This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. 

# Notices Federal Register 

### 15680

Vol. 78, No. 48

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Agricultural Research Service**

**Notice of Intent To Grant Exclusive License** 

**AGENCY :**  Agricultural Research Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice of intent.

**SUMMARY :**  Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to VHN Enterprises, LLC of San Francisco, California, an exclusive license to U.S. Patent No. 7,858,125, ‘‘MULTI-COMPONENT BIOCIDE COMPOSITION FOR WOOD PROTECTION’’, issued on December 28,
2010.

**DATES :**  Comments must be received on or before April 11, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  Send comments to: USDA, ARS, Office of Technology Transfer, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Rm. 4–1174, Beltsville, Maryland 20705–5131.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  June Blalock of the Office of Technology Transfer at the Beltsville address given above; telephone: 301–504–5989.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The Federal Government’s patent rights in this invention are assigned to the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture. It is in the public interest to so license this invention as VHN Enterprises, LLC of San Francisco, California has submitted a complete and sufficient application for a license. The prospective exclusive license will be royalty-bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless, within thirty (30) days from the date of this published Notice, the Agricultural Research Service receives written evidence and argument which establishes that the grant of the license would not be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.

Robert Griesbach, Deputy Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2013–05603 Filed 3–11–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–03–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service** 

**[Docket No. APHIS–2013–0014]**

**Information Sharing With Agency Stakeholders: Public Meeting** 

**AGENCY :**  Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

**ACTION :**  Request for information and notice of public meeting.

**SUMMARY :**  We are informing the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is soliciting feedback from our stakeholders regarding cross-Agency strategic priorities. We are also announcing that APHIS is hosting a public meeting to share information about the Agency’s budget and program restructuring, as well as to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions and share their perspective.

**DATES :**  The meeting will be held on April 11, 2013, from 10 a.m. to noon. We will accept stakeholder feedback on the specific topics raised in this notice until May 13, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  The meeting will be held in room 107A at the USDA Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC. You may submit feedback on the topics covered in this notice to the person listed under **FOR**
**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** or by submitting a comment using the Regulations.gov Web site (http://www. regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D= APHIS-2013-0014-0001 ).

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Ms. Hallie Zimmers, Adviser for State and Stakeholder Relations, APHIS, Room 1153, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250; phone (202)
799–7029.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance stakeholder communication and information sharing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is hosting an open meeting with all interested stakeholders to discuss the Agency’s budget, pending program restructuring and potential impacts, and several cross-Agency strategic priorities.

Like all Federal agencies, APHIS is facing a number of new and evolving challenges, including decreasing budgets, fewer available resources, and the continued need to successfully balance science, policy, and public opinion. As we plan for how to position APHIS to meet these and other challenges, our commitment to our animal and plant health mission remains firm. In keeping with this commitment, we want to continue to improve our business strategies and program delivery methods to enhance our overall effectiveness. As we begin to consider new opportunities and rethink current business practices, we want to engage our stakeholders in a dialog early in the process to ensure we’re in alignment with our customers’ needs. In particular, we are interested in your perspective regarding:

• Public and private partnerships, such as disease management and eradication programs that benefit from State and industry contributions.

• Non-regulatory solutions, such as compliance and education programs that can be used, when appropriate, to achieve results without the need for rulemaking.

• New technology that encourages commerce or enhances APHIS’ ability to protect American agriculture.

• Customer service improvements that make it easier for stakeholders to do business with APHIS.

These are just a few examples; we believe many additional opportunities exist under the broad priorities of public and private partnerships, non-regulatory solutions, new technology and customer service. APHIS will speak to how the Agency is considering and already using these cross-Agency strategic priorities in greater depth at the public meeting. Ultimately, we believe stakeholders are in a unique position to provide insight and offer up new approaches that will enable APHIS to more effectively carry out our animal and plant mission and better serve our many customers.

You may submit your thoughts and feedback by responding to this notice (see **ADDRESSES** above) or by emailing


### 15681 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 48 / Tuesday, March 12, 2013 / Notices

partnerships@aphis.usda.gov. You can also bring a paper copy of your comments to the public meeting where you will also have the opportunity to share your perspective directly with the APHIS Management Team.

Persons attending the April 11, 2013, meeting in Washington, DC, are required to register in advance at https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/Meeting Reg.nsf/MtgRegistration?openform or by contacting the person listed under **FOR**
**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT**. All registrants will be required to sign in at either the Independence Avenue or Jefferson Drive entrances to USDA’s Whitten Building, which is located at 1400 Independence Avenue SW. Photo identification is required to gain access to the building. The nearest Metro station is the Smithsonian station on the Blue/Orange Lines, which is within easy walking distance.

If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, it will be streamed on the Internet as a live Webcast. An audio conference line will also be made available for remote participants to ask questions. Information about how to join the live Webcast and conference line will be made available at http:// www.aphis.usda.gov/stakeholders/. We recommend that you connect at least 5 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. A recording of the Webcast will be posted to the APHIS stakeholder information page for anyone who is unable to join the meeting on April 11,
2013.

Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of March 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–05566 Filed 3–11–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–34–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Forest Service**

**Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Dillon Ranger District;**  **Montana; Birch, Willow, Lost Project**

**AGENCY :**  Forest Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

**SUMMARY :**  The Birch, Willow, Lost Project proposes to treat vegetation communities in the four sub-watersheds that cover the project area. The scope of the project is limited to those portions of the four sub-watersheds covered by the project area boundary. This project is not a general management plan for the watersheds, nor is it a programmatic environmental analysis for vegetation communities.

**DATES :**  Comments concerning the scope of the analysis will be most helpful if received by April 11, 2013. The draft environmental impact statement is expected October of 2013 and the final environmental impact statement is expected March of 2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  Send written comments to:Attention Alex Dunn, BeaverheadDeerlodge National Forest, 420 Barrett St., Dillon, MT 59725, and weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for hand delivery. Comments may also be sent via email to:comments-northern-beaverheaddeerlodge@fs.fed.us in one of the following formats: Word (.doc or .docx), rich text format (.rtf), text (.txt), and/or hypertext markup language (.html). Please make sure to put BWL Project in the subject line. Comments may also be sent via facsimile to: Attention Alex Dunn, BWL Project 406–683–3886. For all forms of comment, make sure to include your name, physical address, phone number, and a subject title of BWL Project.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Mr. Alex Dunn, Forest Environmental Coordinator at (406) 683–3864 or via email at adunn@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

This action is being undertaken to contribute to the achievement of the following Beaverhead-Deerlodge Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) Objectives for vegetation within the project area: Aspen Component — Increase the aspen component within Lodgepole pine and other vegetation types, on 67,000 acres (Forest Plan pg. 44). Grassland/Shrubland/Riparian— Reduce conifer encroachment on 74,000 acres of riparian areas, shrublands, and grasslands (Forest Plan pg. 44). Resiliency —Reduce forest density in the large size classes of dry forest communities to maintain or improve resilient forest conditions (Forest Plan pg. 43). Whitebark Pine/Sub-Alpine Fir Type—Promote regeneration of Whitebark Pine on approximately 45,000 acres, largely through the use of fire (Forest Plan pg. 43). This project is needed because there is a difference between the existing condition and the desired condition for the above vegetation types in the project area. Proposed Action The responsible official proposes to: —Treat a total of 13,282 acres of the

59,133 acres within the project area, in five dominant vegetation types in 133 Units in the project area. A total of 1,237 acres of Aspen would be treated through mechanical, commercial, burning, lop and scattering, and/or mastication. A total of 3,440 acres of Douglas-Fir would be treated through commercial thin, mastication, and/or burning. A total of 1,883 acres of Mountain Mahogany would be treated through lop and scatter and/or mastication. A total of 6,292 acres of Shrub-Grasslands would be treated through lop and scatter, burning/slashing, and/or mastication. A total of 430 acres of Mid and High Elevation Mixed Conifer would be modified through slashing with chainsaws, and/or burning. Planting limber pine may occur on about 100 acres due to the majority of seed-bearing limber pine trees being dead from mountain pine beetle. The extent of planting would be assessed after the prescribed burning is completed. —Recondition and/or spot

reconstruction of a total of 13.3 miles on five roads within the project area. Forest Road (FR) 7487 (Farlin Gulch) would have 1.7 miles Reconditioned/ Spot Reconstructed. FR 98 (Birch Creek) would have 3.7 miles Reconditioned/Spot Reconstructed. FR 1211 (Gorge Creek) would have 1.1 miles Reconditioned/Spot Reconstructed. FR 7476 (Lower Willow Creek) would have 1.7 miles Spot Reconstructed. FR 8200 (Willow Creek) would have 5.1 miles Reconditioned/Spot Reconstructed. —Construct one temporary road,

aproximately one-half mile long. —Use approximately 14 miles of

existing system road and less than one mile of non-system route as haul
routes. —Implement additional actions on

several system routes including replacement of 5 culverts, addition of one culvert, replacement of 2 fords with culverts, and hardening/ armoring of 2 stream crossings. —Treat units in Aspen, Douglas-Fir,

Sagebrush-Grassland, Mountain Mahogany, and High-Elevation Mixed Conifer in approximately 2,821 acres in two Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA’s), Call Mountain and East Pioneer. Treatments would include lop and scatter, slashing, pile burning, jackpot burning, underburning, ‘‘daylighting’’ with chainsaws, and mastication. All the trees to be cut