58048 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 197 / Friday, October 12, 2007 / Notices 

for approving the importation of 

commodities that, based on the findings 

of a pest risk analysis, can be safely 

imported subject to one or more of the 

designated phytosanitary measures 

listed in paragraph (b) of that section. 

These measures are: 

• The fruits or vegetables are subject 

to inspection upon arrival in the United 

States and comply with all applicable 

provisions of § 319.56–3; 

• The fruits or vegetables are 

imported from a pest-free area in the 

country of origin that meets the 

requirements of § 319.56–5 for freedom 

from that pest and are accompanied by 

a phytosanitary certificate stating that 

the fruits or vegetables originated in a 

pest-free area in the country of origin; 

• The fruits or vegetables are treated 

in accordance with 7 CFR part 305; 

• The fruits or vegetables are 

inspected in the country of origin by an 

inspector or an official of the national 

plant protection organization of the 

exporting country, and have been found 

free of one or more specific quarantine 

pests identified by the risk analysis as 

likely to follow the import pathway; 

and/or 

• The fruits or vegetables are a 

commercial consignment. 

APHIS received a request from the 

Government of Australia to allow the 

importation of sweet cherries from 

Australia into the continental United 

States and Hawaii. We have completed 

a pest risk assessment to identify pests 

of quarantine significance that could 

follow the pathway of importation into 

the United States and, based on that 

pest risk assessment, have prepared a 

risk management analysis to identify 

phytosanitary measures that could be 

applied to the commodity to mitigate 

the pest risk. We have concluded that 

sweet cherries can be safely imported 

into the continental United States and 

Hawaii from Australia using one or 

more of the five designated 

phytosanitary measures listed in 

§ 319.56–4(b). Therefore, in accordance 

with § 319.56–4(c), we are announcing 

the availability of our pest risk analysis 

for public review and comment. The 

pest risk analysis 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 

pest risk analysis by calling or writing 

to the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the 

subject of the pest risk analysis when 

requesting copies. We have also 

prepared an environmental assessment 

in connection with this action which is 

available for review and comment in the 

same manner as the pest risk analysis. 

After reviewing the comments we 

receive, we will announce our decision 

regarding the import status of sweet 

cherries from Australia in a subsequent 

notice. If the overall conclusions of the 

analysis and the Administrator’s 

determination of risk remain unchanged 

following our consideration of the 

comments, then we will begin issuing 

permits for importation of sweet 

cherries from Australia into the 

continental United States and Hawaii 

subject to the requirements specified in 

the risk management analysis. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of 

October 2007. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–20166 Filed 10–11–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Sierra National Forest, Bass Lake 

Ranger District, California, Sugar Pine 

Adaptive Management Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Sierra National Forest, 

Bass Lake Ranger District is proposing 

to conduct a comprehensive series of 

treatments centered on a Wildland 

Urban Intermix area known as the 

community of Sugar Pine. Strategically 

Placed Area Treatments (SPLATs) have 

been initially identified to provide a 

means to reduce the intensity and 

spread of wildland fires across the 

landscape and near communities. 

Additional treatments within these 

SPLATs have been identified where 

forest stands are densely stocked and 

thinning is needed. This thinning is 

needed to reduce inter-tree competition 

and improve tree vigor and increase 

stand resistance to drought conditions, 

insect and disease attack. The effects of 

implementing the treatments called for 

in the final decision will be studied by 

the University of California as they 

relate to fire and fuels, water quality and 

quantity, wildlife (specifically the 

Pacific Fisher) and public involvement. 

Depending on the results of this study, 

future management actions on other 

similar ecosystems may be changed. 

This approach to monitoring and 

feedback is called Adaptive 

Management and is a primary reason for 

the descriptive title. 

DATES: To be most effective, comments 

concerning the scope of this analysis 

should be received by October 31, 2007. 

Public scoping for this analysis, 

originally expected to be documented in 

an Environmental Assessment, began on 

April 1, 2007. Unless response to this 

notice raises concerns not yet expressed, 

the draft environmental impact 

statement (DEIS) is expected in 

November 2007 and the final 

environmental impact statement (FEIS) 

is expected in January 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the 

Forest Service at the following 

addresses. Hardcopy mail: U.S. Forest 

Service, Sierra National Forest, Bass 

Lake Ranger District, 57003 Road 225, 

North Fork, CA 93643, ATTN: David 

Martin. Electronic mail: commentspacificsouthwest-sierra@fs.fed.us. Use 

Rich Text format (.rtf) or Word format 

(.doc). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Lemon, Interdisciplinary Team 

Leader, at Sierra National Forest, Bass 

Lake Ranger District, 57003 Road 225, 

North Fork, CA 93643. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background Information: The Sugar 

Pine Adaptive Management Project 

(Madera and Mariposa Counties, 

California) lies within the Fresno River 

watershed, where during the period 

before significant Euro-American 

influence, natural fires occurred 

frequently and were of low intensity 

with return intervals ranging from every 

5 to 10 years. During the past century, 

management activities (including 

harvesting operations, fire exclusion/ 

suppression, etc.) and increased human 

habitation, have changed the 

composition of vegetation. Currently, 

vegetation within the Sugar Pine 

Adaptive Management Project has 

changed from one where frequent, low 

intensity fires occurred to one with 

increased suseptability to infrequent 

moderate to high intensity wildland fire. 

Forest stand densities are above that 

which can be sustained, with inter-tree 

competition increasing and tree vigor 

beginning to decline. Pockets of insect 

and disease attack are beginning to 

show in the stands as well as the 

drought induced mortality. Non-native 

plant species and noxious weeds, that 

were absent in the area, now are 

growing in small pockets. 

The Sugar Pine Adaptive Management 

Project was originally to be documented 

in an Environmental Assessment (EA). 

The Sugar Pine Adaptive Management 

Project lies within the elevational bands 

for the Southern Sierra Fisher 

Conservation Area. Public concern and 

management review surrounding the 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 197 / Friday, October 12, 2007 / Notices 58049 

significance of potential impacts to the 

Pacific fisher, a candidate threatened 

and endangered species and the 

California spotted owl, a sensitive 

species, during past projects, has led to 

the decision to document the 

environmental analysis with an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

for this project. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The Sierra National Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan (as 

amended in January 2004) has identified 

wildland urban intermix areas as places 

where human habitation is mixed with 

areas of flammable wildland vegetation 

and has the highest priority for 

treatment. As directed in the Sierra 

Nevada Forest Plan Amendment (2004), 

national forests are to integrate fire and 

fuels management objectives with other 

resource management objectives and 

address the role of wildland fire in the 

ecosystem. The forest-wide standards 

and guidelines state that ‘‘vegetation 

within treatment areas should be 

modified to meet desired surface, ladder 

and crown fuel conditions as well as 

stand densities necessary for healthy 

forest during drought conditions’’. 

The community of Sugar Pine 

(Madera Counties, California) lies in the 

center portion of the project area. On the 

northern portion of the project boundary 

is a large area of private land known as 

Yosemite Mountain Ranch as well as the 

community of Fish Camp. Most of the 

homes in these communities do not 

have sufficient clearance to protect them 

if a fast moving wildland fire were to 

move into the subdivision. 

Vegetation in the Sugar Pine Adaptive 

Management Project area includes 

conifer stands consisting of ponderosa 

pine and mixed conifer, where insect 

and drought induced mortality is 

beginning to appear in pockets within 

both natural stands and conifer 

plantations. In lower to mid-elevations 

of the project area, on the steeper slopes, 

brush (manzanita/ceanothus) is the 

main vegetation. Scattered in pockets 

throughout the project area are heavy 

accumulations of dead and down 

material (branches, limbs and logs) 

resulting from natural accumulation and 

past management activities. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action includes 

vegetation treatment areas designed to 

create SPLATs to reduce the intensity 

and spread of wildland fire across the 

landscape and near communities and 

reduce inter-tree competition to 

improve tree vigor and increase stand 

resistance to drought induced mortality, 

insect and disease attack. Additional 

areas for treatment are proposed to 

create a defensible fuels profile near key 

transportation corridors and within the 

Defense zones of the wildland urban 

intermix. The treatments proposed 

include: Thinning in conifer stands, 

either pre-commercially or 

commercially to reduce lower level 

canopy crown densities; mastication of 

brush and shrub patches; perscribed 

burning, both understory and piles; 

manual and/or prescribed burning 

treatment of noxious weed infestations; 

prepare and plant failed conifer 

plantations. 

Possible Alternatives 

To comply with NEPA, the Forest 

Service will evaluate additional 

alternatives to the proposed action, 

including the no action alternative 

within the EIS. Additional alternatives 

suggested through public comment will 

also be considered. Each alternative will 

be rigorously explored and evaluated, or 

rationale will be given for eliminating 

an alternative from detailed study. A 

range of alternatives may be considered. 

Responsible Official 

The Responsible Deciding Official is 

Edward Cole, Forest Supervisor, Sierra 

National Forest, 1600 Tollhouse Road, 

Clovis, CA 93612. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Responsible Deciding Official 

will use the EIS to make an informed 

decision as to which alternative best 

meets the purpose and need for this 

project or to take no action at this time, 

in accordance with applicable laws, 

regulations, and Forest Service Manual/ 

Handbook direction. 

Scoping Process 

The public will be invited to 

participate in the scoping process, and 

review of the draft environmental 

impact statement (DEIS). Comments 

from the public and other agencies will 

be used in preparation of the DEIS. A 

public meeting was held on September 

5, 2007. A public field trip is currently 

scheduled for September 29, 2007. 

Additional public meetings may be 

scheduled as requested or needed, but 

no dates have been set. The DEIS is 

expected to be available for public 

review and comment on November 2007 

and a FEIS in January 2008. 

Comment Requested 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review: A draft 

environmental impact statement will be 

prepared for comment. The comment 

period on the draft environmental 

impact statement will be 45 days from 

the date the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes the notice of 

availability in the Federal Register. 

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 

meaningful and alerts an agency to the 

reviewer’s position and contentions. 

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. 

NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 533 (1978). Also, 

environmental objections that could be 

raised at the draft environmental impact 

statement stage but that are not raised 

until after completion of the final 

environmental impact statement 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 

environmental impact statement. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns on the proposed action, 

comments on the draft environmental 

impact statement 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 environmental 

impact statement 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. 

Comments received, including the 

names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 

public record on this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 

21) 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
58050 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 197 / Friday, October 12, 2007 / Notices 

Dated: September 27, 2007. 

Edward Cole, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–5033 Filed 10–11–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

California Coast Provincial Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Meeting. 

SUMMARY: The California Coast 

Provincial Advisory Committee 

(CCPAC) will meet on October 17, 2007, 

in Eureka, California. The purpose of 

the meeting is to discuss issues relating 

to implementing the Northwest Forest 

Plan (NWFP). 

DATES: The meeting will be held from 9 

a.m. to 3 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Six Rivers National Forest, 

Supervisor’s Office, 1330 Bayshore Way, 

Eureka, California. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathy Allen, Committee Coordinator, 

USDA, Six Rivers National Forest, 1330 

Bayshore Way, Eureka, CA 95501, (707) 

441–3557, kmallen@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda 

topics to be covered include: (1) New 

Mexico Forest Restoration Principles; 

(2) Marijuana Cultivation; (3) Orleans 

Community Fuels Reduction Project; (4) 

Survey and Manage Update; (5) 

Northwest Forest Plan Update; and (6) 

Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan 

Update. 

The meeting is open to the public. 

Public input opportunity will be 

provided and individuals will have the 

opportunity to address the Committee at 

that time. 

Dated: October 5, 2007. 

Tyrone Kelley, 

Designated Federal Official. 

[FR Doc. 07–5040 Filed 10–11–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area 

(SRA) Advisory Council 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Meeting. 

SUMMARY: Opal Creek Scenic Recreation 

Area Advisory Council meetings will 

convene in Stayton, Oregon on 

Wednesday, November 7, 2007. These 

meetings are scheduled to begin at 6:30 

p.m., and will conclude at 

approximately 8:30 p.m. Meetings will 

be held in the South Room of the 

Stayton Community Center located on 

400 West Virginia Street in Stayton, 

Oregon. 

The Opal Creek Wilderness and Opal 

Creek Scenic Recreation Area Act of 

1996 (Opal Creek Act) (Pub. L. 104–208) 

directed the Secretary of Agriculture to 

establish the Opal Creek Scenic 

Recreation Area Advisory Council. The 

Advisory Council is comprised of 

twelve members representing state, 

county and city governments, and 

representatives of various organizations, 

which include mining industry, 

environmental organizations, inholders 

in Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area, 

economic development, Indian tribes, 

and public at large. The council 

provides advice to the Secretary of 

Agriculture on preparation of a 

comprehensive Opal Creek Management 

Plan for the SRA, and consults on a 

periodic and regular basis on the 

management of the area. Tentative 

agenda items include: review and 

approve Advisory Council Bylaws and 

Meeting Procedures, Three Pools 

Recreation Fee Proposal and future 

focus of the Advisory Council. 

A direct public comment period is 

tentatively scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. 

Time allotted for individual 

presentations will be limited to 3 

minutes. Written comments are 

encouraged, particularly if the material 

cannot be presented within the time 

limits of the comment period. Written 

comments may be submitted prior to the 

scheduled meeting by sending them to 

Designated Federal Official Paul Matter 

at the address given below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

more information regarding this 

meeting, contact Designated Federal 

Official Paul Matter, Willamette 

National Forest, Detroit Ranger District, 

HC 73 Box 320, Mill City, OR 97360, 

(503) 854–3366. 

Dated: October 5, 2007. 

Dallas J. Emch, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–5043 Filed 10–11–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Procurement List; Proposed Additions 

and Deletions 

ACTION: Proposed Additions to and 

Deletions from the Procurement List. 

SUMMARY: The Committee is proposing 

to add to the Procurement List products 

and services to be furnished by 

nonprofit agencies employing persons 

who are blind or have other severe 

disabilities, and to delete products and 

services previously furnished by such 

agencies. 

Comments Must Be Received On or 

Before: November 11, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 

1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, 

Arlington, Virginia 22202–3259. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO SUBMIT

COMMENTS CONTACT: Kimberly M. Zeich, 

Telephone: (703) 603–7740, Fax: (703) 

603–0655, or e-mail 

CMTEFedReg@jwod.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published pursuant to 41 

U.S.C. 47(a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its 

purpose is to provide interested persons 

an opportunity to submit comments on 

the proposed actions. 

Additions 

If the Committee approves the 

proposed additions, the entities of the 

Federal Government identified in this 

notice for each product or service will 

be required to procure the products and 

services listed below from nonprofit 

agencies employing persons who are 

blind or have other severe disabilities. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

I certify that the following action will 

not have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The major factors considered for this 

certification were: 

1. If approved, the action will not 

result in any additional reporting, 

recordkeeping or other compliance 

requirements for small entities other 

than the small organizations that will 

furnish the products and services to the 

Government. 

2. If approved, the action will result 

in authorizing small entities to furnish 

the products and services to the 

Government. 

3. There are no known regulatory 

alternatives which would accomplish 

the objectives of the Javits-WagnerO’Day Act (41 U.S.C. 46–48c) in 

connection with the products and 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES