50288 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Notices

information collected; or (d) minimizing

the burden of the collection of

information on respondents, including

the use of appropriate automated

electronic, mechanical, or other forms of

informational technology. Comments

should be sent to the Desk Officer for

Agriculture, Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Washington,

DC 20503, and to Michael D. Thompson

at the address listed above. All

responses to this notice will be

summarized and included in the request

for OMB approval. All comments will

become a matter of public record.

OMB is required to make a decision

concerning the collection(s) of

information contained in these

proposed regulations between 30 and 60

days after publication of this document

in the Federal Register. Therefore, a

comment to OMB is best assured of

having its full effect if OMB receives it

within 30 days of publication.

Signed at Washington, DC, on September

18, 1997.

Keith Kelly,

Administrator, Farm Service Agency and

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 97–25451 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Silver Creek Integrated Resource

Project, Boise National Forest, Idaho

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice, intent to prepare

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The Emmett Ranger District of

the Boise National Forest will prepare

an environmental impact statement

(EIS) for an integrated resource

management project in the Silver Creek

subwatershed, a headwater tributary to

the Middle Fork Payette River drainage.

The project area is located about 80 road

miles north of Boise, Idaho.

The Forest Service is seeking

information and comments from

Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies,

as well as individuals and organizations

who may be interested and/or affected

by the proposed action. The agency

invites written comments and

suggestions on the issues related to the

proposal and the area being analyzed.

The information received will be used

in preparing the draft and final EIS. For

most effective use, comments should be

submitted within 30 days from the date

of publication of this Notice in the

Federal Register.

Proposed Action

Six objectives have been identified for

the project: (1) Restore and/or maintain

the presence of the seral, shade

intolerant tree species (i.e., ponderosa

pine, aspen) as part of the area’s

vegetative mosaic; (2) improve forest

resilience to damaging insects and

disease; (3) improve timber stand vigor

and growth; (4) reduce the risk of large,

stand-destroying wildfire, especially in

the vicinity of the Silver Creek Plunge

Hot Springs Resort and rural

subdivision; (5) restore streambanks,

riparian areas, and other wet, upland

sites damaged by unrestricted, crosscountry motorized travel; and, (6)

provide sawlogs and other wood

products to help sustain local sawmills

and communities.

The proposed action would treat,

either with timber harvest or prescribed

fire, a total of 9,545 acres. An estimated

23 million board feet (MMBF) of timber

would be harvested by ground-based

(1,089 acres), skyline/cable (304 acres),

or helicopter (4,722 acres) yarding

systems. The proposed action would

employ a variety of silvicultural

systems, including improvement

selection (38 percent), commercial

thinning (31 percent), sanitation/salvage

(13 percent), irregular shelterwood (9

percent) and group selection (6 percent).

Prescribed fire would also occur on

another 3,430 acres to rejuvenate old,

decadent aspen stands and/or provide

seedbeds for potential white-bark pine

regeneration. The existing

transportation system would be

improved to facilitate the harvest

operation and reduce sedimentation, 3

miles of road relocation and

construction, 1.3 miles of temporary

road construction, and spot graveling of

intermittent sections of Roads No. 698

(Middle Fork Payette), No. 671 (Silver

Creek), and No. 678 (Bridge-Bryan

Creek). Two bridges would be

constructed to provide log haul access.

Six existing helicopter landings would

be used, however, each would be first

‘‘stabilized’’ to improve drainage and

reduce potential sediment delivery. Two

dry, upland meadows would also be

used as possible log landing sites. An

estimated 4 miles of existing, userdeveloped roads, the majority which

either lies immediately adjacent to

perennial streams or is deeply eroded,

would be obliterated. Five existing,

user-developed stream crossings would

be closed and rehabilitated. Upon

completion of post-harvest activities,

motorized travel east of Silver Creek

would be restricted to designated routes

(i.e., roads and trails), except for

snowmobiles during the winter.

To meet the project’s objectives,

several changes to the Boise Land and

Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan) would be needed. The proposed

Forest Plan changes include redefining

the visual quality objectives (VQO’s) for

the Peace Rock, Silver Creek, and

Lightning Creek management areas

(MA’s) as well as changing the

prohibition concerning the use of

ground-based yarding systems,

mechanized equipment, and road

construction in the Peace Rock MA.

Preliminary Issues

Anticipated concerns related with the

proposed action are: (1) Timber harvest

and road relocation and/or construction

could effect a portion of the Peace Rock

inventoried roadless area’s (IRA) wild

character; (2) bridge construction and

road relocation/reconstruction activities

could result in short-term increases in

the sediment entering area streams; (3)

the project could alter the scenic quality

of the Silver Creek area; (4) the

proposed restrictions on cross-country,

motorized travel could displace some

outdoor enthusiasts and/or reduce

recreational opportunities for some user

groups; and (5) the activities resulting

from the proposed Forest Plan changes

could alter the semiprimitive, motorized

character of the area. Other potential

issues may be identified during the

current scoping period.

Schedule

The draft EIS is anticipated to be

available for public review and

comment in April 1998; the final EIS by

July 1998.

Public Involvement

The Forest Service is inviting the

public to visit Silver Creek with Emmett

District personnel. Two field tours are

scheduled for the project area; one on

October 3, 1997; the other on October 4,

1997. Both field tours will be from 9

a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning at the Garden

Valley Station, Garden Valley, Idaho,

with a brief presentation and then

proceeding to the project area. In

addition, a public meeting will be held

at the Garden Valley Senior Citizens’

Center, Crouch, Idaho on October 6,

1997, from 7–9 p.m. to discuss the

proposed activities. Comments received

from those field tours, as well as the

public meeting will be incorporated into

the analysis and decision-making

process.

Comments

Written comments concerning the

proposed project should be received on
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 1997 / Notices 50289

or before 30 days following publication

of this announcement in the Federal

Register. Mail comments to, or for

further information contact, Chris

Worth, Project Team Leader, Emmett

Ranger District, 1805 Highway 16, Room

5, Emmett, ID 83617, or telephone 208–

365–7000.

Comments received in response to

this solicitation, including the names

and addresses of those who comment,

will be considered part of the public

record on this proposal and will be

available to public inspection.

Comments submitted anonymously will

be accepted and considered; however,

those who submit anonymous

comments will not have standing to

appeal the subsequent decision under

36 CFR 215 or 217. Additionally,

pursuant to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person

may request the agency to withhold a

submission from the public record by

showing how the Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) permits such

confidentiality. Persons requesting such

confidentiality should be aware that,

under FOIA, confidentiality may be

granted in only limited circumstances,

such as to protect trade secrets. The

Forest Service will inform the requester

of the agency’s decision regarding the

request for confidentiality, and where

the request is denied, the agency will

return the submission and notify the

requester that the comments may be

resubmitted with or without name and

address within 10 days.

Responsible Official

David D. Rittenhouse, Forest

Supervisor, Boise National Forest is the

responsible official.

Dated: September 15, 1997.

Cathy Barbouletos,

Acting Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–25473 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS

Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting

of the Vermont Advisory Committee

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to

the provisions of the rules and

regulations of the U.S. Commission on

Civil Rights, that the Vermont Advisory

Committee to the Commission will

conduct a two-day community forum on

November 4 and 5, 1997. The November

4 session will be held at the Sheraton

Hotel and Conference Center, Emerald

Room I and II, 870 Williston Road,

Burlington, Vermont 05403, from 1:00

p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:30

p.m. The November 5 session will be

held at the Franklin Conference Center,

Howe Center, One Scale Avenue,

Rutland, Vermont 05701, from 1:00 p.m.

to 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Advisory Committee will receive

information from Federal and State

government officials, community

leaders, minority students, and parents

concerning racial harassment in the

Vermont public schools.

Persons desiring additional

information, or planning a presentation

to the Committee, should contact

Committee Chairperson Kimberly B.

Cheney, 802–229–0334, or Ki-Taek

Chun, Director of the Eastern Regional

Office, 202–376–7533 (TDD 202–376–

8116). Hearing-impaired persons who

will attend the meeting and require the

services of a sign language interpreter

should contact the Regional Office at

least five (5) working days before the

scheduled date of the meeting.

The meeting will be conducted

pursuant to the provisions of the rules

and regulations of the Commission.

Dated at Washington, DC, September 15,

1997.

Carol-Lee Hurley,

Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit.

[FR Doc. 97–25471 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Analysis Bureau

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

The Department of Commerce (DOC)

has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of Economic

Analysis.

Title: Annual Survey of Royalties,

License Fees, and Other Receipts and

Payments for Intangible Rights Between

U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.

Agency Form Number: BE–93.

OMB Approval Number: 0608–0017.

Type of Request: Revision of a

currently approved collection.

Burden: 2,200 hours.

Number of Respondents: 550.

Avg. Hours Per Response: 4 hours.

Needs and Uses: The BE–93 annual

survey is required in order to obtain

reliable, up-to-date and detailed

information on transactions in

intangible rights between U.S.

companies and foreign persons. Data

from this survey will be used in

monitoring U.S. services trade,

analyzing its impact on the U.S. and

foreign economies, formulating U.S.

international trade policy on services,

supporting bilateral and multilateral

trade negotiations, monitoring and

assessing the impact of trade agreements

on the U.S. and foreign economies,

compiling the U.S. balance of payments

and national income and product

accounts, developing U.S. international

price indexes for services, assessing and

promoting U.S. competitiveness in

international trade in services, and

improving the ability of U.S. businesses

to identify and evaluate market

opportunities.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations, or other

institutions receiving royalties and

license fees from, or paying royalties

and licenses fees to unaffiliated foreign

persons.

Frequency: Annually.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 22 U.S.C.,

Sections 3101—3108, as amended.

OMB Desk Officer: Paul Bugg, (202)

395–3093.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing DOC Clearance

Officer, Linda Engelmeier, (202) 482–

3272, Department of Commerce, Room

5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue,

N.W., Washington, DC 20230.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent

within 30 days to Paul Bugg OMB Desk

Officer, Room 10201, New Executive

Office Building, 725 17th Street, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 97–25438 Filed 9–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3510–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Economic Analysis Bureau

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

The Department of Commerce (DOC)

has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of Economic

Analysis.

Title: Annual Survey of Selected

Services Transactions with Unaffiliated

Foreign Persons.