69308 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 219 / Tuesday, November 15, 2005 / Notices 

impact (FONSI) based on the EA and 

authorize shipment of the above product 

for the initiation of field tests following 

the close of the comment period for this 

notice. 

Because the issues raised by field 

testing and by issuance of a license are 

identical, APHIS has concluded that the 

EA that is generated for field testing 

would also be applicable to the 

proposed licensing action. Provided that 

the field test data support the 

conclusions of the original EA and the 

issuance of a FONSI, APHIS does not 

intend to issue a separate EA and FONSI 

to support the issuance of the product 

license, and would determine that an 

environmental impact statement need 

not be prepared. APHIS intends to issue 

a veterinary biological product license 

for this vaccine following completion of 

the field test provided no adverse 

impacts on the human environment are 

identified and provided the product 

meets all other requirements for 

licensing. 

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 151–159; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.4. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of 

November 2005. 

Elizabeth E. Gaston, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E5–6293 Filed 11–14–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Natapoc Ridge Forest Restoration 

Project, Okanogan-Wenatchee National 

Forests, Chelan County, WA 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service, USDA, 

will prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) on a site-specific 

proposal to improve forest health and 

sustainability on National Forest lands 

in the Natapoc Mountain area of the 

Wenatchee River Ranger District, 

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests. 

The proposal will include a variety of 

vegetative treatments and road 

management actions, as further 

described in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below. 

Approximately 4,588 acres would be 

treated in the proposed project area. 

The analysis area is located within the 

Wenatchee River watershed near Plain, 

Washington, approximately 12 miles 

north of the city of Leavenworth. It is 

generally bounded by U.S. Highway 2 

and State Highway 207 to the west, and 

the Wenatchee River to the north, east 

and west, and includes parts of the 

following townships: T27N, R17E; 

T26N, R17E; and T25N, R17E., 

Williamette Meridian. 

The proposal is designed to meet the 

following needs: (1) Promote the 

restoration of forest structure, 

composition, and age class distribution, 

to a more sustainable condition; (2) 

reduce the risks from wildfire, insects, 

and disease to late-successional habitat 

in the Deadhorse Late Successional 

Reserve and Natapoc Managed Late 

Successional Area; and (3) reduce 

hazardous fuels within the wildlandurban interface, particularly in areas 

adjacent to private property. The 

direction in the Wenatchee National 

Forest Land and Resource Management 

Plan (1990), as amended by the 

Northwest Forest Plan (1994; 2004), 

provides the overall guidance for 

management of this area. 

Activities would be implemented 

between 2006 and approximately 2016 

by a combination of private contracting, 

Forest Service personnel, cooperative 

agreements, and volunteers. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

December 14, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

to James L. Boynton, Forest Supervisor, 

c/o Vaughan Marable, District Ranger, 

Wenatchee River Ranger District, 600 

Sherbourne, Leavenworth, Washington 

98826, Attn: Natapoc Ridge Forest 

Restoration Project. Comments may be 

mailed electronically to 

comments_wenatchee_river@fs.fed.us. 

See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section below for file formats and other 

information about electronic filing of 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Willet, Natapoc Project Leader, 

USDA Forest Service, Wenatchee River 

Ranger District, 600 Sherbourne, 

Leavenworth, Washington 98826; phone 

509–548–6977, Ext. 288. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose and need for action in 

the project area is to promote the 

restoration of forest structure, 

composition, and age class distribution, 

to a more sustainable condition. Fire 

exclusion and timber harvest over the 

last 100 years have dramatically 

changed these forest components. Stand 

densities and fuel accumulations are 

abnormally high and at risk of 

uncharacteristic stand replacement 

wildfire. Fire exclusion and past timber 

harvest have also altered forest 

composition by increasing the fire 

intolerant species while decreasing the 

fire tolerant species. The number of host 

trees susceptible to disease or insect 

attack has increased. The proposed 

action is needed to reduce the risk of 

large scale, uncharacteristic wildfire and 

improve forest health. 

In dry forest types within the project 

area, the objective is to promote open 

stands of large ponderosa pine and 

Douglas-fir. In mesic forest types of the 

project area, the objective is to promote 

a mosiac of diverse stand structures, 

spatially isolating crown-fire prone 

stands. Within the Deadhorse Late 

Successional Reserve and Natapoc 

Managed Late Successional Area, the 

purpose and need is to reduce the risk 

to late-successional habitat from 

wildfire, insects and disease. The 

Natapoc Ridge Forest Restoration 

Project would also reduce hazardous 

fuels within the wildland-urban 

interface, especially in areas adjacent to 

private property, to provide access and 

increase safety for firefighters and the 

public. 

The Forest Service has successfully 

implemented similar restoration 

projects in the Fish Lake and Natapoc 

Ridge area since the early 1990s. This 

proposal is a continuation of those 

efforts. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed Natapoc Ridge Forest 

Restoration Project would include the 

following activities: 

—Commercial thinning of overstocked 

stands to improve tree vigor, reduce 

ladder and crown fuels, and favor the 

retention of large healthy Douglas-fir 

and ponderosa pine. Various 

combinations of underburning, hand 

piling/pile burning, and top/limb 

yarding would be used to reduce both 

activity and existing fuels. 

—Non-commercial thinning and some 

pruning of small trees to improve 

vigor, reduce ladder and crown fuels, 

and favor desired species. Treatment 

areas would mostly occur in 15+ year 

old plantations. 

—Regeneration harvest of selected 

stands that are currently unstable due 

to insect and disease infestations. 

Usually, all but 5 to 10 large, healthy 

trees would be cut in these areas. 

Areas would be replanted with 

desired tree species. 

—Ladder and surface fuel reduction 

through pruning or cutting of low 

hanging limbs and small trees up to 

6 to 7 inches in diameter in order to 

reduce potential surface fire intensity 

and to prevent tree torching. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 219 / Tuesday, November 15, 2005 / Notices 69309 

—Underburning of selected areas to 

reduce ladder fuels and accumulated 

surface fuels. 

—Closure of portions of the existing 

open roads to motorized vehicles in 

order to reduce overall road mileage 

in the project area. 

—Noxious weed prevention and control 

through use of manual, cultural, and/ 

or chemical control methods. 

Proposed logging systems would 

include helicopter, ground-based over 

snow, and/or skyline cable systems. 

Access for treatments could require 

construction of approximately 15.2 

miles of temporary new road, 

reconstruction of approximately 1.7 

miles of existing permanent roads, and 

reopening of approximately 16.8 miles 

of existing closed roads. All new, 

reconstructed, and reopened roads 

would be closed after completion of 

project activities. In addition, 

approximately 8.0 miles of existing 

open roads are proposed to be closed 

after completion of project activities. 

The proposed action also includes a 

minor amendment of the 1990 

Wenatchee Forest Plan to clarify 

standards and guidlines for intermediate 

harvest in the Classified Special Area 

(SI–2) land allocation. 

The Natapoc Ridge Forest Restoration 

Project was prompted by the 1996 

Nason Creek Watershed Analysis, the 

1999 Mainstem Wenatchee River 

Watershed Analysis, and the 2004 

Forest Health Assessment for the 

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests. 

A number of strategies were suggested 

that would begin moving areas of the 

watershed back to the desired condition. 

This proposed action is intended to 

carry out some of these strategies within 

the Natapoc portion of the watershed. 

Possible Alternatives 

A full range of alternatives will be 

considered, including a No Action 

Alternative, in which none of the 

activities proposed above would be 

implemented. Based on the issues 

gathered during scoping, the action 

alternatives would differ in (1) the 

silvicultural treatments prescribed; (2) 

the type, amount and location of 

harvest; (3) the amount and location of 

fuels reduction activities; and (4) the 

proposals for road management, 

including road closures and new 

construction. 

Responsible Official 

The Responsible Official is James L. 

Boynton, Forest Supervisor, OkanoganWenatchee National Forests, 215 

Melody Lane, Wenatchee, Washington 

98801. The Responsible Official will 

document the Natapoc Ridge Forest 

Restoration Project decision and reasons 

for the decision in a Record of Decision. 

That decision will be subject to Forest 

Service appeal regulations (36 CFR part 

215). 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Responsible Official will decide 

which, if any, of the proposed activities 

will be implemented, including the 

type, extent, and location of vegetative 

treatments to carry out on National 

Forest System lands within the project 

area, and management of the associated 

road system. The decision regarding 

which combination of actions to 

implement will be determined by 

comparing how each factor of the 

project purpose and need is met by each 

of the alternatives and the manner in 

which each alternative responds to the 

key issues raised and public comments 

received during the analysis. 

Scoping Process 

Public participation will be sought at 

several points during the analysis, 

including listing of this project in the 

Fall 2005 and subsequent issues of the 

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests 

Schedule of Proposed Actions; letters to 

Indian Tribes, agencies, organizations 

and individuals who may be interested 

in or affected by the proposed activities; 

and a legal notice in The Wenatchee 

World newspaper. A public meeting 

may be scheduled during the winter/ 

spring of 2006. The scoping process will 

include identifying potential issues, 

identifying major issues to be analyzed 

in depth, eliminating non-significant 

issues or those previously covered by a 

relevant environmental analysis, 

exploring additional alternatives 

derived from the issues recognized 

during scoping activities, and 

identifying potential environmental 

effects of the proposed action and 

alternatives (i.e., direct, indirect and 

cumulative effects and connected 

actions). 

Comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses of those who comment, will 

be considered part of the public record 

on this Proposed Action and will be 

available for public inspection. 

Comments submitted anonymously will 

be accepted and considered; however, 

those who submit anonymous 

comments will not have standing to 

appeal the subsequent decision under 

36 CFR part 215. Additionally, pursuant 

to 7 CFR 1.27(d), any person may 

request the agency to withhold a 

submission from the public record by 

showing how the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) permits such 

confidentiality. Persons requesting such 

confidentiality should be aware that 

under the FOIA, confidentiality may be 

granted in only very limited 

circumstances, such as to protect trade 

secrets. The Forest Service will inform 

the requester of the agency’s decision 

regarding the request for confidentiality, 

and where the request is denied, the 

agency will return the submission and 

notify the requester that the comments 

may be resubmitted with or without 

name and address within a specified 

number of days. 

Electronic Access and Filing Addresses 

Comments and data may be submitted 

by sending electronic mail (e-mail) to: 

comments_wenatchee_river@fs.fed.us. 

Include the project name in the e-mail 

subject line and submit comments either 

as part of the e-mail message or as an 

attachment in one of the following three 

formats: Microsoft Word, rich text 

format (rtf) or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (pdf). 

Preliminary Issues 

Preliminary issues include the 

following: Effects to late-successional 

habitat of the Deadhorse Late 

Successional Reserve and the Natapoc 

Managed Late Successional Area; effects 

of the proposed activities on the scenic 

and recreational qualities of the 

Wenatchee Wild and Scenic River 

corridor; effects on the Wenatchee River 

fisheries, riparian reserves, grizzly bear 

core habitat, spotted owl critical habitat, 

deer winter range, large old trees, and 

noxius weeds; disturbance to heritage 

resources; ability of the proposed 

activities to contribute to restoration of 

sustainable vegetative composition, 

structure and pattern; and the degree to 

which activities will reduce fuels in 

critical wildland-urban interface areas. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

The comment period on the draft EIS 

will be 45 days from the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability in 

the Federal Register. The draft EIS is 

expected to be filed with the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

and to be available for review in April 

2005 and the final EIS is expected to be 

completed by July 2005. 

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 draft environmental impact 

statements must structure their 

participation in the environmental 

review of the proposal so that it is 

69310 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 219 / Tuesday, November 15, 2005 / Notices 

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 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 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. 

Dated: November 7, 2005. 

Paul Hart, 

Acting Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 05–22595 Filed 11–14–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

[Docket Number 051102289–5289–01] 

Service Annual Survey for 2005 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of determination. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with Title 13, 

United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 

182, 224, and 225, the Bureau of the 

Census (Census Bureau) has determined 

that limited financial data (revenue, 

expenses, and the like) for selected 

service industries are needed to provide 

a sound statistical basis for the 

formation of policy by various 

governmental agencies. These data also 

apply to a variety of public and business 

needs. To obtain the desired data, the 

Census Bureau announces the 

administration of the 2005 Service 

Annual Survey (SAS). 

ADDRESSES: The Census Bureau will 

furnish report forms to respondents 

included in the survey, and additional 

copies are available upon written 

request to the Director, Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC 20233–0101. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron 

Farrar, Chief, Health and Consumer 

Services Branch, Service Sector 

Statistics Division, on (301) 763–6782. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Census Bureau conducts surveys 

necessary to furnish current data on 

subjects covered by the major censuses 

authorized by Title 13, U.S.C. The SAS 

provides continuing and timely national 

statistical data each year. Data collected 

in this survey are within the general 

scope, type, and character of those 

inquiries covered in the economic 

census. 

The Census Bureau needs reports only 

from a limited sample of service sector 

firms in the United States. The SAS now 

covers all or some of the following nine 

sectors: Transportation and 

Warehousing; Information; Finance and 

Insurance; Real Estate and Rental and 

Leasing; Professional, Scientific, and 

Technical Services; Administrative and 

Support and Waste Management and 

Remediation Services; Health Care and 

Social Assistance; Arts, Entertainment, 

and Recreation; and Other Services. The 

probability of a firm’s selection is based 

on its revenue size (estimated from 

payroll); that is, firms with a larger 

payroll will have a greater probability of 

being selected than those with smaller 

ones. We are mailing report forms to the 

firms covered by this survey and require 

their submission within 30 days after 

receipt. These data are not publicly 

available from nongovernment or other 

government sources. 

Based upon the foregoing, the Census 

Bureau is conducting the 2005 SAS for 

the purpose of collecting these data. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, no person is required to respond 

to, nor shall a person be subject to a 

penalty for failure to comply with, a 

collection of information subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) unless that 

collection of information displays a 

current valid Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) control number. In 

accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C., 

Chapter 35, the OMB approved the SAS 

under OMB Control Number 0607–0422. 

Dated: November 9, 2005. 

Charles Louis Kincannon, 

Director, Bureau of the Census. 

[FR Doc. 05–22599 Filed 11–14–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

[Docket Number 050728205–5287–02] 

RIN 0607–AA45 

Annual Trade Survey 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of determination. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census 

(Census Bureau) is expanding the 2005 

Annual Trade Survey (ATS) to include 

agents, brokers, and electronic markets 

(AGBR). The Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA) has requested the 

expansion. The BEA considers this 

information vital to its accurate 

measurement of sales and value added 

for wholesale trade. These data are 

important inputs to BEA’s preparation 

of National Income and Product 

accounts and its annual input-output 

tables. 

EFFECTIVE DATES: The Census Bureau 

adopts the expanded ATS as of 

November 15, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The Census Bureau will 

furnish report forms to respondents 

included in the survey, and additional 

copies are available upon written 

request to the Director, Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC 20233–0101. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

R. Trimble, Chief, Annual Wholesale 

and Special Projects Branch, Service 

Sector Statistics Division, on (301) 763–

7223 or by e-mail at 

John.R.Trimble@census.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Census Bureau is authorized to conduct 

surveys necessary to furnish current 

data on subjects covered by the major 

censuses authorized by Title 13, United 

States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 182, 224, 

and 225. Reporting by AGBR offices will 

be mandatory and will provide 

continuing and timely national 

statistical data. Data collected in this 

survey will be within the general scope, 

type, and character of those inquiries 

covered in the Economic Census. 

The current ATS collects data for all 

merchant wholesalers, including 

manufacturers’ sales branches and 

offices (MSBO). The expanded survey 

will include a selected sample of AGBRs 

that facilitate sales between businesses