be designed and implemented based 
on the conditions found in and around infested areas. Both active 
revegetation and passive revegetation (allowing plants on site to fill 
in a treated area) would be considered. Rehabilitation techniques would 
be assessed and implemented in order to promote native plant 
communities that are resistant to infestation by invasive plants.

Possible Alternatives

    The `Current Management Alternative' would continue the same weed 
management programs, treatments, and levels of effort for controlling 
weeds on both Forests as are currently being used. These programs are 
limited to the treatments and methods analyzed in the original analyses 
and decisions. Under the Current Management Alternative, mechanical, 
biological, manual and localized herbicide use would continue. In 
addition cultural control, non-treatment practices that are part of the 
Forest Service IWM Program (including maintaining weed prevention, 
education, and public awareness programs) would continue to be 
implemented under the Current Management Alternative. Because of 
limited ability to rapidly respond to new treatment areas and updated 
methods, it is anticipated that continuation of the current weed 
treatment program would not keep pace with the spread of weeds on both 
Forests. New weed invaders would continue to establish populations that 
would likely increase in size unless a weed management program that is 
more comprehensive than the program associated with the Current 
Management Alternative is developed and implemented. Under this 
Alternative, it would likely not be possible to be consistent with 
management direction in all of the Management Areas on both Forests or 
to implement effectiveness monitoring and adaptive management as 
prescribed in the Boise amended 2010 Forest Plan or the Sawtooth 
amended 2012 Forest Plan. Expanding target weed species, treatment 
acres, and treatment methods in the under the Current Management 
Alternative would require further analysis and documentation. This 
would constrain Forest Service managers from responding in a timely and 
cost-effective manner to new weed infestations.

Responsible Officials

    Boise Forest Supervisor and the Sawtooth Forest Supervisor.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The Boise Forest Supervisor will decide whether or not to treat 
invasive plants on the Boise National Forest, excluding the Frank 
Church River of No Return Wilderness, and if so, what methods, how much 
treatment and what strategies (including adaptive management and EDRR) 
will be used to contain, control, or eradicate invasive plants.
    The Sawtooth Forest Supervisor will decide whether or not to treat 
invasive plants on the Sawtooth National Forest, including the Sawtooth 
Wilderness, and if so, what methods, how much treatment and what 
strategies (including adaptive management and EDRR) will be used to 
contain, control, or eradicate invasive plants.

Permits or Licenses Required

    Applicators must be licensed Idaho professional herbicide 
applicators per Idaho Department of Agriculture Rules Governing 
Pesticide Use and Application. (Idaho Code Sec.  22-3404)

Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the environmental impact statement. Comments that 
would be most useful are those concerning developing or refining the 
proposed action, in particular are site specific concerns and those 
that can help us develop treatments that would be responsive to our 
goal to control, contain, or eradicate invasive plants. Public meetings 
are anticipated to be held following publication of the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement
    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 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.


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    Dated: June 16, 2015.
Kit T. Mullen,
Sawtooth Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2015-15609 Filed 6-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-11-P