Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 13, 2012 / Notices 14727 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Skip Hyberg, Agricultural 

Economist, Economic and Policy 

Analysis Staff, Farm Service Agency, 

1400 Independence Ave. SW., Room 

3730, Mail Stop 0519, Washington, DC 

20250. 

Comments also should be sent to the 

Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Washington, DC 20503. Copies of the 

information collection may be obtained 

from Dr. Skip Hyberg at the above 

address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Skip Hyberg, (202) 720–9222. Persons 

with disabilities who require alternative 

means for communication (Braille, large 

print, audio tape, etc) should contact the 

USDA Target Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Economic Assessment of 

Conservation Reserve Program Lands for 

Hunting. 

OMB Control Number: 0560–NEW. 

Type of Request: New. 

Abstract: As specified in the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, 

(the 2008 Farm Bill, Pub. L. 110–246), 

FSA administers the CRP to conserve 

and improve soil, water, and wildlife 

resources. Federal investments in the 

CRP on private cropland enhance 

essential ecosystem services, including 

wildlife, and provide improved hunting 

opportunities in rural areas. Hunters 

from urban areas within the State and 

non-residents outside the State are 

drawn to CRP lands or other private 

lands surrounding CRP lands for 

hunting. 

FSA is required by statute to consider 

benefits from the enhancement of 

wildlife habitat when selecting CRP 

offers. Because hunter spending 

increases in rural areas as hunting 

opportunities increase, economic 

activity and employment within the 

outdoor recreational sector are 

enhanced. FSA is responsible for 

identifying and quantifying the 

relationship between job creation and 

investments in CRP lands, as increased 

outdoor recreation is among the benefits 

FSA provides in administering the CRP. 

There have been no statewide 

assessments of the CRP program on 

hunting use, expenditures, and jobs in 

North and South Dakota (ND and SD, 

respectively). The only prior studies 

focused on six small areas in ND and are 

10 years old. There have been 

significant changes to the CRP program 

since that time. In addition, there is 

limited generalizability of the six ND 

areas to the rest of ND and SD. Without 

data on hunter use and expenditures, 

the economic contribution generated by 

federal investments in CRP cannot be 

reliably estimated. 

FSA plans to conduct statewide mail 

surveys with ND and SD hunters to 

elicit information on: 

(a) Their use of CRP lands in terms of 

days spent hunting there; 

(b) Expenditure pattern information; 

and 

(c) Net economic values. 

The primary objective of the survey is 

to estimate the employment and income 

contribution of current CRP lands to the 

rural areas within the respective States, 

and possible changes to jobs and income 

emanating from changes in the CRP 

program. 

We have discussed the survey with 

the State Fish and Game agencies and 

tentatively selected mail surveys. Mail 

surveys appear to be the best unbiased 

survey approach because the State Fish 

and Game agencies do not have email 

addresses for all hunters, and hunters in 

many rural locations of ND and SD do 

not have email access at home. 

Collection of the data is necessary to 

evaluate and improve CRP selection 

criteria and program implementation. 

Having information on recreationrelated jobs permits a comparison of 

county-level impacts of CRP land 

temporarily going out of crop 

production. 

Estimate of burden: Public reporting 

burden for this information collection is 

estimated to average 20 minutes per 

response. 

Frequency of Collection: One time 

only. 

Respondents: Hunters in ND and SD. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 2,400. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 

2,400. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 800 hours. 

We are requesting comments on all 

aspects of this information collection to 

help us to: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of FSA, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of FSA’s 

estimate of burden, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

All responses to this notice, including 

names and addresses when provided, 

will be summarized and included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will also become a matter of 

public record. 

Signed on March 6, 2012. 

Bruce Nelson, 

Administrator, Farm Service Agency, 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6011 Filed 3–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Tongass National Forest Wrangell 

Ranger District; Alaska; Wrangell 

Island Project Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Corrected Notice of Intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement. 

SUMMARY: A Notice of Intent (NOI) was 

first published for this proposal in the 

Federal Register (75 FR 81210) on 

December 27, 2010. This NOI is being 

published due to the length of time that 

has passed since the first NOI was 

published and due to changes made to 

the Purpose and Need and Proposed 

Action in response to public input 

received during the initial scoping 

period. 

DATES: Comments received during the 

initial scoping period in 2010–2011 will 

be considered in the preparation of this 

EIS. New or additional comments must 

be received by March 15, 2012, 45 days 

from date of publication of this 

Corrected NOI in the Federal Register. 

The draft environmental impact 

statement is expected in December 

2012, and the final environmental 

impact statement is expected in June 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: 

Tongass National Forest, c/o Tim 

Piazza, 648 Mission Street, Ketchikan, 

AK 99901, Attn: Wrangell Island Project 

EIS. Comments may be hand-delivered 

to the Wrangell Ranger District, 525 

Bennett Drive, Wrangell, AK 99929, 

Attn: Wrangell Island Project EIS. 

Comments may also be sent via email to: 

wrangell_island_project_eis@fs.fed.us, 

or via facsimile to 907–228–6215, Attn: 

Wrangell Island Project EIS. 

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14728 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 13, 2012 / Notices 

In all correspondence, please include 

your name, address, and organization 

name if you are commenting as a 

representative of an organization. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim 

Piazza, Team Leader, Federal Building, 

Ketchikan, AK 99901, (907) 228–6318; 

or Austin O’Brien, Wrangell Ranger 

District, P.O. Box 51, Wrangell, AK 

99929, (907) 874–2323. 

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 

The purpose of the Wrangell Island 

Project is to respond to the goals and 

objectives identified by the Forest Plan 

to guide timber management to support 

the local and regional economies of 

Southeast Alaska, while moving the 

Wrangell Island Project Area towards 

the desired future condition for all 

resources. 

The underlying need for the Wrangell 

Island Project comes from the Forest 

Service’s obligation, subject to 

applicable law, to seek to provide a 

supply of timber from the Tongass that 

meets market demand annually and for 

the planning cycle, and to restore and 

improve forest resources to a condition 

where they provide increased benefits to 

society. 

Integrated planning is essential to 

provide an orderly flow of timber to 

large and small timber purchasers, mill 

operators, and value-added wood 

product industries in Southeast Alaska 

who contribute to the local and regional 

economies of Wrangell Island and 

Southeast Alaska while also improving 

forest resource conditions. This project 

will help provide a reliable, long-term 

supply of timber that will support local 

jobs and facilitate the transition to a 

sustainable wood product industry 

based on young-growth management. 

Proposed Action 

The Forest Service is proposing a 

multi-year project involving a variety of 

timber harvest, road construction, and 

forest restoration and enhancement 

activities. The proposed action would 

include the harvest of timber from up to 

6,500 acres of forested land using one or 

varying sizes of timber sales, offered 

over a period of years, within the roaded 

land base on Wrangell Island. Up to 22 

miles of National Forest System road 

and about 30 miles of temporary road 

would be constructed. Preliminary 

analysis shows that up to an estimated 

80 million board feet of sawtimber and 

utility wood could be made available to 

industry for harvest. Existing log 

transfer facilities would be used as 

needed. Harvest would include 

helicopter, ground based, and cableyarding systems and include even-aged 

and uneven-aged harvest prescriptions 

to achieve stand objectives. 

Integrated restoration and 

enhancement activities will include 

road maintenance and improvements, 

invasive species treatments, erosion 

control, fish passage improvements. 

Other activities may include recreation 

enhancements, wildlife and fisheries 

habitat improvements, and subsistence 

access enhancement. All proposed 

activities would meet the standards and 

guidelines of the Tongass Forest Plan. 

Possible Alternatives 

In addition to the Proposed Action 

and No Action alternative, the Forest 

Service is considering a range of action 

alternatives based on public input 

received to date. These include an 

alternative which adjusts Old Growth 

Reserve (OGR) boundaries to allow 

timber harvest within the roaded 

portions of small and medium OGRs on 

Wrangell Island. This alternative would 

require a Forest Plan amendment as part 

of the Decision. Another alternative is 

being developed by interested citizens 

and the Borough of Wrangell. 

Responsible Official 

The responsible official for the 

decision on this project is the Forest 

Supervisor, Tongass National Forest, 

Federal Building, 648 Mission Street, 

Ketchikan, Alaska 99901. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The responsible official will decide: 

(1) The estimated timber volume to 

make available from the project, as well 

as the location, design, and scheduling 

of timber harvest, road construction and 

reconstruction, and silvicultural 

practices used; (2) access management 

measures (road, trail, and area 

restrictions and closures); (3) mitigation 

measures and monitoring requirements; 

and (4) whether there may be a 

significant restriction on subsistence 

uses. 

Preliminary Issues 

The initial scoping identified 

preliminary issues and concerns which 

may be analyzed in the EIS to disclose 

potential effects of the project on the 

following: timber supply, supporting the 

timber industry through the transition 

from old-growth harvest to younggrowth management, road and access 

management, economic and rural 

stability, wildlife habitat, aquatic habitat 

(fisheries/hydrology/watersheds), soil 

productivity and slope stability, 

invasive species, heritage resources, 

roadless area characteristics, scenery, 

recreation, subsistence use, and climate 

change and carbon cycling. 

Preliminary List of Permits or Licenses 

Required 

All necessary permits will be obtained 

prior to project implementation, and 

may include the following: 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

• Review Spill Prevention Control 

and Countermeasure Plan State of 

Alaska, Department of Environmental 

Conservation (DEC): 

• Solid Waste Disposal Permit State 

of Alaska, Department of Natural 

Resources (DNR): 

• Authorization for occupancy and 

use of tidelands and submerged lands 

Scoping Process 

The initial scoping period started 

when the NOI was published in 2010. 

This proposal has been listed on the 

Tongass National Forest Schedule of 

Proposed Actions since January, 2011. 

There is an opportunity to submit new 

or additional comments for 45 days after 

publication of this Corrected NOI. 

Comments submitted previously will be 

considered in the analysis. 

Public scoping meetings were held in 

Petersburg and Wrangell, Alaska, on 

January 11 and 13, 2011, respectively. 

An updated scoping document has been 

posted on the Tongass National Forest 

public Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/ 

r10/tongass/projects/projects.shtml, and 

a project update letter will be mailed 

out to those who previously 

commented. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such manner that they are useful to the 

agency’s preparation of the 

environmental impact statement. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. Comments received in 

response to this solicitation, including 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be part of the public 

record. Comments submitted 

anonymously will also be accepted and 

considered. 

Dated: March 5, 2012. 

Forrest Cole, 

Forest Supervisor, Tongass National Forest. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5982 Filed 3–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

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