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

5794

Vol. 62, No. 26

Friday, February 7, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Jericho Salvage Project; Helena

National Forest, Powell County,

Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare

Environmental Impact Statement.

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service is

gathering information and preparing an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for the Jericho Salvage Project located

approximately 18 air miles southwest of

Helena, Montana.

The Helena Ranger District of the

Helena National Forest proposes to

salvage winter killed and severely

damaged trees on approximately 200

acres in the Sally Ann Creek drainage.

This area is located west of the

Continental Divide approximately eight

miles southeast of Elliston, Montana

(Sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12 Township

8 North, Range 6 West).

The Proposed Action includes the

construction of two temporary roads to

provide logging truck access to the log

collection sites. The total length of the

temporary road construction is about

two miles. No permanent road

construction is proposed.

The areas proposed for harvest are

located within the Jericho Mountain

Roadless Area (1607) and are located in

or immediately adjacent to management

areas designated by the Helena Forest

Plan as suitable for timber management.

DATES: Comments concerning the scope

of the analysis should be received in

writing on or before March 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The responsible official is

Denis Hart, District Ranger, Helena

Ranger District, Helena National Forest,

2001 Poplar St., Helena, MT. 59601.

Phone: (406) 449–5490.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Denis Hart, Helena District Ranger or

Dan Mainwaring, Interdisciplinary

Team Leader, Helena Ranger District,

Helena National Forest, 2001 Poplar

Street, Helena, MT 59601. Phone: (406)

449–5490.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 200

acres of timber salvage and associated

two miles of temporary road

construction would occur on National

Forest lands in portions of Sally Ann

Creek drainage. Included in the area

being analyzed is all or portions of

Sections, 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12 Township

8 North, Range 6 West, Montana

Principle Meridian.

Most of the trees in the Sally Ann

Creek drainage were killed during the

winter of 1989 from stress associated

with a weather event in which

temperatures rose from well below

freezing to the mid-60’s and then

plunged to below the zero mark, all in

the period of 24 hours.

The Proposed Action for this site

includes the salvage of approximately 1

million board feet of timber and the

regeneration of a new generation of

trees. The District also proposes to

construct 2 temporary access spurs to

provide logging truck access from Forest

Road #495 to the log collection sites.

The total length of temporary road

construction is approximately 2 miles.

No new permanent road would be

constructed.

The proposed harvest is within the

Jericho Mountain Roadless Area. The

treated sites will be planned for natural

regeneration and/or planting of conifers,

if necessary, to meet required

regeneration goals and time frames. The

proposed two miles of temporary, low

standard road construction will be

returned to contour and seeded to native

grass species following harvest.

Improvements will also be made to the

main log haul route along Forest Road

#495 by improving drainage and

regarding the road surface.

The responsible official is the Helena

District Ranger of the Helena National

Forest. This responsible official will

decide (1) whether dead and dying trees

within the proposed project area should

be harvested and, if so, how much and

by what methods, (2) what mitigation

measures will be needed under the

selected alternative, (3) how much

temporary road will be constructed and

how much road improvement will be

done on Forest Road #495 and, (4) how

much of the temporary road will be

returned to contour and seeded to native

grasses.

If the decision is to implement an

action alternative, salvage operations

would begin as soon as the fall of 1997

and should be completed by the end of

1998. Public firewood gathering, road

recontouring, and brush disposal work

may extend into 1999. Other resource

objectives for this site are within Forest

Plan standards. All activities are

designed to comply with the Forest

Plan.

This EIS will tier to the Helena Forest

Plan Final EIS of April 1986, that

provides program goals, objectives and

standards and guidelines for conducting

management activities in this area. All

activities associated with the proposal

will be designed to maintain or enhance

the resource objectives identified in the

Forest Plan and further refined in the

Divide Landscape Analysis.

The Forest Service is seeking

information and comments from

Federal, State, local agencies and other

organizations or individuals who may

be interested in or affected by the

proposed action. The Forest Service

invites written comments and

suggestions on the issues for the

proposal and the area being analyzed.

Information received will be used in

preparation of the Draft EIS. Preparation

of the EIS will include (1) identification

of potential issues, (2) identification of

issues to be analyzed in depth, (3)

elimination of issues that have been

covered by a relevant previous

environmental analysis, (4)

identification of reasonable alternatives

to the Proposed Action and, (5)

identification of potential

environmental effects of the

alternatives.

The preliminary issues identified are

(1) the effects on forest health and

sustaining ecosystems, (2) the effects on

recreation and scenic resources, (3) the

effects on fish/wildlife and, (4) the

effects on the roadless and wilderness

character of the Jericho Mountain

Roadless Areas.

The Forest Service will analyze and

disclose in the DEIS and FEIS the

environmental effects of the proposed

action and a reasonable range of

alternatives. The DEIS and FEIS will

disclose the direct, indirect and

cumulative environmental effects of

each alternative and its associated site

specific mitigation measures.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 26 / Friday, February 7, 1997 / Notices 5795

Public participation is especially

important at several points of the

analysis. Interested parties may visit

with the Forest Service officials at any

time during the analysis. However, two

periods of time are specifically

identified for the receipt of comments.

The first comment period is during the

scoping process when the public is

invited to give written comments to the

Forest Service. The scoping period ends

on March 24, 1997. The second review

period is during the 45 day review of

the DEIS when the public is invited to

comment on the DEIS.

The DEIS is expected to be filed with

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and available for public review in

May, 1997. At that time, the EPA will

publish a notice of availability of the

DEIS in the Federal Register.

The comment period on the DEIS will

be 45 days from the date the notice of

availability is published in the Federal

Register.

At this early stage in the scoping

process, the Forest Service believes it is

important to give reviewers notice of

several court rulings related to public

participation in the environmental

review process. First, reviews of DEIS

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). Secondly, environmental

objections that could be raided at the

draft environmental impact statement

stage, but that are not raised until after

completion of the FEIS 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. 1338 (E.D.

Wis. 1980). Because of these court

rulings, it is very important that those

interested in this proposed action

participate by the close of the 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 FEIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

comments on the DEIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapters of the draft statement.

Comments may also address the

adequacy of the DEIS or the merits of

the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statement. (Reviewers

may wish to refer to the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing

these points.)

After the comment period ends on the

DEIS, the comments will be analyzed

and considered by the Forest Service in

preparing the FEIS. The FEIS is

expected to be filed in August, 1997.

Dated: January 21, 1997.

Denis Hart,

District Ranger, Helena Ranger District,

Helena National Forest.

[FR Doc. 97–3023 Filed 2–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Posting of Stockyards

Pursuant to the authority provided

under Section 302 of the Packers and

Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. 202), it was

ascertained that the livestock markets

named below were stockyards as

defined by Section 302 (a). Notice was

given to the stockyard owners and to the

public as required by Section 302 (b), by

posting notices at the stockyards on the

dates specified below, that the

stockyards were subject to the

provisions of the Packers and

Stockyards Act, 1921, as amended (7

U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

Facility Number,

name, and location of stockyard

Date of posting

AL–190 Natural Bridge

Stockyard,

Natural

Bridge, Alabama.

October 18,

1996.

GA–218 R & R Goat and

Livestock

Auction,

Swainsboro,

Georgia.

November 9,

1996.

MN–191 Iron Range

Livestock Exchange, Inc.,

Aitkin, Minnesota.

October 24,

1996.

WI–145 Richland Cattle

Center L. L.

C., Richland

Center, Wisconsin.

November 1,

1996.

Done at Washington, D.C. this 28th day of

January 1997.

Daniel L. Van Ackeren,

Director, Livestock Marketing Division

Packers and Stockyards Programs.

[FR Doc. 97–3033 Filed 2–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR

SEVERELY DISABLED

Procurement List; Additions

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From

People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled.

ACTION: Additions to the procurement

list.

SUMMARY: This action adds to the

Procurement List services to be

furnished by nonprofit agencies

employing persons who are blind or

have other severe disabilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase

From People Who Are Blind or Severely

Disabled, Crystal Square 3, Suite 403,

1735 Jefferson Davis Highway,

Arlington, Virginia 22202–3461.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Beverly Milkman (703) 603–7740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

November 15, December 20, 1996, the

Committee for Purchase From People

Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled

published notices (61 FR 58510 and

67306) of proposed additions to the

Procurement List.

After consideration of the material

presented to it concerning capability of

qualified nonprofit agencies to provide

the services and impact of the additions

on the current or most recent

contractors, the Committee has

determined that the services listed

below are suitable for procurement by

the Federal Government under 41 U.S.C.

46–48c and 41 CFR 51–2.4.

I certify that the following action will

not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The major factors considered for this

certification were:

1. The action will not result in any

additional reporting, recordkeeping or

other compliance requirements for small

entities other than the small

organizations that will furnish the

services to the Government.

2. The action will not have a severe

economic impact on current contractors

for the services.

3. The action will result in

authorizing small entities to furnish the

services to the Government.

4. There are no known regulatory

alternatives which would accomplish

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in

connection with the services proposed

for addition to the Procurement List.

Accordingly, the following services

are hereby added to the Procurement

List: