Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 204 / Friday, October 20, 2000 / Notices 63055

household fuel by interviewing

residents in rural areas to determine the

amount of wood they used for fuel and

the frequency of wood harvests from

farm woodlots to supply the demand for

fuelwood. These surveys were

conducted about every 5 to 10 years.

In 1973, fossil fuel prices began to

increase and, as a result, in the 1970s

and 1980s, more households began to

use wood as a source for primary or

secondary heating. In 1986, an

estimated 5 million households (6

percent) had a working wood stove and

19 million (21 percent) had a working

fireplace. Overall, the use of wood as a

residential and industrial energy source

in the United States tripled in the last

25 years. The frequency of the surveys

and the survey data did not reflect the

actual use of wood for heating and

energy purposes.

Similarly, production of round and

split wood posts for farm fencing and

other purposes declined from an

estimated 900 million posts in 1920 to

less than 60 million today. Even though

use of round and split wood posts has

declined, it is important to continue to

monitor the demand for these products

and to assess the impact the demand for

the products has on the renewable forest

resources.

Description of Information Collection

The following describes the

information collection to be reinstated:

Title: Residential Fuelwood and Post

Assessment, Any State, Year.

OMB Number: 0596–0009.

Expiration Date of Approval: July

2000.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of an

information collection previously

approved by the Office of Management

and Budget.

Abstract: Forest Service personnel at

the Northeastern Forest Experiment

Station (Connecticut, Delaware,

Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,

Rhode Island, Vermont, and West

Virginia) and North Central Research

Station (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

and Wisconsin) will evaluate the

collected information to determine the

level of renewable resources used for

fuelwood and fence posts by residential

households and logging contractors. The

collected information will enable land

managers to determine what timber to

sell for use as fuelwood or fence posts,

how well the local forested land will

meet the demand for these timber

products, and how to project future

demands on these renewable natural

resources for fuelwood and fence posts.

This survey also will enable Forest

Service personnel to determine the

types of facilities households use to heat

their homes with wood, such as wood

burning stoves or fireplaces; the types of

land from which the wood will be cut

(forestland, such as private forests, State

forests, National Forests, or nonforestland, such as wooded strips,

narrow windbreaks, urban areas, or yard

trees); the condition of the wood that

will be cut, that is whether the trees will

be dead or alive.

The Forest Inventory and Analysis

Work Units at the Northeastern and

North Central Research Stations of the

Forest Service will collect the

information about the quantities and

types of trees cut for fuelwood and fence

posts in a given year from a sampling of

residential and logging contractors

located within the geographical area of

the Stations. The agency will conduct

the survey through telephone

interviews.

Respondents will be asked questions

that include an estimate of the annual

fuelwood consumption in a specific

State; the types of burning facilities in

the State, such as wood burning stoves

or fireplaces; the annual fuelwood and

post production in the State; the annual

fuelwood and post production from

growing stock (forestland trees of

commercial value) and non-growing

stock sources (cull trees on forest land

or trees from non forestland); the annual

fuelwood and post production by tree

species; the county from which the

fuelwood or posts come; and the

landowner class from which the

fuelwood or posts come, such as public,

private, or forest industry lands.

Data gathered in this information

collection are not available from other

sources.

Estimate of Annual Burden: 0.07

hours.

Type of Respondents: Residential

households and logging contractors.

Estimated Annual Number of

Respondents: 2,919.

Estimated Annual Number of

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 204.

Comment Is Invited

The agency invites comments on the

following: (a) Whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the stated purposes and the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information will have practical or

scientific 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 respondents, including the use of

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology.

Use of Comments

All comments received in response to

this notice, including names and

addresses when provided, will become

a matter of public record. Comments

will be summarized and included in the

request for Office of Management and

Budget approval.

Dated: October 11, 2000.

Robert Lewis, Jr.,

Deputy Chief for Research & Development.

[FR Doc. 00–27041 Filed 10–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Southwest Oregon Province

Interagency Executive Committee

(PIEC) Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Southwest Oregon PIEC

Advisory Committee will meet on

October 31, 2000 in North Bend,

Oregon, at the Coos Bay Bureau of Land

Management Office at 1300 Airport

Lane. The meeting will begin at 9:00

a.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m.

Agenda items to be covered include: (1)

Province Implementation Monitoring

2000; (2) Public Comment; (3) Province

Large Wood Implementation; (4) Rogue

Basin Technical Team Update; (5) BLM

Third-Year Monitoring Evaluation; and

(6) Current issues as perceived by

Advisory Committee members.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct questions regarding this meeting

to Roger Evenson, Province Advisory

Committee Coordinator, USDA, Forest

Service, Umpqua National Forest, 2900

NW Stewart Parkway, Roseburg, Oregon

97470, phone (541) 957–3344.

Dated: October 16, 2000.

Don Ostby,

Designated Federal Official.

[FR Doc. 00–26975 Filed 10–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M