34234 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Notices 

Dated: June 1, 2022. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12067 Filed 6–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Request for Information (RFI) 

Regarding Wildfire Crisis 

Implementation Plan 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service invites 

public comment on the framework, 

focus, and direction of its Wildfire 

Crisis Implementation Plan associated 

with the Wildfire Crisis Strategy and 

specific provisions of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act, 2021. This 

Implementation Plan differs from a land 

management plan, which is a 

requirement of the National Forest 

Management Act. The Wildfire Crisis 

Implementation Plan will provide a 

cross-jurisdictional blueprint for 

coordination, collaboration and funding 

of restoration treatments specifically 

designed to reduce wildfire risk to 

people, communities, and natural 

resources in high priority, at-risk 

landscapes. It is intended to be a living 

document informed by public 

engagement and outreach, and projects/ 

actions will comply with National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

accordingly. We invite public comment 

on specific elements of the 

Implementation Plan, per questions 

outlined below. Comments will be 

considered in further developing and 

refining approaches taken by the Forest 

Service. 

DATES: Comments must be received in 

writing by July 6, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

concerning this notice should be sent 

via email to https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/ 

Public/CommentInput?project=NP3172. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrea Bedell-Loucks, Engagement and 

Strategic Partnerships, Wildfire Risk 

Reduction Infrastructure Team, (202) 

295–7968, andrea.loucks@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use telecommunication 

devices for the deaf or hard of hearing 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 800–877–8339 24 hours 

a day, every day of the year, including 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this RFI is to inform the 

public and gather feedback on potential 

future implementation efforts associated 

with provisions of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 

117–58, Division D Title VIII, Sec. 

40803(b)) and the Forest Service’s 

Wildfire Crisis Strategy (https://

www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ 

Confronting-Wildfire-Crisis.pdf). This 

Implementation Plan differs from a land 

management plan, which is a 

requirement of the National Forest 

Management Act and ‘‘guides 

management of National Forest System 

lands’’ (36 CFR 219.1(c)). 

Background. The past 10 wildfire 

seasons, including 2020–2021, 

highlighted the incredible challenges 

associated with keeping communities 

safe and more resilient to the impacts of 

climate change and extreme weather 

events. These challenges underscore a 

growing need for a new land 

management approach within the Forest 

Service—one that is designed to support 

strategic management and restoration of 

millions of acres of land in high-risk 

areas to protect forest health, watershed 

function, and human infrastructure. 

With the need for increased pace and 

scale of restoration associated with the 

Wildfire Crisis Strategy, the Forest 

Service aims to approach on-going 

challenges holistically and in 

partnership with employees, multiple 

agencies, Tribal and other governments, 

communities, industries, organizations, 

and private landowners. 

To help inform the development of 

the Implementation Plan, the Forest 

Service has partnered with the National 

Forest Foundation to host a series of 

virtual roundtable discussions with 

internal and external audiences. Eight 

regional roundtables have been 

conducted since February 2022, and two 

additional roundtables are planned 

(Region 9- May 31, June 1–2 and Region 

10- June 7–9). These roundtables are 

intended to strengthen shared 

approaches to how the Forest Service, 

Tribal Nations, State and local 

governments, Federal agencies, and 

partners work together to reduce risk by 

moving from small-scale, independently 

managed treatments to strategic, 

science-based, landscape-scale 

treatments. Information on the 

roundtable discussions hosted by the 

National Forest Foundation can be 

found at https://www.nationalforests.

org/collaboration-resources/wildfirecrisis-strategy-roundtables. 

Input Requested. Input is sought on 

the key thematic questions covered in 

roundtable discussions to ensure that 

the Agency develops its Implementation 

Plan with diverse input from all 

involved, interested, and affected 

parties. Our intent with the issuance of 

this notice is to consider such input 

and, as appropriate, incorporate it to 

update and refine the Wildfire Crisis 

Implementation Plan (https://

www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ 

Wildfire-Crisis-ImplementationPlan.pdf). The Forest Service is 

especially interested in receiving input 

on the following topics, listed 

alphabetically with questions for 

consideration: 

Cross-boundary Partnerships. No 

single entity can accomplish all the 

work needed to achieve the collective 

restoration that our forests and 

communities need. We must build and 

maintain multi-jurisdictional coalitions 

to work across landscapes, leverage 

capacity, and build public and 

community support for this work. Key 

questions associated with crossboundary partnerships include: What 

are examples of successful tools and 

approaches to multi-jurisdictional 

restoration work? Are there process or 

policy barriers to cross-boundary 

partnerships that you have encountered, 

including an ability to reach underserved populations, and if so, what are 

some potential solutions to these 

barriers? What can we readily build 

upon at a regional or national level to 

advance cross-boundary partnerships 

and large-scale forest resiliency? 

Forest Products and Markets. The 

wood products industry has been, and 

will remain, an important partner for 

helping to achieve restoration outcomes 

and reduce wildfire risk. New and 

innovative uses of forest products not 

only support restoration and reduce 

risk, but also sequester large quantities 

of carbon. In these efforts, we will need 

to explore current market capacity and 

room for innovation. Key questions 

associated with forest products and 

markets include: What are the on-going 

challenges to a healthy forest products 

market? How might the Forest Service, 

Tribal Nations, State and local 

governments, and other organizations 

work together to grow markets and 

market potential? What opportunities 

are there to expand market potential and 

access tribal and underserved 

communities? 

Outcome-based Metrics and 

Prioritization. We are focused on 

outcome-based work to achieve 

mutually desired priorities, including 

risk to people, communities, natural 

resources, and other values at the 

landscape scale. We will develop 

outcome-based performance measures to 

track accomplishments, to measure 

effectiveness, and to inform continued 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Notices 34235 

work. Key questions associated with 

outcome-based metrics and 

prioritization include: What successful 

prioritization approaches have you seen 

at the landscape scale? How are Tribal 

Nations, State and local governments, 

and partners involved? How have the 

needs of underserved and socially 

vulnerable communities (including 

tribal communities), and the impacts on 

these communities, been considered? 

What tools are you currently using or 

interested in using, and why? 

Science Supporting Wildfire Risk 

Reduction. Delineation of priority 

treatment areas and subsequent project 

design will be supported by the best 

available science, including social 

science and Traditional and Indigenous 

Ecological Knowledge. Key questions 

associated with science application 

include: What types of science products 

do you rely upon to support this work? 

What do you see as current gaps and 

information needs in the science of fuels 

and fire risk reduction efforts? How 

effective is information sharing across 

communities, agencies, disciplines, and 

scales (local, regional, and national), 

and what can be done to improve or 

sustain such sharing? 

Workforce Capacity. We need to 

rebuild skills and workforce capacity to 

accomplish management treatments and 

fully engage with communities at the 

necessary pace and scale. This will 

require building and sustaining an 

inclusive workforce across governments 

and organizations. Key questions 

associated with workforce capacity 

include: What major constraints are you 

facing around workforce capacity? What 

key workforce skills and knowledge are 

needed for fuels reduction work? How 

might we ensure our collective 

workforce is well-positioned to engage 

and support underserved and socially 

vulnerable communities? Are there 

existing training or workforce 

development programs that you have 

developed or are using/leveraging for 

this work? 

Conclusion. The Forest Service is 

considering how best to proceed in 

further developing and refining its 

implementation of the Wildfire Crisis 

Strategy. Your input relating to the 

questions listed above will be helpful in 

building this Plan. 

Dated: May 31, 2022. 

Brian Ferebee, 

Senior Executive, Intergovernmental Affairs, 

USDA Forest Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12071 Filed 6–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Census Bureau 

[Docket Number 220519–0117] 

Change to County-Equivalents in the 

State of Connecticut 

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice provides 

information about the State of 

Connecticut’s (hereafter Connecticut or 

the State) formal request to the Census 

Bureau to adopt the State’s nine 

planning regions as county-equivalent 

geographic units for purposes of 

collecting, tabulating, and disseminating 

statistical data, replacing the eight 

counties which ceased to function as 

governmental and administrative 

entities in 1960. The Census Bureau will 

implement this change internally in 

2022, with public data and geospatial 

products reflecting the change 

beginning in late 2022. By 2024, all 

Census Bureau operations and 

publications, both internal and external, 

will use the nine new county-equivalent 

boundaries, names, and codes, except 

for 2020 Decennial Census data 

publications and other datasets 

referencing the eight legacy counties as 

published before June 1, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information on 

this notice should be directed to Rikki 

Wortham: geo.geography@census.gov. 

Phone: 812–218–3973. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Officials 

with the Connecticut Office of Policy 

and Management contacted the Census 

Bureau in October 2017 regarding the 

possibility of replacing the State’s eight 

counties with the State’s nine planning 

regions for purposes of collecting, 

tabulating, and disseminating statistical 

data. This notice provides information 

about Connecticut’s formal request to 

the Census Bureau to adopt the State’s 

nine planning regions, representing 

their councils of governments (COGs), 

designated under Section 16a–4a (4) of 

the Connecticut General Statutes, as the 

county-equivalent geographic unit for 

purposes of collecting, tabulating, and 

disseminating statistical and geospatial 

data. This notice also serves as a final 

response to all comments received to 

the proposed notice published in the 

Federal Register on December 14, 2020 

(85 FR 80766). 

The Census Bureau is publishing this 

notice in consultation with Connecticut 

to inform county-level data users of the 

decision to implement the change and 

to request that all stakeholders begin 

preparation for the mitigation of any 

potential impacts. Other federal 

agencies may have their own 

operational uses for the legacy 

boundaries, names, codes, or related 

geospatial data; however, specific 

guidance on these matters is out of 

scope for this notice. 

All agencies, stakeholders, and data 

users are urged to review their own 

operations and procedures to prepare 

for the change and assess any impacts. 

The Census Bureau will continue to 

maintain the boundaries, names, and 

codes of the eight nonfunctioning legacy 

counties as recorded by the 

International Committee for Information 

Technology Standards (INCITS) 

(formerly Federal Information 

Processing Standard (FIPS)) Codes, but 

they will no longer be recognized as 

valid and current for future Census 

Bureau programs, products, and 

publications after June 2022. Previously 

published data and geospatial products 

will continue to reflect the boundaries, 

names, and codes of the legacy counties 

in effect at the time of publication and 

can be used as a reference for research 

and operational needs. 

This notice is Census Bureau’s final 

announcement that Connecticut’s 

request will be implemented and urges 

all stakeholders to immediately prepare 

for any impacts related to the adoption 

of planning regions as countyequivalents on data collection; data 

analysis; data dissemination; planning 

and decision making; and program 

implementation. The Census Bureau 

suggests that stakeholders: (1) establish 

plans for updating or replacing data 

collection and tabulation programs or 

nonstatistical programs that will not be 

able to implement this change; (2) 

establish plans to accommodate a 

substantial break in data continuity if 

longitudinal analyses are no longer 

possible; and (3) identify specific 

programs and other uses of county-level 

information that will require county 

name, code, and boundary updates. 

13 U.S.C. 181 requires that the 

Secretary of Commerce ‘‘annually 

produce and publish for each State, 

county, and local unit of generalpurpose government which has a 

population of fifty thousand or more, 

current data on total population and 

population characteristics and, to the 

extent feasible, . . . biennially produce 

and publish for other local units of 

general-purpose government current 

data on total population.’’ 13 U.S.C. 183 

further requires that with the exception 

of laws which provide that only 

population or population characteristics 

data obtained in the most recent 

decennial census may be used, that 


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