65290 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 1, 2000 / Notices

may not equal the product of the annual

number of responses multiplied by the

average reporting burden per response.)

All responses to this notice will be

summarized and included in the request

for OMB approval. All comments will

also become a matter of public record.

Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of

October 2000.

Bobby R. Acord,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 00–28006 Filed 10–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

National Drought Council

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of interim meeting.

SUMMARY: The National Drought Policy

Commission recommended that a

National Drought Council (Council) be

established to coordinate activities

between and among Federal Agencies,

States, local governments, tribes and

others. The Council was established

through a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU). The first meeting

of the Council will be held November 9,

2000. All meetings are open to the

public; however, seating is limited and

available on a first-come basis.

DATES: The Council will meet on

November 9, 2000, from 9:00 a.m. to

11:30 a.m. in Room 221–A, Jamie L.

Whitten Building, 12th and Jefferson

Drive, SW, Washington, D.C. and from

12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Room 4960–S of

the United States Department of

Agriculture South Building at 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, D.C. All times noted are

Eastern Standard Time. The first part of

the meeting will be devoted to the

organization of the Council. The

remainder of the meeting will be

dedicated to establishing a work plan

and other Council business.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Leona Dittus, Executive Director,

Interim National Drought Council,

United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA), 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Room 6701–S, Stop 0501,

Washington, D.C., 20250–0501 or

telephone (202) 720–3168; FAX (202)

720–9688; internet

leona.dittus@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the MOU is to establish a

more comprehensive, integrated,

coordinated approach toward reducing

the impacts of drought through better

preparedness, monitoring and

prediction, risk management, and

response to drought emergencies in the

United States. The Council will

encourage cooperation and coordination

between and among Federal, State,

local, and tribal governments and

others, relative to preparation for and

response to serious drought

emergencies. The Council is not a

source of consensus advice and

therefore is not subject to the Federal

Advisory Committee Act. Activities of

the Council include providing

coordination to: (a) resolve drought

related issues, (b) exchange information

about lessons learned, and (c) improve

public awareness of the need for

drought planning and mitigation

measures. The Council will be cochaired by the Secretary of Agriculture

or his designee, and a non-Federal cochair shall be selected from among the

members who are not Federal officers or

employees. Administrative staff support

essential to the execution of the

Council’s responsibilities shall be

provided by USDA. The Council will

continue in effect for 5 years or until

Congress establishes a permanent

National Drought Council.

If special accommodations are

required, please contact Leona Dittus, at

the address specified above, by COB

November 7, 2000.

Signed at Washington, DC on October 26,

2000.

George Arredondo,

Administrator, Farm Service Agency.

[FR Doc. 00–27988 Filed 10–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Revised Land and Resource

Management Plan for the Hoosier

National Forest; Brown, Crawford,

Dubois, Jackson, Lawrence, Martin,

Monroe, Orange, and Perry Counties,

Indiana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare

environmental impact statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service

intends to prepare an environmental

impact statement for revising the

Hoosier National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan (Forest

Plan) pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)

and USDA Forest Service National

Forest System Land and Resource

Management Planning regulations. The

revised Forest Plan will supersede the

current Forest Plan, which the regional

forester approved September 17, 1985,

and has been amended 4 times. This

notice describes the focus areas of

change, the estimated dates for filing the

EIS, the information concerning public

participation, and the names and

addresses of the responsible agency

official and the individual who can

provide additional information.

DATES: We need to receive your

comments on this Notice of Intent in

writing by January 31, 2001. The Draft

EIS should be available for public

review by December 2003. The Final EIS

and revised Forest Plan should be

completed by December 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to:

NOI–FP Revision, Hoosier National

Forest, 811 Constitution Avenue,

Bedford, IN 47421, or direct electronic

mail to: ‘‘r9 hoosier website’’@fs.fed.us.

ATTN: Forest Plan Revision

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regis Terney, Forest Planner, at 812–

275–5987. TDD 812–275–7817; or direct

electronic mail to: ‘‘r9 hoosier

website’’@fs.fed.us, or access the forest

web page at www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier

Responsible Official: Robert T. Jacobs,

Regional Forester, Eastern Region, 310

W. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee,

Wisconsin 53203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Regional Forester for the Eastern Region

gives notice of the agency’s intent to

prepare an EIS to revise the Hoosier

National Forest Plan. The Regional

Forester approved the original Hoosier

National Forest Plan in September 1985.

In April 1991, the Regional Forester

approved a significant amendment that

substantially replaced the 1985 Forest

Plan. This plan guides the overall

management of the Hoosier National

Forest. We make six primary decisions

in the Forest Plan:

1. Forest-wide multiple-use goals and

objectives

2. Forest-wide management

requirements

3. Management area direction

4. Lands suited and not suited for

resource use and production (timber

management etc.)

5. Monitoring and evaluation

requirements

6. Recommendations to Congress (such

as wilderness), if any

By the requirements of the National

Forest Management Act, national forests

must revise the Forest Plan at least

every 15 years (U.S.C. 1604[f][5]). At

this time, there are two reasons to revise

the 1991 Forest Plan: (1) It is nearly 15

years since the Regional Forester

approved the original plan, and (2)

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 1, 2000 / Notices 65291

agency goals and objectives, along with

other national guidance for strategic

plans and programs, have changed. The

agency Government Performance and

Results Act Strategic Plan (2000) has

shifted the course of agency program

emphasis to sustainability.

In many south-central Indiana

communities, people expect important

products from managed forests such as:

timber for wood products, minerals, and

game species for hunting. People also

value the opportunities forests provide

for enjoying recreation, solitude, and

scenic beauty. The Hoosier National

Forest is integral to the sense of place

for communities across south-central

Indiana. When making decisions in the

revised plan, we would examine

economic and social impacts to local

communities and at a broader regional

level, as well as biological impacts.

We propose to narrow the scope of

revising the Forest Plan, focusing on

topics identified as being most critically

in need of change. These were identified

through public comment and through

monitoring and evaluation:

Plan Goals: We propose changing the

major plan goals to:

• Conservation of Endangered and

Threatened Species Habitat;

• Maintain and Restore Sustainable

Ecosystems;

• Maintain and Restore Watershed

Health;

• Protect our Cultural Heritage;

• Provide for a Visually Pleasing

Landscape;

• Provide Recreation Use in Harmony

with Natural Communities;

• Provide a Useable Landbase; and,

• Provide for Human and Community

Development.

We propose to add the goal of

conservation of endangered species and

threatened species habitat to further

demonstrate our commitment to the

Endangered Species Act of 1973. We

propose to change our current goal of

protect and manage ecosystems to

maintain and restore sustainable

ecosystems to adapt to the sustainable

forest management strategy of the USDA

Forest Service Natural Resource

Agenda. We propose to add the goal to

maintain and restore watershed health.

We believe it is important to reaffirm

the historic mission of the Hoosier

National Forest for watershed protection

and restoration.

Revision Topics:

1. Watershed Health

2. Ecosystem Sustainability

3. Recreation Management

4. Roadless Area Inventory and

Evaluation

5. Wild and Scenic, and Recreational

River Recommendations

6. Scenery Management

Additional detail on the Revision

Topics is available on request, in the

form of the document titled ‘‘Need for

Change, Description of Proposal for

Revising the Forest Plan of the Hoosier

National Forest’’. You are encouraged to

review this additional document before

commenting on the Notice of Intent.

You may request the additional

information by calling the phone

number listed above, by writing or emailing to the address listed in this

notice, or by accessing the forest web

page at www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier.

We propose the following direction or

actions:

• Identify desired conditions for

healthy watersheds and riparian areas;

• Add direction to protect and restore

watershed health;

• Update riparian guidance;

• Add desired conditions to sustain a

wide range of habitat to provide for

population viability of plant and animal

populations and existing biotic

communities within the capability of

the Hoosier National Forest;

• Add in ecosystem approach that

focuses on ecosystem integrity to

complement the focus on population

viability in assessment and

management;

• Complete a population viability

assessment;

• Maintain our current policy to

allow a full range of vegetative

management practices in Management

Area 2.8;

• Revise the management indicator

list consistent with planning

regulations;

• Evaluate the potential Research

Natural Areas using ecosystem-based

selection criteria;

• Maintain our current policy

precluding Off-Road Vehicle use on the

forest (all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles,

and four-wheel-drive trucks);

• Update the forest roadless inventory

consistent with Forest Service policy;

• Follow the national framework to

implement roadless areas initiative;

• Replace the Visual Quality

Objectives with the Scenery

Management System; and,

• Update the monitoring plan.

Proposed New Planning Regulations

The Department of Agriculture

expects to publish the final planning

rule during the fall of 2000. The

proposed rule directs how to conduct

forest planning. Given the information

in the draft rule and the projected

timelines, the Hoosier National Forest

Plan revision is expected to be finished

under the new planning rule. When the

new planning rule is published we will

evaluate the changes in analysis

standards and we will likely publish an

amended notice of intent.

Range of Alternatives

We will consider a range of

alternatives when revising the Forest

Plan. The alternatives will address

different options to resolve issues over

the focus areas of change listed above

and to fulfill the purpose and need. A

‘‘no-action alternative’’ is required,

meaning that management would

continue under the existing Forest Plan.

Alternatives will provide different ways

to address and respond to issues

identified during the scoping process.

The alternatives will display different

mixes of recreation opportunities and

experiences. We will examine

alternatives that address the public’s

concerns for less timber harvest, for

greater timber harvest, and meeting

currently planned harvest levels. The

alternatives will display different mixes

of wildlife habitats across the forest. The

mix will vary by the objectives of the

particular alternative, though each

alternative will contain the habitat

necessary to maintain viable

populations of plant and animal species.

Management of roadless areas will vary

by the objectives of any particular

alternative, physical criteria for

evaluating each individual roadless

area, and public input.

We may make other minor changes,

particularly in the guidance chapter of

the Forest Plan, to reflect changes made

when addressing the above revision

topics. The USDA Forest Service

proposal does not include any

substantial changes to management area

allocations. In 1991, we decided the

basic philosophy of providing for plant

and animal communities guides our

forest management activities. As a

result, we would not revisit this

decision but would carry forward the

1991 plan amendment framework for

biological diversity conservation.

We are committed to participate in

statewide land management planning

and the use of State watershed

assessment results and coordination

efforts, such as best management

practices development for forest

management. We would consider

technical guidelines developed through

these processes when developing

guidance and will use the results of

watershed assessments.

Inviting Public Participation

We are now soliciting comments and

suggestions from federal agencies, state

and local governments, individuals, and

organizations on the scope of the

analysis to be included in the draft

65292 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 1, 2000 / Notices

environmental impact statement for the

revised Forest Plan (40 CFR 1501.7).

Comments should focus on (1) the

proposal for revising the Forest Plan (2)

possible alternatives for addressing

issues associated with the proposal and

(3) also identify any possible impacts

associated with the proposal based on

an individual’s civil rights (race, color,

national origin, age, religion, gender,

disability, political beliefs, sexual

orientation, marital or family status). We

will encourage public participation in

the environmental analysis and

decision-making process.

In fall 2000, we would release our

notice of intent and proposal. We will

have many types of public involvement

including: 60-day formal comment

period, public meetings, written

comments, website and e-mail.

In the years 2001 and 2002, we would

work on alternative development and

issue validation. We will have many

types of public involvement including:

public workshops, collaborative

meetings, written comments, website,

and e-mail.

In the years 2002 and 2003 we would

release our proposed revised Forest Plan

and a draft environmental impact

statement. We will have many types of

public involvement including 90-day

formal comment period, public

meetings, and written comments.

During 2004, we would release the

decision, final revised Forest Plan, final

environmental impact statement, and

record of decision. We will have

informational meetings to explain the

decision on final Forest Plan.

The Forest Service will host a series

of public meetings to (1) establish

multiple opportunities for the public to

generate ideas, concerns, and

alternatives, (2) present and clarify

proposed changes to the Forest Plan; (3)

describe ways that individuals can

respond to this Notice of Intent; and (4)

accept comments from the public on

this proposal for revising the Forest

Plan.

We will provide the public with

general notices on opportunities to

participate through mailings, news

releases, public meetings, and website

(www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier). In addition

to formal opportunities for public

comment, we will consider comments

received at any time throughout the

revision process.

Below is the schedule of initial

meetings based on publication of this

NOI. We intend to have the most

meetings in the first 30 days to give the

public time to gather information,

participate in meetings and then

formulate comments before the close of

the 60-day comment period. Additional

meetings will be scheduled as needed.

December 4, 2000—Senior Community

Center at 1369 Blue Bluff Road in

Martinsville, IN, 6 pm to 9 pm (EST)

December 7, 2000—Best Western Old

Capital Inn, on State Road 135 (exit

105 off of I–64) in Corydon, Indiana,

6 pm to 9 pm (EST)

Availability of Public Comment:

Comments received in response to this

solicitation, including names and

addresses of those who comment, will

be considered part of the public record

on this proposed action and will be

available for public inspection.

Comments submitted anonymously will

be accepted and considered; however,

those who submit anonymous

comments will not have standing to

appeal the subsequent decisions under

36 CFR parts 215 or 217.

Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR

1.27(d), any persons may request the

agency to withhold a submission from

the public record by showing how the

FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)

permits such confidentiality. Persons

requesting such confidentiality should

be aware that under FOIA

confidentiality may be granted in only

very limited circumstances, such as to

protect trade secrets.

The Forest Service will inform the

requester of the agency’s decision

regarding the request for confidentiality

and where the requester is denied, the

agency will return the submission and

notify the requester that the comments

may be resubmitted with or without

name and address within 90 days.

Release and Review of the Draft EIS:

The DEIS is expected to be filed with

the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and to be available for public

comment in 2003. At that time, the EPA

will publish a notice of availability in

the Federal Register. The comment

period on the DEIS will be 90 days from

the date the EPA publishes the notice of

availability in the Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, that it is important to give

reviewers notice of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of draft environmental impact

statements 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 Poser Corp. v.

NRDS, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also,

environmental objections that could be

raised at the draft environmental impact

statement stage but that are not raised

until after completion of the final

environmental impact statement 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.

1334, 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 90-

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 final

environmental impact statement.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the proposed action,

comments on the draft environmental

impact statement should be 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 draft

environmental impact statement or the

merits of the alternatives formulated

and discussed in the statement.

Reviewers may wish to refer to the

Council of Environmental Quality

Regulations (http://ceq.eh.doe.gov.nepa/

nepanet.htm) for implementing the

procedural provision of the National

Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR

1503.3 in addressing these points.

Dated: October 26, 2000.

Robert T. Jacobs,

Regional Forester.

[FR Doc. 00–27985 Filed 10–31–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Southwest Washington Provincial

Advisory Committee Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Southwest Washington

Provincial Advisory Committee will

meet on Wednesday, November 15,

2000, at the Gifford Pinchot National

Forest Office, located at 10600 NE 51st

Circle, Vancouver, Washington. The

meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and

continue until 4:15 p.m. The purpose of

the meeting is to: (1) Review the

National Roads Policy; (2) Discuss the

mission of the committee, and (3)

Provide for a Public Open Forum. All

Southwest Washington Provincial

Advisory Committee meetings are open

to the public. Interested citizens are

encouraged to attend. The ‘‘open forum’’

provides opportunity for the public to

bring issues, concerns, and discussion