39856 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 125 / Wednesday, June 28, 2000 / Notices

Finally, State and local WIC officials

in each of the participating States will

be interviewed about the expenses of

implementing cost containment, the

extent to which savings have been used

to increase participation, and other

impacts on program operations.

Interviews with the six State WIC

directors will be conducted in person.

The director of each selected local

agency and other staff with key

responsibilities related to cost

containment will also be interviewed;

these interviews will be conducted by

telephone. The information collected

from State and local WIC staff is

essential for evaluating the effects of

cost-containment practices on program

participation and costs.

The above-mentioned information

collection is needed to complete the

Assessment of WIC Cost-Containment

Practices mandated by Congress and to

equip FNS and State WIC administrators

with a comprehensive understanding of

the potential impacts of cost

containment as they make decisions in

the future regarding the implementation

of these practices. No existing data

source can provide all of the

information needed to complete the

evaluation. Existing WIC information

system databases from the six States

will be used to construct the survey

sample frames and to obtain

demographic data on participants and

WIC vendors affected by cost

containment. Computer-assisted

telephone interviewing will be used to

minimize respondent burden and

interviewer error in the Survey of WIC

Participants. Focus group samples will

be drawn from a limited geographic area

to minimize travel time and expense for

focus group participants. The survey

questionnaire and screener and local

agency interviews will be kept as simple

and respondent-friendly as possible.

Responses are voluntary and

confidential. Survey and interview data

will be combined with other data for

statistical purposes and reported only in

aggregate or statistical form.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this data collection is

estimated to vary by the type of

respondent. Responses to the Survey of

WIC participants are estimated to

average 30 minutes. Responses from

WIC participants who did not pick up

their WIC vouchers are estimated at 5

minutes, on average, for a screening

interview and an average of 90 minutes

for the focus group session. The Survey

of Food Prices will involve an estimated

15 minutes of time from the store

cashier for scanning. Responses by local

agency WIC staff are estimated to total

60 minutes, on average. The estimates

include time for listening to

instructions, gathering data needed, and

responding to questionnaire or

interview/discussion items.

Respondents: Participants in the local

WIC agency staff, and WIC-authorized

food store cashiers in six selected States.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

2,052 in total: 1,200 active WIC

participants, 600 WIC participants who

failed to pick up their vouchers, 72 WIC

participants for focus groups, 18 local

WIC agency staff, and 162 food store

cashiers.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: Total of 816.5 hours.

Survey of WIC Participants: 600 hours,

Screener Survey for Focus Groups: 50

hours, Focus Groups: 108 hours, Local

Agency Interview: 18 hours, and Survey

of Food Prices and Item Availability:

40.5 hours. Copies of the information to

be collected can be obtained from Phil

R. Kaufman, Food Markets Branch, Food

and Rural Economics Division,

Economic Research Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1800 M. St.,

NW, Room N2118, Washington, D.C.

20036–5801, 202–694–5376.

Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the Department,

including whether the information will

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of

the Agency’s estimate of the burden of

the proposed collection of information,

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, such as

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments should be sent to

the address stated in the preamble. All

responses to this notice will be

considered and included in the request

for OMB approval. All comments will

also become a matter of public record.

Dated: June 22, 2000.

Betsey Kuhn,

Director, Food and Rural Economics Division.

[FR Doc. 00–16255 Filed 6–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Northwest Sacramento Provincial

Advisory Committee (PAC)

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Northwest Sacramento

Provincial Advisory Committee (PAC)

will meet on Friday, July 14, 2000, at

the French Gulch Hotel, French Gulch,

California. The meeting will start at 9

a.m. and adjourn at 3 p.m. topics for the

meeting are: (1) An update on the

Northwest Forest Plan Implementation;

(2) update on the Clear Creek/Resource

Conservation District proposal; (3)

discussion on the French Gulch

community fuels area; and (4) public

comment periods. All PAC meetings are

open to the public. Interested citizens

are encouraged to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Connie Hendryx, USDA, Klamath

National Forest, 11263 N. Highway 3,

Fort Jones, California 96032; telephone

530–468–1281; TDD (530) 468–2783;

email: chendryx@fs.fed.us.

Dated: June 22, 2000.

Constance J. Hendryx,

PAC Support Staff.

[FR Doc. 00–16278 Filed 6–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Subsistence Management Regulations

for Federal Public Lands in Alaska;

Delegations of Authority

AGENCIES: Forest Service, USDA; Fish

and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of interim delegations of

authority.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the regulatory

authority found at 36 CFR 242.10(d)(6)

and 50 CFR 100.10(d)(6), the Federal

Subsistence Board (Board) announces

interim delegations of authority for the

2000 fishing season under the Federal

Subsistence Management Program (64

FR 1276). The purpose of these

delegations is to be responsive to

changing local conditions which require

immediate opening or closing of

fisheries to provide subsistence

opportunities for rural subsistence users

or to assure conservation of the

subsistence resources.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 125 / Wednesday, June 28, 2000 / Notices 39857

DATES: These delegations are effective

June 28, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Any comments concerning

this notice may be sent to the Chair,

Federal Subsistence Board, c/o Thomas

H. Boyd, 3601 C Street, Suite 1030,

Anchorage, Alaska, 99503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chair, Federal Subsistence Board, c/o

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Attention: Thomas H. Boyd, Office of

Subsistence Management; (907) 786–

3888. For questions specific to National

Forest System lands, contact Ken

Thompson, Regional Subsistence

Program Manager, USDA, Forest

Service, Alaska Region, (907) 786–3592.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Federal Subsistence Board

assumed subsistence management

responsibility for public lands in Alaska

in 1990, after the Alaska Supreme Court

ruled in McDowell v. State of Alaska,

785 P.2d 1 (Alaska. 1989), reh’g denied

(Alaska 1990), that the rural preference

contained in the State’s subsistence

statute violated the Alaska Constitution.

This ruling put the State’s subsistence

program out of compliance with Title

VIII of the Alaska National Interest

Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and

resulted in the Secretaries assuming

subsistence management on the public

lands in Alaska. The ‘‘Temporary

Subsistence Management Regulations

for Public Lands in Alaska, Final

Temporary Rule’’ was published in the

Federal Register (55 FR 27114–27170)

on June 29, 1990. The ‘‘Subsistence

Management Regulations for Public

Lands in Alaska; Final Rule’’ was

published in the Federal Register (57

FR 22940–22964) on May 29, 1992. The

Secretaries published an amended Final

Rule (64 FR 1276) on January 8, 1999,

that redefined the area of Federal

jurisdiction to include waters subject to

a subsistence priority. The regulatory

amendments in that document

conformed the Federal subsistence

management regulations to the court

decree issued in State of Alaska v.

Babbitt, 72 F.3d 698 (9th Cir. 1995) cert

denied 517 U.S. 1187 (1996).

In-Season Management

Most salmon fisheries in Alaska are

subject to in-season management by

State emergency order by local State

managers who have been given

delegated authority by the

Commissioner of the Alaska Department

of Fish and Game to enact regulatory

changes within a prescribed scope and

for prescribed purposes. Because the

annual run strengths of migratory fish

species, such as salmon, are relatively

unpredictable making it difficult to

forecast numbers of fish available for

harvest while meeting conservation

objectives, harvest openings or closings

are often made at or near the time and

place where the fish are taken. These are

local decisions, best made by the local

State managers. In-season management

by delegated authority is used to avoid

violating conservation mandates where

delayed closures would lead to overfishing, optimize fishing opportunities

where fish runs are unpredictable, and

to encourage local involvement in

management decisions.

Local Federal managers will face

situations where the subsistence

fisheries in Federal waters will need to

be opened or closed quickly in order to

meet local subsistence needs or to

achieve a conservation objective. Local

Federal managers may also need to act

quickly to close Federal waters to nonsubsistence fishing, in order to protect

a subsistence opportunity. Local Federal

managers will need to have regulatory

authority similar to that available to

State managers during the 2000 season

to ensure that conservation and

subsistence use mandates on Federal

lands are met. The need for local

delegated authority will occur when

Federal managers identify the need to

take immediate action affecting fisheries

in Federal waters.

Delegation of authority to a field

manager avoids violations of

conservation mandates through timely

response to resource shortages.

Conservation and subsistence use

objectives may not be met if decisions

on fishing restrictions exceed 24 hours

to process. Field officials with delegated

authority provide focused points of

contact for local subsistence users and

facilitate local liaison with State

managers and other user groups.

Decisions are viewed as local and in the

best interests of the resource and local

subsistence users. Timely in-season

management decisions optimize the

opportunity to harvest fish when and

where they are available, without

jeopardizing spawning escapement

goals for specific stocks. Delayed inseason decisions by the Board, if

authority is not delegated, may often

miss opportunities to provide for a local

subsistence priority, because a targeted

fish run will have passed or stock

segregation will have created a

conservation risk. Emphasis on local

liaison creates an environment that

encourages consultation with local State

managers and subsistence users to help

identify restrictions necessary to

conserve the resource and to provide for

the subsistence priority, and does so

with consideration to providing for nonsubsistence fisheries when harvestable

surpluses are sufficient. Delegation of

authority to field managers could

significantly reduce the time-consuming

involvement of the Board otherwise

required for in-season management

decisions. The Board can establish and

amend limitations on delegations,

management objectives, and procedural

guidelines to ensure that Board intent is

implemented by field managers.

Guidelines

Pursuant to the regulatory authority

found at 36 CFR 242.10(d)(6) and 50

CFR 100.10(d)(6), the Federal

Subsistence Board establishes the

following guidelines for Federal officials

delegated to act for the Board. Affected

field managers must remain involved in

the decision making process with the

delegated Federal official responsible

for making a final decision.

a. All delegated Federal officials will

become familiar with the management

history of the fisheries in their area,

with the current State and Federal

regulations and management plans, and

be up-to-date on in-season stock and

harvest status information.

b. All delegated Federal officials will

review Special Action requests or

situations that may require a Special

Action and supporting information and

determine (1) if the request/situation

falls within the scope of delegated

authority, (2) if significant conservation

problems or subsistence harvest

concerns are indicated, and (3) what the

consequences of taking an action may be

on potentially-affected subsistence users

and non-subsistence users. Requests not

within the delegated authority of the

delegated Federal official must be

forwarded to the Federal Subsistence

Board for consideration.

c. All delegated Federal officials will

notify the Federal Subsistence Board

and notify/consult with local ADF&G

managers, Regional Advisory Council

representatives, and other affected

Federal conservation unit managers

concerning admissible Special Actions

being considered.

d. Delegated Federal officials will

issue timely decisions to effectuate the

outcomes sought. Users will be notified

before the effective date/time of

decisions. If an action is to supersede a

State action not yet in effect, the

decision will be communicated to

affected users at least 6 hours before the

State action would be effective. If a

decision is to take no action, the

requestor will be notified immediately.

Regional Advisory Councils will be kept

informed and consulted as appropriate.

39858 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 125 / Wednesday, June 28, 2000 / Notices

Delegation of Authority

1. Only the Federal officials identified

below are delegated authority to issue

Special Actions to address fish stock

conservation concerns or unmet

subsistence harvest needs. Such action

must be substantiated by clear evidence

in resource monitoring information and/

or corroboration from affected users/

communities, and evaluated in relation

to historical information.

2. Delegated authority to issue Special

Actions is limited to opening or closing

Federal subsistence fishing periods or

areas provided for under regulations

found at 36 CFR 242.26–242.27 and 50

CFR 100.26–100.27, or closing nonsubsistence fishing in Federal waters.

All requests to modify Federal

subsistence management regulations,

such as those relating to harvest limits,

permit requirements, gear restrictions,

or customary and traditional use

determinations, must be directed to the

Federal Subsistence Board.

3. The following Federal officials are

delegated to act for the Federal

Subsistence Board as delineated in

paragraphs 1 and 2 above, for the fishery

regulatory year 2000:

Geographic region Delegated Federal official

Arctic/Kotzebue/Norton Sound, excluding Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.Western Arctic Parklands Superintendent.

Yukon River Drainage and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ............... Fairbanks Fisheries Resource Office Project Leader.

Kuskokwim, Goodnews and Kanektok River Drainages .......................... Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge Manager.

Bristol Bay/Alaska Peninsula/Aleutian Islands/Chignik ............................ King Salmon Fisheries Resource Office Project Leader.

Kodiak Region .......................................................................................... Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Manager.

Copper River ............................................................................................ Wrangell/St. Elias National Park and Preserve Superintendent.

Remainder Prince William Sound Area and Cook Inlet ........................... Cordova District Ranger.

Southeast Alaska/Yakutat:

Yakutat Area ...................................................................................... Yakutat District Ranger.

Baranof and Chichagof Islands ......................................................... Sitka District Ranger.

Admiralty Island and northern southeast Alaska inside waters ........ Juneau District Ranger.

Prince of Wales and associated islands ........................................... Craig District Ranger.

Kuiu, Kupreanof, and Zarembo Islands and Stikine River ............... Petersburg District Ranger.

Southern southeast Alaska inside waters ......................................... Ketchikan District Ranger.

Drafting Information: William Knauer

drafted this policy document under the

guidance of Thomas H. Boyd, of the

Office of Subsistence Management,

Alaska Regional Office, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Anchorage, Alaska.

Curt Wilson, Alaska State Office, Bureau

of Land Management; Bob Gerhard,

Alaska Regional Office, National Park

Service; Greg Bos, Alaska Regional

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;

Ida Hildebrand, Alaska Regional Office,

Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Ken

Thompson, USDA-Forest Service

provided additional guidance.

Dated: June 15, 2000.

Kenneth E. Thompson,

Acting Regional Forester, USDA—Forest

Service.

Dated: June 16, 2000.

Thomas H. Boyd,

Acting Chair, Federal Subsistence Board.

[FR Doc. 00–16038 Filed 6–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P; 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Extension of Comment Period for the

Natural Resources Conservation

Service Conservation Programs

Manual—Part 513: Resource

Conservation and Development

(RC&D) Program

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS), U. S.

Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: This Public Notice announces

an extension of the comment period

deadline for comments on the draft the

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Conservation Programs Manual—Part

513: Resource Conservation and

Development (RC&D) Program.

DATES: Comments will be received until

July 28, 2000. All comments postmarked by July 28, 2000, will be

accepted.

ADDRESSES: Address all requests and

comments to: Terry D’Addio, National

RC&D Program Manager, Natural

Resource Conservation Service, 14th &

Independence Ave, SW, Room 6013

South Building, Washington, DC, 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terry D’Addio, Natural Resources

Conservation Service; telephone: (202)

720–0557; fax: (202) 690–0639, e-mail

terry.daddio@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The first

Public Notice was released on April 14,

2000. United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) is asking for

comments from individuals, private

consultants, Tribal, State, and local

governments or subgroups thereof,

universities, colleges, environmental

groups, community development

groups, and other organizations. These

comments will assist USDA in the

policy development and

implementation of the Resource

Conservation and Development (RC&D)

program. This manual is intended for

use by the Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS) and other

USDA staff, conservation partners, State

and local field staffs, RC&D Council

members, and others that will be

developing RC&D applications or

participating in the RC&D program. The

Conservation Programs Manual: Part

513—RC&D Program is a document

intended for use by NRCS and other

USDA staff, conservation partners, State

and local field staffs, RC&D Council

members, and others that either will be

developing RC&D applications or

participating in the RC&D program. The

purpose of this document is to provide

policy guidance for the RC&D program,

not to establish regulatory requirements.

The RC&D Program was authorized to

encourage and improve the capability of

State and local units of government and