This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. 

# Notices Federal Register 

### 5164

Vol. 78, No. 16

Thursday, January 24, 2013

**AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION** 

**Board of Directors Executive Session Meeting** 

Meeting: African Development Foundation, Board of Directors Executive Session Meeting

Time: Tuesday, February 5, 2013, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Place: 1400 Eye Street NW., Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20005

Date: Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Status: 1. Open session, Tuesday, October 23,
2012, 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

2. Closed session, Tuesday, October
23, 2012, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Shari Berenbach, President/CEO, USADF.

[FR Doc. 2013–01396 Filed 1–23–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Agricultural Marketing Service**

**[Doc. No. AMS–NOP–12–0057; NOP–12–15]**

**Notice of Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost**  **Share Program**

**AGENCY :**  Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice of Funds Availability: Inviting Applications From State Departments of Agriculture for the Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost-Share Program.

**SUMMARY :**  This notice invites the following eligible States: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming, to submit an Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424), and to enter into a Cooperative Agreement with the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) for the allocation of organic certification cost-share funds. The AMS has allocated $1.425 million for this organic certification cost-share program. Funds are available to 16 designated States to provide cost-share assistance to organic crop and livestock producers certified under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic Standards (7 CFR 205) that either receive organic certification or incur expenses for continued certification during the period of October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013. Eligible States interested in obtaining cost-share funds for their organic producers must submit an Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424) via http:// www.grants.gov and enter into a Cooperative Agreement with AMS for the allocation of funds.

**DATES :**  Completed Applications for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424) and signed Cooperative Agreements must be received by February 7, 2013.

**ADDRESSES :**  Applications for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424) must be submitted via Grants.Gov. Paper applications will not be accepted. Instructions and additional information are available on the NOP Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/ NOPCostSharing.

Signed cooperative agreements should be sent via express mail to Patricia Atkins, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, National Organic Program, USDA/AMS/NOP, Room 2648-South, Ag Stop 0268, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250–

0268.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Patricia Atkins, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, NOP, USDA/AMS/NOP, Room 2648-South, Ag Stop 0268, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250–0268; Telephone: (202) 720–3252. Email: Patricia.Atkins@ams.usda.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  This Organic Certification Cost-Share Program is part of the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Program authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA), as amended, (7 U.S.C. 1524). Under the applicable FCIA provisions, USDA is authorized to provide cost-share assistance to organic producers in the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The AMS has allocated $1.425 millionfor this year’s organic certification costshare program. This program provides financial assistance to organic producers certified under the USDA Organic Regulations (7 CFR 205), which were authorized under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, as amended (7
U.S.C. 6501 et seq. ).

To participate in the program, eligible States, through their State Departments of Agriculture, must complete an Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424) and enter into a written Cooperative Agreement with AMS. State Departments of Agriculture refers to agencies, commissions, or departments of State government responsible for implementing regulation, policy or programs on agriculture within their State. The program will provide cost-share assistance, through participating States, to organic crop and livestock producers receiving certification or incurring expenses for the continuation of certification by a USDA accredited certifying agent during the period of October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013. USDA has determined that payments will be limited to 75% (seventy-five percent) of an individual producer’s certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 (seven-hundred and fifty dollars).

To receive cost-share assistance, organic crop and livestock producers should contact their State agencies. Procedures for applying are outlined in the cost share policies and procedures at http://1.usa.gov/OrganicCostShare. The total amount of cost-share payments provided to any eligible producer under all AMA programs cannot exceed $50,000.

How To Submit Applications: Toreceive fund allocations to provide costshare assistance, a State Department of Agriculture must complete an Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424), and enter into a written Cooperative Agreement with AMS. Interested States must submit the Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424) electronically via Grants.gov, the Federal grants Web site,


### 5165 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 16 / Thursday, January 24, 2013 / Notices

at http://www.grants.gov. For information on how to use Grants.Gov, please consult http://www.grants.gov/ GetRegistered. Applications must be received by February 7, 2013. Cooperative Agreements will be sent by the AMS to participating State Departments of Agriculture via express mail. The Cooperative Agreement must have the original signature of an official who has authority to apply for Federal assistance. The signed cooperative agreement must be sent by express mail or courier service and received by the NOP at the address under the

**ADDRESSES** section of this Notice by February 7, 2013.

The AMA Organic Certification CostShare Program is listed in the ‘‘Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance’’ under number 10.171. Subject agencies must adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in all Federally-assisted programs. Additional information on the AMA Organic Certification Cost-Share Program can be found on the NOP’s Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/ NOPCostSharing.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1524.
Dated: January 18, 2013. David R. Shipman,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 2013–01409 Filed 1–23–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–02–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Forest Service**

**First Phase of the Forest Planning Process for the Bio-Region** 

**AGENCY :**  U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, California.

**ACTION :**  Notice of Intent to initiating the first phase of the forest planning process for the Bio-Region.

**SUMMARY :**  Come gather ’round people

Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times, they are a-changin’.Bob Dylan, The Times They Are Achangin’ © 1963, 1964, 1991, 1992.

The Pacific Southwest Region is initiating the first phase of the forest planning process pursuant to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule which will describe the strategic direction for management of forest resources for the next ten to fifteen years. This notice communicates that the informal phase of the Bio-Regional Assessment has begun.

**DATES :**  The Bio-Regional Assessment Report will be completed in July 2013. The Forest-level Assessment Reports for the three early adopter Forests which will tier from the Bio-Regional Assessment Report and will be completed in December, 2013. The formal revision process will begin in

2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region 5, Attn.: Ecosystem Planning, 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, California, 94592.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Ronald L. Pugh, Deputy Director, Ecosystem Planning, 707–562–8951. Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Purpose and Need for Action

The Pacific Southwest Region of the United States, United States Department of Agriculture, along with the Sierra, Inyo, and Sequoia National Forests, are initiating the first phase of the forest planning process pursuant to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule. Forest plans describe the strategic direction for management of forest resources for the next ten to fifteen years, and are adaptive and amendable as conditions change over time. This initial phase includes the assessment of resource condition and trend at the bioregional and forest scales. Although not required by the new Planning Rule, the Region will complete a Bio-Regional Assessment to help provide a landscape scale perspective to the required forest assessments. An assessment is the first step in revising forest plans.

Under the 2012 Planning Rule, the planning process is continuous and includes three stages extending over the life of the Revised Forest Plan. The first stage is the assessment of resources, and occurs in the first year. The second stage is the formal process required by the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) and includes the preparation of Draft Environmental Impact Statements and Revised Forest Plan for public review and comment, and the preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Revised Forest Plan. We expect the second stage to take two years. The third stage of the process is monitoring and feedback, which is ongoing over the life of the revised forest plans.

We are committed to collaboration and to strengthening public engagement throughout the process. Collaboration and communication plans are being developed with the help of stakeholders at the regional and forest levels. Each plan is unique to the needs of the people and communities being served. The goal is not complete agreement; we seek common context and understanding.

Regional and forest specialists have begun collecting information to describe existing resource conditions and trends. The Bio-Regional Assessment Report will be completed in July 2013.
Responsible Official

Regional Forester Randy Moore, Pacific Southwest Region, U.S.D.A.
Forest Service.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

Region-wide conditions and trends will be addressed in the Bio-Regional Assessment to help provide a landscape scale context for the Sierra Nevada, southern Cascades, and the Modoc Plateau. The bio-regional Assessment Report will be completed in July 2013.
Scoping Process

At this phase of forest plan revision there is no formal Scoping Process; however, we are committed to collaboration and to strengthening public engagement throughout the process. A collaboration and communication plan that was developed with the help of stakeholders is in place.

For information on current events, meetings, workshops, important dates and how to participate in forest plan revision, visit the Pacific Southwest Region 5 Web site: http:// www.fs.usda.gov/r5/; and Our Forest Place: http://ourforestplace.ning.com/.

Dated: January 9, 2013. Randy Moore, Regional Forester.

[FR Doc. 2013–01254 Filed 1–23–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–11–M**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Forest Service**

**Ashley Resource Advisory Committee**

**AGENCY :**  Forest Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice of meeting.

**SUMMARY :**  The Ashley Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Vernal, Utah. The committee is meeting