This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

5080 

Vol. 80, No. 20 

Friday, January 30, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Sequoia National Forest, California; 

Tobias Forest Ecosystem Restoration 

Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service proposes 

ecological restoration in the Tobias 

Forest Ecosystem Restoration Project 

(Tobias Project) by encouraging a 

healthy and diverse forest ecosystem 

that is resilient to the effects of wildfire, 

drought, disease, and other 

disturbances. The Tobias Project is 

located in the Greenhorn Mountains on 

the Western Divide Ranger District, 

between Alta Sierra and Johnsondale in 

Tulare County, California. This project 

would commercially thin stands of 

mature trees, smaller than 30 inches in 

diameter at breast height (dbh), to 

increase heterogeneity and resilience on 

1,290 acres. Hand thinning or 

mastication of immature trees and 

prescribed burning are proposed on 

4,130. To restore the historic species 

composition, areas selected for thinning 

would favor Jeffrey and sugar pines, 

oak, and other shade intolerant species. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

March 2, 2015. The draft environmental 

impact statement is expected March 

2015 and the final environmental 

impact statement is expected August 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

George Powell, Acting District Ranger, 

Western Divide Ranger District, 32588 

Hwy. 190, Springville, CA 93265. 

Comments may also be sent via email to 

comments-pacificsouthwestseguoia@fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to 

(559) 539–2067. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

O’Dell Tucker, Planner, Western Divide 

Ranger District, 32588 Hwy. 190, 

Springville, CA 93265. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Rely Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On August 12, 2014, a Notice of Intent 

to prepare an environmental impact 

statement for the Tobias Forest 

Ecosystem Restoration Project was 

published in the Federal Register, Vol. 

79, No. 133, on pages 47082 to 47083. 

The Forest Service after reviewing 

comments and initial analysis of the 

proposed action and additional 

alternatives has decided to amend the 

proposed action and issue a new Notice 

of Intent to prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS), for the Tobias 

Forest Ecosystem Restoration Project. 

This Notice of Intent gives the public an 

opportunity to review and comment on 

changes made to the proposed action. 

The publication of this Notice of Intent 

begins another scoping period for the 

environmental impact statement for the 

Tobias Project. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The changes to the initial proposed 

action would help the Tobias project 

better meet the purpose and need for the 

project. The purpose of the project is to 

restore and maintain the forests 

throughout the project area to promote 

a healthy, diverse forest ecosystem that 

is resilient to the effects of wildfire, 

drought, disease, and other 

disturbances. There is a need to increase 

diversity in age, density, and stand 

structure; modify tree species 

composition to favor oaks and pines 

(Jeffrey and sugar) over incense-cedar 

and white fir; modify fuel conditions to 

reduce the risk of uncharacteristically 

large, stand-replacing fires; improve 

wildlife habitat structure for resting, 

roosting, denning, and nesting purposes 

for forest-dependent wildlife species; 

support local economies with 

sustainable and cost-effective use of any 

byproducts of project implementation; 

improve watershed conditions by 

decommissioning some roads when the 

project concludes, in addition to routine 

maintenance of existing roads. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action would use 

ground skidding and skyline yarding to 

commercially thin in stands of mature 

trees smaller than 30 inches in diameter 

at breast height (dbh) to increase 

heterogeneity and resilience on 1,290 

acres. Hand thinning of immature trees 

less than 10 inches dbh is proposed for 

1,280 acres. Mastication is proposed on 

2,400 acres of small, immature trees. 

The proposed mastication treatments 

would be implemented on slopes up to 

35 percent. Prescibed fire would be 

introduced on the landscape after 

thinning and mastication are completed 

to reduce surface fuels and promote 

natural regeneration of species 

indigenous to the project area. 

Underburning is proposed for 450 acres 

in the home range core areas (HRCA) for 

the California spotted owl. Large snags 

and large woody debris would be 

protected. Riparian areas and meadows 

would be protected and improved. 

Approximately eight (8) miles of road 

decommissioning is proposed to 

improve the watershed condition, 

stream habitat, and water quality. The 

proposal also includes 450 acres of 

fuelbreak treatment along ridgelines. 

Possible Alternatives 

In addition to the proposed action, the 

EIS will evaluate the required No Action 

Alternative, an alternative that uses 

non-commercial treatments, and an 

alternative that is consistent with the 

interim guidelines for California spotted 

owl (CSO) or subsequent CSO 

Conservation Strategy. 

Responsible Official 

The responsible official is Kevin B. 

Elliott, Forest Supervisor, Sequoia 

National Forest, 1839 South Newcomb 

Street, Porterville, CA 93257. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The responsible official will decide 

whether to adopt and implement the 

proposed action, an alternative to the 

proposed action, or take no action with 

respect to the Tobias Forest Ecosystem 

Restoration project. 

Scoping Process 

The Forest Service has decided to 

analyze this project under an EIS; 

therefore any scoping has to be 

published in the Federal Register as a 

Notice of Intent (NOI). This NOI will 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 20 / Friday, January 30, 2015 / Notices 5081 

initiate another 30-day scoping process, 

which guides the development of the 

EIS. It is important that reviewers 

provide their comments at such times 

and in such a 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. If reviewers commented 

during one or both of the previous 

scoping and NOI periods, and your 

comments are the same, you do not 

need to comment again; your previous 

comments will be considered during the 

preparation of the environmental impact 

statement and you will be eligible to file 

an objection under the 36 CFR part 218 

regulations. 

Specific written comments are 

defined as comments ‘‘. . . within the 

scope of the proposed action, have a 

direct relationship to the proposed 

action, and must include supporting 

reasons for the responsible official to 

consider.’’ (36 CFR 218.2). Submission 

of timely, specific written comments is 

a prerequisite for eligibility to file an 

objection under the 36 CFR part 218 

regulations. 

Comment Requested 

This project will follow the new 

objection procedures as directed by 36 

CFR part 218. The objection process 

provides an opportunity for members of 

the public who have participated in 

opportunities for public participation 

provided throughout the planning 

process to have any unresolved 

concerns receive an independent review 

by the Forest Service prior to a final 

decision being made by the responsible 

official. Only those who provided 

specific written comments during 

opportunities for public comment are 

eligible to file an objection. 

Comments received in response to 

this solicitation, including the names 

and addresses of those who comment, 

are part of the public record on this 

proposed action. Comments submitted 

anonymously will be accepted and 

considered, however anonymous 

comments will not provide the Agency 

with the ability to provide the 

respondent with subsequent 

environmental documents. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21. 

Dated: January 26, 2015. 

Kevin B. Elliott, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01775 Filed 1–29–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–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 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Annual Wholesale Trade 

Survey. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0195. 

Form Number(s): SA–42, SA–42A, 

SA–42(MSBO), SA–42A(MSBO), SA– 

42(AGBR), SA–42A(AGBR). 

Type of Request: Reinstatement, with 

change, of an expired collection. 

Number of Respondents: 7,210. 

Average Hours per Response: 30 

minutes. 

Burden Hours: 3,663. 

Needs and Uses: The Annual 

Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS) covers 

employer firms with establishments 

located in the United States and 

classified in wholesale trade as defined 

by the North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). This 

sector comprises two main types of 

wholesalers: (1) Merchant wholesalers 

that sell goods on their own account 

(including sales offices and sales 

branches, except retail stores, 

maintained by manufacturing, refining, 

or mining enterprises apart from their 

plants or mines for the purpose of 

marketing their products) and (2) 

electronic markets, agents, and brokers 

that arrange sales for purchases for 

others generally for a commission or 

fees. 

Respondents are separated into three 

classifications: (1) Merchant wholesale 

establishments, excluding 

manufacturers’ sales branches and 

offices; (2) manufacturers’ sales 

branches and offices; and (3) agents, 

brokers, and business-to-business 

electronic markets. The survey requests 

firms to provide annual sales, annual ecommerce sales, year-end inventories 

held inside or outside of the United 

States, method of inventory valuation, 

total operating expenses, purchases, 

and, for selected industries, 

commissions, and sales on their own 

account. These data are collected to 

provide a sound statistical basis for the 

formation of policy by various 

government agencies, as well as to serve 

as a benchmark for the estimates 

compiled from the Monthly Wholesale 

Trade Survey [OMB No. 0607–0190]. 

Results will be available, at the United 

States summary level, for selected 

wholesale trade, and/or manufacturer’s 

sales branches and offices and agents, 

brokers, representatives and electronic 

markets, industries approximately 

fifteen months after the end of the 

reference year. 

Every 5 years, AWTS requests data on 

detailed operating expenses. During the 

next three years, detailed operating 

expenses will not be collected. The last 

time AWTS collected detailed operating 

expenses was in 2013 for the 2012 

survey year. The plan is to reinstate 

these questions in 2018 as part of the 

2017 AWTS data collection. Estimates 

are published based on NAICS, which 

has been widely adopted throughout 

both the public and private sectors. 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA) uses the data to estimate the 

change in private inventories 

component of gross domestic product 

(GDP) and output in both the 

benchmark and annual input-output (I– 

O) accounts and GDP by industry. Data 

on sales taxes, which are collected on 

this survey quinquennially, are also 

used to prepare estimates of GDP by 

industry and to derive industry output 

for the I–O accounts. Data on detailed 

operating expenses, which will now be 

collected on this survey quinquennially, 

are used to produce national estimates 

of value added, gross output, and 

intermediate inputs and serve as a 

benchmark for the annual industry 

accounts, which provide the control 

totals for the GDP-by-state accounts. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses 

the data as input to its Producer Price 

Indexes and in developing productivity 

measurements. Private businesses use 

the estimates in computing business 

activity indexes. 

Other government agencies and 

businesses use the data to satisfy a 

variety of public and business needs 

such as economic market analysis, 

company performance, and forecasting 

future demands. 

In an effort to migrate our economic 

program toward online reporting and 

reduce paper usage, the AWTS 

encourages respondents to use the 

option of returning their data via the 

Census Bureau’s online reporting 

system (Centurion). The Centurion 

system is designed to be secure and 

flexible for users. It allows respondents 

to complete and file in one session or to 

save and return over multiple sessions. 

For the first time during the 2013 

processing year, our initial mailing 

contained a letter and flyer that 

provided instructions on how to report 

data and receive help online, and did 

not include a paper questionnaire. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES