76962 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 246 / Friday, December 22, 2006 / Notices 

extension of a currently approved 

information collection used in support 

of the Noninsured Crop Disaster 

Assistance Program (NAP). The 

information collected is needed to 

determine eligibility to obtain NAP 

assistance. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before February 20, 2007 to be 

assured of consideration. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this 

notice should be addressed to Clay 

Lagasse, Section Head; Common 

Disaster Provisions Section, Disaster 

Branch; Production, Emergencies and 

Compliance Division, Farm Service 

Agency, USDA, Mail Stop 0517, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0522 and to the 

Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Washington, DC 20503. Comments also 

may be submitted by e-mail to: 

Clay.Lagasse@wdc.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clay 

Lagasse, Section Head, Common 

Disaster Provisions Section, Disaster 

Assistance Branch, (202) 205–9893. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Description of Information Collection 

Title: Noninsured Crop Disaster 

Assistance Program. 

OMB Number: 0560–0175. 

Expiration Date of Approval: July 31, 

2007. 

Type of Request: Extension with 

revision. 

Abstract: The Noninsured Crop 

Assistance Program is authorized under 

7 U.S.C. 7333 and implemented under 

regulations issued at 7 CFR Part 1437. 

The NAP is administered under the 

general supervision of the Executive 

Vice-President of CCC (who also serves 

as Administrator, FSA), and is carried 

out by FSA State and County 

committees. The information collected 

allows CCC to provide assistance under 

NAP for losses of commercial crops or 

other agricultural commodities (except 

livestock) for which catastrophic risk 

protection under 7 U.S.C. 1508 is not 

available, and that is produced for food 

or fiber. Additionally, NAP provides 

assistance for losses of floriculture, 

ornamental nursery, Christmas tree 

crops, turf grass sod, seed crops, 

aquaculture (including ornamental fish), 

sea oats and sea grass, industrial crops, 

and tropical agricultural crops. The 

information collected is necessary to 

determine whether a producer and crop 

or commodity meet applicable 

conditions for assistance and to 

determine compliance with existing 

rules. Producers must annually: (1) 

Request NAP coverage by completing an 

application for coverage and paying a 

service fee by the CCC-established 

application closing date; (2) file a 

current crop-year report of acreage for 

the covered crop or commodity; and (3) 

certify production of each covered crop 

or commodity. When damage to a 

covered crop or commodity occurs, 

producers must file a notice of loss with 

the local FSA administrative county 

office within 15 calendar days of 

occurrence or 15 calendar days of the 

date damage to the crop or commodity 

becomes apparent. Producers must also 

file an application for payment and 

certification of income with the local 

FSA administrative county office. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this information collection is 

estimated to average 0.6 hours per 

response. 

Type of Respondents: Producers of 

commercial crops or other agricultural 

commodities (except livestock). 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 291,500. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: 3. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 2,143,562. 

Comment is invited on: (1) Whether 

this collection of information is 

necessary for the stated purposes and 

the proper performance of the functions 

of the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical or 

scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized, and included in the 

submission for Office of Management 

and Budget approval. 

Signed at Washington, DC, on December 

15, 2006. 

Teresa Lasseter, 

Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and 

Executive Vice-President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 06–9830 Filed 12–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Foreign Agricultural Service 

Advisory Committee on Emerging 

Markets: Nominations 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

nominations are being sought for twenty 

(20) qualified persons to serve on the 

Advisory Committee on Emerging 

Markets (the Committee). The role of the 

Committee is to provide information 

and advice, based upon knowledge and 

expertise of the members, useful to the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 

implementing the Emerging Markets 

Program (EMP). The Committee also 

advises USDA on ways to increase the 

involvement of the U.S. private sector in 

emerging markets in food and rural 

business systems and reviews proposals 

submitted to the Program for funding 

technical assistance activities. 

DATES: Written nominations must be 

received by the Foreign Agricultural 

Service (FAS) by 5 p.m. on January 22, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: All nominating materials 

should be sent to Ms. Nancy 

Hirschhorn, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Stop 1052, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–

1052. Forms may also be submitted by 

fax to (202) 690–0193. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Persons interested in serving on the 

Committee, or in nominating 

individuals to serve, should contact Ms. 

Nancy Hirschhorn, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, by telephone (202) 720–6896, 

by fax (202) 690–0193, or by electronic 

mail to emo@fas.usda.gov and request 

Form AD–755 and Form SF–181. 

Persons with disabilities who require an 

alternative means for communication of 

information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s 

Target Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice 

and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee is authorized by section 

1542 of the Food, Agriculture, 

Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, as 

amended. The overall purpose of the 

Committee is to provide USDA with 

information that may be useful in 

carrying out the provisions of the 

Emerging Markets Program. The 

Committee is composed of 

representatives of the various sectors of 

the food and rural business systems of 

the United States. More information 

about the purpose and function of the 

Committee and about the Emerging 

Markets Program may be found at the 

FAS/Emerging Markets Program Web 

site: http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/emVerDate Aug<31>2005 17:45 Dec 21, 2006 Jkt 211001 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\22DEN1.SGM 22DEN1

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 246 / Friday, December 22, 2006 / Notices 76963 

markets/em-markets.asp. Form AD–755 

is required and is available on the EMP 

home page at http://www.fas.usda.gov/ 

mos/em-markets/Form%20AD–755.doc. 

Form SF–181 is requested, but optional, 

and is available at http://www.opm.gov/ 

forms/pdf_fill/sf181.pdf. The members 

of the Committee are appointed by the 

Secretary of Agriculture and serve at the 

discretion of the Secretary. Committee 

members serve without compensation, 

but can receive reimbursement for travel 

expenses to attend committee meetings, 

if requested, in accordance with USDA 

travel regulations. 

The Committee has a balanced 

membership of up to 20 members, 

representing a broad cross-section of the 

U.S. agricultural and agribusiness 

industry. All appointments will expire 

two years from the date of appointment. 

The Secretary may renew an 

appointment for one or more additional 

terms. 

Most meetings will be held in 

Washington, DC, though other locations 

may be selected on an occasional basis. 

Committee meetings will be open to the 

public, unless the Secretary of 

Agriculture determines that the 

Committee will be discussing issues, the 

disclosure of which justify closing all or 

a portion of a meeting, in accordance 

with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c). 

Nominations are open to all 

individuals without regard to race, 

color, religion, sex, national origin, age, 

physical handicap, marital status, or 

sexual orientation. To ensure that the 

work of the Committee takes into 

account the needs of the diverse groups 

served by USDA, membership shall 

include, to the extent practicable, 

individuals with demonstrated ability to 

represent the interest of minorities, 

women, and persons with disabilities. 

Members should have experience, 

expertise, and knowledge of 

international agriculture and of trade 

and development issues as they affect 

emerging markets. No persons, 

company, producer, farm organization, 

trade association, or other entity has a 

right to representation on the 

Committee. In making selections, every 

effort will be made to maintain balanced 

representation of the various broad 

industries within the United States as 

well as geographic diversity. 

W. Kirk Miller, 

Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9828 Filed 12–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service. 

Flathead National Forest, Swan Lake 

Ranger District, Montana; Cooney 

McKay Project Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for a proposal to harvest 

timber, reduce hazardous forest fuels, 

and construct temporary roads within 

the Cooney McKay Project area. The 

project area is approximately 35 miles 

southeast of Bigfork, Montana, in the 

vicinity of the community of Condon, 

Montana. The Forest Service is seeking 

further information and comments from 

Federal, State, and local agencies and 

other individuals or organizations that 

maybe interested in or affected by the 

proposed actions. These comments will 

be used to prepare the draft EIS. 

DATES: The draft environmental impact 

statement is expected in March 2007 

and the final environmental impact 

statement is expected in May 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Steve Brady, District Ranger, Swan Lake 

Ranger District, 200 Ranger Station 

Road, Bigfork, MT 59911. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue 

Tebay, Project Writer-Editor, Swan Lake 

Ranger District, 200 Ranger Station 

Road, Bigfork, MT 59911. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Forest Plan 

The EIS will tier to the Flathead 

National Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan (LRMP) and EIS of 

January, 1986, and its subsequent 

amendments, which provide overall 

guidance of all land management 

activities on the Flathead National 

Forest. 

Background and Existing Condition 

Information 

The Forest Services believes that a 

combination of factors such as natural 

succession processes, extended regional 

drought patterns, introduction of 

invasive plants, human development 

patterns, along with unintended 

consequences of past management 

practices (e.g., fire suppression policies) 

have crated and continue to lead to 

vegetative conditions that do not wholly 

meet the desired future condition for the 

project area, as described in the Forest 

Plan. The consequences of these 

environmental changes and past 

management practices place portions of 

the forested landscape at an elevated 

risk to unwanted disturbances such as 

insect epidemics, wide-scale disease 

infections, and high-severity wildfire. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose and need for the Cooney 

McKay project include: (1) Improving 

the general health, resiliency, and 

sustainability of forest vegetative 

communities within the project area; (2) 

reducing the risk of insect epidemics 

and disease infestations within the 

project area; (3) reducing the hazardous 

forest fuels buildup on National Forest 

System lands adjacent to private lands 

within the project area; (4) providing for 

a safer environment for the public and 

firefighters should a wildfire occur 

within the project area; increase the 

probability of stopping wildfires on 

National Forest Services lands before 

they burn onto private lands; and (5) 

providing commercial and personal-use 

wood products for the local 

communities. 

Proposed Action 

To move toward the desired future 

(vegetative) condition of restoring and 

maintaining a healthy forest in the 

project area, the Cooney McKay 

proposal includes mechanical and/or 

hand vegetation treatments of mature 

and immature forest, ecosystem 

maintenance burning on approximately 

2,500 acres of upper elevation forest and 

shrubland stands; hand planting of 

approximately 302 acres; and invasive 

plants/noxious weed treatment on 

traveled roadways. In addition, 

approximately 900 acres may be 

understory or jackpot burned following 

treatment. The proposal includes the 

construction and subsequent 

reclamation of approximately 2 miles of 

temporary roads on National Forest 

System lands to access treatment units. 

Best Management Practices would be 

applied to all temporary roads 

constructed and roads temporarily 

opened, as well as all system roads used 

in association with this project for 

access and product removal. 

The proposed management actions 

summarized above are being considered 

together because they represent either 

connected or cumulative actions as 

defined by the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR 

1508.25). 

Possible Alternatives 

Alternatives may be developed to 

respond to concerns that the proposed 

action could potentially result in 

adverse impacts to white-tailed deer 

winter habitat or that the proposed 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES