Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 222 / Friday, November 18, 2005 / Notices 69931 

assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized and included in the 

request for Office of Management and 

Budget approval. 

Dated: November 3, 2005. 

Ann M. Bartuska, 

Deputy Chief for Research & Development. 

[FR Doc. 05–22900 Filed 11–17–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Revision of Land Management Plan for 

the Uwharrie National Forest 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of initiation to revise the 

Uwharrie National Forest Land 

Management Plan. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service is revising 

the Land and Resource Management 

Plan (hereafter referred to as Forest 

Plan) for the Uwharrie National Forest 

(UNF). This notice provides: 

1. A summary of the need to change 

the Forest Plan; 

2. Information on how the public can 

comment on the need to change, when 

those comments are due, and how 

comments can be submitted; 

3. A list of documents available for 

review and how to get them; 

4. How the public can participate in 

the planning process; 

5. Who to contact for more 

information. 

DATES: Revision formally begins with 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. Many public comments 

regarding Forest Plan revision have 

already been received at public 

meetings and through e-mail. 

Additional comments on the need to 

change the Forest Plan should be 

submitted within 30 days of the date 

this notice is published in the Federal 

Register. 

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments 

to: Uwharrie Plan Revision, National 

Forests in North Carolina, P.O. Box 

2750, Asheville, NC 28802. Electronic 

mail should include ‘‘Uwharrie Plan 

Revision’’ in the subject line and be sent 

to: comments-southern-northcarolina@fs.fed.us. More information on 

the UNF and Forest Plan revision 

process is available at: http://www. 

cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/uwharrie_plan/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ruth Berner, National Forests in North 

Carolina, Planning Team Leader, (828) 

257–4862. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Uwharrie National Forest is managed as 

part of the National Forests in North 

Carolina. The original Forest Plan for 

the UNF was completed in 1986. 

Documents Available for Review 

Several reports and draft documents 

written over the past few years help 

identify how the existing Forest Plan 

might need to change to be more useful 

in the future. These documents include: 

1. Uwharrie National Forest 

Recreation Realignment Report (August 

2001), hardcopy available by sending a 

request to comments-southern-northcarolina@fs.fed.us. 

2. Roads Analysis Process Report 

Uwharrie National Forest (December 

2003), available online at http:// 

www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/roads/ 

uwharrie_rap.pdf. 

3. Uwharrie National Forest 

Watershed Analysis Draft Report 

(September 2004), hardcopy available 

by sending a request to commentssouthern-north-carolina@fs.fed.us. 

4. Uwharrie National Forest—A 

Strategic View (July 2005, Initial Draft 

Comprehensive Evaluation Report), 

available online at http:// 

www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/uwharrie_plan/ 

, or by requesting a copy. 

Need for Change 

Growing as a Tourist Destination: As 

population in the area grows, local 

public lands are increasingly being seen 

as a place of relaxation; a quiet, peaceful 

retreat. The UNF is the top tourist 

destination in Montgomery County, and 

one of several popular tourist 

destinations in Randolph County. There 

may be tourism-related opportunities to 

provide more economic benefits to local 

communities. 

Nature Hikes Becoming More Popular: 

Most visitors to the UNF seek a place to 

walk, view nature, and perhaps picnic, 

swim, or fish. The UNF, with its lake 

and river frontage, rolling topography, 

and existing road and trail system, is 

currently providing a variety of these 

opportunities. There may be ways to 

make visits more enjoyable, especially 

along the Uwharrie Trail and the 

Uwharrie River. 

Game Lands Heavily Hunted: Hunting 

definitely has a place on the UNF; the 

Forest has the highest hunting use per 

acre of any North Carolina Wildlife 

Resources Commission (NCWRC) game 

land. There may be opportunities to 

better provide the types of wildlife 

habitat that are in short supply on 

nearby private land. 

Providing Wood Products: Timber 

harvested from the UNF helps to meet 

increasing American consumer demand 

for wood products while at the same 

time providing a cost-effective way to 

create and maintain wildlife habitat. 

Wood products also provide economic 

benefits to local communities. There 

may be opportunities to change the 

amount or type of timber products 

offered to the local forest products 

industry. 

Opportunities To Improve the 

Transportation System: There may be 

opportunities to improve the existing 

UNF road and trail system, to enhance 

public access while minimizing visitor 

conflicts and resource damage. 

Opportunity for Off-Highway 

Vehicles: Off-highway vehicles (OHV) 

currently have access to a sixteen-mile 

trail system. There are few other known 

opportunities in the Piedmont for this 

type of experience, and demand is 

increasing. OHV use on NFS lands is 

controversial due to potential resource 

impacts and incidents when OHV users 

have strayed from the trail system. 

There may be opportunities to better 

manage the OHV trail system to provide 

the desired experience while lessening 

impacts to the forest resources. 

Interpreting History: Archeological 

and historical resources on the UNF 

provide a unique opportunity for 

current forest visitors to learn about 

those who lived here in the past, and at 

the same time provide an outdoor 

recreation experience. Careful, 

innovative planning may ensure that 

historically important sites are protected 

yet still accessible. 

Restoring Native Ecosystems: Existing 

UNF ecosystems include native pine 

and hardwood communities, but also 

include loblolly pine communities on 

sites that once supported longleaf pine. 

Vegetation management could restore 

longleaf pine and other historic plant 

communities on appropriate sites. 

Using Fire as a Tool: Restoring the 

natural role of fire is important in 

sustaining some ecosystems such as 

longleaf pine and the open woodland 

conditions used by a number of rare 

plants. Increasing use of prescribed fire 

may better maintain these native plant 

communities. 

Controlling Non-native Invasive 

Plants: Controlling non-native invasive 

69932 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 222 / Friday, November 18, 2005 / Notices 

plant species would allow us to better 

sustain native plant communities. 

Consistent Acorn Production: There is 

a relatively limited supply of oaks in the 

age range when acorns are most 

abundantly produced. Periodic 

vegetation management can ensure an 

adequate age range of oaks for acorn 

production over time. Acorns are an 

important food source for many wildlife 

species on the UNF. 

Selective Stream Restoration: Most 

aquatic habitats on the UNF are in good 

to excellent condition and support a 

high diversity of fish and mussel 

species. However, some stream channel 

conditions are less than optimal. There 

is an opportunity and a need to restore 

these impaired stream channels. 

Managing Roads and Trails 

Effectively to Reduce Erosion: The roads 

and trails on the UNF are potential 

sediment sources that can degrade water 

quality and aquatic habitats. There is a 

need and an opportunity to reduce the 

sediment from these sources through 

partnerships, and better management 

and maintenance. 

Comment Requested 

The Forest Service is seeking 

information and comments from 

individuals, organizations, and Federal, 

state, and local governments and 

agencies on the need to change the 

current UNF Forest Plan direction. The 

current conditions and trends of forest 

resources and opportunities for change 

are described in more detail in the 

Uwharrie National Forest—A Strategic 

View (Initial Draft of the Comprehensive 

Evaluation Report). The Forest Service 

is asking for comment on the topics 

identified in the Need for Change 

summarized above and for any other 

topics that individuals, organizations, 

and government and agencies feel 

should be addressed during the revision 

process. As described above, any 

comments on the Need for Change 

should be submitted within 30-days 

from the publication of this Notice of 

Initiation. 

Public Participation 

The plan revision is an open process 

with numerous opportunities for the 

public to obtain information, provide 

comments, or participate in 

collaborative stakeholder activities. 

Options for the public include the 

following methods: (1) Participating in 

collaborative dialogue at public 

meetings, (2) reviewing and 

commenting on the documents, 

preliminary plan components, analysis 

results, and supporting maps (posted on 

our Web site http://www.cs.unca.edu/ 

nfsnc/uwharrie_plan or sent to you 

hardcopy at your request), or (3) 

providing input during formal comment 

periods. 

The focal points of the collaborative 

work are: (1) Developing and refining 

plan desired conditions, (2) designing 

management objectives to work toward 

attaining or maintaining desired 

conditions, (3) identifying suitable uses 

for various parts of the UNF, (4) 

identifying special areas, (5) writing 

guidelines to serve as operational 

controls or environmental safeguards, 

(6) outlining the monitoring framework 

to be used for evaluating forest 

conditions. We expect this phase of 

collaboration to run through the spring 

of 2006. Our remaining forest plan 

revision schedule will be approximately 

as follows: (1) Release of draft forest 

plan and start of 90-day public comment 

period, fall 2006, (2) release of final plan 

and start of 30-day objection period, 

summer 2007, (3) final decision and 

start of plan implementation, fall 2007. 

Responsible Official 

The Forest Supervisor, National 

Forests in North Carolina, is the 

Responsible Official (36 CFR 

219.2(b)(1)). 

(Authority: 36 CFR 219.9(b)(2)(i), 70 FR 1023, 

January 5, 2005) 

Marisue Hilliard, 

Forest Supervisor, National Forests in North 

Carolina. 

[FR Doc. 05–22910 Filed 11–17–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–ES–M 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Information Collection To Be 

Submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act; Annual 

Certification 

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase from 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Committee for Purchase 

from People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled (The Committee) will submit 

the collections of information listed 

below to OMB for approval under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. This notice solicits comments on 

these collections of information. 

DATES: Submit your written comments 

on the information collection on or 

before January 17, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Mail your comments on the 

requirement to Janet Yandik, 

Information Management Specialist, 

Committee for Purchase from People 

Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, 

1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, Jefferson 

Plaza 2, Suite 10800, Arlington, VA, 

22202–3259; fax (703) 603–0655; or email rulecomments@jwod.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request a copy of the applicable forms 

or explanatory material, contact Janet 

Yandik at information in above 

paragraph. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulations at 5 CFR part 1320, which 

implement provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.), require that interested members 

of the public and affected agencies have 

an opportunity to comment on 

information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). The Committee plans to 

submit a request to OMB to renew its 

approval of the collections of 

information concerning annual 

certification of nonprofit agencies 

serving people who are blind or who 

have other severe disabilities to 

participate in the Javits-Wagner-O’Day 

(JWOD) Program. The Committee is 

requesting a 3-year term of approval for 

these information collection activities. 

Federal agencies may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for these collections of 

information are 3037–0002 and 3037–

0001. 

The JWOD Act of 1971 (41 U.S.C. 46–

48c) is the authorizing legislation for the 

JWOD Program. The JWOD Program 

creates jobs and training opportunities 

for people who are blind or who have 

other severe disabilities. Its primary 

means of doing so is by requiring 

Government agencies to purchase 

selected products and services from 

nonprofit agencies employing such 

individuals. The JWOD Program is 

administered by the Committee. Two 

national, independent organizations, 

National Industries for the Blind (NIB) 

and NISH, help State and private 

nonprofit agencies participate in the 

JWOD Program. 

This information collection renewal 

request seeks approval for the 

Committee to continue to collect the 

information required under 41 CFR 51–

4.3 of the regulations so that the 

Committee can continue to verify the 

appropriateness of nonprofit agencies 

that participate in the JWOD Program. 

There are no changes to these current 

collections in this renewal request.