9388 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 2, 2010 / Notices 

[FR Doc. 2010–4275 Filed 3–1–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Prescott National Forest, Bradshaw 

Ranger District; Arizona; Bradshaw 

Vegetation Management Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: This project is a proposal to 

improve the health of fire adapted 

ecosystems while simultaneously 

reducing hazardous fuels on the 

Bradshaw Ranger District. The project 

area encompasses about 55,554 acres. 

Within the project area, the proposal is 

to commercially thin approximately 

16,312 acres in ponderosa pine, pineoak, and mixed conifer forest types. 

Fuels treatments include mechanized 

fuel reduction on 34,445 acres of 

chaparral, pinyon-juniper, and oak sites 

and non-mechanized fuel reduction 

treatments on 6,242 acres of chaparral, 

juniper, pinyon, oak, pine, and mixed 

conifer sites. Prescribed fire is proposed 

on 44,641 acres and fuelbreak 

construction is proposed on 791 acres. 

It is expected that this project will 

require a site specific forest plan 

amendment to the Prescott National 

Forest Land and Resource Management 

Plan (1986), as amended, in order to 

implement treatments within Mexican 

Spotted Owl habitat. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis should be received 

within 30 days after publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected in December, 2010 and the 

final environmental impact statement is 

expected in March, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Jodi Stevens, Bradshaw Ranger District, 

344 South Cortez Street, Prescott, 

Arizona 86303. Comments may also be 

submitted by e-mail to: commentssouthwestern-prescott@fs.fed.us. 

Include ‘‘Bradshaw Vegetation 

Management’’ in the subject line of 

e-mail comments. Electronic comments 

must be submitted in Word (.doc), 

RichText (.rtf), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) 

format. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jodi 

Stevens, 928–443–8041 or 

jodistevens@fs.fed.us. 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 

purpose of the proposed action is to 

improve the health of fire adapted 

ecosystems while simultaneously 

reducing hazardous fuels. The EIS will 

describe existing conditions and desired 

conditions, analyze environmental 

consequences of shifting existing 

conditions towards desired conditions, 

and assist the decision maker in 

selecting management strategies that 

will achieve desired conditons. The 

proposed action is needed due to 

prominent changes in the structure and 

function of vegetation and fire behavior 

within the analysis area, and the 

proximity of homes and private 

property to these changed conditions. 

The changes in vegetation and fire 

behavior are a result of aggressive fire 

suppression over the past several 

decades. One of the most effective ways 

to protect communities is to create 

defensible fuel profile zones both 

adjacent to homes and private property 

and on adjacent public lands. 

Proposed Action: The Prescott 

National Forest proposes to 

commercially thin approximately 

16,312 acres in ponderosa pine, pineoak, and mixed conifer forest types. 

Proposed fuels treatments include 

mechanized fuel reduction on 34,445 

acres of chaparral, pinyon-juniper, and 

oak sites, and non-mechanized fuel 

reduction treatments on 6,242 acres of 

chaparral, juniper, pinyon, oak, pine, 

and mixed conifer sites. Prescribed fire 

is proposed on 44,641 acres and 

fuelbreak construction is proposed on 

791 acres. The project area is located to 

the southeast, south, southwest, west 

and northwest of the city of Prescott. 

Implementation of this proposed project 

could begin as early as June 1, 2011. 

Responsible Official 

The Responsible Official for this 

project is the Forest Supervisor, Prescott 

National Forest, Prescott, Arizona. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Forest Service will evaluate the 

proposed action and alternatives to the 

proposed action. After reviewing the 

proposed action, the alternatives, the 

environmental analysis, and considering 

public comment, the Forest Supervisor 

will reach a decision that is in 

accordance with the purpose and need 

for this project. The decision will 

include a description of activities that 

will be implemented. Issues identified 

as being outside the scope of this 

proposal (such as grazing cattle on the 

Forest or the need for additional 

recreation opportunities) will not be 

addressed in this planning effort. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the 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 

be as specific as possible. There will be 

a public scoping meeting on Thursday, 

February 25, 2010 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Arizona Time. This meeting will be held 

at the Mackin Building at the Prescott 

Rodeo Grounds, 840 Rodeo Drive, 

Prescott, AZ, 86305. Scoping letters will 

be mailed to individuals and entities 

who have identified themselves as 

interested publics regarding proposed 

actions on the Prescott National Forest. 

Additionally, scoping input will be 

requested through a publication in the 

Prescott Courier, the newspaper of local 

circulation in the proposed project area. 

Dated: February 18, 2010. 

Reta Laford, 

Acting Forest Supervisor, Prescott National 

Forest. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3965 Filed 3–1–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

Board for International Food and 

Agricultural Development; One 

Hundred and Fifty-Ninth Meeting; 

Notice of Meeting 

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, notice is hereby given of 

the one hundred and fifty-ninth meeting 

of the Board for International Food and 

Agricultural Development (BIFAD). The 

meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 

4 p.m. on March 3, 2010 at the National 

Press Club located at 529 14th St., NW., 

Washington, DC. ‘‘Higher Education: A 

Critical Partner in Global Agricultural 

Development’’ will be the central theme 

of BIFAD’s initiatives and the March 

meeting. 

Dr. Robert Easter, Chairman of BIFAD, 

will preside over the proceedings. Dr. 

Easter is Interim Chancellor for the 

University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. 

The confirmation of Dr. Rajiv Shah as 

USAID’s new administrator will define 

the work of BIFAD, consistent with 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 2, 2010 / Notices 9389 

BIFAD’s legislative mandate, for the 

foreseeable future. Accordingly, the 

159th BIFAD meeting will attempt to 

respond to Dr. Shah’s priorities. Dr. 

Shah brings a strong background in 

global food security issues. Within this 

context comes the recognition that only 

through broad-based partnerships and 

multidisciplinary approaches will the 

US achieve priority foreign assistance 

goals in a dramatically changed 

development world. It is in the spirit of 

the Title XII mandates and in view of 

today’s development realities, 

underpinned by complex socioeconomic conditions and regional 

conflicts, that BIFAD is leading as a 

‘‘gateway’’ to the university community. 

It is expected that Dr. Shah will 

participate in the meeting and present to 

the Board his vision and priorities for 

the Agency. If the situation in Haiti or 

other unanticipated contingencies 

preclude him from attending, Karen 

Turner, the Director of the Office of 

Development Partners or Carol Grigsby, 

the Office’s Deputy Director, will 

represent the Administrator. In the 

event that new BIFAD members are 

announced, there is a possibility that 

they could be officially sworn in by 

Administrator Shah, or Director Turner 

or Deputy Director Grigsby. 

The Board and USAID have been 

collaborating closely to develop a 

Memorandum of Understanding to 

define our strategic partnership. The 

purpose of the MOU is to set forth the 

understandings and intentions of 

USAID and BIFAD with regard to shared 

goals and to mobilize the capacities of 

U.S. universities to implement program 

components under Section 103 

(Agriculture, Rural Development and 

Nutrition) and 103A (Agriculture 

Research) of the Foreign Assistance Act. 

Five key areas were identified for 

maximum collaboration: USG Food 

Security Strategy and Program; USG 

Global Climate Change Strategy and 

Program; Education and Training for 

Youth; Afghanistan/Pakistan 

Agriculture Strategy and Program; and 

Rebuilding USAID Technical Capacity. 

The MOU was vetted during the last 

BIFAD meeting in October. It should be 

ready for signing during the 159th 

meeting with a brief ceremony. 

Next, Gebisa Ejeta, last year’s World 

Food Prize recipient, will present to the 

Board a presentation, ‘‘Food Security: 

the Science, Sociology and Economics 

of Food Production and Access to 

Food.’’ He will emphasize the critical 

need to strengthen science-based 

thinking within development planning 

and implementation and rational 

decision-making into the policy 

formulation process. Dr. Ejeta is 

currently at Purdue University. Dr. 

Easter will also be making a 

presentation, with possible responder to 

Dr. Ejeta. 

During 2009, the Board held a number 

of sessions and activities related to the 

agricultural strategy for Afghanistan and 

how universities can help USAID turn 

battle space into development space. 

This session will provide an update on 

the Trilateral Af-Pak process, building 

towards a conference later this spring in 

Doha, Qatar. The conference will bring 

together university representatives 

managing on-the-ground agricultural 

projects in Afghanistan with key 

Afghans and Pakistanis, to develop a 5 

year plan for integrating long-term 

agricultural training and capacity 

building into the agricultural 

development strategy. 

The devastating earthquake in Haiti 

will be the focus of a session to 

demonstrate how BIFAD and 

universities can bring value to USAID 

on Haiti, as well as the Caribbean 

region. The session will be led by Board 

member Dr. Elsa Murano, University of 

Texas. Walter Bowen, Acting Director, 

International Programs. Institute of Food 

and Agricultural Sciences, University of 

Florida, will share some experiences 

University of Florida has had in Haiti. 

His project, Watershed Initiative for 

National Natural Environmental 

Resources, is aimed at implementing 

broad scale investments in sustainable 

natural resource management at the 

scale and density needed to produce 

future positive landscape level 

reductions in environmental, 

infrastructural, and economic 

vulnerability. The Latin America and 

Caribbean Bureau (LAC) at USAID will 

be intimately involved, and there will 

be discussion on wider application 

throughout the Caribbean region. 

Concluding the morning session, John 

Becker, USAID Office of Development 

Partners, will make a presentation and 

lead discussion on application of the 

Bumpers Amendment. The Bumpers 

Amendment forbids the United States 

Agency for International Development 

(USAID) from giving money to any 

program that would increase the 

production of a crop that could compete 

with the United States on the world 

market. 

After an executive luncheon (closed 

to the public) the Board will re-convene. 

Scheduled as the afternoon’s first 

session will be a follow-on to the 

Board’s efforts to highlight the critical 

role that Minority Serving Institutions 

continue to play in international 

agricultural development, particularly 

in improving the livelihood of small 

farmers. William DeLauder, Board 

member and President-Emeritus of 

Delaware State University, will lead the 

session. This discussion is being 

designed to open a new dialogue and 

begin exploring effective partnering 

with USAID. 

Following the MSI panel, Montague 

Demment, Director, Global Livestock 

Collaborative Research Support Program 

(CRSP), will lead a discussion on the 

Borlaug Leap Program and other BIFAD 

long-term training activities, in 

cooperation with USAID’s Economic 

Growth, Agricultural, and Trade Bureau 

(EGAT). These are very important 

programs that help build human and 

institutional capacity in agriculture. 

Concluding the afternoon session, the 

Board will hear an update on BIFAD’s 

efforts to establish a Joint Committee on 

Operations, as called for in Title XII, to 

increase the technical capacity of the 

Board. Such a Committee would replace 

the Strategic Partnership for 

Agricultural Research and Education 

(SPARE). Ray Miller, Director of 

International Programs, University of 

Maryland, will lead the discussion. 

The Board meeting is open to the 

public. The Board welcomes open 

dialogue to promote greater focus on 

critical issues facing USAID, the role of 

universities in development, and 

applications of U.S. scientific, technical 

and institutional capabilities to 

international agriculture. Note on Public 

Comments: Due to time constraints 

public comments to the Board will be 

limited to three (3) minutes to 

accommodate as many as possible. It is 

preferred to have requests for comments 

submitted to the Board in writing. Two 

periods for public comment will be 

provided during the Board meeting— 

just before lunch and adjournment. 

Those wishing to attend the meeting 

or obtain additional information about 

BIFAD should contact Dr. Ronald S. 

Senykoff, Executive Director and 

Designated Federal Officer for BIFAD. 

Write him in care of the U.S. Agency for 

International Development, Ronald 

Reagan Building, Office of Development 

Partners, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Room 6.7–153, Washington, DC 

20523–2110 or telephone him at (202) 

712–0218 or fax (202) 216–3124. 

Ronald S. Senykoff, 

Executive Director and USAID Designated 

Federal Officer for BIFAD, Office of 

Development Partners, U.S. Agency for 

International Development. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4285 Filed 3–1–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

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