5802 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2006 / Notices 

provided in the petition, other relevant 

information as described in the EA, and 

comments provided by the public, 

APHIS has determined that LY038 will 

not pose a plant pest risk for the 

following reasons: (1) It exhibits no 

plant pathogenic properties (although it 

was originally engineered with 

regulatory sequences derived from plant 

pathogens, these plants are neither 

infected nor can incite disease); (2) it 

exhibits no characteristics that would 

cause it to be more weedy than the nontransgenic parent corn line or other 

cultivated corn; (3) gene introgression 

from LY038 into wild relatives in the 

United States and its territories is 

extremely unlikely and is not likely to 

increase the weediness potential of any 

resulting progeny nor adversely affect 

genetic diversity of related plants any 

more than would introgression from 

traditional corn hybrids; (4) disease and 

insect susceptibility is similar to nontransgenic corn; (5) it exhibits no 

potential to have a significant adverse 

impact on organisms beneficial to 

agriculture; (6) compared to current 

agricultural practices, cultivation of line 

LY038 and its progeny should not 

reduce the ability to control insects or 

weeds in corn or other crops. In 

addition to our finding of no plant pest 

risk, there will be no effect on 

threatened or endangered species 

resulting from a determination on 

nonregulated status for LY038 and its 

progeny. 

Therefore, APHIS has concluded that 

the subject corn and any progeny 

derived from hybrid crosses with other 

non-transformed corn varieties will be 

no more of a plant pest than corn 

varieties in traditional breeding 

programs that are not subject to 

regulation under 7 CFR part 340. The 

effect of this determination is that 

Monsanto LY038 corn is no longer 

considered a regulated article under 

APHIS’ regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

The requirements pertaining to 

regulated articles under those 

regulations no longer apply to the 

subject corn or its progeny. However, 

importation of LY038 corn and seeds 

capable of propagation are still subject 

to the restrictions found in APHIS’

foreign quarantine notices in 7 CFR part 

319 and imported seed regulations in 7 

CFR part 361. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

An EA was prepared to examine any 

potential environmental impacts and 

plant pest risk associated with the 

determination of nonregulated status for 

the Monsanto LY038 corn. The EA was 

prepared in accordance with: (1) The 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the 

Council on Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Based on that EA, APHIS has reached 

a FONSI with regard to the 

determination that Monsanto LY038 

corn and lines developed from it are no 

longer regulated articles under its 

regulations in 7 CFR part 340. Copies of 

the EA and FONSI are available from 

the individual listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781–

7786; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 

371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of 

January 2006. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E6–1481 Filed 2–2–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to renew the 

Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory 

Committee charter and request for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture 

is considering the renewal of the charter 

of the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal 

Advisory Committee, chartered under 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, to 

provide advice to the Secretary of 

Agriculture on implementing the terms 

of the Federal Interagency Partnership 

on the Lake Tahoe Region. Nominations 

of persons to serve on the LTFAC are 

invited. 

DATES: Nominations for membership on 

the Committee must be received in 

writing by March 24, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Send nominations and 

applications (Form AD–755) with 

telephone numbers and e-mail 

addresses for membership on the 

Committee to: FACA Nomination, Lake 

Tahoe Basin Management Unit, 35 

College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, 

California 96150. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terri Marceron, Forest Supervisor, or 

Mark Struble, Acting Legislative & 

Public Affairs Officer, Lake Tahoe Basin 

Management Unit, telephone (530) 543–

2758. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(5 U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given 

that the Secretary of Agriculture is 

considering the renewal of the charter of 

the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory 

Committee. The purpose of the 

Committee is to provide advice to the 

Secretary of Agriculture and to the 

Federal Interagency Partnership 

(Partnership) on how the Partnership 

can best fulfill its duties pursuant to 

Executive Order 13057, issued July 26, 

1997; how to facilitate the integration 

and coordination of appropriate Federal 

programs and funds to help achieve the 

goals of the Lake Tahoe Regional 

Environmental Improvement Program; 

and other matters raised by the 

Secretary. 

The Secretary of Agriculture 

established the Lake Tahoe Basin 

Federal Advisory Committee 

(Committee) on July 13, 1998; renewed 

the Committee’s charter on June 19, 

2000; amended the charter on April 17, 

2001, to provide advice to the 

Partnership; and renewed the charter on 

June 13, 2002 and June 3, 2004. The 

current charter for the Lake Tahoe Basin 

Federal Advisory Committee will expire 

June 7, 2006, and is currently being 

considered for renewal by the Secretary 

of Agriculture. 

The Secretary has previously 

determined that the work of the 

Committee is in the public interest and 

relevant to the duties of the Department 

of Agriculture. 

Representatives will be selected from 

the following sectors: (1) Gaming, (2) 

environmental, (3) national 

environmental, (4) ski resorts, (5) North 

Shore economic/recreation, (6) South 

Shore economic/recreation, (7) resort 

associations, (8) education, (9) property 

rights advocates, (10) member-at-large, 

(11) member-at-large, (12) science and 

research, (13) California local 

government, (14) Washoe Tribe, (15) 

State of California, (16) State of Nevada, 

(17) Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 

(18) labor, (19) transportation and (20) 

Nevada local government. 

Nominations to the Committee should 

describe and document the proposed 

member’s qualifications for membership 

on the Lake Tahoe Basin Federal 

Advisory Committee. The Committee 

Chair will be approved by the 

Designated Federal Official. Vacancies 

on the Committee will be filled in the 

manner in which the original 

appointment was made. 

Members of the Committee serve 

without pay, but may be reimbursed for 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2006 / Notices 5803 

travel expenses. Committee members 

serve a two year term and will meet as 

often as is necessary to complete its 

business, but no less than four times a 

year. 

Appointments to the Committee will 

be made by the Secretary of Agriculture. 

Equal opportunity practices, in line 

with USDA policies, will be followed in 

all appointments to the Committee. To 

ensure that the recommendations of the 

Committee have taken into account the 

needs of the diverse groups served by 

the Department, membership should 

include to the extent practicable 

individuals with demonstrated ability to 

represent minorities, women, persons 

with disabilities, and senior citizens. 

Dated: January 27, 2006. 

Terri Marceron, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 06–999 Filed 2–2–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Wrangell Ranger District, Tongass 

National Forest, Alaska; Baht Roaded 

Timber Sale Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent to 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement. 

SUMMARY: This NOI revises the proposed 

action, dates, and contact information in 

the original Notice of Intent published 

in the Federal Register Number 217 

(pages 63755–63757) on November 10, 

2003. The Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, will prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

on a proposal to harvest timber in the 

Baht Roaded Timber Sale project area, 

Wrangell Ranger District, Tongass 

National Forest. The proposed action is 

to harvest an estimated 42 million board 

feet on approximately 1,410 acres with 

about 11 miles on new road 

construction. The Tongass National 

Forest Supervisor will decide whether 

or not to harvest timber from this area, 

and if so, how this timber would be 

harvested. The decision will be 

documented in a Record of Decision 

based on information disclosed in the 

EIS and the goals, objectives and desired 

future conditions as stated in the 

Tongass Land Resource Management 

Plan (Forest Plan). 

DATES: Individuals interested in 

receiving a scoping package should 

contact us at the address below. 

Comments will be most helpful if 

received by March 3, 2006. The Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

projected to be filed with the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

in April 2006 and will begin a 45-day 

public comment period. The Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Record of Decision are anticipated to be 

published in September 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Please send written 

comments to Wrangell Ranger District; 

Tongass National Forest, Attn: Baht EIS; 

P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 99929. The 

fax number is 907–874–7595. Electronic 

comments can be e-mailed to 

comments-alaska-tongasswrangell@fs.fed.us. Please include the 

word ‘‘Baht’’ in the subject line. In all 

correspondence, include your name, 

address, and organization name if you 

are commenting as a representative of 

an organization. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposal and EIS 

should be directed to Mark Hummel, 

District Ranger, or Linda Christian, IDT 

Leader, Wrangell Ranger District, 

Tongass National Forest, P.O. Box 51, 

Wrangell, AK 99929; telephone (907) 

874–2323. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Baht 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

Wrangell Ranger District, Tongass 

National Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (NOI) 

was published in the Federal Register 

Number 217 (pages 63755–63757) on 

November 10, 2003. This NOI revises 

the proposed action, dates, and contact 

information in the original Notice of 

Intent. The Baht Roaded Timber Sale 

project area is located within Tongass 

Forest Plan Value Comparison Units 

456, 457, 458 and 459 on the northern 

half of Zarembo Island, Alaska, 

Wrangell Ranger District of the Tongass 

National Forest. The projected area is 

located approximately 17 air miles west 

of Wrangell, Alaska. The project area 

covers approximately 57,600 acres, of 

which approximately 18,000 acres are 

considered suitable for timber 

management. The Baht Project Area 

contains portions of four different LUDs: 

Timber Production represents 58.9% of 

the project area, Scenic Viewshed 37%, 

Old-growth Habitat 4% and SemiRemote Recreation .01%. The sale is 

currently listed on the Tongass 5-year 

action plan and is to be sold in 2007. 

The Baht Roaded Timber Sale project is 

consistent with the 1997 Forest Plan. 

The purpose and need for the 

proposed action responds to the goals 

and objectives the Forest Plan, as 

amended, and helps move the area 

toward the desired conditions as 

described in the forest plan. The 

Tongass Forest Plan goals and objectives 

applicable to the Baht Project Area: 

Contribute to the production of evenflow, long-term sustained yield of 

timber, as well as a mix of other 

resource activities; seek to provide a 

timber supply sufficient to meet the 

annual and planning cycle market 

demand for Tongass National Forest 

timber; provide a diversity of 

opportunities for resource uses that 

contribute to the economies of 

Southeast Alaska; and support a wide 

range of natural resource employment 

opportunities within Southeast Alaska’s 

communities. 

The proposed action is to harvest an 

estimated 42 million board feet on 

approximately 1,410 acres with about 11 

miles of new road construction. The 

proposed action will use clearcutting to 

manage the area under an even aged 

management prescription. The Baht 

Project Area includes old-growth habitat 

reserves (OGRs) as designated in the 

Forest Plan. To meet Forest Plan criteria 

for old-growth reserves, changes to a 

small OGR boundary will be proposed 

as part of this project. A non-significant 

Forest Plan amendment will be required 

to address this change. 

A range of alternatives will be 

developed to respond to the significant 

issues. In addition to the no-action 

alternative, alternatives will likely 

propose harvest of 15–45 million board 

feet of timber on an estimated 500–1,500 

acres offered in one or more timber 

sales. 

Preliminary Issues: Tentative issues 

identified for analysis in the EIS include 

the potential effects of the project on 

and the relationship of the project to: 

Old-growth ecosystem management and 

the maintenance of habitat for viable 

populations of wildlife species, timber 

sale economics, road construction/ 

access management and water quality. 

Public participation is an integral 

component of the analysis process. This 

notice of intent re-initiates the scoping 

process that guides the development of 

the environmental impact statement. 

The Forest Service will seek additional 

information, comments and assistance 

from tribal governments, Federal, state 

and local agencies, individuals and 

organizations that may be interested in 

or affected by the proposed activities. 

Written scoping comments were 

solicited through a preliminary scoping 

package that was sent to persons on the 

project mailing list in July 2003. 

Additional written scoping comments 

are being solicited through a scoping 

package that will be sent to the project 

mailing list concurrent with the 

publication of this NOI. For the Forest 

Service to best use the scoping input, 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES