9200 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 

Affected Public Respondent 

Estimated 

number of 

respondents 

Responses 

annually per 

respondent 

Total annual 

responses 

Estimated 

average 

number of 

hours per 

response 

Estimated total 

annual hours of 

response 

burden 

Leaders Non-response ................. 8 1 8 0.25 2 

Staff * ............................................. 80 1 80 1.00 80 

Subtotal Type II ............................. 120 1 128 ........................ 95 .2 

Type III Organization 

Telephone Interviews 

Leaders or Staff Completed .......... 45 1 45 1.00 45 

Leaders or Staff Non-response .... 4 .5 1 4 .5 0.25 1 .125 

Subtotal Type III .................... 45 1 49 .5 ........................ 46 .125 

GRAND TOTAL .............. 210 ........................ 225 ........................ 176 .9 

Provision of Organizational Self-Evaluation Data 

Type I, II, and III Organizations 

Number of Organizations Providing Self-Evaluation Data.80 1 80 2.00 160 

Number of Organizations that 

Refuse to Provide Self-Evaluation Data.

10 1 10 0.50 5 

Total ....................................... 90 1 90 ........................ 165 

* 100% response anticipated for this group. 

Dated: February 7, 2012. 

Audrey Rowe, 

Administrator, 

Food and Nutrition Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3619 Filed 2–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Los Padres National Forest: California; 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Removal of the Noxious Weed 

Tamarisk on the Los Padres National 

Forest 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The USDA, Forest Service, 

Los Padres National Forest, gives notice 

of intent to conduct analysis and 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the removal of the 

noxious weed Tamarisk across the Los 

Padres National forest: This notice 

announces the beginning of scoping, 

describes the proposed action, decisions 

to be made, and estimates the dates for 

filing the draft and final EIS. This notice 

also provides information concerning 

public participation, and the names and 

addresses of the Agency officials who 

can provide information. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis will be received for 45 

days from publication in the Federal 

Register. The draft environmental 

impact statement is expected in summer 

of 2012 and the final environmental 

impact statement is expected late 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Los Padres National Forest, 6755 

Hollister Avenue, Suite 150, Goleta, CA 

93117, attention: Lloyd Simpson, Forest 

Botanist. Comments may also be sent 

via e-mail to: commentspacificsouthwest-los-padresojai@fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to 805– 

646–0408. 

Comments received in response to 

this solicitation, including names and 

addresses of those who comment, will 

be part of the public record for this 

proposed action. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions about the proposed action 

may be directed to Project Team Leader, 

Lloyd Simpson, Los Padres National 

Forest, Ojai Ranger District, 1190 E. Ojai 

Ave., Ojai, CA 93023; or by telephone: 

(805) 646–4348 ext. 316. E-mail: 

comments-pacificsouthwest-los-padresojai@fs.fed.us. 

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 

There is a need to eradicate the 

noxious weed tamarisk from Piru Creek, 

Lockwood Creek, Cuyama River, Santa 

Ynez River, Sisquoc River, and Arroyo 

Seco River in order to restore and 

maintain habitat for riparian dependent 

species such as the federally listed 

arroyo toad, California red-legged frog, 

and steelhead trout. The purpose of this 

project is to eradicate tamarisk in a 

timely manner and with an approach 

that is pest-specific, cost effective, and 

safe for the human and aquatic 

environments. 

The project area is on the Los Padres 

National Forest in portions of the Piru 

Creek, Lockwood Creek, Cuyama River, 

Santa Ynez River, Sisquoc River, and 

Arroyo Seco River watersheds. The 

analysis area covers 4,247 acres and 368 

miles of perennial and intermittent 

streams. Infestations of tamarisk 

occurring in these streams and their 

tributaries within the analysis area are 

targeted for removal. 

For fish and wildlife, direction is 

provided to maintain fisheries habitat 

for viable populations of native fish 

species and to prevent the destruction 

or adverse modification of habitat 

essential to threatened, endangered, or 

sensitive species. The Forest Plan states 

that ‘‘management activities or practices 

may occur in riparian areas as long as 

habitat and species diversity of the area 

is maintained in a healthy state’’ and 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 9201 

that ‘‘habitat improvement will enhance 

conditions for sensitive, threatened, and 

endangered species.’’ 

Proposed Action 

The Los Padres National Forest 

(LPNF) proposes to control the invasive 

species tamarisk in portions of the Piru 

Creek, Lockwood Creek, Cuyama River, 

Santa Ynez River, Sisquoc River, and 

Arroyo Seco River watersheds. This 

action will result in the improvement of 

riparian ecosystems that have been 

impacted by the invasion of tamarisk. 

Tamarisk has replaced the native 

riparian plant community of willows, 

cottonwoods and other desirable native 

riparian species. Its water-consuming 

ability has reduced the surface water 

available to wildlife. The best 

management strategy is to enact control 

measures now before the tamarisk 

infestations become any larger. 

Successful invasive species control 

programs are implemented at the 

landscape level, particularly within 

watersheds for species that colonize 

stream courses. Partnerships are 

especially important for accomplishing 

weed control. Volunteers have worked 

for many years on the Los Padres to 

remove and control tamarisk. They will 

continue to be part of this effort. 

Tamarisk infestations have various 

impacts on a number of federally listed 

threatened (FT) and endangered (F–E) 

species, as well as some Region 5 Forest 

Service Sensitive (R5–S) species. 

Federally listed endangered Least Bell’s 

vireo and Southwestern Willow 

Flycatcher have been known to nest in 

large groves of habitat dominated by 

tamarisk, but this is not likely in the Los 

Padres NF given the scattered nature of 

the present tamarisk populations. 

However, it is well documented that 

tamarisk removal will restore natural 

habitat for these birds as well as arroyo 

toad (F–E), California red-legged frog 

(F–T), southwestern pond turtle (R5–S), 

two-striped garter snake (R5–S) and 

steelhead trout (both F–E and F–T) 

stocks. 

This project is designed to eradicate 

current infestations of Tamarisk 

(Tamarix ramosissima, T chinensis, T 

gallica, T parviflora) and to prevent its 

further spread on National Forest 

System land. Tamarisk is a nonnative 

invasive tree-shrub that can grow in 

dense patches, out-compete native 

vegetation, change soil chemistry by 

depositing salts in deep ground water 

on the soil surface, and remove large 

amounts of water from streams and 

riparian areas via evapo-transpiration 

through its foliage. This project covers 

portions of the Piru Creek, Lockwood 

Creek, Cuyama River, Santa Ynez River, 

Sisquoc River, and Arroyo Seco River 

watersheds. 

The current tamarisk infestation 

covers 368 miles or 4,247 acres of 

riparian habitat on NFS lands. The goal 

is to implement control measures now 

before tamarisk becomes a larger 

problem in riparian ecosystems. 

The methods of tamarisk eradication 

have several constraints in this project: 

(1) Many treatment areas are very steep, 

making access and logistics difficult. 

There is no motorized access to most of 

the project area, much of it is in 

Congressionally designated Wilderness. 

All supplies and equipment must either 

be packed or flown in. Pile-burning cut 

tamarisk stems is not feasible due to the 

logistics of getting crews and 

suppression resources down into the 

canyons to do it. (2) There are few 

suitable areas to relocate tamarisk stems 

for disposal via burn piles. (3) There is 

habitat known for Least Bell’s Vireo and 

Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, two 

federally endangered birds in the Piru 

creek watershed. The habitat area 

contains scattered tamarisk within the 

riparian vegetation. 

The proposed action is a combination 

of tamarisk treatment methods designed 

to be as light on the land as possible and 

at the same time cost and labor efficient. 

The methods used will be a 

combination of hand treatments, 

herbicide applications, and biological 

control. Tamarisk seedlings will be 

removed by hand by pulling and placing 

them where they cannot reestablish. 

Herbicides are essential to meet the 

project objectives. Tamarisk will resprout if simply cut down and/or 

burned. Herbicide treatments are the 

most effective and the most efficient 

control method currently available. 

Herbicide use will be consistent with 

the Forest Service Pesticide Use Policy, 

will be in compliance with state and 

federal regulations, will follow Region 5 

Best Management Practices for 

Vegetation Manipulation, the Region 5 

Supplement for Pesticide-Use 

Management and Coordination, and the 

Forest Plan guidance including the 

Supplement to Soil and Water 

Conservation Practices FSH 2509.22– 

2005–1. A bio-control insect bred to 

assist in the treatment and control of 

tamarisk infestations is currently 

available. While tamarisk distribution 

across NFS land may be too spread out 

to maintain effective populations of a 

control insect, use of the insect may be 

appropriate in areas where there is 

higher tamarisk density. 

Herbicide treatments will be restricted 

to ground-based/hand applications only; 

NO AERIAL SPRAYING is being 

proposed. 

Seedlings and young plants will be 

hand-pulled where possible and 

removed from the riparian area and 

placed in the sun minimizing soil 

contact with the roots. Experience with 

hand pulling has shown that only plants 

1 foot tall or less can be successfully 

removed. We will begin removing the 

younger plants on the boundaries of 

infestations and do as much as we can 

each year. 

Large tamarisk within 10 horizontal 

feet of standing or running water will be 

treated with imazapyr (Habitat or 

similar formulation). Treatment type 

will depend on size of the individual 

tamarisk plant and the access available 

to do the treatment. Cut plant material 

will be removed from the waterway but 

left in small piles as wildlife habitat. 

Treatment methods are: 

Cut Stump Treatment: Tree trunks are 

cut near ground level with handsaws or 

chainsaws and then stumps are hand 

coated with the herbicide, surfactant 

and colorant using sponge brushes. The 

mixture is quickly absorbed by the 

plant’s phloem and transported to the 

root; if the herbicide mixture is applied 

immediately (2–10 minutes), 85–95% 

control is possible. 

Frill Treatment: With this method, a 

hatchet is used to cut downward into 

the water-conducting tissue (phloem) of 

standing trees. This treatment would be 

done using a Hypo-Hatchet to directly 

inject a pre-set amount of herbicide 

directly into the tree. Usually one 

injection is made for every inch of stem 

diameter evenly spaced around the 

circumference. 

For plants beyond the 10 horizontal 

feet of standing or running water, 

another herbicide, triclopyr (Garlon 4 or 

similar formulation) may be used. 

Triclopyr is not labeled for use around 

water and would only be used on 

upland plants. Treatments would be 

similar to imazapyr and based on plant 

size. Cut material will be disposed of in 

the same way as the cut riparian 

tamarisk described earlier. 

Resource Protection Measures 

The following resource protection 

measures would be employed under all 

action alternatives: 

Water Quality: Water quality would 

be protected following measures 

described in the Best Management 

Practices. Best Management Practices 

would be implemented during all 

activities associated with this proposed 

action. Best Management Practices 

(BMPs) are measures developed 

cooperatively with the Forest Service 

and the California State Water Quality 

Control Board to control non-point 

source pollution on National Forest 


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9202 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 

System lands. Many BMPs are available 

for use and can be tailored to 

accommodate site-specific conditions. A 

monitoring protocol for this project will 

be included in the project 

implementation plan. 

Wildlife and Fisheries: A biological 

assessment/evaluation of all threatened, 

endangered, and sensitive wildlife and 

fish species that potentially occur in the 

project would be drafted to provide an 

assessment of the impacts of the 

proposed action. The best management 

practices above will minimize or 

eliminate the exposure of wildlife and 

fisheries to pesticides. The primary 

effect on federally listed or Forest 

Service sensitive species will be the 

physical presence to work crews in 

occupied habitat. The following 

resource protection measures would be 

carried out during project 

implementation to protect federally 

listed and R5 Forest Service sensitive 

species: 

• To avoid trampling of arroyo toads 

and California red-legged frogs, a 

qualified biologist would conduct a 

training session for all project personnel 

prior to conducting the proposed action 

in habitat for arroyo toads and 

California red-legged frogs. At a 

minimum, the training would include a 

description of the arroyo toad and its 

habitat, the general provisions of the 

Endangered Species Act; the necessity 

for adhering to the provisions of the Act; 

the penalties associated with violating 

the provisions of the Act; the general 

measures that are being implemented to 

conserve the listed species as they relate 

to the project; and the access routes to 

and from project site boundaries within 

which the treatments may be 

accomplished. 

• In arroyo toad and California redlegged frog habitat, all routes to 

treatment sites would be identified by a 

qualified biologist and used repeatedly 

by workers to minimize trampling of 

arroyo toads and vegetation. 

• Applicators would avoid walking or 

stepping in water, to the maximum 

extent possible. They would also avoid 

spilling herbicide on footwear and 

clothing to prevent inadvertent 

contamination if contact with water 

occurs. 

• All access routes and treatment 

sites within arroyo toad and California 

red-legged frog habitat would be 

thoroughly searched for the presence of 

arroyo toads and California red-legged 

frog by a qualified biologist, prior to the 

onset of project activities at each site. 

This should occur within two weeks of 

work commencement. 

• Arroyo toads and California redlegged frog found within the treatment 

sites shall be carefully moved outside 

the immediate work area and released 

by a qualified biologist permitted by 

USFWS to handle these species. 

Animals found within access routes 

may be moved to appropriate habitat if 

their avoidance is not practicable. If 

project activities cease for more than 

three days within any one treatment 

site, access routes and treatment areas 

would be searched again for arroyo 

toads and California red-legged frog 

prior to the start of the day’s work. 

Information that includes the date, time 

of capture, specific location of capture, 

approximate size, age and health of the 

individual would be recorded. 

• Treatments will be conducted 

during low stream flow or no stream 

flow periods of the year to avoid 

potential impacts to steelhead trout or 

their spawning redds during the late fall 

to early winter months. 

• If workers encounter aquatic 

wildlife species other than arroyo toads 

and California red-legged frog during 

project implementation they will allow 

the animal(s) to flee to safe areas out of 

the work sites or physically move the 

animals to safe locations. 

Sensitive Plants: A biological 

assessment/evaluation of all threatened, 

endangered, and sensitive plant species 

that potentially occur in the project 

would be drafted to provide an 

assessment of the impacts of the 

proposed action. Best Management 

practices above and the highly targeted 

application methods being used in this 

project will minimize the exposure of 

Forest Service sensitive plant species to 

herbicide. 

Noxious Weeds: Require cleaning of 

any tools carried into or out of the 

project area to reduce the risk of 

noxious weed spread. 

Heritage Resources: Areas requiring 

flagging and avoidance would be 

identified by a qualified heritage 

resources manager to the project planner 

prior to any implementation of project 

work. 

Possible Alternatives 

A full range of alternatives will be 

considered including action and noaction. Alternatives responding to issues 

generated during the scoping process 

and interdisciplinary team project 

development will also be developed and 

considered. All alternatives will comply 

with the Los Padres National Forest 

Land Management Plan. 

Responsible Official 

Peggy Hernandez, Forest Supervisor, 

Los Padres National Forest, Goleta 

California, is the responsible official for 

the EIS and its Record of Decision. As 

the Responsible Official, the Forest 

Supervisor will document the decision 

and reason for the decision in the 

Record of Decision. The decision will be 

subject to Forest Service Appeals 

Regulations (36 CFR part 215). 

Nature of Decision to be Made 

The Responsible Official will make a 

decision considering the following: 

1. Whether the proposed action will 

proceed as proposed, with 

modifications, or not at all. 

2. What associated mitigation 

measures and monitoring requirements 

will be required. 

Preliminary Issues 

Preliminary issues identified include 

the following: 

1. Hand removal is not controlling the 

current infestations of Tamarisk and 

herbicides are needed. 

2. Use of herbicides and the need to 

protect water quality and public safety. 

3. Presence of listed threatened and 

endangered species, their habitat, and/ 

or mapped critical habitat. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. 

The Forest Supervisor is seeking 

public and agency comment on the 

proposed action to identify issues that 

arise from the proposed action. The 

issues may lead to other alternatives, or 

additional mitigation measure and 

monitoring requirements. In addition to 

this notice, public scoping letters will 

be mailed to interested parties. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such a way they are useful to the 

Agency’s preparation of the 

environmental impact statement. The 

submission of timely and specific 

comments can affect a reviewer’s ability 

to participate in subsequent 

administrative appeal of judicial review. 

Dated: February 1, 2012. 

Peggy Hernandez, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3534 Filed 2–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES