Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 47 / Thursday, March 11, 2010 / Notices 11511 

Æ Information on the life history, 

threats, habitat needs and population 

trends of a number of terrestrial and 

aquatic species contained in the forest 

planning records for ecosystem and 

species diversity assessments will 

continue to be used as a reference in the 

planning process as appropriate to meet 

the requirements of the 1982 planning 

rule. This is scientific information and 

is not affected by the change of the 

planning rule. This information will be 

updated with any new available 

information. 

Æ Public comments previously 

submitted in writing, or recorded at past 

public meetings, related to the revision 

of the Uwharrie’s Forest Plan since 2005 

will be used to help identify issues and 

concerns and to help develop 

alternatives to address these issues and 

concerns. 

I. Documents Available for Review 

The proposed action, background 

reports, assessments, datasets, and 

public comments are posted on the 

Forest’s Web site at: http:// 

www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/uwharrie_plan/

index.htm. As necessary or appropriate, 

this material will be further adjusted as 

part of the planning process using the 

provisions of the 1982 planning rule. 

(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1600–1614; 36 CFR 

219.35 [74 FR 67073–67074]). 

Dated March 3, 2010. 

Marisue Hilliard, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5101 Filed 3–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–ES–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest; 

Mt. Ashland Ski Area Expansion, 

Jackson County, OR 

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare a 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement to analyze and correct NFMA 

and NEPA violations found by the 

United States Court of Appeals for the 

Ninth Circuit in CV–05–03004–PA, to 

conditionally authorize expansion of the 

Mt. Ashland Ski Area. 

SUMMARY: In September 2004, the Forest 

Service issued a Record of Decision 

(ROD) for the Mt. Ashland Ski Area 

(MASA) expansion, selecting 

Alternative 2 with some modifications 

adopted from Alternative 6. The Forest 

Service received twenty-eight notices of 

appeal to the ROD. In December 2004, 

the Forest Service denied all 

administrative appeals to the ROD. In 

January 2005, Oregon Natural Resources 

Council (ONRC) filed suit against the 

Forest Service and Regional Forester 

Linda Goodman seeking declaratory and 

injunctive relief on the grounds that the 

MASA expansion project violated both 

the NEPA and the NFMA. On February 

9, 2007, after considering cross motions 

for summary judgment, a United States 

District Court entered summary 

judgment against ONRC. ONRC filed a 

timely notice of appeal to the Ninth 

Circuit Court of Appeals. Upon review, 

the Court of Appeals remanded the case 

to the district court and instructed it to 

promptly enjoin the MASA expansion 

project contemplated in the 2004 ROD 

until the Forest Service corrected the 

NFMA and NEPA violations found in 

Opinion CV–05–03004–PA. 

DATES: Under 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4), there 

is no formal scoping period for this 

action. The Draft Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) 

is expected March 2010 and the Final 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement is expected May 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Johnson, Siskiyou Mountains 

Ranger District, Rogue River-Siskiyou 

National Forest, 645 Washington Street, 

Ashland, Oregon, 97520, Telephone 

(541) 552–2900; FAX (541) 552–2922. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Court 

of Appeals identified several NFMA and 

NEPA claims, including failure to 

conduct a proper Biological Evaluation 

for the Pacific fisher that addresses the 

five steps referenced in the Land and 

Resource Management Plan (LRMP). 

The Court of Appeals found it necessary 

to understand the type of habitat the 

Pacific fisher requires for food, shelter 

and reproduction. A link between 

mapping of habitat and habitat needs 

must be made in order to use habitat as 

a proxy for population census. Potential 

impacts of displacing fisher and 

damaging habitat in the corridor 

between the Siskiyous and Southern 

cascades must be understood. 

Cumulative effects of foreseeable future 

projects on fisher habitat must be 

understood. The Court of Appeals also 

found failure to appropriately designate 

Riparian Reserve and Restricted 

Watershed land allocations and to 

properly analyze against LRMP 

standards and guidelines for soils. 

Landslide Hazard Zone 2 should have 

been designated as Riparian Reserve. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose and need for this 

supplemental document is to analyze 

and correct specific violations identified 

by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 

which will allow a determination on 

whether and to what extent analysis of 

supplemental information might alter 

the decision to allow ski area expansion. 

This action is needed to address the 

appropriateness of the previous decision 

and to be responsive to the Court of 

Appeals Opinion and district court 

injunction. 

Responsible Official 

The Rogue River-Siskiyou and 

Klamath National Forests are jointly 

responsible for public land management 

of the Special Use Permit area. The 

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest 

has been authorized to make decisions 

regarding implementation of ski area 

expansion activities at Mt. Ashland 

under the terms of a February 4, 2004 

Intra Agency Agreement (No. 03–IA– 

11061002–005), between the Klamath 

National Forest and the Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forest and renewed 

on May 12, 2009 Intra Agency 

Agreement (09–IA–11061001–003). 

Decision Framework 

The Forest Service will use the results 

of supplemental analysis to determine if 

and how the violations identified by the 

Ninth Circuit will affect the 2004 

decision. The Forest Service will decide 

whether to withdraw the 2004 decision, 

or issue a new or supplemental 

decision. If a new or supplemental 

decision is issued following preparation 

of the Final Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement, that 

decision will be subject to appeal in 

accordance with 36 CFR 215. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

A Draft SEIS will be prepared for 

comment. Comments received on the 

Draft SEIS will be considered in the 

preparation of the Final SEIS. The Draft 

SEIS is now expected to be filed with 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) and to be available for public 

review in March 2010. The comment 

period on the Draft SEIS will be 45-days 

from the date EPA publishes the Notice 

of Availability in the Federal Register. 

At the end of the comment period on 

the Draft SETS, comments will be 

analyzed and considered by the Forest 

Service in preparing the Final SEIS. The 

Final SETS is scheduled to be 

completed by May 2010. The Forest 

Service believes it is important to give 

reviewers notice of several court rulings 

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 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
11512 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 47 / Thursday, March 11, 2010 / Notices 

meaningful and alerts an agency to the 

reviewers 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 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 SETS. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns, comments on the Draft SEIS 

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. 

Comments received, including the 

names and address of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection. 

Authority: 40 CFR 508.22; 36 CFR 220.5. 

Dated: March 1, 2010. 

Scott D. Conroy, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5021 Filed 3–10–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Foreign Agricultural Service 

Consultative Group to Eliminate the 

Use of Child Labor and Forced Labor 

in Imported Agricultural Products. 

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) will be holding a public 

meeting of the Consultative Group to 

Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and 

Forced Labor in Imported Agricultural 

Products (Consultative Group) on March 

29, 2010. The sole purpose of the 

meeting is to solicit input from the 

public regarding the Consultative 

Group’s statutory mandate to develop 

recommendations relating to a standard 

set of practices for independent, thirdparty monitoring and verification for the 

production, processing, and distribution 

of agricultural products or commodities 

to reduce the likelihood that agricultural 

products or commodities imported into 

the United States are produced with the 

use of forced labor or child labor. The 

notice sets forth the process for 

requesting to appear at the meeting, and 

for submitting written statements. On 

June 18, 2008, the President signed into 

law the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

Act of 2008 (the Act), also known as the 

2008 Farm Bill. The Act provides for the 

creation of the Consultative Group. 

DATES: March 18, 2010—Due date for 

submission of requests to make an oral 

statement at the public meeting. (See 

Requirement for Submissions and 

Meeting Procedures below.) 

March 22, 2010—Due date to notify 

intention to attend the public meeting 

without making a statement or to 

request special accommodations. 

March 29, 2010—Public meeting for 

the Consultative Group to Eliminate the 

Use of Child Labor and Forced Labor in 

Imported Agricultural Products, Room 

104–A, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 12th 

and Jefferson Drive, SW., Washington, 

DC 20250, beginning at 9:30 a.m. 

April 30, 2010—Final date for 

submission of written statements. 

ADDRESSES: You may make written 

submissions by any of the following 

methods: by mail to the Office of 

Negotiations and Agreements, Foreign 

Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Stop 1040, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20250; or by hand (including DHL, 

FedEx, UPS, etc.) to the Office of 

Negotiations and Agreements, Foreign 

Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Room 4133–S, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20250; or by e-mail to: 

Steffon.Brown@fas.usda.gov; or by fax to 

(202) 720–0340. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Office of Negotiations and Agreements 

by phone on (202) 720–6219; by e-mail 

addressed to 

Steffon.Brown@fas.usda.gov; or by mail 

addressed to the Office of Negotiations 

and Agreements, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Stop 1040, 1400 Independence Ave., 

SW., Washington, DC 20250. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In written 

submissions and statements to the 

Consultative Group as part of this public 

meeting, parties are asked to provide 

information or comment on the 

following issues: 

(a) Examples of identification, 

monitoring, verification, and/or 

certification systems, or other models, 

that have been successful in reducing 

child labor and/or forced labor in the 

global supply chains within the 

agricultural sector or other industries; 

(b) The roles and responsibilities that 

may be appropriate for the business 

sector and other stakeholders 

(governments, unions, nongovernmental organizations, and others) 

in establishing independent, third-party 

monitoring and verification systems for 

the production, processing, and 

distribution of agricultural products or 

commodities; 

(c) Other information that would be 

useful to the Consultative Group in 

meeting its mandate to develop 

recommendations relating to a standard 

set of practices for independent, thirdparty monitoring and verification for the 

production, processing, and distribution 

of agricultural products or commodities 

to reduce the likelihood that agricultural 

products or commodities imported into 

the United States are produced with the 

use of forced labor or child labor. 

Section 3205 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(Farm Bill, Pub. L. 110–246) created the 

Consultative Group to Eliminate the Use 

of Child Labor and Forced Labor in 

Imported Agricultural Products to 

develop recommendations relating to a 

standard set of practices for 

independent, third-party monitoring 

and verification for the production, 

processing, and distribution of 

agricultural products or commodities to 

reduce the likelihood that agricultural 

products or commodities imported into 

the United States are produced with the 

use of forced labor or child labor. 

Recommendations developed by the 

Consultative Group are to be submitted 

to the Secretary of Agriculture by June 

18, 2010. By June 18, 2011, the 

Secretary is required to release 

guidelines for a voluntary initiative to 

enable entities to address issues raised 

by the Trafficking Victims Protection 

Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). The 

guidelines must be published in the 

Federal Register and made available for 

public comment for a period of 90 days. 

The Consultative Group will terminate 

on December 31, 2012. 

On September 23, 2009, Secretary of 

Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack 

appointed 13 members to the 

Consultative Group. The group consists 

of both government and nongovernment members, including 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES