Project Location. Purpose and Need for Action. File Code: 1950 Date: September 14, Dear Interested Party,

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1 United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Idaho Panhandle National Forests Sandpoint Ranger District 1602 Ontario Street Sandpoint, ID File Code: 1950 Date: September 14, 2016 Dear Interested Party, The Idaho Panhandle National Forests is proposing a project in the Grouse bear management unit on National Forest System lands in the Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint Ranger Districts: the Grouse BMU Compliance Project. The project will manage the road system to bring the bear management unit into compliance with the Forest Plan and the 2011 motorized access amendment. The purpose of this notice is to describe existing conditions in the area and identify certain proposed actions which would move the area towards desired conditions. We welcome your input on this project. A comment form is attached for your convenience. Project Location As shown in figure 1, the general area being considered is about 18 miles north of Sandpoint, Idaho. It is near McArthur Lake (Boundary County) on the east side of Highway 95 and northwest of Lunch Peak (Bonner County). The Grouse bear management unit is a patchwork of National Forest System lands, State of Idaho lands, commercial timber lands, and private property. Purpose and Need for Action The main purpose and need for action is to meet the standards for wheeled motorized vehicle access and security guidelines outlined in the Forest Plan amendments for the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear recovery zones (USDA Forest Service 2011). This means reducing open and total motorized road densities and increasing grizzly bear core habitat in the Grouse bear management unit by 2019 to be in compliance with the Forest Plan amendments. An additional purpose and need for action is to increase user safety, reduce road maintenance costs, and reduce sediment in Grouse Creek by rerouting a section of the Grouse Creek Road (Forest System Road 280) from the bridge over North Fork Grouse Creek to approximately the Wylie Knob trailhead. This section of the road floods annually, making it unsafe to drive and expensive to maintain. It also washes sediment into the creek each time it floods which can affect bull trout spawning and rearing habitat downstream. Rerouting the section would make the road safe to drive, reduce annual maintenance costs, and help meet Forest Plan direction by reducing sediment in the Grouse Creek subwatershed.

Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 2 Figure 1. Grouse BMU Compliance Project vicinity map Proposed Action We propose to store approximately 29 miles of road in the project area. Only 7.

2 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 2 Figure 1. Grouse BMU Compliance Project vicinity map Proposed Action We propose to store approximately 29 miles of road in the project area. Only 7.9 miles of roads proposed to be stored are open for public motor vehicle travel from December 1 through March 31. The remaining 21.1 miles of roads proposed for storage are not open to public motor vehicle travel. See figure 3 for a map of the proposed action. Stored roads would no longer be drivable; they would be blocked with an earthen berm or a short section would be recontoured to match the original slope of the land. High-risk drainage structures would be removed and additional drainage, such as waterbars, would be installed. Culverts could be removed with machinery or by using explosives. Stored roads would be stable, have little surface erosion, and no anticipated maintenance. They would remain part of the Idaho Panhandle s transportation system and could be reopened in the future. Roads stored to meet requirements for grizzly bear core habitat would remain stored for at least ten years. Storage would reduce road maintenance costs and reduce the risk of roads failing and adding sediment to streams.

Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 3 We also propose to re-route a section of the Grouse Creek Road (Forest System Road 280) from the bridge over North Fork Grouse Creek to approximately the Wylie

3 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 3 We also propose to re-route a section of the Grouse Creek Road (Forest System Road 280) from the bridge over North Fork Grouse Creek to approximately the Wylie Knob trailhead. This section of Grouse Creek Road floods annually, making it unsafe to drive and expensive to maintain. It also washes sediment into the creek each time it floods which can affect bull trout spawning and rearing habitat downstream. The re-route would cross into Hancock Forest Management lands and would depend on working out an agreement with Hancock Forest Management and the landowner. The re-route would still provide public access to the Grouse Creek Falls dispersed campsite. Approximately 1.5 miles of road along Grouse Creek would be decommissioned as part of the re-route. During decommissioning, we would remove drainage structures, decompact and partially or fully recontour the driving surface, and install additional drainage, such as waterbars and swales, to stabilize the road and keep it from eroding. Decommissioned roads would be impassable to discourage illegal motorized use. Figure 2. Flood damage to Grouse Creek Road #280 on April 27th, The existing condition of, and proposed actions for, the roads are described below and shown in figure 3. Roads not discussed in the proposed action would remain as currently designated on the current motor vehicle use map. The proposed road storage activities are anticipated to begin in the summer or fall of 2017 and continue for approximately 2 to 3 years. Completion of the Grouse Creek Road re-route is anticipated in the next ten years. However, the re-route would require an agreement with Hancock Forest Management and the landowner, and we would need funding to do the work. Forest System Road 280 (Grouse Creek Road) Existing condition: Open all year to public motorized access. Proposed action: Re-route the road starting east of the North Fork Grouse Creek Bridge. Move it out of the flood zone and tie in with the original road near the Wylie Knob trailhead. The new section would be open all year for motorized access. The abandoned section of road would be decommissioned allowing the creek to function properly. The re-route would still provide public access to the Grouse Creek Falls dispersed campsite.

4 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 4 Forest System Road 280C Existing condition: Open all year for public motorized access. Proposed action: The 0.1 miles of the road south of the 280 re-route would be decommissioned. The section north of the 280 re-route would remain open all year for public motorized access. Forest System Road 215 Existing condition: Gated but open seasonally for public motorized access from December 1 through March 31. Proposed action: The first 1.5 miles of the road would be open seasonally to the public from December 1 through March 31. The remaining 3.75 miles would be stored, and no public motorized access would be allowed. Forest System Road 2625C Existing condition: Gated but open seasonally for public motorized access from December 1 through March 31. Proposed action: The first 0.3 miles of the road would remain open seasonally to the public from December 1 through March 31. The remaining 0.95 miles would be stored, and no public motorized access would be allowed. Forest System Roads 2656E and 2693A Existing condition: Gated but open seasonally for public motorized access from December 1 through March 31. Proposed action: This road would be stored. No public motorized access would be allowed. Forest System Road 2686A Existing condition: Gated but open seasonally to public motorized access from December 1 through March 31. Proposed action: This road would be stored starting at the National Forest boundary. No public motorized access would be allowed. Forest System Road 2636 Existing condition: Gated. Not open to public motorized access. Proposed action: The 3.8 miles of this road on National Forest System land would be stored. No public motorized access would be allowed. Forest System Roads 215A, 2656B, 2656B1, 2656C, 2695, 2742, 2743, and 2743A Existing condition: Gated. Not open for public motorized access. Proposed action: The roads would be stored. No public motorized access would be allowed. Undetermined Roads 280UH, 215UC, 2656BUA, 2656BUAA, 2636UC, 2695UA, 2686AUB, 2686AUD, 2686AUA, and 2686AUC Existing condition: Generally impassable. They do not provide legal public access.

5 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 5 Proposed action: These roads would be closed. Proposed work would remove any resource risks associated with these routes, and the road prism would be in an impassable state to discourage illegal use. The proposed action minimizes impacts to other land owners in the project area and impacts to public access (to the extent feasible) while still meeting required Grouse bear management unit standards. A Forest interdisciplinary team identified roads to be stored and roads to be decommissioned to meet standards for the bear management unit. Access for fire protection and future management were the primary reasons roads were stored rather than decommissioned. How to Provide Comments Please submit your comments by October 17, Although we will accept comments after this date, receiving them in a timely manner helps us proceed with our analysis. A comment form is attached for your convenience. The responsible officials for this project and for the decision are Kevin Knauth, Bonners Ferry District Ranger and Erick Walker, Sandpoint District Ranger. Please submit your comments to: Erick Walker, District Ranger Attn: Kris Hennings Sandpoint Ranger District By mail to 1602 Ontario Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864; By facsimile to (208) ; By hand between the hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays; or, By on the project website: comments-northern-idpanhandle-sandpoint@fs.fed.us Electronic comments may be submitted in a format such as an message, plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc). Those submitting electronic comments should put the project name in the subject line. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record for this project, available for public inspection, and released if requested under the Freedom of Information Act. How To Get More Information About the Project We are using a new electronic messaging program that lets you subscribe to Forest Service project electronic mailing lists and get project documents. Follow the steps below to use the new program. If you want to remain a postal subscriber, you don t need to do anything. Go to the Grouse BMU Compliance project web page at Under Get Connected on the right side of the page, select Subscribe to Updates Type your address in the box and select Submit. After providing your address, you can subscribe to additional project electronic mailing lists and provide more contact information by using the Subscriber Preferences link.

6 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 6 If you have any questions concerning this proposal, please contact Erick Walker, District Ranger at (208) or ewalker02@fs.fed.us, or Kris Hennings, Team Leader at (208) or krhennings@fs.fed.us. Thank you for your continuing interest and participation in this process. Sincerely, /s/ Kevin Knauth Bonner Ferry District Ranger /s/ Erick Walker Sandpoint District Ranger

7 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 7 Figure 3. Proposed action for the Grouse Bear Management Unit Compliance Project

8 Grouse BMU Compliance Project Page 8 COMMENT FORM GROUSE BEAR MANAGEMENT UNIT COMPLIANCE PROJECT Name: Postal Address: Phone: My comments are: (please add additional pages as needed) Yes, please keep my name on the list to receive future mailings regarding the Grouse BMU Compliance Project No, please remove my name from the mailing list for the Grouse BMU Compliance Project. Please return this form to: Grouse BMU Compliance Project Attn: Kris Hennings Sandpoint Ranger District 1602 Ontario Street, Sandpoint, ID comments-northern-idpanhandle-sandpoint@fs.fed.us Fax:

SH 249 IN GRIMES COUNTY. Open House April 3, 2014

SH 249 IN GRIMES COUNTY. Open House April 3, 2014 SH 249 IN GRIMES COUNTY Open House April 3, 2014 Meeting Agenda Purpose of Meeting Today: Review the purpose and need for the SH 249 Grimes County project Review the proposed project and alternatives Discuss