Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 241 / Tuesday, December 15, 2020 / Notices 81177 

number of visits that occur on the 

National Forest System lands for 

recreation and other purposes, and (2) 

the views and satisfaction levels of 

recreational visitors to National Forest 

System lands about the services, 

facilities, and settings. The Agency 

receives requests for this kind of 

information from a variety of 

organizations, including Congressional 

staffs, newspapers, magazines, and 

recreational trade organizations. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

Customer and Use Survey Techniques 

for Operations, Management, Evaluation 

and Research (CUSTOMER) study 

combines several different survey 

approaches to gather data describing 

visitors to and users of public recreation 

lands, including their trip activities, 

satisfaction levels, evaluations, 

demographic profiles, trip 

characteristics, spending, and annual 

visitation patterns. FS will use face-toface interviewing for collecting 

information on-site as well as English 

and Spanish written survey instruments 

to be mailed back by respondents. The 

NVUM results and data are a source of 

data and information in addressing 

forest land management planning, 

national strategic planning, service to 

minorities, and identification of a 

forest’s recreation niche. Conducting the 

collection less frequently puts 

information updates out of cycle with 

forest planning and other data 

preparations and reporting activities. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals or households. 

Number of Respondents: 45,000. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting; 

Quarterly; Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 6,386. 

Levi S. Harrell, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27574 Filed 12–14–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Bitterroot National Forest; Montana; 

Gold Butterfly Project Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

supplemental environmental impact 

statement. 

SUMMARY: The Bitterroot National 

Forest, Stevensville Ranger District, 

Montana, intends to prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (SEIS) for the Gold Butterfly 

Project. Since publication of the original 

EIS, it was determined that a projectspecific forest plan amendment is 

necessary. 

DATES: The Draft SEIS is expected 

February 2020 and the Final SEIS is 

expected May 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Brown, Stevensville District 

Ranger, by telephone at (406) 777–7410, 

or by email at steve.brown2@usda.gov. 

ADDRESSES: Additional information 

concerning this project may be obtained 

at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/ 

?project=51486. 

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 and need for the SEIS is 

to analyze a project-specific Forest Plan 

Amendment related to management of 

old growth. The current Bitterroot 

Forest Plan is from 1987. New and 

better science is available concerning 

old growth ecosystems, specifically 

‘‘Old Growth Forest Types of the 

Northern Region’’ or Green et. al as it is 

more commonly referred to in the 

Region. This science has already been 

adopted by the majority of the Forests 

within R1, including those who have 

revised or are currently revising their 

plans using the 2012 Planning Rule. 

The purpose of the Gold Butterfly 

project is to: 

• Improve landscape resilience to 

disturbances (such as insects, diseases, 

and fire) by modifying forest structure 

and composition, and fuels. 

• Provide timber products and related 

jobs. 

• Reduce chronic sediment sources in 

the Willow Creek watershed to improve 

water quality and bull trout habitat in 

the long-term. 

• Restore or improve key habitats 

such as meadows, aspen, and whitebark 

pine. 

Proposed Action 

The project-specific amendment 

would change the definition of old 

growth to be consistent with Green et. 

al. The amendment would also set aside 

management area direction related to 

specific percentages of old growth 

required to be allocated in each 

management area. There is no scientific 

basis for the percentages, and they do 

not align with the principles outlined in 

Green et. al. 

When proposing a Forest Plan 

amendment, the 2012 Planning Rule (36 

CFR 219), as amended, requires the 

responsible official to provide in the 

initial notice about the amendment 

‘‘which substantive requirements of 

§§ 219.8 through 219.11 are likely to be 

directly related to the amendment 

(§ 219.13(b)(5)) . . .’’ Whether a rule 

provision is likely to be directly related 

to an amendment is determined by the 

purpose for and the effects of the 

amendment, and informed by the best 

available scientific information, effects 

analysis, monitoring data or other 

rationale. 

Based on the proposed amendment 

and requirement of the planning rule, 

the following substantive requirements 

of the 36 CFR 219 planning regulations 

would likely be directly related to the 

proposed amendments: § 219.9 Diversity 

of plant and animal communities. 

The proposed action includes 

commercial harvest, non-commercial 

thinning, and prescribed fire on 7,376 

acres within the project area. 

Approximately 90 percent of treatment 

acres are within the insect and disease 

treatment area designated under the 

Healthy Forest Restoration Act Title VI. 

Commercial harvest includes 

regeneration treatments on 2,081 acres 

and intermediate treatments on 3,540 

acres. Approximately 392 acres of 

intermediate harvest would occur in dry 

site old growth stands. In addition, there 

are 359 acres of regeneration harvest in 

old growth that would remove these 

acres from old growth status. Road 

decommissioning would occur on 22.3 

miles of National Forest System Roads 

and 21.3 miles of roads would be stored 

for future management use. 

Approximately 6.4 miles of permanent 

road and 17.3 miles of temporary road 

would be constructed to implement 

silvicultural prescriptions and provide 

for wood removal. Best management 

practices would be implemented on 

32.4 miles of haul road to reduce 

potential sediment runoff and improve 

water quality. The Burnt Fork and 

Willow Creek trailheads are proposed to 

be moved lower in the drainages to 

address watershed concerns, with the 

associated 2.4 miles of road being 

converted to the NFS trail system. 

Responsible Official 

Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The decision will authorize vegetation 

treatments and whether to amend the 

81178 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 241 / Tuesday, December 15, 2020 / Notices 

Bitterroot Forest Plan site-specifically 

for the duration of the project. 

Christine Dawe, 

Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National 

Forest System. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27546 Filed 12–14–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Announcement of Funding Availability, 

Loan Application Procedures, and 

Deadlines for the Rural Energy 

Savings Program (RESP) 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Solicitation of 

Applications (NOSA). 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS), a Rural Development agency of 

the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), is soliciting Letters 

of intent for loan applications under the 

Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP), 

announcing the application process for 

those loans and deadlines for 

applications from eligible entities for 

funding in fiscal year (FY) 2021, until 

expended or further notice. 

DATES: To be considered for this 

funding, applications under this NOSA 

will be accepted immediately. The RESP 

application process is described in 

detail pursuant to 7 CFR 1719. In brief, 

the RESP is comprised of two steps: 

Step 1: To be considered for 

financing, an Applicant seeking 

financing must submit a Letter of intent, 

in an electronic portable display format 

(PDF) not to exceed 10 Megabytes (10 

MB) by electronic mail (email) to RESP@

USDA.GOV. No paper Letters of intent 

will be accepted. The Letters of intent 

will be queued as they are received. If 

it advances program and policy goals, 

RUS may consider loan applications 

from Eligible entities that have 

submitted Letters of intent under prior 

funding announcements but were not 

invited to proceed with a loan 

application. 

Step 2: A RESP applicant that has 

been invited in writing by RUS to 

proceed with the loan application, will 

have up to ninety (90) days to complete 

and submit to RUS the documentation 

for a complete loan application. The 

ninety (90) day timeframe will begin on 

the date the RESP applicant receives 

RUS’ invitation to proceed. If the 

deadline to submit the completed loan 

application falls on Saturday, Sunday, 

or a Federal holiday, the application is 

due the next business day. The loan 

application package must be marked 

with the subject line ‘‘Attention: 

Christopher McLean, Assistant 

Administrator for the Electric Program; 

RESP Loan Application.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Coates, Electric Program, Rural 

Utilities Service, Rural Development, 

United States Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW, STOP 1568, Room 4121 0257–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–1510; 

Telephone: (202) 260–5415; Email: 

Robert.Coates@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority: 

These loans are made available under 

the authority of 7 U.S.C. 8107a (Section 

6407 of the Farm Security and Rural 

Investment Act of 2002, as amended,) 

and the Rural Electrification Act of 

1936, 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq. 

General Information 

The purpose of the RESP is to help 

rural families and small businesses 

achieve cost savings by providing loans 

to qualified consumers through eligible 

entities to implement durable costeffective energy efficiency measures 

pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 8107a(a) of the 

RESP authorizing statute. The Secretary 

may use this funding to allow eligible 

entities to offer energy efficiency loans 

to customers in any part of their service 

territory in accordance to § 7 CFR part 

1719. The Administrator may approve 

loans proposing to include these eligible 

activities for entities currently in the 

queue provided they still meet all of the 

application requirements. Additionally, 

subject to appropriations, funding for 

projects may be used to replace 

manufactured housing units with 

another manufactured housing unit if 

the replacement would be more cost 

effective in saving energy. 

The Agency encourages applications 

that will support recommendations 

made in the Rural Prosperity Task Force 

report to help improve life in rural 

America, see https://www.usda.gov/ 

topics/rural/rural-prosperity. Applicants 

are encouraged to consider projects that 

provide measurable results in helping 

rural communities build robust and 

sustainable economies through strategic 

investments in infrastructure, 

partnerships and innovation. Key 

strategies include: Achieving eConnectivity for rural America, 

developing the rural economy, 

harnessing technological innovation, 

supporting a rural workforce, and 

improving quality of life. 

Application and Submission 

Information 

Application Requirements: All 

requirements for submission of an 

application under the RESP are subject 

to 7 CFR part 1719. 

Application Materials/Submission: 

The Letter of intent must be submitted 

by the Applicant in an electronic PDF 

format not to exceed 10 Megabytes (10 

MB) by electronic mail (email) to RESP@

USDA.GOV. No paper letters of intent 

will be accepted. The completed loan 

application package must be submitted 

following the instructions that will be 

outlined in the RUS Invitation to 

proceed to the RESP Applicant. The 

loan application package must be 

marked with the subject line ‘‘Attention: 

Christopher McLean, Assistant 

Administrator for the Electric Program; 

RESP Loan Application.’’ 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), OMB approved this 

information collection under OMB 

Control Number 0572–0151. This NOSA 

contains no new reporting or 

recordkeeping burdens under OMB 

control number 0572–0151 that would 

require approval under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35). 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and USDA civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

agencies, offices, and employees, and 

institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discriminating based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights activity, in any program or 

activity conducted or funded by USDA 

(not all bases apply to all programs). 

Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language, etc.) should contact the 

Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at 

(202) 720–2600 (voice and TTY) or 

contact USDA through the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339 (English) or 

(800) 845–6136 (Spanish). Individuals 

who wish to file a Program 

Discrimination Complaint must 

complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF). 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, you may obtain a complaint 

form by sending an email to CrVerDate Sep<11>2014 17:35 Dec 14, 2020 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\15DEN1.SGM 15DEN1