10224 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Notices 

South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carmen Soileau, Senior Entomolgist, 

Evaluation and Permitting of Regulated 

Organisms and Soil, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1237; (301) 734–5055. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for release of a 

nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria 

salsolae, for the biological control of 

Russian thistle, Salsola tragus, in the 

continental United States. 

Russian thistle or tumbleweed, is a 

highly invasive weed native to the 

mountainous regions of southwest Asia. 

Since the introduction of Russian thistle 

to South Dakota in the early 1870s, it 

has spread steadily throughout the 

central and western regions of the 

United States and southern Canada. It is 

an agricultural pest that grows primarily 

in fallow or disturbed soil, along 

roadsides and irrigation canals, and in 

waste areas in arid and semiarid zones. 

During drought periods, it can invade 

some habitats and displace native 

species. The infestation of Russian 

thistle causes millions of dollars of 

damage by disrupting automobile traffic, 

clogging irrigation canals, piling up 

against fences and houses, and igniting 

and spreading wildfires. 

There are currently several control 

methods for Russian thistle, including 

herbicides, timed grazing, tilling, and 

other methods. However, these 

approaches have proven to be 

ineffective. Therefore, APHIS is 

proposing to issue permits for the 

release of a blister mite, Aceria salsolae, 

into the environment for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of Russian thistle infestations in 

the continental United States. 

The proposed biological control agent, 

A. salsolae, is a mite in the insect family 

Eriophyid and can be found in Turkey, 

Uzbekistan, and Greece. The mites are 

usually hidden in crevices of the leaf 

axils, flowers, and fruits of the Russian 

thistle. They feed on the target plant by 

inserting stylets (needle-like mouth 

parts) into plant cells and feeding on the 

cell contents. After about 3 weeks, the 

leaf meristems (growing tips) die and 

the mites use the wind to disperse to 

fresh meristems. Feeding on epidermal 

cells in meristematic tissue causes cell 

death of the leaf and flower meristems, 

thus stunting growth of the plant and 

delaying and reducing reproduction. 

The mite is not expected to directly 

harm any plants outside the targeted 

Russian thistle (sensu lato). Host 

specific tests of A. salsolae were 

conducted using a total of 39 species 

and 12 varieties of host plants from 5 

families, including 25 native species of 

North America. After 4 weeks of 

laboratory experiments, no live mites 

were found on any of the nontarget test 

plants outside the genus Salsola and 

none of the nontarget plants showed any 

sign of feeding damage. Furthermore, 

the results clearly show that there was 

no population increase on these 

nontarget plant species, particularly in 

comparison to the population growth 

observed on Russian thistle. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with releasing a biological 

control agent, A. salsolae, into the 

environment are documented in detail 

in an environmental assessment (EA) 

entitled ‘‘Field Release of Aceria 

salsolaea (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Mite 

for Biological Control of Russian Thistle 

(Salsola tragus), in the Continental 

United States’’ (October 2008). We are 

making the EA available to the public 

for review and comment. We will 

consider all comments that we receive 

on or before the date listed under the 

heading DATES at the beginning of this 

notice. 

The EA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the EA 

by calling or writing to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 

EA when requesting copies. 

The EA has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of 

March 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5043 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0142] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Yellow Starthistle 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

environmental assessment relative to 

the control of yellow starthistle, 

Centaurea solstitialis (Asteraceae). The 

environmental assessment considers the 

effects of, and alternatives to, the release 

of a weevil, Ceratapion basicorne, into 

the environment for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

yellow starthistle infestations in the 

continental United States. We are 

making the environmental assessment 

available to the public for review and 

comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before April 9, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2008–0142 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0142, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0142. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

environmental assessment in our 

reading room. The reading room is 

located in room 1141 of the USDA 

South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Notices 10225 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carmen Soileau, Senior Entomolgist, 

Evaluation and Permitting of Regulated 

Organisms and Soil, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1237; (301) 734–5055. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for release of a weevil, 

Ceratapion basicorne, into the 

environment for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

yellow starthistle infestations in the 

continental United States. 

Yellow starthistle is a highly invasive 

weed that has become one of 

California’s worst pests since its 

introduction prior to 1860. Since then, 

it has been reported in 41 of the 48 

contiguous U.S. States, with the 

heaviest infestations in the States of 

California, Idaho, Oregon, and 

Washington. Yellow starthistle infests 

grassland habitats and displaces 

desirable plants in both natural and 

grazing areas. Its flowers have inch-long 

spines that deter feeding by and cause 

injury to grazing animals and lower the 

utility of recreational lands. Although 

consumption of yellow starthistle by 

grazing animals is rare, consumption by 

horses is toxic. Continued feeding 

causes ulcers in the mouth and results 

in brain lesions that cause a fatal 

syndrome known as ‘‘chewing disease’’ 

or nigropallidal encephalomalacia. 

There are currently several control 

methods for yellow starthistle, 

including herbicides, mowing, timed 

grazing, prescribed burns, and other 

methods. However, these control 

methods have proven to be ineffective. 

Therefore, APHIS is proposing to issue 

permits for the release of a weevil, 

Ceratapion basicorne, into the 

environment for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

yellow starthistle infestations in the 

continental United States. 

The proposed biological control agent, 

C. basicorne, is native to Europe and 

southwestern Asia. The weevil has a 

wide tolerance to climate and is 

therefore expected to become 

established throughout the range of 

yellow starthistle if released in the 

United States. Female C. basicorne lay 

their eggs in the yellow starthistle leaves 

from late March to early May. The eggs 

hatch after approximately 10 days. The 

larvae then mine in the leaf blade and 

down the leaf stalk. During the 

following 2 months, the larvae feed in 

the root crown while they develop. 

Adults emerge in June, feed on the 

yellow starthistle leaves for a few days, 

and then disappear. Field impact 

studies in California show that plants 

infested with C. basicorne have slower 

growth rates and decreased seed 

production compared to uninfested 

plants. 

Host specificity tests indicate that no 

plant species outside the subtribe 

Centaureinae are at risk of larval 

damage. The closest native species to 

yellow starthistle are C. americana and 

C. rothrockii, but they were not able to 

maintain larval development of C. 

basicorne. Test results also indicate that 

there may be low attack and larval 

damage to C. melitensis, Crupino 

vulgaris, Cnicus benedictus, and C. 

cyanus, but risk of attack was not 

measured in specificity experiments 

because there is no interest to protect 

these invasive species in North 

America. Based on these results, release 

of C. basicorne in the continental 

United States is not expected to have 

any negative cumulative impacts. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with the proposed action are 

documented in detail in an 

environmental assessment (EA) entitled 

‘‘Field Release of Ceratapion basicorne 

(Coleotera: Apionidae), a Weevil for 

Biological Control of Yellow Starthistle 

(Centaurea solstitialis), in the 

Continental United States’’ (October 

2008). We are making the EA available 

to the public for review and comment. 

We will consider all comments that we 

receive on or before the date listed 

under the heading DATES at the 

beginning of this notice. 

The EA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the EA 

by calling or writing to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 

EA when requesting copies. 

The EA has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of 

March 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5052 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Cooperative Conservation Partnership 

Initiative 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of request for proposals; 

request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: Section 2707 of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(2008 Act) establishes the Cooperative 

Conservation Partnership Initiative 

(CCPI) by amending Section 1243 of the 

Food Security Act of 1985 [16 U.S.C. 

3843]. The Secretary of Agriculture has 

delegated the authority for CCPI to the 

Chief of the Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS), who is a 

Vice President of the Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC). NRCS is an agency 

of the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). Congress 

established CCPI to assist potential 

partners with focusing conservation 

assistance in defined project areas to 

achieve high-priority natural resource 

objectives. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, 

NRCS will make Environmental Quality 

Incentives Program (EQIP) and Wildlife 

Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) funds 

available to owners and operators of 

agricultural and nonindustrial private 

forest lands who will participate in 

CCPI projects. 

The purpose of this notice is to inform 

potential partners and producers that 

include nonindustrial private forest 

landowners of the availability of CCPI 

funds and other assistance and to solicit 

proposals from potential partners who 

seek to enter into partnership 

agreements with NRCS to enhance 

conservation outcomes on agricultural 

and nonindustrial private forest land. 

Additionally, NRCS requests public 

comment on how CCPI can contribute to 

the Nation’s efforts on energy, climate 

change, and carbon sequestration within 

the framework of the Initiative.