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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