Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 6249

Program managers will evaluate the 

collected information to determine 

whether Cooperative Fire program funds 

provided to the State and local fire 

fighting agencies by the Forest Service 

have been used to improve their fire 

suppression capabilities. The Forest 

Service will share the results of the data 

with Congress when requesting annual 

funding for the Program. The collected 

information also will enable the Forest 

Service to share with the public the 

importance and value of the State and 

Private Forestry Cooperative Fire 

Program. 

Forest Service employees will not 

collect the information directly, but will 

request the information from State 

Foresters, who will collect the 

information from their own State fire 

fighting agencies, and from local fire 

fighting agencies, such as volunteer fire 

departments. The information collected 

for the Annual Wildfire Summary 

Report will include the number of acres 

protected; the number of fires to which 

the State or local fire fighting agencies 

responded within the fiscal year; the 

sizes of the fires in acres; and the causes 

of the fires, such as lightening, campfire, 

or arson. Data gathered in this 

information collection are not available 

from other sources. 

Estimate of Annual Burden: 30 

minutes. 

Type of Respondents: State Foresters. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 50. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 25 hours. 

Comment Is Invited 

Comment is invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the stated purposes and 

the proper performance of the functions 

of the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical or 

scientific utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

Use of Comments 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will become 

a matter of public record and will be 

available for public inspection and 

copying. Comments will be summarized 

and included in the request for Office of 

Management and Budget approval.

Dated: February 4, 2004. 

Robin L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Chief, State and Private 

Forestry.

[FR Doc. 04–2843 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service 

Whitetail-Pipestone Travel 

Management Project, BeaverheadDeerlodge National Forest, Jefferson 

and Silver Bow Counties, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement to document the analysis and 

disclose the environmental impacts of a 

proposed action to develop a travel and 

access management plan for the 

Whitetail-Pipestone area. The project 

area is located on National Forest 

System lands east of Interstate 15 from 

Butte to Boulder, southwest of Highway 

69 to Hadley Park road, west and north 

of the Hadley Park Road over the Bull 

Mountain range to the Whitetail Road, 

west of the Whitetail Road to Whitehall, 

and north of Montana Highway 2 from 

Whitehall to Butte. 

The decision to be made is to define 

the appropriate road and trail systems 

and the type of uses on them.

DATES: Initial comments concerning the 

scope of the analysis should be received 

in writing no later than march 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The responsible official is 

Forest Supervisor Thomas K. Reilly, 

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, 

Dillon, Montana. Please send comments 

to Eric Tolf, 3 Whitetail Road, 

Whitehall, MT 59759. Comments may 

be electronically submitted to 

comments-northern-beaverheaddeerlodge-jefferson@fs.fed.us.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Tolf, project leader, 3 Whitetail Road, 

Whitehall, MT 59759, or phone (406) 

287–3223, or by email to etolf@fs.fed.us.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this action is to define a 

transportation system (roads and trails) 

to provide a variety of motorized and 

non-motorized recreation opportunities. 

A condition of this transportation 

system is that it can be properly 

maintained. 

The project area is located in T. 2 N.–

T. 5 N., R 7 W.–R. 4 W. The scope of 

this proposal is limited to access and 

travel management actions to 

accomplish the purpose and need. 

Public participation is important to 

this analysis. Part of the goal of public 

involvement is to identify additional 

issues and to refine the general, 

tentative issues. A scoping notice 

describing the proposal will be mailed 

to those who request information on 

these types of activities on the 

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests. 

Preliminary issues identified by the 

Forest Service include: 

(1) Motorized and non-motorized 

recreation—the existing transportation 

system does not provide for a mix of 

quality recreational experiences for both 

motorized and non-motorized users. 

(2) Road and trail safety—safety 

concerns exist along roads utilized by 

both full-sized vehicles and off-highway 

vehicles, and hazards on low standard 

roads and trails. 

The analysis will consider all 

reasonably foreseeable activities. The 

interdisciplinary team has not yet 

developed alternatives to the proposed 

action. Alternatives will be developed 

based on the key issues identified 

through scoping.

People may visit with Forest Service 

officials at any time during the analysis 

and prior to the decision. Two periods 

are specifically designated for 

comments on the analysis: (1) During 

the scoping process, and (2) during the 

draft EIS period. 

During the scoping process, the Forest 

Service seeks additional information 

and comments from individuals 

organization that may be interested in or 

affected by the proposed action, and 

Federal, State and local agencies. The 

Forest Service invites written comments 

and suggestions on this action, 

particularly in terms of identification of 

issues and alternative development. 

The draft EIS is anticipated to be 

available for review in May 2004. The 

final EIS is planned for completion in 

December 2004. 

The Environmental Protection Agency 

will publish the Notice of Availability of 

the draft Environmental Impact 

Statement in the Federal Register. The 

Forest will also publish a Legal Notice 

of its availability in the Montana 

Standard Newspaper, Butte, Montana, A 

45-day comment period on the draft 

environmental impact statement will 

begin the day following the date of 

publication of the Notice of Availability 

in the Federal Register. 

The Forest Service believes, at this 

early stage, it is important to give 

reviewers notice of several court rulings 

6250 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Notices 

related to public participation in the 

environmental review process. First, 

reviewers of draft environmental impact 

statements must structure their 

participation in the environmental 

review of the proposal so that it is 

meaningful and alerts an agency to the 

reviewer’s position and contentions. 

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. 

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519,553 (1978). Also, 

environmental objections that could be 

raised at the draft environmental impact 

statement stage but that are not raised 

until after completion of the final 

environmental impact statement may be 

waived or dismissed by the courts. City 

of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 

1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and Wisconsin 

Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 

1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of 

these court rulings, it is very important 

that those interested in this proposed 

action participate by the close of the 45-

day comment period so that substantive 

comments and objections are made 

available to the Forest Service at a time 

when it can meaningfully consider them 

and respond to them in the final 

environmental impact statement. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns on the proposed action, 

comments on the draft environmental 

impact statement should be as specific 

as possible. It is also helpful if 

comments refer to specific pages or 

chapters of the draft statement. 

Comments may also address the 

adequacy of the draft environmental 

impact statement or the merits of the 

alternatives formulated and discussed in 

the statement. Reviewers may wish to 

refer to the Council on Environmental 

Quality Regulations for implementing 

the procedural provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act at 40 

CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. 

The responsible official will make the 

decision on this proposal after 

considering comments and responses, 

environmental consequences discussed 

in the final EIS, applicable laws, 

regulations, and policies. The decision 

and reasons for the decision will be 

documented in the Record of Decision.

Dated: February 3, 2004. 

Thomas K. Reilly, 

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 04–2775 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service 

National Tree-Marking Paint Committee 

Meeting

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The National Tree-Marking 

Paint Committee will meet in Hot 

Springs, Arkansas on May 11–13, 2004. 

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss 

activities related to improvements in, 

concerns about, and the handling and 

use of tree-marking paint by personnel 

of the Forest Service and the 

Department of the Interior’s Bureau of 

Land Management.

DATES: The meeting will be held May 

11–13, 2004, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Clarion Resort, 4813 Central 

Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Persons 

who wish to file written comments 

before or after the meeting must send 

written comments to Bob Monk, 

Chairman, National Tree-Marking Paint 

Committee, San Dimas Technology and 

Development Center, Forest Service, 

USDA, 444 East Bonita Avenue, San 

Dimas, California 91773, or 

electronically to rmonk@fs.fed.us.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Monk, Project Leader, San Dimas 

Technology and Development Center, 

Forest Service, USDA, (909) 599–1267, 

extension 267, or via e-mail to 

rmonk@fs.fed.us.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Tree-Marking Paint Committee 

comprises representatives from the 

Forest Service national headquarters, 

each of the nine Forest Service Regions, 

the Forest Products Laboratory, the 

Forest Service San Dimas Technology 

and Development Center, and the 

Bureau of Land Management. The 

General Services Administration and 

the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health are ad hoc members 

and provide technical advice to the 

committee. 

A field trip will be held on May 11 

and is designed to supplement 

information related to tree-marking 

paint. This trip is open to any member 

of the public participating in the public 

meeting on May 12–13. However, 

transportation is provided only for 

committee members. 

The main session of the meeting, 

which is open to public attendance, will 

be held on May 12–13. 

Closed Sessions 

While certain segments of this 

meeting are open to the public, there 

will be two closed sessions during the 

meeting. The first closed session is 

planned for approximately 9 to 11 a.m. 

on May 12. This session is reserved for 

individual paint manufacturers to 

present products and information about 

tree-marking paint for consideration in 

future testing and use by the agency. 

Paint manufacturers also may provide 

comments on tree-marking paint 

specifications or other requirements. 

This portion of the meeting is open only 

to paint manufacturers, the Committee, 

and committee staff to ensure that trade 

secrets will not be disclosed to other 

paint manufacturers or to the public. 

Paint manufacturers wishing to make 

presentations to the Tree-Marking Paint 

Committee during the closed session 

should contact the Chairman at the 

telephone number listed under the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this notice. The second closed session is 

planned for approximately 2 to 4 p.m. 

on May 13. This session is reserved for 

Federal Government employees only. 

Any person with special access needs 

should contact the Chairman to make 

those accommodations. Space for 

individuals who are not members of the 

National Tree-Marking Paint Committee 

is limited and will be available to the 

public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dated: February 3, 2004. 

Abigail R. Kimbell, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System.

[FR Doc. 04–2771 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service 

Notice of Meeting; Southwest Oregon 

Province Advisory Committee

SUMMARY: The Southwest Oregon 

Province Advisory Committee will meet 

on Wednesday, March 17, 2004. The 

meeting begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 

p.m.; the open public forum begins at 

11:30 a.m. It will be held at the J. 

Herbert Stone Nursery, 2606 Old Stage 

Road, Central Point, Oregon in the 

Employee Center. The tentative agenda 

include: (1) Biscuit Fire Recovery 

Project Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement update; (2) Port-Orford-cedar 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement update; and (3) Province 

Advisory Committee 2004 Work Plan 

development.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

Public Affairs Officer Mary T. Marrs at 

(541) 858–2211, e-mail 

mmarrs@fs.fed.us, or USDA Forest