Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2001 / Notices 3979

Committee. An organization may

nominate individuals from within or

outside its membership. This is a

second notice soliciting nominations.

Previous nominations need not be

resubmitted. The Secretary will select

members to obtain the broadest possible

representation on the Committee, in

accordance with the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92–463) and

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Regulation 1041–1. Equal opportunity

practices, in line with USDA policies,

will be followed in all appointments to

the Committee. To ensure that the

recommendations of the Committee

have taken into account the needs of the

diverse groups served by the

Department, membership should

include, to the extent practicable,

individuals with demonstrated ability to

represent minorities, women, and

persons with disabilities.

Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of

January 2001.

Bobby R. Acord,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 01–1313 Filed 1–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Pink Stone Fire Recovery; Kootenai

National Forest, Lincoln County, MT

AGENCY: Forest Service USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: In August, 2000, two

lightning-caused wildfires burned about

16,100 acres in the Pinkham and Sutton

Creek drainages between 7 and 14 miles

southwest of Eureka, Montana. The fires

threatened private property and resulted

in significant tree mortality and

increased future fuel levels. Increases in

spring-time peak water flows in a few

streams are expected to approach

maximum levels allowed by the

Kootenai Forest Plan as a result of

vegetation loss. The USDA Forest

Service will prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pink

Stone Fire Recovery Decision Area,

which encompasses the two fire areas.

The EIS will disclose the effects of fire

recovery opportunities designed to meet

the Purpose and Need for taking action,

which is to (1) reduce existing and

future fuel accumulations, the

corresponding risk of reburn, and the

risk to private property; (2) recover the

economic value of fire-killed timber; (3)

restore vegetative species diversity

appropriate to the sites; and (4) restore

affected watersheds to properly

functioning conditions.

Fuel reduction and economic

opportunities would be accomplished

through salvage harvest of fire-killed

timber and jackpot burning of harvestcreated slash. Vegetation and watershed

restoration opportunities would be

accomplished through hand planting

and natural regeneration in harvested,

riparian and burned areas, and

improving water drainage systems

through road, ditch and culvert

improvements. Additional fire recovery

opportunities proposed include visual

quality improvements using unit shapes

and sizes designed to imitate patterns

created by the fires, improvements to

fire-affected trails, and provisions for

adequate snag and coarse woody debris

following recovery treatments.

The Proposed Action would reduce

existing and future fuels and recover the

economic value of burned timber on

about 4,003 acres of land burned during

the fires, producing about 89,488

hundred cubic feet (CCF), or 36.7

million board feet (MMBF), of forest

product. Treatment types include about

1,663 acres of regeneration harvest,

1,522 acres of shelterwood harvest, 464

acres of seed tree harvest, and 354 acres

of commercial thinning using tractor,

cable and forwarded harvest systems.

Jackpot burning would be used to

reduce residual fuels. Watershed

recovery actions would include about

315 acres of riparian planting, about

2,791 acres of hand planting in addition

to expected natural regeneration, and

roadside drainage improvements on

approximately 76 miles of forest roads.

Visual quality improvements involve

unit size, shapes and treatments that

imitate fire patterns and decrease the

visual effect of previous unit edges and

fire-killed trees. Fire-created trail

hazards on three trials would be

removed.

The Proposed Action would require

Kootenai National Forest Plan projectspecific exceptions to harvest in big

game movement corridors and to

temporarily exceed open road density

standards in Management Area 12 (Big

Game Summer Range with Timber

Management). The Proposed Action

would also create openings over 40

acres, which is allowable under

catastrophic conditions such as large

wildfires.

The proposed activities are

considered together because they

represent either connected or

cumulative actions as defined by the

Council on Environmental Quality (40

CFR 1508.23).

The EIS will tier to the Kootenai

National Forest Land and Resource

Management Plan, as amended, and the

Final Environmental Impact Statement

(FEIS), and Record of Decision (ROD) of

September 1987, which provides overall

guidance for forest management of the

area.

DATES: Written comments and

suggestions should be received on or

before February 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The Responsible Official is

Bob Castaneda, the Kootenai National

Forest Supervisor, 1101 U.S. Highway 2

West, Libby, MT 59923. Written

comments and suggestions concerning

the scope of the analysis should be sent

to Glen M. McNitt, District Ranger,

Rexford Ranger District, 1299 U.S.

Highway 93 N, Eureka, MT 59917.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron

Komac, Acting NEPA Coordinator,

Rexford Ranger District, Phone: (406)

296–2536.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Decision Area is located on the Rexford

Ranger District of the Kootenai National

Forest in northwest Montana. Two fire

areas, the Stone Hill Fire (10,960 acres)

and the Lydia Fire (5,434 acres) make

up the almost 16,200-acre Decision

Area. All but some high-elevation

ridgetops have favorable climate and

good site conditions for forest

vegetation. Proposed activities within

the Decision Area include all or

portions of T34–35N; R27–29W.

Average annual precipitation ranges

from 14 to 100 inches. At higher

elevations, most precipitation falls as

snow. The Decision Area contains a

combination of open-grown ponderosa

pine and Douglas-fir in the lower

elevations adjacent to Lake Koocanusa

in the Store Hill fire area; upland areas

in both fires that contain multistoried

western larch/Douglas-fir intermixed

with lodgepole pine; and mid to high to

elevation areas in both fires that

produce Englemann spruce, subalpine

fir and lodgepole pine stands.

Some of the Stone Hill portion of the

Decision Area is highly visible from a

designated Scenic Byway (State

Highway 37 and Forest Development

Road #228) and from the Webb

Mountain rental lookout.

The Kootenai National Forest Land

and Resource Management Plan

provides overall management objectives

in individual delineated management

areas (MAs). Almost all of the proposed

fire recovery activities occur in MA 12

and 15. Briefly described, MA 12 is

managed to maintain or enhance the

summer range habitat effectiveness for

big game species and produce a

programmed yield of timber. MA 15

3980 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2001 / Notices

focuses upon timber production using

various silvicultural practices while

providing for other resource values.

Planting disease-resistant white-bark in

suitable habitat and removing trail

hazards along three trails are recovery

activities proposed in MA 2 (nonmotorized recreation, no timber

harvest).

Purpose and Need

The Purpose and Need for taking

action in the Decision Area is to (1)

reduce existing and future fuel

accumulations, the corresponding risk

of reburn, and the risk to private

property by removing dead and dying

trees and jackpot burning residual fuels;

(2) recover the economic value of firekilled timber by harvesting

merchantable trees; (3) restore

vegetative species diversity by hand

planting a variety of species appropriate

to the sites in addition to natural

regeneration; and (4) restore affected

watersheds to properly functioning

conditions by providing short- and longterm large woody debris recruitment,

improving road-related drainage

problems, and reducing the risk of

additional watershed impacts from

future reburns.

Proposed Activities

The Forest Service proposes to reduce

existing and accumulating fuels and

recover the economic value of burned

timber on about 4,003 acres of fireaffected forest lands. About 1,663 acres

of regeneration harvest would occur,

where all trees would be harvested

except about 5 moderately sized reserve

trees. About 464 acres of seed tree

harvest would occur, where 5–20

reserve trees would be retained to

provide a seed source for natural

regeneration. About 1,522 acres would

be treated with a shelterwood harvest,

where about 20–50 reserve trees per acre

would be retained. Commercial thinning

would occur on about 354 acres, with

30–100 trees per acre remaining. These

treatments would recover an expected

89,488 CCF (36.7 MMBF) of commercial

forest product from the fire-effected

areas. A tractor harvest system would be

used on about 1,270 acres where access

and slope were favorable. On about 98

acres a cable system would be used,

mostly due to steep slopes. A forwarded

harvest system would be used on about

471 acres due to long skidding

distances, steep slopes and soil

concerns. Approximately 0.4 miles of

temporary road would be needed to

access one unit to be harvested with

ground-based systems. This temporary

road would be removed from the

landscape after harvest activities were

accomplished. No underburning is

proposed due to the effects of the fires,

however, residual fuels after the fires

and harvest-generated fuels would be

piled and burned as necessary (referred

to as jackpot burning). Restoring

vegetation as soon as possible would be

supported by about 2,791 acres of hand

planting western larch, western white

pine and ponderosa pine in addition to

expected natural regeneration. Selected

sites over about 650 acres of high

elevation land would be planted with

disease-resistant white-barked pine. In

addition to reforestation, watershed

recovery actions would include

providing species diversity and future

large woody debris recruitment by

planting aspen, black cottonwood,

western redcedar, Englemann spruce

and western hemlock up to 100 feet on

both sides of about 13 mines of streams,

or about 315 acres of riparian habitat;

improving inadequate road-related

drainage by upgrading roads to current

Best Management Practices, increasing

the size of stream crossing culverts, and

improving road drainage; and reducing

fuels in order to reduce the risk of

additional impacts to watersheds from a

future reburn. Visual quality

improvements involve unit size, shapes

and treatments that imitate fire patterns

and decrease the visual effect of

previous unit edges and fire-killed trees.

Fire-created hazards on portions of three

trails totaling about 7 miles would be

removed.

The proposed activities were focused

in high fire severity areas where large

openings were created or will

eventually be created by the fires. The

Proposed Action contains 32 units that

would exceed 40 acres and create

immediate openings, ranging from 45 to

246 acres. Many are adjacent to other

pre-fire openings or other Proposed

Action units, and cumulatively with

fire-affected stands could eventually

result in very large openings exceeding

1,000 acres or more.

The proposal also includes 1.1 mile of

permanent road construction, 0.4 miles

of temporary road construction, and

approximately 67 miles of

reconstruction to meet Best

Management Practices requirements.

The temporary road would be

obliterated following management

actions.

Implementation of this proposal

would require opening several miles of

road currently restricted to public

access. Depending on sale scheduling,

some roads may be open to the public

during activities. Restrictions for

motorized access would be restored

following the conclusion of the

management activities.

Forest Plan Amendments

The proposed action includes several

project-specific forest plan amendments

and a programmatic amendment to meet

the goals of the Kootenai National Forest

Plan:

A project-specific amendment to MA

12 Wildlife and Fish Standard #7 and

Timber Standard #2 would be needed to

allow harvest adjacent to existing

openings in big game movement

corridors in MA 12. The wildfires

burned around some pre-fire openings,

removing cover in corridors and

creating larger openings. The Proposed

Action would remove much of the

burned material that previously

provided corridor cover. Surviving live

trees and some snags and down woody

material would be left to provide

wildlife habitat and maintain soil

productivity. In the larger openings,

patches and corridors would be left to

provide some level of security for big

game movement through the fire areas.

A project-specific amendment to

allow MA 12 open road densities would

be needed to temporarily exceed the MA

12 Facilities Standard #3 of 1.15 miles/

square mile (as previously amended by

the Pinkham Timber Sale and

Associated Activities Record of

Decision, 1999). In order to recover

forest products in a timely manner,

several roads may be opened at the same

time which would increase open road

densities above the current standard.

Open road densities would return to

existing MA standards following

activities.

Range of Alternatives

The Forest Service will consider a

range of alternatives to the Proposed

Action. One of these will be a ‘‘no

action’’ alternative, in which none of the

proposed activities would be

implemented. Additional alternatives

will be considered to achieve the

project’s purpose and need for action

and to respond to specific resource

issues and public concerns.

Preliminary Issues

Several issues of concern have been

identified. These are briefly described

below:

Future fire risk: The Lydia and Stone

Hill fires killed many trees over large

areas. Over the next 20 years most of

these dead trees will fall over, creating

high fuel levels. Reburns are anticipated

with this kind of fuel load in intensities

higher than what would normally be

expected. In the aftermath of threats to

private property this summer, public

comments expressed concern over fuel

loads and the potential for fires to again

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2001 / Notices 3981

threaten private land ownership. There

are also internal concerns that such a

reburn would cause more severe effects

to soils, watershed resources, vegetation

and specialized habitat such as oldgrowth, snags and coarse woody debris.

Timber supply: Many preliminary

public comments expressed concern

that the value of burned timber will be

lost if nothing is done to recover the

area. Additional comments have voiced

concern over the time frame proposed

for addressing fire recovery, and

expressed the urgency to recover the

economic value of affected trees in a

timely manner.

Water quality: Streams in or

downstream of the fire areas have been

impacted by past management and large

wildfires. Several streams are nearing

maximum allowable peak flow levels.

Although the Proposed Action is

expected to have long-term benefits,

there are concerns that cumulative

effects of past harvest, the fires and the

Proposed Action may have short-term

negative impacts to some watersheds.

Lynx habitat: Both fire areas impacted

suitable habitat for Canada lynx. Coarse

woody debris is an important

component of denning habitat, and if a

reburn does not occur, the fire areas are

expected to produce denning and

foraging habitat in about 15 years. Some

comments expressed concern that postfire recovery of timber products would

reduce or remove important denning

habitat.

Visual recovery: The Stone Hill fire is

highly visible from a designated Scenic

Byway and several scenic viewpoints.

Preliminary comments have expressed

concern over the visual appearance of

burned landscapes, including blackened

bark, red needles and large areas of dead

and dying trees. Other comments

expressed concern about the potential

for management activities to create

sharp lines or unnatural patterns and

decrease visual quality.

Permanent road construction: The

Lydia fire burned through a large area

which currently has no suitable road

access. About 1.1 mile of permanent

road construction is proposed to

provide reasonable access to the

proposed treatment areas. There is a

public concern that the Forest Service

does not have enough funding to justify

building a permanent road and

maintaining it through time.

Decisions To Be Made

The Kootenai Forest Supervisor will

decide the following:

• Whether or not to reduce existing

and expected fuels create by the fires in

order to reduce the risk of a reburn, and

if so, identify the selection and sitespecific location of such actions, and

the fuel treatments necessary to reduce

those fuels.

• Whether or not to recover the

economic value of burned trees in a

timely manner, and if so, identify the

selection, site-specific location and

timing of such actions, and appropriate

timber management practices

(silvicultural prescription, logging

system, fuels treatment, and

reforestation), road construction/

reconstruction necessary to provide

access, and appropriate mitigation

measures.

• Whether or not hand planting

should be used to supplement natural

regeneration and increase diversity in

burned, harvested and riparian areas,

and if so, identify the selection and sitespecific locations of such actions, and

the appropriate species and

reforestation methods needed.

• Whether or not short-term impacts

to watersheds should be allowed in

order to improve long-term watershed

conditions.

• Whether or not watershed recovery

activities (large woody debris

recruitment provisions, improved road

drainages, reduced risk of reburn) to

improve long-term conditions should be

implemented, and if so, identify the

selection and site-specific locations of

such actions.

• Whether or not project-specific

Forest Plan exceptions are necessary to

meet the specific purpose and need of

this project, and whether those

exceptions are significant under NFMA.

• What, if any, specific-project

monitoring requirements would be

needed to assure mitigation measures

are implemented and effective.

Public Involvement and Scoping

In November, 2000 preliminary efforts

were made to involve the public in

considering management opportunities

within the Pink Stone Fire Recovery

Decision Area. Comments received prior

to this notice will be included in the

documentation for the EIS. The public

is encouraged to take part in the process

and is encouraged to visit with Forest

Service officials at any time during the

analysis and prior to the decision. The

Forest Service will be seeking

information, comments, and assistance

from Federal, State, and local agencies,

Indian tribes, individuals, and

organizations who may be interested in,

or affected by, the Proposed Action. The

input will be used in preparation of the

draft and final EIS.

The scoping process will assist in

identifying potential issues, identifying

major issues to be analyzed in depth,

identifying alternatives to the proposed

action, and identifying potential

environmental effects of this project and

alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect, and

cumulative effects and connected

actions).

Estimated Dates for Filing

While public participation in this

analysis is welcome at any time,

comments received within 30 days of

the publication of this notice will be

especially useful in the preparation of

the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS is expected

to be filed with the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and to be

available for public review by April,

2001. At that time EPA will publish a

Notice of Availability of the draft EIS in

the Federal Register. The comment

period on the draft EIS will be 45 days

from the date the EPA publishes the

Notice of Availability in the Federal

Register.

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed by September, 2001. In the

final EIS, the Forest Service is required

to respond to comments and responses

received during the comment period

that pertain to the environmental

consequences discussed in the draft EIS,

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies considered in making a

decision regarding the proposal.

Reviewer’s Obligations

The Forest Service believes it is

important to give reviewers notice at

this early stage of several court rulings

related to public participation in the

environmental review process. First,

reviewers of draft environmental impact

statements must structure their

participation in the environmental

review of the proposal so that 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, 553 [1978]).

Also, environmental objections that

could be raised at the draft

environmental impact statement stage

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 30-day comment period so that

substantive comments and objections

are made available to the Forest Service

at a time when it can meaningfully

consider and respond to them in the

final EIS.

To be most helpful in assisting the

Forest Service to identify and consider

issues and concerns on the Proposed

Action, comments on the draft EIS

3982 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2001 / Notices

should be as specific as possible and

may address the adequacy of the

statement or the merit of the alternatives

discussed. Reference to specific pages or

chapters of the draft EIS would also be

helpful. Reviewers may wish to refer to

the Council on Environmental Quality

regulations (40 CFR 1503.3) for

implementing the procedural provisions

of the National Environmental Policy

Act.

Responsible Official

As the Forest Supervisor of the

Kootenai National Forest, 1101 U.S.

Highway 2 West, Libby, MT 59923, I am

the Responsible Official. As the

Responsible Official I will decide if the

proposed project will be implemented.

I will document the decision and

reasons for the decision in the Record of

Decision. I have delegated the

responsibility for preparing the EIS to

Glen M. McNitt, District Ranger,

Rexford Ranger District.

Dated: January 10, 2001.

Greg Kujawa,

Planning, Public Affairs, Recreation and

Heritage Staff Officer, Kootenai National

Forest.

[FR Doc. 01–1295 Filed 1–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Notice of Intent to Seek Approval to

Extend an Information Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. No. 104–13) and Office of

Management and Budget regulations at

5 CFR part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August

29, 1995), this notice announces the

intent of the National Agricultural

Statistics Service (NASS) to extend a

currently approved information

collection, the Milk and Milk Products

Surveys.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by March 23, 2001 to be

assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact Rich Allen, Associate

Administrator, National Agricultural

Statistics Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Room 4117 South Building,

1400 Independence Avenue SW,

Washington, D.C. 20250–2000, (202)

720–4333.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Milk and Milk Products

Surveys.

OMB Control Number: 0535–0020.

Expiration Date of Approval: 03/31/

01.

Type of Request: Intent to Seek

Approval to Extend an Information

Collection.

Abstract: The primary objective of the

National Agricultural Statistics Service

is to prepare and issue state and

national estimates of crop and livestock

production. The Milk and Milk Products

Surveys obtain basic agricultural

statistics on milk production and

manufactured dairy products from

farmers and processing plants

throughout the nation. Data are gathered

for milk production, dairy products,

evaporated and condensed milk,

manufactured dry milk, and

manufactured whey products. Milk

production and manufactured dairy

products statistics are used by the U.S.

Department of Agriculture to help

administer programs and by the dairy

industry in planning, pricing, and

projecting supplies of milk and milk

products. This is a request to extend

approval for the information collection

for 3 years, including the recent

addition of cream/milkfat to the dairy

product prices surveys.

These data will be collected under the

authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a).

Individually identifiable data collected

under this authority are governed by

section 1770 of the Food Security Act of

1985, 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires

USDA to afford strict confidentiality to

non-aggregated data provided by

respondents.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 8 minutes per

response.

Respondents: Farms and businesses.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

44,689.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 24,223 hours.

Copies of this information collection

and related instructions can be obtained

without charge from Ginny McBride, the

Agency OMB Clearance Officer, at (202)

720–5778.

Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments may be sent to:

Ginny McBride, Agency OMB Clearance

Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Room 5336A South Building, 1400

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–2009 or

gmcbride@nass.usda.gov.

All responses to this notice will

become a matter of public record and be

summarized in the request for OMB

approval.

Signed at Washington, D.C., January 2,

2001.

Rich Allen,

Associate Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–1266 Filed 1–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

[I.D. 011001C]

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

The Department of Commerce has

submitted 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: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: Licensing of Private Land

Remote-Sensing Space Systems.

Form Number(s): None.

OMB Approval Number: 0648-0174.

Type of Request: Regular submission.

Burden Hours: 314.

Number of Respondents: 13.

Average Hours Per Response: 40

hours for a license application, 10 hours

for a license amendments, 2 hours for a

notification of a foreign agreement, 1

hour for an executive summary, 2 hours

for a notification of the demise of a

systems or of a decision to discontinue

operations, 2 hours for a notification of

any operational deviation, 5 hours for a

submission of a data collection

restriction plan, 3 hours for submission

of an operational plan for restricting

collection or dissemination of

information of Israeli territory, 3 hours

for submission of a data flow diagram,

1 hour for submission of satellite subsystem drawings, 3 hours for

submission of final imaging system

specifications, 2 hours for submission of