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

49665

Vol. 62, No. 184

Tuesday, September 23, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Revised

Environmental Impact Statement, Port

Houghton/Cape Fanshaw Timber

Sale(s), Tongass National Forest,

Stikine Area and Chatham Area,

Petersburg and Sitka, Alaska

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare

a Revised Draft Environmental Impact

Statement for the Port Houghton/Cape

Fanshaw Timber Sale(s) located on the

Stikine Area and the Chatham Area of

the Tongass National Forest. This notice

of intent revises the notice of intent

published September 12, 1994, (page

48619) and the Notice of Intent

published August 14, 1995, (page

41872) by describing changes to the

purpose and need, proposed action and

the schedule for the decision. A Revised

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

is being prepared to respond to the new

land use designations, management

direction, and standards and guidelines

of the Tongass National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan) released in May 1997.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis or significant issues

regarding the proposal to build roads

and harvest timber in the Port

Houghton/Cape Fanshaw Project Area

should be received in writing by

October 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Michael J. Weber, USDA Forest Service,

204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, AK 99835.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Questions

concerning the proposed action and

Environmental Impact Statement should

be directed to Michael J. Weber,

Interdisciplinary Team Leader, phone:

(907) 747–6671, fax: (907) 747–4331.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Port

Houghton/Cape Fanshaw Project Area

includes Value Comparison Units 79

through 89 on the mainland in

Southeast Alaska approximately 30

miles north of Petersburg, Alaska, and

80 miles south of Juneau, Alaska.

The Tongass National Forest Land

and Resource Management Plan of May

1997 provides the overall guidance

(land use designations, goals, objectives,

management prescriptions, standards

and guidelines) to achieve the desired

future condition for the area in which

this project is proposed. This revised

Forest Plan allocates portions of the

project area to six management

prescriptions (Timber Production,

Modified Landscape, Scenic Viewshed,

Old-growth Habitat, Semi-remote

Recreation, and Research Natural Area).

Furthermore, the new standards and

guidelines in the revised Forest Plan

provide increased protection for

riparian areas, wolves, and wetlands

which conflict with activities proposed

and analyzed in the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement

published in December 1995. The

Revised Draft Environmental Impact

Statement for the Port Houghton/Cape

Fanshaw Timber Sale(s) will now tier to

the Final Environmental Impact

Statement for Tongass Land

Management Plan Revision of May 1997

and be consistent with the revised

Forest Plan.

The purpose and need for the project

is to respond to the goals and objectives

identified by the Forest Plan for the

timber resource and to move the Port

Houghton/Cape Fanshaw Project Area

toward the desired future condition.

The Forest Plan identified the following

goals and objectives: (1) Manage the

timber resource for production of saw

timber and other wood product from

suitable timber lands made available for

timber harvest, on an even-flow, longterm sustained yield basis and in an

economically efficient manner (Forest

Plan page 2–4); (2) seek to provide a

timber supply sufficient to meet the

annual market demand for Tongass

National Forest timber, and the demand

for the planning cycle (page 2–4); and

(3) maintain and promote industrial

wood production from suitable timber

lands, providing a continuous supply of

wood to meet society’s needs (page 3–

144). The Port Houghton/Cape Fanshaw

Project will be designed to produce

desired resource values, products, and

conditions in ways that also sustain the

diversity and productivity of ecosystems

(page 2–1).

The Port Houghton/Cape Fanshaw

Project is now expected to provide a

range of volume to the timber industry

in three or more timber sales. The actual

range of alternatives considered in the

Environmental Impact Statement will be

determined during analysis and will

reflect issues raised during scoping.

The Proposed Action provides for: (1)

Construction of approximately 80 miles

of road; (2) harvest of approximately

6,000 acres of timber in several timber

sales; and, (3) construction of a long

transfer facility in Little Lagoon and use

of the existing log transfer facility in

Hobart Bay. This level of development

would result in the harvest of

approximately 120 million board feet of

sawlog and utility timber volume.

A number of public comments have

been received on this project. Based on

comments from the public and other

agencies during the original scoping

effort and the public comment period on

the original Draft Environmental Impact

Statement, the following significant

issues have been identified:

(1) What changes may be anticipated

in the character of the timber resource?

(2) To what extent are alternative

silvicultural treatments proposed, and

what are the benefits?

(3) What will be the effect of log

transfer facility development on marine

resource values?

(4) What change in wildlife habitat

capability would occur with

implementation of the project?

(5) What changes will occur in habitat

and plant and animal diversity?

(6) What will be the effect of timber

harvest and transportation system

development on the fish habitat?

(7) What effect will timber harvest

have on soil stability?

(8) How will timber harvest affect

subsistence fishing, hunting and

gathering opportunities?

(9) What visual and recreational

changes will affect both local and tourist

use and enjoyment?

(10) What are the basic economic

values that can be expected with the

project?

These issues are being used to design

alternatives to the proposed action and

to identify the potential environmental

effects of the proposed action and
49666 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 184 / Tuesday, September 23, 1997 / Notices

alternatives. The Revised Draft

Environmental Impact Statement is

scheduled for publication in March

1998 and the Final Environmental

Impact Statement and Record of

Decision is schedule for publication in

August 1998.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to alert

reviewers about several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of Draft Environmental

Impact Statements 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 be

raised at the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement may be waived or

dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon

v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 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 important that those

interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement 45 day

comment period so that substantive

comments and objections are made

available to the Forest Service at a time

when it can meaningfully consider them

and respond to them in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement.

Dated: September 11, 1997.

Particia A. Grantham,

Acting Forest Supervisor, Stikine Area.

Dated: September 12, 1997.

Gary A. Morrison,

Forest Supervisor, Chatham Area.

[FR Doc. 97–25176 Filed 9–22–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Olympic Provincial Interagency

Executive Committee (PIEC), Advisory

Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Olympic PIEC Advisory

Committee will meet on October 17,

1997 at the Olympic Forest

Headquarters Building located at 1835

Black Lake Blvd., SW., Olympia,

Washington. The meeting will begin at

9:30 a.m. and continue until 3:00 p.m.

Agenda items to be covered include: (1)

Review and discussion of revised

Olympic Adaptive Management Area

Guide; (2) Province Restoration

Effectiveness Monitoring Update from

Committee; (3) Potential timber harvest

from non-regulated areas; (4) Review

and Validation of Implementation

Monitoring Report; (5) Open Forum and

(6) future agenda topics. Interested

citizens are encouraged to attend.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Kathy Snow, Province Liaison,

USDA, Quilcene Ranger District, P.O.

Box 280, Quilcene, WA 98376, (360)

765–2211, or Ronald R. Humphrey,

Forest Supervisor, at (360) 956–2300.

Dated: September 17, 1997.

Ronald R. Humphrey,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–25172 Filed 9–22–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Southwest Oregon Provincial

Interagency Executive Committee

(PIEC), Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Southwest Oregon PIEC

Advisory Committee will meet on

October 7 at the Oregon State Extension

Office, on Hanley Road, Central Point

Oregon. The meeting will begin at 9:00

a.m. and continue until 5:00 p.m.

Agenda items to be covered include: (1)

Marbled Murrelet habitat; (2)

Monitoring (3) Regional Ecosystem

Office presentation; (4) Forest Service

and Bureau of Land Management local

issues; and (5) Mining/riparian issues.

All Province Advisory Committee

meetings are open to the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Chuck Anderson, Province Advisory

Committee staff, USDA, Forest Service,

Rogue River National Forest, 333 W. 8th

Street, Medford, Oregon 97501, phone

541–858–2322.

Dated: September 16, 1997.

James T. Gladen,

Forest Supervisor, Designated Federal

Official.

[FR Doc. 97–25205 Filed 9–22–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

National Employers Survey—4 (NES–4)

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub.

L. 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before November 24,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Michael Hartz, U. S.

Bureau of the Census, Room 2538–3—

EPCD, Washington, DC 20233–6100;

(301–457–2633).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Census Bureau conducted three

earlier National Employers Surveys

(1994, 1995 and 1997) for the National

Center on the Educational Quality of the

Workforce (EQW), a nonprofit research

group. This group’s focus is discovering

relationships among employment,

hiring, training, education, and business

success. This information collection

seeks to build upon the results of the

previous surveys.

This information collection seeks to

gather information on employees’

histories and to identify employees’

perceptions regarding employerprovided training and job-related

educational requirements. The

collection will relate these employees’

responses to similar information

collected previously from employers in

the 1997 National Employers Survey

(NES–3). The purpose is to identify

those areas where employee and

employer views are similar and where

they are different. This information then

would be used to suggest areas where

additional emphasis regarding employer

job requirements are needed to enable

potential employees to qualify for

employment.