11414 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 48 / Wednesday, March 12, 1997 / Notices

DATES: Input concerning issues with the

Proposed Action must be received by

March 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Direct written input and

questions about the Proposed Action

and Environmental Impact Statement to

the Forest Supervisor, Tahoe National

Forest, P.O. Box 6003, Nevada City, CA.

95959–6003. Telephone (916)265–4531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Howard Carlson, Project Leader, Nevada

City Ranger District, Tahoe National

Forest, P.O. Box 6003, Nevada City, CA.

95959–6003. Telephone (916)265–4531.

SUPPEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS

will tier to the Tahoe National Forest

Land and Resource Management Plan

and Forest Plan EIS. The purpose of the

Proposed Action is four-fold.

1. Address public concerns about

potential destruction of private and

public lands due to uncontrolled

wildfires.

2. Improve the existing state of the

forested areas in such a manner that

wildlife within the area will have better

forage, habitat, cover, and migration

corridors.

3. Improve the overall health of the

timber stands by removing undesirable

understory and other weakened or highrisk trees.

4. Provide forest products for the

forest products industry.

Public Scoping Process: A letter

describing the Proposed Action was

mailed to a list of interested parties on

January 9, 1997. An article describing

the project and soliciting information/

concerns from the public was published

in the ‘‘The Union’’ newspaper in Grass

Valley, CA. On February 18, 1997. The

Tahoe National Forest plans to issue a

scoping letter to all interested publics in

March, 1997. A public meeting with

potentially interested parties and

specialists occurred on February 22,

1997.

The comment period on the draft

environmental impact statement will be

45 days from the date the

Environmental Protection Agency

publishes the notice of availability in

the Federal Register.

The Forest Service believes, at this

early stage, it is important to give

reviewers notice of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of a draft EIS must structure

their participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so the it is

meaningful and alerts an agency to the

reviewer’s position and contentions.

‘‘Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.

v. NRDC’’, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978).

Also, environmental objections that

could be raised at the draft EIS stage but

that are not raised until after completion

of the final EIS 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 45-

day comment period on the draft EIS 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 EIS.

To assist the Forest Service in

identifying and considering issues and

concerns on the Proposed Action,

comments on the draft EIS should be as

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 EIS or the merits

of the alternatives formulated and

discussed in the statement. (Reviewers

may wish to refer to the Council on

Environmental Quality Regulations for

implementing the procedural provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing

these points.)

A draft EIS is expected to be available

for agency and public review by April

1997. A final EIS is expected to be

completed by June 1997 and

documented by a Record of Decision.

The responsible official for the EIS

and decision is John H. Skinner, Forest

Supervisor, Tahoe National Forest, P.O.

Box 6003, Nevada City, CA 95959–6003.

Dated: March 4, 1997.

John H. Skinner,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 97–6138 Filed 3–11–97; 8:45am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA

Iron Range Livestock Exchange, Inc.;

Aitkin, Minnesota; Correction

A notice of the posting of certain

stockyards listing their facility number,

name, and location was published in the

Federal Register on February 7, 1997,

(62 FR 5795). This notice is to correct

the posting number assigned to Iron

Range Livestock Exchange, Inc., to read

MN–192.

Done at Washington, D.C., this 4th day of

March 1997.

Daniel L. Van Ackeren,

Director, Livestock Marketing Division,

Packers and Stockyards Programs.

[FR Doc. 97–6097 Filed 3–11–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY

NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR

COMMISSION

Blackstone River Valley National

Heritage Corridor; Notice of Meeting

Notice is hereby given in accordance

with Section 552b of Title 5, United

States Code, that a meeting of the

Blackstone River Valley National

Heritage Corridor Commission will be

held on Thursday, March 27, 1997.

The Commission was established

pursuant to Public Law 99–647. The

purpose of the Commission is to assist

federal, state and local authorities in the

development and implementation of an

integrated resource management plan

for those lands and waters within the

Corridor.

The meeting will convene at 7:00 p.m.

in the Auditorium of Valley Resource,

Inc., 1595 Mendon Road, Cumberland,

RI for the following reasons:

1. Update on Cumberland Projects

2. Welcome Workshops; The Plan

3. Commission Business

It is anticipated that about twenty

people will be able to attend the session

in addition to the Commission

members.

Interested persons may make oral or

written presentations to the Commission

or file written statements. Such requests

should be made prior to the meeting to:

Susan K. Moore, Executive Director,

Blackstone River Valley National

Heritage Corridor Commission, One

Depot Square, Woonsocket, RI 02895,

Tel.: (401) 762-0250.

Further information concerning this

meeting may be obtained from Susan K.

Moore, Executive Director of the

Commission at the aforementioned

address.

Susan K. Moore,

Executive Director, BRVNHCC.

[FR Doc. 97–5624 Filed 3–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission For OMB Review;

Comment Request

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for