25298 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 84 / Monday, May 1, 2000 / Notices

chicken, chicken parts, and bulk pack

turkey in fulfilling any current or future

State processing contracts during the

demonstration project period.

Participation in the demonstration

project will not ensure the processor

will receive any State processing

contracts.

Dated: April 19, 2000.

Samuel Chambers, Jr.,

Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.

[FR Doc. 00–10745 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Change of Commodity Reporting and

Analysis on Cocoa and Honey

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of change of commodity

reporting and analysis on cocoa and

honey.

SUMMARY: Beginning with the June,

2000, Tropical Products: World Markets

and Trade Circular and the November,

2000, Sugar: World Markets and Trade

Circular, commodity and country

analysis and statistical tables for cocoa

and honey will be discontinued. This

decision is due to declining Foreign

Agricultural Service (FAS) budget

resources and the need to more

strategically target remaining resources

in support of the agency’s primary

mission to facilitate the expansion of

export opportunities for U.S.-produced

agricultural commodities. The

availability of similar production and

trade information from other sources

was also a factor behind the decision.

FAS expects to continue to receive

voluntary reporting on cocoa production

and trade from an abbreviated number

of countries and these will continue to

be posted on the FAS Home page upon

receipt: http://www.fas.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Hirschhorn, Horticultural and

Tropical Products Division, Foreign

Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250–

1049 or telephone at (202) 720–2974.

Issued at Washington, DC, the 24th day of

April, 2000.

Richard Fritz,

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

[FR Doc. 00–10810 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Natural Areas Trails Environmental

Impact Statement

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare

an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) to analyze seven Natural Areas for

designation of hiker/equestrian trails on

the Shawnee National Forest and to

amend the Shawnee Natural Forest

Land and Resource Management Plan

(LRMP) to increase trail density

standards in Management Area (MA)

5.1.

Proposed Federal Action

The proposed Federal action includes:

(1) Designation trails for hiker/

equestrian use in or around three

natural areas, and allowing

construction, reconstruction and

maintenance on the trails. The analysis

will include four other natural areas

although additional specific trail

locations are not being proposed in

those areas.

(2) Amending the LRMP to increase

the Forest Service (FS) system trail

density standards in MA 5.1

(Wilderness) from 1-mile of trail per

square mile to 2-miles of trail per square

mile.

A more specific description follows:

Maps of the proposed management

action will be made available for

viewing and photocopying specific

areas of interest at each of the Shawnee

National Forest (NF) offices. Electronic

viewing is proposed to be available by

May 10, 2000 on the Shawnee NF

website: www.fs.fed.us/r9/shawnee.

(1) Natural Area Trails—The proposed

Federal action includes Forest System

trail proposals for hiker/equestrian

designation in Jackson Hollow, Double

Branch Hole and Lusk Creek

(Ecological/Zoological) Natural Areas.

Hiker/equestrian trails have already

been designated in Garden of the Gods,

and LaRue Pine Hills Natural Areas

within corroders shown on the Trail

Corridor Map attached to the ALRMP of

1992. There are currently no proposed

trail locations for Little Grand Canyon,

Bulge Hole or the portion of the Lusk

Creek Zoological area lying south of the

Eddyville–Golconda blacktop.

Based upon a site-specific review of

the trail corridors suggested on the Trail

Plan Corridor Map in the LRMP 1992

Amendment (ALRMP), designation of

hiker/equestrian trails is not possible in

Little Grand Canyon and Bulge Hole

Natural Areas for the following reasons:

(a) The Trail Map did not recognize the

cliff and deep drainages which prohibit

the north-south location of a trail in

Little Grand Canyon. In addition,

annual flooding would make trail

construction and maintenance for

equestrian use impractical; (b)

extremely steep terrain in Bulge Hole

makes an equestrian trail proposal

expensive and impractical, and (c) there

was no evidence of user-created

equestrian trail routes in either of these

areas prior to closure. There appears to

be little or no evidence of equestrian use

near the Lusk Creek Zoological Area

south of the Eddyville-Golconda

blacktop. The Shawnee is proposing no

additional trails at this time in that area.

Suggestions for the Bulge Hole

Ecological Area, the Little Grand

Canyon Ecological Area, and the Lusk

Creek Zoological (south of the

Eddyville-Golconda blacktop) that

surface during the scoping process may

assist in the development of

alternatives.

Within all Natural Areas

(Management Area 8.2) equestrian use is

restricted to designated Forest Service

system trails. Maps of proposed trails

can be viewed at each of the Shawnee

National Forest offices. A decision to

designate hiker/equestrian trails would

include future construction,

reconstruction and maintenance of the

trails using equipment, where

appropriate, or by hand.

(2) Amending the ALRMP trail

density standards in MA 5.1

(Wilderness) from 1 mile of trail per

square mile to 2 miles of trail per square

mile. (One square mile is equivalent to

640 acres. Two miles of trail would

occupy 1 to 2 acres.) This action would

allow the designation of the proposed

trails in and around Natural Areas (MA

8.2) in this management area. In

addition, at the time of the signing of

the ALRMP in 1992, designated Forest

Service system trails were within the

trail density standards. However, the

Forest Plan Trail Corridor Map

identifies potential trail corridors that

would exceed the trail density

standards, if implemented.

Decision to be made are whether or

not to:

(1) Designate, construct, reconstruct,

maintain equestrian/hiker trails in or around

seven natural areas;

(2) Amend the ALRMP to increase trail

density standards in MA 5.1 from 1 mile per

square mile to 2 miles per square mile; and

(3) The decision to be made includes the

Forest Supervisor’s approval of site-specific

mitigation and/or monitoring standards.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 84 / Monday, May 1, 2000 / Notices 25299

Alternatives—In preparing the

environmental impact statement the

Forest Service will consider a

reasonable range of alternatives to the

proposed action, including the ‘‘no

action’’ alternative. The no action

alternative will be the continuation of

implementing the ALRMP, 1992, and all

current laws, regulations, and Forest

Orders, which apply. In the no action

alternative, no additional Forest Service

system hiker/equestrian trails would be

designated in or around the Natural

Areas named above, other than those

already designated; and Forest Service

system trail density standards would

not change, limiting the total number of

miles of system trails allowable in MA

5.1 around Natural Areas within

Wilderness. The no action alternative is

the baseline against which the effects of

other alternatives are compared, and

represents the present course until the

action is changed.

In addition to the no action

alternative, other alternatives will be

considered depending on the types of

issues received from the public. Possible

alternatives may include other locations

for Natural Area trails and different

Forest Service system trail densities.

These as well as other alternatives based

on public comments may be analyzed.

Suggestions on later natives that meet

the purpose and need for the proposed

Federal action are welcome.

Purpose and Need for the Action—

The purpose of this proposal is to

provide a quality recreational

experience for equestrian users and

hikers on designated trails in and

around Natural Areas (MA 8.2) while

protecting their unique values.

Management Prescription 8.2 provides

for the preservation, protection and

enhancement of the unique features

found within these Natural Areas. A

Forest Order issued by the Forest

Supervisor has closed all Natural Areas

to equestrian use except on designated

trails (Forest System Trails designated

for equestrian use). The ALRMP of 1992

Trail Corridor Map displays potential

trail corridors in seven Natural Areas. In

some cases trails have already been

designated on locations shown on the

Trail Corridor Map. The proposed

action is to designate, construct and

maintain additional hiker/equestrian

trails within the Natural Areas

mentioned above in accordance with the

ALRMP of 1992.

Issues—Issues that have been

identified relating to this proposal

include:

—Soil erosion and sedimentation as a

result of equestrian use;

—Equestrian access to the scenic places

within natural areas. There are 80

natural areas. Seven natural areas are

being analyzed for the designation of

hiker/equestrian trails.

—Impacts of equestrian use on native

plant communities and threatened

and endangered species within the

natural areas;

—Conflicts of equestrian use on the

hiker experiences within the natural

areas and in the Wilderness;

—Conflicts and safety concerns of

equestrian use in a popular rock

climbing area at Jackson Falls;

—Social impacts of high densities of

user-created and system trails in

Wilderness;

—Inadequate numbers of marked and

maintained Forest System trail

opportunities for all users,

particularly for equestrian users;

—Adequate Forest System trail

infrastructure to accommodate

equestrian use in all seasons;

—Equestrian use on user-created trails

that have not been designed

specifically for this use.

Scoping and Public participation—

The initial scoping period begins May 1,

2000 and ends June 15, 2000. We will

meet with the public on May 18, 2000

at the Marion Hotel and Conference

Center, 2600 West DeYoung, Marion,

Illinois from 2 pm to 7 pm and again

with the issuance of the Draft EIS with

the purpose of addressing questions or

concerns, and obtaining new input. We

will also meet with the public at other

points during the analysis as the need

arises. The Draft Environmental Impact

Statement is anticipated to be available

by January, 2001. The Final EIS is

anticipated in July, 2001. The Forest

Service invites written comments that

identify and/or clarify issues relating to

the proposal. General opinions, not

specific to the proposals, have limited

usefulness. The scoping process

includes:

1. Identifying potential issues.

2. Identifying issues to be analyzed in

depth.

3. Eliminating insignificant issues or those

which have been covered by a previous

relevant environment analysis.

4. Exploring additional alternatives.

5. Identifying potential environmental

effects of the proposed action and

alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and

cumulative effects).

6. Determining potential cooperative

agencies.

Initial scoping letters have been sent,

and comments received on the Double

Branch Hole and Jackson Hollow

proposed Natural Area trails EA. The

comments already received for these

EA’s and further analysis will be

incorporated into this EIS.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

and suggestions related to the scope of

analysis to Richard Johnson, Vienna

Ranger District, P.O. Box 37, Vienna, IL

62995 or sent electronic comments to

mlross@fs.fed.us subject: Natural Area

Trails EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Forest L. Starkey, Forest Supervisor,

Shawnee National Forest, telephone:

(618) 253–7114, or Richard Johnson, EIS

Team Leader, Vienna Ranger District,

P.O. Box 37, Vienna, IL. 62995, (618)

658–2111, email: mlross@fs.fed.us. A

detailed scoping package is available by

contacting Richard Johnson at the

address listed above or on the Shawnee

National Forest’s website at http://

www.fs.fed.us/r9/shawnee/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public

participation will be an integral

component of the study process, and

will be especially important at several

points during the analysis. The first is

during the scoping process. The Forest

Service will be seeking information,

comments and assistance from Federal,

State, County, and local agencies,

individuals and organizations that may

be interested in or affected by the

proposed activities. The scoping process

will include: (1) Identification of

potential issues, (2) identification of

issues to be analyzed in depth, and (3)

elimination of insignificant issues or

those which have been covered by a

previous environmental review. Written

scoping comments will be solicited

through a scoping package that will be

sent to the project mailing list and the

local newspaper. For the Forest Service

to best use the scoping input, comments

should be received by June 15, 2000.

The Shawnee National Forest Amended

Forest Land and Resource Management

Plan, was approved by Regional

Forester, Floyd J. Marita, in 1992.

Within Natural Areas (8.2 Management

Areas) equestrian use is prohibited

except on designated trails. LaRue Pine

Hills, Garden of the Gods and Lusk

Creek Zoological Natural Areas have

Forest System trails designated for

hikers and equestrians. In addition,

Little Grand Canyon has trails

designated for hiking only. Lusk Creek

Zoological Area is the Creek from bank

to bank. No new equestrian trails have

been designated in Natural Areas.

Based on the results of scoping and

the resource conditions within the

project area, alternatives (including a

no-action alternative) will be developed

for the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is

projected to be filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

in December 2000. The Final EIS is

anticipated in July, 2001.

The comment period on the Draft EIS

will be 45 days from the date that the

25300 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 84 / Monday, May 1, 2000 / Notices

EPA publishes the notice of availability

in the Federal Register.

At this early stage, 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 EISs 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

have been raised at the draft EIS stage,

but that are not raised until the

completion of the final EIS, may be

waived or dismissed by the courts. City

of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2nd 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 on the Draft EIS, so

that substantive comments and

objections are made available to the

Forest Service at a time when they can

be meaningfully considered and

respond to them in the Final EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns of the proposed action,

comments on the Draft EIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapters of the draft statement.

Comments may address the adequacy of

the draft EIS, 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 in

40 CFR 1503.3, in addressing these

points.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies: The

Shawnee National Forest manages

approximately 277,000 acres within its

proclomation boundaries. It is the lead

agency for preparation of this document.

Responsible Official: Forrest L.

Starkey, Forest Supervisor, Shawnee

National Forest, is the responsible

official. In making the decision, the

responsible official will consider the

comments; responses; disclosure of

environmental consequences; and

applicable laws, regulations, and

policies. The responsible official will

state the rationale for the chosen

alternative in the Record of Decision.

Dated: April 21, 2000.

Forrest L. Starkey,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 00–10776 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Notice and Comment Period for the

Natural Resources Conservation

Service Revised Pest Management

Policy

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

decision of the Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS) to adopt a

revised policy for providing pest

management technical assistance. This

revised policy will be disseminated

within the agency through updates of

the agency’s General Manual. It includes

revision of existing policy in Title 450,

Part 401, Subpart A, Technical Guides,

Policy and Responsibilities and new

policy in Title 190, Part 404, Ecological

Sciences, Pest Management Policy. This

policy will be implemented through the

revision of the agency’s conservation

practice standards for Pest Management

(595). This national conservation

practice was developed to reflect the

new policy.

DATES: This Federal Register notice will

commence a 30-day comment period

which will end May 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The revised policy can be

viewed on the internet at: http://

www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/BCS/pest/

pest.html. Address requests and

comments to: Lara Philbert, Natural

Resources Conservation Service, P.O.

Box 2890, Room 6158–S, Washington,

DC 20013–2890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Benjamin F. Smallwood, Natural

Resources Conservation Service, (202)

720–7838; fax (202) 720–1814.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pest

Management Policy is a document

intended for NRCS employees as they

provide technical assistance to

landowners and land managers. Section

343 of the Federal Agriculture

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996,

requires NRCS to make available for

public review and comment proposed

revisions to conservation practice

standards used to carry out the highly

erodible land and wetland provisions of

the law. This policy supports the

conservation practice standard for Pest

Management (Code 595), which is being

prepared for publication in the Federal

Register.

USDA prohibits discrimination in its

programs and activities on the basis of

race, color, national origin, gender,

religion, age, sexual orientation, or

disability. Additionally, discrimination

on the basis of political beliefs and

marital or family status is also

prohibited by statutes enforced by

USDA. (Not all prohibited bases apply

to all programs.) Persons with

disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of program

information (braille, large print, audio

tape, etc.) should contact the USDA’s

Target Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice

and TDD). To file a complaint of

discrimination to USDA, write to the

Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room

325–W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–9410, or call

(202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD).

Signed in Washington, DC, on April 21,

2000.

Danny D. Sells,

Associate Chief, Natural Resources

Conservation Service.

[FR Doc. 00–10800 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket Number 000410099–0099–01]

RIN 0607–ZA03

Expansion of Census Information

Center Program

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census,

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Program solicitation.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to announce the expansion of the

Census Information Center (CIC)

Program, the community-based

component of the Bureau of the Census’

(Census Bureau’s) Data Dissemination

Network and to invite eligible

organizations to submit a proposal to be

considered for inclusion in the Program.

The Census Bureau’s Data

Dissemination Network currently

consists of 12 permanent Regional

Offices, 1,800 state and local

governmental organizations

participating in the State Data Center

Program, 1,400 public and university

libraries designated as federal

depository libraries, and 36 national,

regional, and local nonprofit