21716 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 2014 / Notices 

2014, at podadmin@fas.usda.gov in 

order to receive the same consideration. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria: FAS follows the evaluation 

criteria set forth in § 1487.6 of the TASC 

regulations and in this Notice. 

2. Review and Selection Process: FAS 

will review proposals for eligibility and 

will evaluate each proposal against the 

criteria referred to above. The purpose 

of this review is to identify meritorious 

proposals, recommend an appropriate 

funding level for each proposal based 

upon these factors, and submit the 

proposals and funding 

recommendations to the Deputy 

Administrator, Office of Trade 

Programs. FAS may, when appropriate, 

request the assistance of other U.S. 

government subject area experts in 

evaluating the merits of a proposal. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: FAS will notify 

each applicant in writing of the final 

disposition of the submitted 

application. FAS will send an approval 

letter and agreement to each approved 

applicant. The approval letter and 

agreement will specify the terms and 

conditions applicable to the project, 

including levels of funding, timelines 

for implementation, and written 

evaluation requirements. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: The agreements will 

incorporate the details of each project as 

approved by FAS. Each agreement will 

identify terms and conditions pursuant 

to which CCC will reimburse certain 

costs of each project. Agreements will 

also outline the responsibilities of the 

participant. Interested parties should 

review the TASC program regulations 

found at 7 CFR part 1487 in addition to 

this announcement. TASC program 

regulations are available at the following 

URL address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/

programs/technical-assistancespecialty-crops. Hard copies may be 

obtained by contacting the Program 

Operations Division at (202) 720–4327. 

3. Reporting: TASC participants will 

be required to submit regular interim 

reports and a final performance report, 

each of which evaluate the TASC 

project using the performance measures 

presented in the approved proposal, as 

set forth in the written program 

agreement. 

VII. Agency Contact 

For additional information and 

assistance, contact the Program 

Operations Division, Office of Trade 

Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Courier address: Room 6512, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20250, or by phone: (202) 720–4327, 

or by fax: (202) 720–9361, or by email: 

podadmin@fas.usda.gov. 

Signed at Washington, DC, on the 18th of 

March 2014. 

Bryce Quick, 

Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, and Vice President, Commodity 

Credit Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2014–08626 Filed 4–15–14; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability: Inviting 

Applications for the Foreign Market 

Development Cooperator Program 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) announces that it is 

inviting proposals for the 2015 Foreign 

Market Development Cooperator 

(Cooperator) program. The intended 

effect of this notice is to solicit 

applications from eligible applicants for 

fiscal year 2015 and to set out criteria 

for the award of funds under the 

program in October 2014. The 

Cooperator program is administered by 

personnel of the Foreign Agricultural 

Service (FAS). 

DATES: All applications must be 

received by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight 

Time, May 19, 2014. Applications 

received after this date will not be 

considered. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Entities wishing to apply for funding 

assistance should contact the Program 

Operations Division, Office of Trade 

Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service 

by courier address: Room 6512, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20250, or by phone: (202) 720–4327, 

or by fax: (202) 720–9361, or by email: 

uesadmin@fas.usda.gov. Information is 

also available on the FAS Web site at 

http://www.fas.usda.gov/programs/

foreign-market-development-programfmd. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Announcement Type: New. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.600. 

Authority: The Cooperator program is 

authorized by title VII of the 

Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, as 

amended. Cooperator program 

regulations appear at 7 CFR part 1484. 

Purpose: The Cooperator program is 

designed to create, expand, and 

maintain foreign markets for U.S. 

agricultural commodities and products 

through cost-share assistance. Financial 

assistance under the Cooperator 

program will be made available on a 

competitive basis and applications will 

be reviewed against the evaluation 

criteria contained herein and in the 

Cooperator program regulations. All 

U.S. agricultural commodities, except 

tobacco, are eligible for consideration. 

FAS allocates funds in a manner that 

effectively supports the strategic 

decision-making initiatives of the 

Government Performance and Results 

Act (GPRA) of 1993. In deciding 

whether a proposed project will 

contribute to the effective creation, 

expansion, or maintenance of foreign 

markets, FAS considers whether the 

applicant provides a clear, long-term 

agricultural trade strategy and a program 

effectiveness time line against which 

results can be measured at specific 

intervals using quantifiable product or 

country goals. FAS also considers the 

extent to which a proposed project 

targets markets with the greatest growth 

potential. These factors are part of the 

FAS resource allocation strategy to fund 

applicants who can demonstrate 

performance and address the objectives 

of the GPRA. 

II. Award Information 

Under the Cooperator program, FAS 

enters into agreements with eligible 

nonprofit U.S. trade organizations to 

share the cost of certain overseas 

marketing and promotion activities. 

Funding priority is given to 

organizations that have the broadest 

possible producer representation of the 

commodity being promoted and that are 

nationwide in membership and scope. 

Cooperators may receive assistance only 

for generic activities that do not involve 

promotions targeted directly to 

consumers. The program generally 

operates on a reimbursement basis. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: To participate 

in the Cooperator program, an applicant 

must be a nonprofit U.S. agricultural 

trade organization. 

2. Cost Sharing: To participate in the 

Cooperator program, an applicant must 

agree to contribute resources to its 

proposed promotional activities. The 

Cooperator program is intended to 

supplement, not supplant, the efforts of 

the U.S. private sector. The contribution 

must be at least 50 percent of the value 

of resources provided by CCC for 

activities conducted under the project 

agreement. 

The degree of commitment of an 

applicant to the promotional strategies 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 2014 / Notices 21717 

contained in its application, as 

represented by the agreed cost-share 

contributions specified therein, is 

considered by FAS when determining 

which applications will be approved for 

funding. Cost-share may be actual cash 

invested or in-kind contributions, such 

as professional staff time spent on 

design and execution of activities. The 

Cooperator program regulations, 

including sections 1484.50 and 1484.51, 

provide detailed discussion of eligible 

and ineligible cost-share contributions. 

3. Other: Applications should include 

a justification for funding assistance 

from the program—an explanation as to 

what specifically could not be 

accomplished without federal funding 

assistance and why participating 

organization(s) are unlikely to carry out 

the project without such assistance. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Organizations are encouraged 

to submit their FMD applications to the 

FAS through the Unified Export 

Strategy (UES) application Internet Web 

site. The UES allows applicants to 

submit a single consolidated and 

strategically coordinated proposal that 

incorporates requests for funding and 

recommendations for virtually all of the 

FAS marketing programs, financial 

assistance programs, and market access 

programs. The suggested UES format 

encourages applicants to examine the 

constraints or barriers to trade faced, 

identify activities that would help 

overcome such impediments, consider 

the entire pool of complementary 

marketing tools and program resources, 

and establish realistic export goals. 

Applicants planning to use the 

Internet-based system must contact the 

FAS/Program Operations Division to 

obtain site access information. The 

Internet-based application may be found 

at the following URL address: https://

www.fas.usda.gov/ues/webapp/. 

FAS highly recommends applying via 

the Internet-based application as this 

format virtually eliminates paperwork 

and expedites the FAS processing and 

review cycle. However, applicants also 

have the option of submitting an 

electronic version of their application to 

FAS at uesadmin@fas.usda.gov. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: To be considered for the 

Cooperator program, an applicant must 

submit to FAS information required by 

the Cooperator program regulations in 

section 1484.20. In addition, in 

accordance with the Office of 

Management and Budget’s policy (68 FR 

38402 (June 27, 2003)) regarding the 

need to identify entities that are 

receiving government awards, all 

applicants must submit a Dun and 

Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number. An applicant 

may request a DUNS number at no cost 

by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS 

number request line at 1–866–705–5711. 

In addition, in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 25, each entity that applies to the 

Cooperator program and does not 

qualify for an exemption under 2 CFR 

25.110 must: 

(i) Be registered in the CCR prior to 

submitting an application or plan; 

(ii) Maintain an active CCR 

registration with current information at 

all times during which it has an active 

Federal award or an application or plan 

under consideration by CCC; and 

(iii) Provide its DUNS number in each 

application or plan it submits to CCC. 

Similarly, in accordance with 2 CFR 

part 170, each entity that applies to the 

Cooperator program and does not 

qualify for an exception under 2 CFR 

170.110(b) must ensure it has the 

necessary processes and systems in 

place to comply with the applicable 

reporting requirements of 2 CFR part 

170 should it receive funding under the 

Cooperator program. Incomplete 

applications and applications that do 

not otherwise conform to this 

announcement or the Cooperator 

program regulations will not be 

accepted for review. 

FAS administers various other 

agricultural export assistance programs, 

including the Market Access Program 

(MAP), the Emerging Markets Program, 

the Quality Samples Program, and the 

Technical Assistance for Specialty 

Crops program. Any organization that is 

not interested in applying for the 

Cooperator program but would like to 

request assistance through one of the 

other programs mentioned should 

contact the Program Operations 

Division. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: All 

applications must be received by 5 p.m. 

Eastern Daylight Time, May 19, 2014. 

All Cooperator program applicants, 

regardless of the method of submitting 

an application, also must submit by the 

application deadline, an original signed 

certification statement as specified in 7 

CFR 1484.20(a)(14) to the Program 

Operations Division, Office of Trade 

Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 

6512, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20250. Applications or 

certifications received after this date 

will not be considered. 

4. Funding Restrictions: Certain types 

of expenses are not eligible for 

reimbursement by the program, and 

there are limits on other categories of 

expenses. CCC also will not reimburse 

unreasonable expenditures or 

expenditures made prior to approval. 

Full details are available in the 

Cooperator program regulations, 

including sections 1484.54 and 1484.55. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria and Review Process: 

Following is a description of the FAS 

process for reviewing applications and 

the criteria for allocating available 

Cooperator program funds. 

(1) Phase 1—Sufficiency Review and 

FAS Divisional Review 

Applications received by the closing 

date will be reviewed by FAS to 

determine the eligibility of the 

applicants and the completeness of the 

applications. These requirements appear 

in sections 1484.14 and 1484.20 of the 

Cooperator program regulations as well 

as in this Notice. Applications that meet 

the requirements then will be further 

evaluated by the appropriate 

Commodity Branch office of the FAS/

Cooperator Programs Division. The 

Commodity Branch will review each 

application against the criteria listed in 

section 1484.21 of the Cooperator 

program regulations. The purpose of 

this review is to identify meritorious 

proposals. The Commodity Branch then 

recommends an appropriate funding 

level for each approved application for 

consideration by the Office of the 

Deputy Administrator, Office of Trade 

Programs. 

(2) Phase 2—Competitive Review 

Meritorious applications are passed 

on to the Office of the Deputy 

Administrator, Office of Trade 

Programs, for the purpose of allocating 

available funds among those applicants. 

Applicants will compete for funds on 

the basis of the following allocation 

criteria as appropriate (the number in 

parentheses represents a percentage 

weight factor): 

(a) Contribution Level (40) 

• The applicant’s 6-year average share 

(2010–2015) of all contributions under 

the Cooperator program (contributions 

may include cash and goods and 

services provided by U.S. entities in 

support of foreign market development 

activities) compared to; 

• The applicant’s 6-year average share 

(2010–2015) of the funding level for all 

Cooperator program participants. 

(b) Past Export Performance (20) 

• The 6-year average share (2009– 

2014) of the value of exports promoted 

by the applicant compared to; 


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21718 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 2014 / Notices 

• The applicant’s 6-year average share 

(2009–2014) of the funding level for all 

Cooperator participants plus, for those 

groups participating in the MAP 

program, a 6-year average share (2009– 

2014) of all MAP budgets. 

(c) Past Demand Expansion Performance 

(20) 

• The 6-year average share (2009– 

2014) of the total value of world trade 

of the commodities promoted by the 

applicant compared to; 

• The applicant’s 6-year average share 

(2009–2014) of all Cooperator program 

expenditures plus, for those groups 

participating in the MAP program, a 6- 

year average share (2009–2014) of all 

MAP expenditures. 

(d) Future Demand Expansion Goals 

(10) 

• The projected total dollar value of 

world trade of the commodities being 

promoted by the applicant for the year 

2020 compared to; 

• The applicant’s requested funding 

level. 

(e) Accuracy of Past Demand Expansion 

Projections (10) 

• The actual dollar value share of 

world trade of the commodities being 

promoted by the applicant for the year 

2013 compared to; 

• The applicant’s past projected share 

of world trade of the commodities being 

promoted by the applicant for the year 

2013, as specified in the 2010 

Cooperator program application. 

The Commodity Branches’ 

recommended funding levels for each 

applicant are converted to percentages 

of the total Cooperator program funds 

available and then multiplied by each 

weight factor to determine the amount 

of funds allocated to each applicant. 

2. Anticipated Announcement Date: 

Announcements of funding decisions 

for the Cooperator program are 

anticipated during October 2014. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: FAS will notify 

each applicant in writing of the final 

disposition of its application. FAS will 

send an approval letter and project 

agreement to each approved applicant. 

The approval letter and project 

agreement will specify the terms and 

conditions applicable to the project, 

including the levels of Cooperator 

program funding, and cost-share 

contribution requirements. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: Interested parties should 

review the Cooperator program 

regulations, which are available at the 

following URL address: http://

www.fas.usda.gov/programs/foreignmarket-development-program-fmd. 

Hard copies may be obtained by 

contacting the Program Operations 

Division. 

3. Reporting: FAS requires various 

reports and evaluations from 

Cooperators. Reporting requirements are 

detailed in the Cooperator program 

regulations in sections 1484.53, 1484.70, 

and 1484.72. 

VII. Agency Contact(s) 

For additional information and 

assistance, contact the Program 

Operations Division, Office of Trade 

Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Courier address: Room 6512, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 

DC 20250, or by phone: (202) 720–4327, 

or by fax: (202) 720–9361, or by email: 

uesadmin@fas.usda.gov. 

Signed at Washington, DC, on the 18th of 

March 2014. 

Bryce Quick, 

Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, and Vice President, Commodity 

Credit Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2014–08628 Filed 4–15–14; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

RIN 0596–AD13 

Additional Seasonal and Year-Round 

Recreation Activities at Ski Areas 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of final directives. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service is revising 

its directives for ski areas authorized 

under the National Forest Ski Area 

Permit Act of 1986 (Ski Area Permit 

Act) (16 U.S.C. 497b) to provide 

additional guidance for implementing 

the 2011 amendment to this Act, known 

as the Ski Area Recreational 

Opportunity Enhancement Act 

(SAROEA) (Pub. L. 112–46, 125 Stat. 

538). Current directives limit the criteria 

for determining whether additional 

seasonal and year-round recreation 

activities may be approved at ski areas 

to those listed in SAROEA. The final 

directives add criteria to help 

authorized officers determine whether 

proposals for these activities are 

consistent with SAROEA. The final 

directives also provide guidance on 

non-exclusive use at ski areas, that is, 

recreational use at ski areas, such as 

snowshoeing or cross-country skiing, by 

the non-paying public. 

DATES: Effective Dates: These directives 

are effective April 17, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: These final directives will 

be available for inspection at the office 

of the Director, Recreation, Heritage, 

and Volunteer Resources Staff, USDA, 

Forest Service, 4th Floor Central, Sidney 

R. Yates Federal Building, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC, during regular 

business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. Those wishing to inspect these 

documents are encouraged to call ahead 

at 202–205–1227 to facilitate access to 

the building. Copies of documents in 

the record may be requested under the 

Freedom of Information Act. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Hartman, Acting National Winter 

Sports Program Manager, 202–697– 

1051or via email at 

chartman01@fs.fed.us. Individuals who 

use telecommunication devices for the 

deaf may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service at 800–877–8339 between 

8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern 

Daylight Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background and Need for the Final 

Directives 

Most of the 122 ski areas operating on 

National Forest System (NFS) lands in 

the United States are authorized under 

a special use permit issued per the Ski 

Area Permit Act. As originally enacted, 

the Ski Area Permit Act authorized 

Nordic and alpine skiing at ski areas on 

NFS lands. On November 7, 2011, 

Congress enacted SAROEA, which 

amended the Ski Area Permit Act to 

authorize additional seasonal and yearround recreation activities and 

associated facilities that may be 

approved at ski areas. SAROEA contains 

a non-exhaustive list of additional 

seasonal and year-round recreation 

activities and associated facilities that 

may, if certain criteria are met, be 

approved and a non-exhaustive list of 

additional seasonal and year-round 

recreation activities and associated 

facilities that may not be approved at ski 

areas. On August 5, 2013, the Forest 

Service amended FSM 2340 to 

incorporate the self-executing portions 

of SAROEA, that is, the list of additional 

seasonal and year-round activities and 

associated facilities that may be 

authorized at ski areas. 

Summer uses at ski areas, both on 

private and NFS lands, have been 

increasing in recent years. This increase 

has been driven in part by new 

technologies and by the growing 

number of people seeking recreation 

activities in more managed settings. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES