Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Notices 42863 

comments during opportunities for 

public comment during the planning 

process are eligible to file an objection. 

Regulations at 36 CFR 219.62 define 

substantive formal comments as: 

Written comments submitted to, or oral 

comments recorded by, the responsible 

official or his designee during an opportunity 

for public participation provided during the 

planning process, and attributed to the 

individual or entity providing them. 

Comments are considered substantive when 

they are within the scope of the proposal, are 

specific to the proposal, have a direct 

relationship to the proposal, and include 

supporting reasons for the responsible 

official to consider. 

How To File an Objection 

The Forest Service will accept mailed, 

emailed, faxed, and hand-delivered 

objections concerning the Revised Land 

Management Plan and associated FEIS 

for 60 calendar days following the date 

of the publication of the legal notice of 

this objection period in the newspaper 

of record, El Nuevo Dia. It is the 

responsibility of the objector to ensure 

that the Reviewing Officer receives the 

objection in a timely manner. The 

regulations prohibit extending the 

length of the objection filing period. 

Objections must be submitted to the 

Reviewing Officer, who will be the 

Regional Forester for the Southern 

Region, at the address shown in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

Objections or objection content specific 

to the identification of species of 

conservation concern will be forwarded 

to Glenn Casamassa, Associate Deputy 

Chief, delegated Reviewing Officer for 

the Chief of the Forest Service. 

An objection must include the 

following (36 CFR 219.54(c)): 

(1) The objector’s name and address 

along with a telephone number or email 

address, if available. In cases where no 

identifiable name is attached to an 

objection, the Forest Service will 

attempt to verify the identity of the 

objector to confirm objection eligibility; 

(2) Signature or other verification of 

authorship upon request (a scanned 

signature for electronic mail may be 

filed with the objection); 

(3) Identification of the lead objector, 

when multiple names are listed on an 

objection. The Forest Service will 

communicate to all parties to an 

objection through the lead objector. 

Verification of the identity of the lead 

objector must also be provided if 

requested; 

(4) The name of the plan revision 

being objected to, and the name and title 

of the Responsible Official; 

(5) A statement of the issues and/or 

parts of the plan revision to which the 

objection applies; 

(6) A concise statement explaining the 

objection and suggesting how the 

proposed plan decision may be 

improved. If the objector believes that 

the plan revision is inconsistent with 

law, regulation, or policy, an 

explanation should be included; 

(7) A statement that demonstrates the 

link between the objector’s prior 

substantive formal comments and the 

content of the objection, unless the 

objection concerns an issue that arose 

after the opportunities for formal 

comment; and 

(8) All documents referenced in the 

objection (a bibliography is not 

sufficient), except that the following 

need not be provided: 

a. All or any part of a Federal law or 

regulation, 

b. Forest Service Directive System 

documents and land management plans 

or other published Forest Service 

documents, 

c. Documents referenced by the Forest 

Service in the planning documentation 

related to the proposal subject to 

objection, and 

d. Formal comments previously 

provided to the Forest Service by the 

objector during the plan revision 

comment period. 

Responsible Official 

The responsible official for the 

revision of the Land Management Plan 

for El Yunque National Forest is Sharon 

Wallace, Forest Supervisor, El Yunque 

National Forest, HC 01 Box 13490, Rio 

Grande, PR 00745. 

Dated: July 9, 2018. 

Chris French, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18353 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

Notice of Intent To Request Revision 

and Extension of a Currently Approved 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intent of the 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS) to request revision and 

extension of a currently approved 

information collection to comply with a 

mandate in the 2014 Farm Bill. (. . . the 

Secretary of Agriculture should 

recognize the threat feral swine pose to 

the domestic swine population and the 

entire agriculture industry . . .). 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by October 23, 2018 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number 0535–0256, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: ombofficer@nass.usda.gov. 

Include docket number above in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Efax: (855) 838–6382. 

• Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD– 

ROM submissions to: David Hancock, 

NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 

South Building, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250– 

2024. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand 

deliver to: David Hancock, NASS 

Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Room 5336 South Building, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20250–2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin L. Barnes, Associate 

Administrator, National Agricultural 

Statistics Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, (202) 720–2707. Copies of 

this information collection and related 

instructions can be obtained without 

charge from David Hancock, NASS— 

OMB Clearance Officer, at (202) 690– 

2388 or at ombofficer@nass.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Feral Swine Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0535–0256. 

Type of Request: Intent to Seek 

Approval to Revise and Extend an 

Information Collection for three Years. 

Abstract: On Feb 3, 1999, Executive 

Order 13112 was signed, establishing 

the National Invasive Species Council. 

This Executive Order requires that a 

Council of Departments dealing with 

invasive species be created. This Order 

was enhanced by Executive Order 13751 

which was signed on Dec. 5, 2016. 

Currently there are 16 Departments and 

Agencies on the Council. https://

www.doi.gov/invasivespecies/aboutnisc. 

On April 2, 2014 the USDA kicked off 

a national effort to reduce the 

devastating damage caused by feral 

swine. In 2015, the benchmark survey 

was conducted in 11 States (Alabama, 

Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North 

Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas) to 

measure the amount of damage feral 

hogs caused to specific crops in these 

states. The target population within 

these states consisted of farm operations 

who have historically produced one or 


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42864 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Notices 

more of the following crops: corn, 

soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts, or 

sorghum (Texas only). The results of 

this benchmark survey shows that in the 

11 surveyed States, there was damage to 

an estimated $190 million in crops for 

the six target crops. The published 

findings from this benchmark survey 

can be found at http://

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ 

pii/S0261219416301557. 

In 2017, this survey was conducted in 

the following 13 States: Alabama, 

Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North 

Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, and Texas, to measure the 

damage to livestock that is associated 

with the presence of feral swine. These 

States were chosen because they had 

high feral swine densities and a 

significant presence of cattle, hogs, 

sheep and/or goats. The findings from 

this survey are scheduled to be 

submitted for publication around the 

end of September 2018. 

In 2019, the survey will be conducted 

in 12 States: Alabama, Arkansas, 

California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, 

Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, 

Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. 

The operators in 11 of the States will be 

selected from operations that recently 

produced hay/haylage, tree nuts, 

melons, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, or 

cotton. In California, operators will be 

selected from operations that produced 

hay/haylage, tree nuts, grapes, sod, 

carrots, lettuce, or strawberries. 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife 

Services’ (WS) National Wildlife 

Research Center (NWRC) is the only 

Federal research organization devoted 

exclusively to resolving conflicts 

between people and wildlife through 

the development of effective, selective, 

and socially responsible methods, tools, 

and techniques. As increased 

urbanization leads to a loss of 

traditional wildlife habitat, the potential 

for conflicts between people and 

wildlife increases. Such conflicts can 

take many forms, including property 

and natural resource damage, human 

health and safety concerns, and disease 

transmission among wildlife, livestock, 

and humans. 

Free-ranging populations of feral 

swine exist in at least 35 states, and the 

nationwide population is estimated at 

approximately 5 million animals. Feral 

swine damage pastures, agricultural 

crops, lawns, landscaping, and natural 

areas due to feeding, rooting, wallowing, 

grazing, and trampling activities. Feral 

swine are reservoirs of many diseases 

and act as a host to parasites that can 

negatively impact agricultural animals, 

especially swine. 

Authority: These data will be 

collected under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 

2204(a). The eradication of feral swine 

is authorized by the Animal Health 

Protection Act (Title 7 U.S.C. 8301 et 

seq.) and the 2014 Farmbill. The $20 

million program aims to help states deal 

with a rapidly expanding population of 

invasive feral swine. 

Individually identifiable data 

collected under this authority are 

governed by Section 1770 of the Food 

Security Act of 1985, as amended, 7 

U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to 

afford strict confidentiality to nonaggregated data provided by 

respondents. This Notice is submitted in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 Public Law 104– 

13 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) and Office 

of Management and Budget regulations 

at 5 CFR part 1320. 

NASS also complies with OMB 

Implementation Guidance, 

‘‘Implementation Guidance for Title V 

of the E-Government Act, Confidential 

Information Protection and Statistical 

Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA),’’ 

Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 115, June 

15, 2007, p. 33362. 

Estimate of Burden: Reporting burden 

for this collection of information is 

estimated to average 45 minutes per 

response. This was determined by our 

Survey Methodologists, who compared 

the length and difficulty of the 

questions with similar surveys. They 

also took into account the projected 

number of farmers who will skip some 

sections of the questionnaire due to the 

presence or absence of damage due to 

feral swine. Burden is based on an 

estimated minimum response rate of 

80%. On similar types of surveys and 

through the use of a mail questionnaire 

and telephone follow-up to nonrespondents NASS has been able to 

contact and collect some data from 

approximately 80% of the target sample. 

After removing the out of business 

operations and those with no items of 

interest we hope to have at least a 65 to 

70% usable response rate. 

NASS will be utilizing several pieces 

of publicity and informational materials 

to encourage respondents to participate 

in this important survey. NASS will 

conduct the survey initially by mail 

with phone follow-up for non-response. 

Respondents: Farm Operators. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 15,000. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 11,600 hours. 

Comments: Comments are invited on: 

(a) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

through the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, 

technological or other forms of 

information technology collection 

methods. 

All responses to this notice will 

become a matter of public record and be 

summarized in the request for OMB 

approval. 

Signed at Washington, DC, August 8, 2018. 

Kevin L. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18316 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service 

[Docket No. NRCS–2018–0005] 

Notice of Proposed Changes to the 

National Handbook of Conservation 

Practices for the Natural Resources 

Conservation Service 

AGENCY: Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability of 

proposed changes to the National 

Handbook of Conservation Practices 

(NHCP) for public review and comment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the 

intention of NRCS to issue a series of 

revised conservation practice standards 

in the NHCP. These standards include 

Combustion System Improvement (Code 

372), Dust Control on Unpaved Roads 

and Surfaces (Code 373), Integrated Pest 

Management (Code 595), Nutrient 

Management (Code 590), Pesticide 

Mitigation (Code 594), Subsurface Drain 

(Code 606), Waste Facility Closure 

(Code 360), and Wildlife Habitat 

Planting (Code 420). 

NRCS State Conservationists who 

choose to adopt these practices in their 

States will incorporate them into 

Section IV of their respective electronic 

Field Office Technical Guide. These 

practices may be used in conservation 

systems that treat highly erodible land 

(HEL) or on land determined to be a 


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