Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 2015 / Notices 8845 

documentation showing that the person 

was engaged in the production or 

importation of sorghum from January 1, 

2011, through December 31, 2014, 

where the referendum will be 

conducted, counting and reporting 

results, and disposition of the forms and 

records. Since the referendum will be 

conducted primarily at the county FSA 

offices, FSA employees will assist AMS 

by determining eligibility, counting 

requests, and reporting results. 

Pursuant to the Act, USDA is 

conducting the required referendum 

from March 23, 2015 through April 21, 

2015. Form LS–379 may be requested in 

person, by mail, or by facsimile from 

March 23, 2015 through April 21, 2015. 

Form LS–379 may also be obtained 

via the Internet at: http://

www.ams.usda.gov/

lsmarketingprograms during the same 4- 

week period. Eligible voters would vote 

at the FSA office where FSA maintains 

and processes the person’s, 

corporation’s, or other entity’s 

administrative farm records. For the 

person, corporation, or other entity 

eligible to vote that does not participate 

in FSA programs, the opportunity to 

vote would be provided at the FSA 

office serving the county where the 

person, corporation, or other entity 

owns or rents land. 

Voters can determine the location of 

county FSA offices by contacting (1) the 

nearest FSA office, (2) the State FSA 

office, or (3) through an online search of 

FSA’s Web site at: http://

www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/default.asp. 

From the options available on this Web 

site select ‘‘State Offices,’’ click on your 

State, select ‘‘County Offices,’’ and click 

on the map to select a county. 

Form LS–379 and supporting 

documentation may be returned in 

person, by mail, or facsimile to the 

appropriate county FSA office. Form 

LS–379 and accompanying 

documentation returned in person or by 

facsimile, must be received in the 

appropriate FSA office prior to the close 

of business on April 21, 2015. Form LS– 

379 and accompanying documentation 

returned by mail must be postmarked no 

later than midnight of April 21, 2015, 

and received in the county FSA office 

by close of business on April 28, 2015. 

In accordance with Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), 

the information collection requirements 

have been approved under OMB 

number 0581–0093. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411–7425. 

Dated: February 11, 2015. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03392 Filed 2–18–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

San Juan National Forest; Colorado; 

Weminuche Landscape Grazing 

Analysis 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service intends to 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement to analyze the impacts of the 

proposal to continue to authorize term 

livestock grazing permit(s) on all or 

portions of the Weminuche Landscape 

in a manner that moves resource 

conditions toward desired on-theground conditions and is consistent 

with Forest Plan standards and 

guidelines. The Environmental Impact 

Statement will be prepared pursuant to 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

and agency policy. The analysis area 

encompasses approximately 167,000 

acres on six active allotments and seven 

vacant allotments. The project area is 

located northeast of Durango, Colorado; 

from northern Missionary Ridge east 

through the Weminuche Wilderness to 

the Pine River; in Townships 36–40 

North, Ranges 4–9 West, N.M.P.M., and 

is within the Columbine Ranger District, 

San Juan National Forest, Colorado. 

The proposed action is designed to 

increase the flexibility of livestock 

grazing systems through adaptive 

management, which will allow quicker 

and more effective response to problem 

areas when they are revealed. Problems 

will be revealed through the use of short 

and long term monitoring. Application 

of adaptive management practices 

should result in improved soil, 

watershed, and vegetative conditions, 

and healthier wildlife populations. 

DATES: If you have supplementary 

comments which meet the description 

in Scoping Process, below, they must be 

received by March 23, 2015. The draft 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

expected about April 2015, and the final 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

expected about July 2015. A decision is 

expected about November 2015. 

ADDRESSES: If you have supplementary 

comments which meet the description 

in Scoping Process, below, send them in 

written form to Matt Janowiak, 

Columbine District Ranger, P.O. Box 

439, Bayfield, CO 81122. Comments 

may also be sent via email to commentsrocky-mountain-san-juan-columbine@

fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to 970–884– 

2428. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jared Whitmer, Interdisciplinary Team 

Leader at 970–884–1416. 

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: 

Preceding EA Process 

A previous National Environmental 

Policy Act process, including public 

input and impacts analysis, has been 

conducted for this project under an 

Environmental Assessment. Due to 

scientific uncertainty regarding disease 

transmission between livestock and 

wildlife, and due to uncertainty of 

degree of impacts to wildlife population 

viability, a Finding of No Significant 

Impact could not be reached for the 

Environmental Assessment. This 

resulted in the initiation of this 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose of this action is 

administer term livestock grazing 

permits on all or portions of the 

Weminuche Landscape in a manner that 

moves resource conditions toward 

desired on-the-ground conditions and is 

consistent with Forest Plan standards 

and guidelines. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

Alternatives to be included in the 

Environmental Impact Statement are: 1. 

No Grazing, 2. Current Management, 3. 

Adaptive Management with Forage 

Reserves, and 4. Proposed Action, 

Adaptive Management with Vacant 

Allotment Closures. 

Responsible Official 

Columbine District Ranger. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Responsible Official will decide 

whether or not to authorize term grazing 

permit(s) on all or portions of the 

Weminuche Landscape, and if grazing is 

authorized, what design criteria and 

monitoring will be required. The 

Responsible Official will also document 

the decision and reasons for the 

decision in a Record of Decision. This 

decision will be subject to Forest 

Service predecisional objection 

procedures (36 CFR part 218, Subparts 

A and B). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
8846 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 2015 / Notices 

Scope of Issues 

Extensive prior public involvement 

has resulted in the following key issues 

to be analyzed in the Environmental 

Impact Statement: 1. Impacts of grazing 

on soil and water, 2. Impacts of grazing 

on vegetation, including riparian areas 

and wildflowers, 3. Impacts of grazing 

on recreational experiences, including 

grazing in a Wilderness, and hiker 

interactions with guard dogs, 4. Impacts 

of grazing on wildlife, including habitat 

damage and potential disease 

transmission, 5. Impacts of grazing on 

socio-economics of the local 

communities, and 6. Impacts of grazing 

on cultural resources. 

Scoping Process 

Written comments that were 

submitted during scoping and comment 

periods for the development of the 

preceding Environmental Assessment 

will still be considered and are still part 

of the project record. The Forest Service 

requests that you do not resubmit the 

same comments. Because of extensive 

public input during the Environmental 

Assessment process, the scope of issues 

and alternatives to be analyzed in the 

Environmental Impact Statement have 

already been well examined and the 

Forest Service is considering this prior 

public input as meeting the primary 

requirement for scoping for the 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

This notice of intent initiates a 

supplementary scoping process, which 

is intended to provide the opportunity 

for the public to comment on the scope 

of issues and alternatives to be analyzed 

in the Environmental Impact Statement 

only if there is new or different 

information that has not been 

previously considered. To determine 

whether your comment or concern has 

previously been submitted, please read 

the Scoping Summary and Response to 

Comments documents found on the 

project Web page at www.fs.usda.gov/

projects/sanjuan/landmanagement/

projects, or call Jared Whitmer. 

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. 

Information regarding this project is 

available at the Columbine Ranger 

District office in Bayfield, Colorado, and 

on the San Juan National Forest Web 

site noted above. Public meetings may 

be scheduled at a later date to provide 

further information as needed. The 

dates of any public meetings will be 

announced by press releases in local 

papers, direct mailings, emails, and will 

be posted on the San Juan National 

Forest Web site. 

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. 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. 

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

Kara L. Chadwick, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03469 Filed 2–18–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Lewis and Clark National Forest, 

Montana, Castle Mountains 

Restoration Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Lewis and Clark National 

Forest (LCNF) is going to prepare an 

environmental impact statement for 

vegetation management actions in the 

Castle Mountains located in Central 

Montana. The project is designed to 

meet the desired condition of restoring 

forest and grasslands ecosystems to 

promote landscape resiliency over time 

for multiple resource values while 

minimizing the threat of high intensity 

wildfire within the Willow Creek 

municipal watershed and areas of other 

valued resources and infrastructure in 

the 69,610 acre Castle Mountains 

landscape. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

March 23, 2015. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected September 2015 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected March 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Carol Hatfield White Sulphur Springs 

District Ranger, Lewis & Clark National 

Forest, 204 W. Folsom, P.O. Box A, 

White Sulphur Springs, MT 59645. 

Comments may also be sent via email to 

comments-northern-lewisclark-whitesulphur-sprg@fs.fed.us, or via facsimile 

to 406–547–6023. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such a way that they are useful to the 

Agency’s preparation of the EIS. 

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 for this 

proposed action. Comments submitted 

anonymously will be accepted and 

considered, however. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Casselli Project Team Lead, at 406–791– 

7723. 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 project is to move 

toward a resilient forest and grassland 

ecosystem that will mimic a more 

historic natural fire regime to reduce the 

future threat of high intensity wildfire 

and the associated hazards to life, 

valued resources and infrastructure. In 

order to achieve this, there is a need to 

create a mosaic of vegetation and fuel 

structure more resilient to disturbance 

over time that includes improving the 

overall diversity in age classes, species, 

and meadow openings across the 

landscape. The action will provide for 

safer, more effective fire suppression 

actions when needed, reduce threats to 

forest users, to private residences, 

power corridors, agency infrastructure, 

water quality of Willow Creek and to 

valued wildlife habitat. These actions 

will reduce the probability of postwildfire watershed impacts to the 

Willow Creek municipal watershed and 

associated costs. 

Proposed Action 

Approximately 22,124 acres are 

proposed for treatment which includes 

a combination of fuels reduction 

thinning, commercial harvest of trees, 

non-commercial thinning, and 

prescribed fire. Mechanical and/or hand 

treatment methods would be used to 

accomplish the treatment objectives. 

Proposed treatment activities include: 

roughly 1,911 acres of Improvement 

Thinning; 7,329 acres of Prescribed Fire; 

313 acres of Aspen Restoration; 277 

acres of Precommercial Thinning; 856 

acres of White Bark Pine Restoration; 

8,681 acres of meadow Restoration; 

1,519 acres of Douglas-fir Thinning; and 

1,236 acres of Lodgepole Pine 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES