USDA - Forest Service

 Idaho Panhandle National Forests

 Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District

Kootenai County, Idaho

The Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, is considering a proposal to accomplish watershed improvement activities within an area identified for the purpose of this analysis as the Moose Drool Restoration Area.  The area includes the headwaters of the Little North Fork Coeur d’Alene River from the drainage divide at Prospect Mountain, downstream to Hudlow Creek tributary (T52N, R1W and T52N, R2W, Boise Meridian).

Proposed restoration activities include road decommissioning, road storage, raod maintenance, and instream work such as wood placement, bank stabilization, and channel re-routing to improve physical and ecological functions in the stream.  Removal of remnant railway dikes, many of which are located within the riparian area, is also proposed.  Harvest of trees and root wads is proposed to provide natural instream structure material for stream restoration.  Changes to public access are proposed to allow the needed road decommissioning to occur; proposed designation changes are limited to those necessary to meet aquatic restoration objectives. 

The Forest Service is seeking comments on this proposal and will be available during the comment period to visit with interested parties.  Comments can best be used if they are received no later than June 8, 2011.  Please mail written comments to the NEPA Coordinator, Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District – Fernan Office,          2502 East Sherman Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho  83814.  Written comments may be hand delivered to the District’s Fernan or Smelterville offices (7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) or faxed to the Fernan Office at (208) 769-3062, addressed to the NEPA Coordinator.   Electronic comments may be submitted to:  comments-northern-idpanhandle-coeur-dalene@fs.fed.us.  Please include “Moose Drool Restoration Project” on the subject line.  Acceptable formats are MS Word, Word Perfect, or RTF.

For appeal eligibility, each individual or representative from each organization submitting substantive comments must either sign the comments or verify identity upon request.  Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record and will be available for public inspection.  An environmental assessment will be prepared and sent to those who have indicated an interest in this proposal.

For more information regarding the project, please contact Project Team Leader KK Prussian at the Fernan Office of the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District, 2502 East Sherman Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; (208) 664-2318.