8338 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Notices 

procedural provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 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 of this proposal and will 

be available for public inspection 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; 

Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, 

Section 21). 

Dated: January 24, 2007. 

Edward C. Monnig, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E7–3194 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Umatilla National Forest; Columbia and 

Garfield Counties, WA; Notice of Intent 

To Prepare a Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(SEIS) To Amend the Umatilla National 

Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan for the Purposes of 

Implementing the School Fire Salvage 

Recovery Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

supplemental environmental impact 

statement. 

SUMMARY: The Umatilla National Forest 

Supervisor is proposing a nonsignificant amendment to the Umatilla 

National Forest Land and Resource 

Management Plan (LRMP) as amended 

by Regional Forester Amendment #2 

(‘‘Eastside Screens’’) to include a 

definition of ‘‘live’’ trees for the School 

Fire Salvage Recovery Project. The 

proposed amendment would adopt a 

scientific metod for determining live 

trees. 

DATES: Under 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4), there 

is no formal scoping period for this 

proposed action. The supplemental 

draft environmental impact statement is 

expected March 1, 2007 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected June 1, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

the Responsible Official, Kevin Martin, 

Forest Supervisor, Umatilla National 

Forest, 2517 S.W. Hailey Avenue, 

Pendleton, OR 97801. Send electronic 

comments to: commentspacificnorthwest-umatilla@fs.fed.us. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dean R. Millett, Project Team Leader, 

Pomeroy Ranger District, 71 West Main 

Street, Pomeroy, WA 99347, phone 

(509) 843–1891, e-mail: 

dmillett@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The Umatilla NF needs ‘‘to salvage 

harvest [bured timber] as rapidly as 

practicable before decay and other wood 

deterioration occurs to maximize 

potential economic benefits’’ as 

identified in School Fire Recovery 

Project FEIS at 1–4. The 9th Court of 

Appeals recently held in The Lands 

Council, No. 06–35781 (9th Cir.) (Feb. 

12, 2007) that the term ‘‘live tree’’

includes all trees that are not dead, 

giving the term its plain meaning. Op. 

at 12. This definition, which does not 

reflect the Forest Service practice and 

interpretation that a live tree must be 

expected to live greater than five years 

(citation), prevents the achievement of 

the need stated above. 

The Proposed Action would amend 

the Forest Plan for the School Project 

Area to adopt a definition of ‘‘live’’ and 

allow the School Fire Recovery Project 

Record of Decision to be fully 

implemented. 

Proposed Action 

The Umatilla National Forest 

Supervisor proposes a non-significant 

Forest Plan amendment to Regional 

Forester’s Amendment #2 to the 

Umatilla LRMP (‘‘Eastside Screens’’) to 

include a definition of ‘‘live’’ trees as 

used in the wildlife standard No. 

6d.2)a). This amendment would apply 

only to the School Fire Salvage 

Recovery Project on the Pomeroy Ranger 

District. 

The amended standard would read as 

follows: (a) Maintain all remnant late 

and old seral and/or structural live trees 

≥21′′ diameter at breast height that 

currently exist within stands proposed 

for harvest activities. A live tree is 

defined as a tree rated to have a high 

probability to survive the effects of a fire 

as determined by the ‘‘Factors Affecting 

Survival of Fire Injured Trees: A Rating 

System for Determining Relative 

Probability of Survival of Conifers in the 

Blue and Wallowa Mountains’’ (Scott et 

al. 2002, as amended) (commonly 

referred to as the Scott Guidelines). 

Responsible Official 

Kevin Martin, Forest Supervisor, 

Umatilla National Forest, 2517 S.W. 

Hailey Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

To amend the Umatilla LRMP as 

proposed or take no action at this time. 

Scoping Process 

No scoping will be conducted for this 

SEIS pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4). 

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, 553 (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 address of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Notices 8339 

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) 

Dated: February 20, 2007. 

Kevin Martin, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–841 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of New Fee Site; Federal Lands 

Recreation Enhancement Act, (Title 

VIII, Pub. L. 108–447) 

AGENCY: Bridger-Teton National Forest, 

Forest Service USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of new fee site. 

SUMMARY: The Bridger-Teton National 

Forest is planning to charge a $40 fee for 

the overnight rental of each of the 

Sherman Guard Station Cabins. The 

cabins have not been available for 

recreation use prior to this date. Rentals 

of other cabins on the Bridger-Teton 

National Forest have shown that people 

appreciate and enjoy the availability of 

historic rental cabins. Funds from the 

rental will be used for the continued 

operation and maintenance of the 

Sherman Guard Station Cabins. 

DATES: The Sherman Guard Station 

Cabins will become available for 

recreation rental in July, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Forest Supervisor, BridgerTeton National Forest, P.O. Box 1888, 

340 Cache, Jackson, WY 83001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary 

Hayward, Resource Specialist, 307–276–

5813 or Timothy Ditton, Office 

Automation Clerk, 307–276–5800. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement 

Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–447) directed 

the Secretary of Agriculture to publish 

a six month advance notice in the 

Federal Register whenever new 

recreation fee areas are established. This 

new fee will be reviewed by a 

Recreation Resource Advisory 

Committee prior to a final decision and 

implementation. 

The Bridger-Teton National Forest 

currently has four other cabin rentals. 

These rentals are regularly booked 

throughout their rental season. A 

business analysis of Historic Guard 

Station Cabins has shown that people 

desire having this sort of recreation 

experience on the Bridger-Teton 

National Forest. A market analysis 

indicates that the $40/per night fee is 

both reasonable and acceptable for this 

sort of unique recreation experience. 

People wanting to rent the Sherman 

Guard Station Cabins will need to do so 

through the National Recreation 

Reservation Service, at http:// 

www.reserveusa.com or by calling 

1–877–444–6777. The National 

Recreation Reservation Service charges 

a $9 fee for reservations. 

Dated: February 8, 2007. 

Kniffy Hamilton, 

Bridger-Teton National Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 07–843 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

Notice for Requests for Proposals for 

Guaranteed Loans under the Section 

538; Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) for Fiscal Year 2007 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This is a request for proposals 

for guaranteed loans under the section 

538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing 

Program (GRRHP) pursuant to 7 CFR 

3565.4 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 subject 

to the availability of funding. FY 2006 

funding for the section 538 was $99 

million. This Notice is being issued 

prior to passage of a final appropriations 

bill to allow applicants sufficient time 

to leverage financing and submit 

proposals in the form of ‘‘RESPONSES’’, 

and give the Agency maximum time to 

process applications within the current 

fiscal year. A Notice of Funding 

Availability will be published 

announcing the funding level for 

GRRHP for FY 2007 once an 

appropriations act has been enacted. 

The commitment of program dollars 

will be made to applicants of selected 

responses that have fulfilled the 

necessary requirements for obligation, to 

the extent an appropriation act provides 

funding for GRRHP for FY 2007. 

Expenses incurred in developing 

applications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. The following paragraphs outline 

the timeframes, eligibility requirements, 

lender responsibilities, and the overall 

response and application processes. 

The GRRHP operates under 7 CFR 

part 3565. The GRRHP Origination and 

Servicing Handbook (HB–1–3565) is 

available to provide lenders and the 

general public with guidance on 

program administration. HB–1–3565, 

which contains a copy of 7 CFR part 

3565 in Appendix 1, can be found at the 

Rural Development Instructions Web 

site address http:// 

www.rurdev.usda.gov/regs/ 

hblist.html#hbw6. 

Eligible lenders are invited to submit 

responses for the development of 

affordable rural rental housing, the 

acquisition with rehabilitation of 

affordable rural rental housing, and the 

revitalization, repair, and transfer (as 

stipulated in 7 CFR 3560.406) of 

existing direct section 515 housing 

(transfer costs are subject to Agency 

approval and must be an eligible use of 

loan proceeds as listed in 7 CFR 

3565.205). Equity payment, as 

stipulated 7 CFR 3560.406, in the 

transfer of existing direct section 515 

housing, is an eligible use of loan 

proceeds. In order to be considered, 

direct section 515 housing projects must 

need repairs and/or undergo 

revitalization of a minimum of $6,500 

per unit. 

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) will 

review responses submitted by eligible 

lenders, on the lender’s letterhead, and 

signed by both the prospective borrower 

and lender. Although a complete 

application is not required in response 

to this Notice of requests for proposals, 

eligible lenders may submit a complete 

application concurrently with the 

response. However, submitting a 

complete application will not have an 

effect on the respondent’s score. 

DATES: The RHS will review and score 

all responses received through April 27, 

2007. Those responses that are selected 

that subsequently submit complete 

applications and meet all Federal 

environmental requirements will 

receive commitments to the extent an 

appropriation act provides funding for 

GRRHP for FY 2007 until all funds are 

expended. Responses received prior to 

April 27, 2007, that meet program 

criteria, but score less than 25 points or 

score 25 points or more but have a 

development cost ratio of equal to or 

more than 70 percent may be selected 

for obligation after April 27, 2007, with 

the highest scoring responses receiving 

priority as long as funds remain 

available. The Agency will continue to 

select the highest scoring Notice 

responses received after April 27, 2007, 

notwithstanding the score, as long as the 

response meets program criteria and 

funds remain available using the 

procedure outlined in the next 

paragraph. 

Once a complete application is 

received and approved by the State 

Office, an obligation request (request) 

for 2007 funds will be submitted [via 

fax] by the State Office to the National 

Office. Requests submitted to the 

National Office will be accumulated, but 


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