This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

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examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

10058

Vol. 60, No. 36

Thursday, February 23, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Little Wolf Fire Recovery; Kootenai

National Forest, Lincoln County,

Montana

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The Little Wolf Fire burned

over 15,000 acres of Kootenai National

Forest System lands, Flathead National

Forest System lands and Plum Creek

Timber Company lands in August of

1994. The Forest intends to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

to assess and disclose the environmental

effects of opportunities designed to

recover economic value of burned

timber, reduce fuel accumulations,

reforest unstocked lands, rehabilitate

existing sediment sources, improve

hydrologic conditions in affected

watersheds, and protect long-term soil

productivity. These objectives would be

accomplished through salvage harvest of

fire-killed timber; reforestation of

severely burned areas; fuels reduction in

harvested and unharvested areas;

drainage improvement and revegetation

of road surface, cuts and fill slopes on

existing roads; providing for immediate

and long-term recruitment of instream

large woody material; and revegetation

in riparian areas within the Little Wolf

decision area. The Little Wolf decision

area is located approximately 35 air

miles southeast of Libby, Montana.

The proposal’s actions to salvage firekilled trees, reduce fuels, reforest

burned areas, construct temporary

roads, restore drainage and vegetation

on existing road surface, cuts and fill

slopes, restrict road access and

implement watershed recovery projects

are being considered together because

they represent either connected or

cumulative actions as defined by the

Council on Environmental Quality (40

CFR 1508.25). The EIS will tier to the

Kootenai National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan and Final

EIS of September 1987, which provides

overall guidance for achieving the

desired future condition of the area.

DATES: Written comments and

suggestions should be received on or

before March 27, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The Responsible Official is

Robert L. Schrenk, Forest Supervisor,

Kootenai National Forest. Written

comments and suggestions concerning

the scope of the analysis should be sent

to Lawrence A. Froberg, District Ranger,

Libby Ranger District, 12557 US

Highway 37, Libby, Montana, 59923.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeff Scussel, Planning Staff, Libby

Ranger District. Phone: (406) 293–7773.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During the

night of August 14–15, 1994, a lightning

storm started 207 fires on the Kootenai

National Forest in northwest Montana.

Several fires ranging in size from less

than one acre to almost 5000 acres

occurred on the Libby Ranger District.

The Little Wolf Fire Recovery EIS is

being prepared in response to

conditions resulting from the 4700 acres

of the Little Wolf Fire that is within the

Kootenai National Forest. An

interdisciplinary team is using an

ecosystem based approach to assess the

fire affects and identify management

opportunities that could be

implemented to move the postfire

landscapes toward a desired ecological

condition.

Burn intensities on National Forest

System lands in the Little Wolf Fire

were mostly stand replacing. Within the

fire perimeter on the Libby Ranger

District, approximately 1848 acres

burned at high intensity (average 90% to

95% tree mortality), 845 burned at

moderate intensity (average 70% to 75%

mortality), and 237 acres burned at low

intensity (average 30% mortality). The

fires burned in the upper end of the

Little Wolf Creek drainage.

The Little Wolf decision area contains

approximately 4700 acres within the

Kootenai National Forest in Lincoln

County, Montana. All of the proposed

projects are located in the Little Wolf

drainage. The legal location of the

decision area is as follows: Sections 7,

8, 17 and 18, of Township 29 North,

Range 25 West; Sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11,

12, 13, and 14 of Township 29 North,

Range 26 West; and Sections 34, 35 and

36 of Township 30 North, Range 26

West; Principle Montana Meridian. The

land in and adjacent to the decision area

is within federal ownership under the

jurisdiction of the Forest Service or

Plum Creek Timber Company lands.

Proposed Action: The purposes of the

project are to recover valuable timber

products from trees burned by wildfires

that occurred in 1994 (while

maintaining ecological processes); to

enhance watershed recovery: and

improve big game and grey wolf security

habitat as timely as possible and to

reduce fuel loading. The Forest Service

proposes to harvest approximately 7

million board feet or timber by salvaging

fire-killed timber and imminently dead

trees on approximately 841 acres of

forest land outside riparian protection

areas. Only trees that were killed, or are

expected to die as a result of the fire,

would be harvested. The proposal

includes prescribed burning of about 42

acres, excavator piling on 160 acres of

harvested areas to reduce natural and

activity fuels and an additional 20 acres

of grapple piling in unharvested areas to

reduce natural fuels. An estimated 685

acres of proposed salvage units would

be planted with conifer seedlings to

help meet desired conditions for species

diversity and 80 acres of annual rye and

native shrubs would be planted in

riparian areas for watershed restoration.

The Forest Service proposal also

includes approximately 1.8 miles of

temporary road construction, of which

1.2 miles would be constructed using

low impact snow road construction and

would be completely rehabilitated and

recontoured. The remaining .6 miles of

temporary road would be ripped and

seeded. Drainage improvement activities

(such as surface ripping, drainage

structure improvement, and seeding)

would be implemented on all roads

within National Forest System lands,

(approximately 7 miles), with the intent

of restoring natural drainage and

reducing sediment. These roads will be

needed for future management access,

and would remain a part of the

permanent transportation system.

Additional road access restrictions in

cooperation with Plum Creek Timber

Company are proposed to provide

adequate security areas for big game and

grey wolf. Additional projects to

improve watershed recovery,

reforestation of severely burned areas

not proposed for salvage, fuel reduction
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 36 / Thursday, February 23, 1995 / Notices 10059

in areas not proposed for salvage, and

repair of damaged hiking trails would be

accomplished if adequate funds are

available.

Due to the high level of tree mortality

in proposed harvest units, most

harvested area would retain green tree

numbers similar to clearcut with

reserves or seed-tree silvicultural

methods. Although the numbers would

be similar, the green tree retention

would not be evenly distributed but

would be in islands, stringers or groups

where they exist. Only those live trees

which must be cut to facilitate logging

fire-killed trees would be harvested. In

addition to the live trees that would be

retained, a minimum of 3–5 high

quality, large diameter snags per acre

would be retained in all harvested areas

if available. Timber harvest would be

done by skyline, cable, or winter tractor,

and designed to result in minimal

ground disturbance, risk of erosion, and

compaction.

The Kootenai National Forest Land

and Resource Management Plan

provides overall management objectives

in individual delineated management

areas (MA’s). The decision area contains

three MA’s: 12, 13, and 18. Briefly

described, MA 12 is managed to

maintain or enhance the summer-ranger

habitat effectiveness for big-game

species and produce a programmed

yield of timber. MA 13 is managed to

provide the special habitat necessary for

old growth dependent wildlife. MA 18

is managed to protect existing

vegetation as establishing coniferous

regeneration is determined to be

difficult. Timber salvage and fuels

reduction is proposed in MA 12 and MA

18.

Preliminary Issues: Several

preliminary issues of concern have been

identified by the Forest Service. These

issues are briefly described below:

• Water quality—Streams in the

decision area have been impacted by

past management and the Little Wolf

Fire. How would the proposed action

affect water yield, sediment production,

stream stability, and recovery from past

impacts?

• Timber Supply—An estimated 16

million board feet of timber on National

Forest System lands was killed in the

Little Wolf Fire. Much of this fire-killed

timber will quickly lose its commercial

value due to rapid deterioration. To

what extent does the proposed action

recover the commercial value of firekilled timber to help meet local and

national needs?

• Grey Wolf—The decision area lies

within grey wolf habitat. How would

the proposal maintain and enhance grey

wolf habitat, and contribute to recovery

efforts?

• Old Growth—An estimated 240

acres of designated old growth was

destroyed by intense, stand replacing

wildfire. What options are available to

manage for suitable levels of old growth

habitat in the decision area?

• Fisheries—Little Wolf contains

fisheries habitat and resident fish

populations, including Eastern Brook

trout, Rainbow trout, Redside Shiner

and an undetermined species of sculpin.

How would the proposed action affect

fisheries habitat and populations?

Forest Plan Amendment: The

Kootenai National Forest Land and

Resource Management Plan has specific

management direction for the Little

Wolf decision area. The Little Wolf

proposed action is designed to maintain

or improve resource conditions and

move towards achieving desired

ecological conditions, and is consistent

with the goals and objectives of the

Forest Plan. Prior to making a NEPA

decision, a thorough examination of all

standards and guidelines of the Forest

Plan would be completed and, if

necessary, plan exceptions or

amendments would be addressed in the

EIS.

Decisions To Be Made: The Kootenai

National Forest Supervisor will decide

the following:

Should dead and imminently dead

trees within fire areas be harvested and

if so how and where,

What amount, type, and distribution

of watershed restoration projects,

including road restoration, would be

implemented, what burned areas need

to be replanted, what areas need fuel

reduction treatment, how and where

will replacement old growth be

designated, what road access

restrictions would be implemented to

provide security for big game and the

grey wolf, and if Forest Plan exception

or amendments are necessary to proceed

with the Proposed Action within the

decision area.

Public Involvement and Scoping: An

open house will be scheduled in March

to provide an opportunity for the public

to review the proposed action.

Consultation with appropriate State and

Federal agencies has been initiated.

Preliminary effects analysis indicated

that the wildfires may significantly

affect the quality of the human

environment, and fire recovery activities

have the potential to both intensify and

reduce effects. These potential effects

prompted the decision to prepare an EIS

for the Little Wolf Fire Recovery.

This environmental analysis and

decision making process will enable

additional interested and affected

people to participate and contribute to

the final decision. Public participation

will be requested at several points

during the analysis. The Forest Service

will be seeking information, comments,

and assistance from Federal, State, local

agencies, and other individuals or

organizations who may be interested in

or affected by the proposed projects.

This input will be used in preparation

of the draft and final EIS.

The scoping process will include:

• Identifying potential issues.

• Identifying major issues to be

analyzed in depth.

• Exploring additional alternatives

which will be derived from issues

recognized during scoping activities.

• Identifying potential environmental

effects of this project and alternatives

(i.e. direct, indirect, and cumulative

effects and connected actions).

The analysis will consider a range of

alternatives, including the proposed

action, no action, and other reasonable

action alternatives.

Estimated Dates for Filing: The draft

Little Wolf Fire Recovery EIS is

expected to be filed with the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

and to be available for public review by

June, 1995. At that time EPA will

publish a Notice of Availability of the

draft EIS in the Federal Register. The

comment period on the draft EIS will be

45 days from the date the EPA publishes

the Notice of Availability in the Federal

Register.

The final EIS is scheduled to be

completed by September, 1995. In the

final EIS, the Forest Service is required

to respond to comments and responses

received during the comment period

that pertain to the environmental

consequences discussed in the draft EIS

and applicable laws, regulations, and

policies considered in making a

decision regarding the proposal.

Reviewer’s Obligations: 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

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).
10060 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 36 / Thursday, February 23, 1995 / Notices

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 and respond to them in the

final EIS.

To be most helpful, comments on the

draft EIS should be as specific as

possible and may address the adequacy

of the statement or the merit of the

alternatives discussed. 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.

Responsible Official: Robert L.

Schrenk, Forest Supervisor, Kootenai

National Forest, 506 US Highway 2

West, Libby, MT 59923 is the

Responsible Official. I have delegated

the responsibility to prepare the Little

Wolf Fire Salvage and Restoration

Environmental Impact Statement to

Lawrence A. Frobert, District Ranger,

Libby Ranger District. As the

Responsible Official I will decide

which, if any, of the proposed projects

will be implemented. I will document

the decision and reasons for the

decision in the Record of Decision. That

decision will be subject to Forest

Service Appeal Regulations.

Dated: February 13, 1995.

Robert L. Schrenk,

Forest Supervisor,

[FR Doc. 95–4344 Filed 2–22–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Agency Form Under Review by the

Office of Management and Budget

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of Export

Administration.

Title: Encryption Software Marketing

Survey.

Agency Form Number: None.

OMB Approval Number: None.

Type of Request: New Collection ––

prompt review requested.

Burden: 450 hours.

Number of Respondents: 150.

Avg Hours Per Response: 3 hours.

Needs and Uses: Commerce is

surveying encryption software

producers to evaluate the impact of U.S.

export controls on the international

competitiveness of the U.S. industry.

BXA will share this information with

the Interagency Working Group on

Encryption and Telecommunications

Policy. This report will assist the

Administration in determining what, if

any, changes should be made in export

controls affecting encryption software.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for–profit institutions.

Frequency: One time.

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.

OMB Desk Officer: Don Arbuckle,

(202) 395–7340.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing Gerald Tache, DOC

Forms Clearance Officer, (202) 482–

3271, Department of Commerce, Room

5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent to

Don Arbuckle, OMB Desk Officer, Room

10202, New Executive Office Building,

Washington, D.C. 20503.

Dated: February 16, 1995

Gerald Tache ́,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 95–4380 Filed 2–22–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–CW–F

Agency Form Under Review by the

Office of Management and Budget

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of the Census.

Title: Current Population Survey –

June 1995 Marital History and Fertility

Supplement.

Agency Approval Number: 0607–

0610.

Type of Request: Reinstatement, with

change, of a previously approved

collection for which approval has

expired.

Burden: 5,035 hours.

Number of Respondents: 57,000.

Avg Hours Per Response: 5.3 minutes.

Needs and Uses: The Current

Population Survey (CPS) is a survey

conducted in a sample of approximately

57,000 households monthly throughout

the United States. Data on demographic

and labor force characteristics are

collected from a sample of households

which represent the U.S. population.

The Bureau of the Census uses the data

to compile monthly averages of

household size and composition, age,

education, ethnicity, marital status and

various other characteristics at the U.S.

level. The Bureau of Labor Statistics

also uses the data in its monthly

calculations of employment and

unemployment. The basic monthly

questionnaire is periodically

supplemented with additional questions

which address specific needs. The

marital history and fertility supplement

provides data on marital stability and

fertility and childbearing characteristics

of female household members by

various demographic characteristics.

The data collected from this supplement

are used primarily by government and

private analysts to project future

population growth, to analyze child

spacing patterns and marital stability,

and to assist policymakers in making

decisions that are affected by changes in

family size and composition. Questions

on marital history have been asked in

the CPS every 5 years since 1975. We

have collected data on fertility and birth

expectations in the CPS annually since

1971 (with the exception of 1989, 1991,

and 1993).

Affected Public: Individuals or

households.

Frequency: See above.

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.

OMB Desk Officer: Maria Gonzalez,

(202) 395–7313.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing Gerald Tache ́, DOC

Forms Clearance Officer, (202) 482–

3271, Department of Commerce, room

5312, 14th and Constitution Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC 20230.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent to

Maria Gonzalez, OMB Desk Officer,

room 10201, New Executive Office

Building, Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: February 16, 1995.

Gerald Tache ́,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 95–4375 Filed 2–22–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–F

Agency Form Under Review by the

Office of Management and Budget

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of the Census.

Title: Advance Monthly Retail Sales

Survey.

Form Number(s): B–104(92).