10348 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 1995 / Notices

Timber Economy of the Southern

Appalachians).

Public comment on the SAA process

began with a series of open town hall

meetings held in Asheville, NC;

Gainesville, GA; and Roanoke, VA in

August 1994. In addition, interested

members of the public were asked for

further written comments to be received

by September 15. As the Assessment

progresses, continued public

involvement will be facilitated through

additional meetings and newsletters.

2. Beginning of the Forest Plan Revision

Efforts for the National Forests in

Alabama, the Chattahoochee-Oconee,

the Cherokee, and the Sumter National

Forests

This notice announces that the

National Forests in Alabama, the

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests,

the Cherokee National Forest, and the

Sumter National Forest either have

already started or are beginning efforts

to revise their Land and Resource

Management Plans (LRMP). These

Forests are each in the process of

preparing their Analysis of the

Management Situation (AMS), one of

the first steps in the revision process.

This step includes updating resource

inventories, defining the current

situation, estimating supply capabilities

and resource demands, and determining

the ‘‘Need for Change’’ (36 CFR

219.12(e)(5)).

3. Public Involvement in Developing the

‘‘Need for Change’’ in an AMS

Determining the concerns and

expectations of National Forests

constituents and getting public input on

how well current forest plans are

working, or not working, are critical

elements of describing the ‘‘need to

change’’ a forest plan. An integral part

of determining the need for change is

public involvement. Each of the

National Forests described above either

have already, or will soon contact their

interested public to solicit their

participation in this step of the forest

plan revision process.

4. Relationship Between the AMS and

a Notice of Intent to Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement

In the past, a ‘‘Notice of Intent to

Prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement’’ (NOI) was issued at the

beginning of the forest planning process,

including before the development of the

AMS.

This time, we are first defining the

current situation and an initial ‘‘need

for change’’in a Draft AMS, and then

issuing a NOI prior to developing

alternatives. This will allow us to

incorporate a more definable ‘‘Proposed

Action’’ and ‘‘Purpose and Need’’ into

our NOIs, which will begin the formal

NEPA process of preparing the

Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)

that will accompany the Revised Land

and Resource Management Plans.

5. Relationship Between the Southern

Appalachian Assessment and the

Process for Revising the Southern

Appalachian National Forests’ LRMPs

The public has expressed concern that

the Southern Appalachian Assessment

will ‘‘delay’’ revising National Forest

Land and Resource Management Plans

in the Southern Appalachians.

However, the SAA is being conducted

concurrently, and in support of, the

forest plan revisions.

Many of the information needs for the

Forest AMSs and for the SAA are the

same. The Assessment will support the

revision of the LRMPs by determining

how the lands, resources, people and

management of the National Forests

interrelate within the larger context of

the Southern Appalachian area. The

SAA, however, will not be a ‘‘decision

document’’ and it will not involve the

NEPA process. As broad-scale issues are

identified and addressed at the subregional level in the Assessment, the

individual National Forest’s role in

resolving those broad-scale issues will

become a part of the ‘‘need for change’’

at the Forest level.

6. Issuing the Notice of Intent To

Prepare an EIS

The National Forests identified above

will issue their NOIs when enough

information from the SAA is available

for them to develop the ‘‘Need for

Change’’ section of their Draft AMS. The

Draft AMSs are scheduled to be

completed between October 1995 and

January 1996. Their NOIs are also

scheduled to be issued during this same

time period.

Each NOI will include a description

of a preliminary ‘‘Proposed Action’’ and

of some preliminary alternatives.

Scoping to receive public comments on

the preliminary proposed action and

preliminary alternatives will begin

following the publication of the NOIs.

These public comments will be used to

further refine the ‘‘Proposed Action’’

and the preliminary alternatives, to

possibly identify additional alternatives,

and to finalize the AMS and the ‘‘Need

for Change.’’

7. Status of the Jefferson, George

Washington, and Nantahala-Pisgah

National Forests

The Jefferson National Forest, which

is also currently working on its Revised

LRMP, previously issued a Notice of

Intent to Prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement for its Revised LRMP

on June 28, 1993. A Revised NOI for the

Forest will be issued between October

1995 and January 1996, to coincide with

the NOIs issued for the other National

Forests in the Southern Appalachians.

The George Washington National

Forest completed its Final Revised

Forest Plan on January 21, 1993, and the

Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests

completed a significant amendment,

Amendment 5 to their Land and

Resource Management Plan on March

18, 1994. These two forests are not

currently involved in the revision

process. However, if information from

the Southern Appalachian Assessment

identifies conditions requiring additions

or changes to these plans to ensure

consistency between the National

Forests in the Southern Appalachians,

then amendments to these plans could

be considered.

8. The Responsible Official

The Responsible Official for the

Revised Land and Resource

Management Plans for the National

Forests in the Southern Appalachians is

Robert C. Joslin, Regional Forester,

Southern Region, 1720 Peachtree Road

NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30367.

Dated: January 18, 1995.

Lynn C. Neff,

Acting Regional Forester.

[FR Doc. 95–4570 Filed 2–23–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Forest Products Laboratory Wood

Utilization Research

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Forest Products

Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, will

host a meeting March 27–30, 1995, to

brief industry and the public on Forest

Service programs in wood utilization

research. The Forest Service will be

presenting the status and description of

pending research initiatives and

programs. Advice and recommendations

to the Forest Service will not be

solicited or accepted during the

meeting; rather, input as a result of

reviews may be submitted in writing

after the meeting.

DATES: The meeting will be held March

27–30, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (M-Tu); 8

a.m. to 3 p.m. (W); 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

(Th).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Forest Products Laboratory, One

Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison,

Wisconsin.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 1995 / Notices 10349

Send written comments to Diann L.

Campbell, Meeting Coordinator, Forest

Products Laboratory, One Gifford

Pinchot Drive, Madison, WI 53705–

2398.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Diann Campbell, telephone: (608) 231–

9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest

Service conducts major research in the

area of wood utilization at its Forest

Experiment Stations and in Madison at

the Forest Products Laboratory. Current

research programs focus on: Wood

properties, engineering, and improved

design procedures; softwood and

hardwood lumber; construction

technologies; wood drying, processing,

preservation, and finishing; adhesives;

composites and panels. Forest Service

scientists will provide presentations on

research at the forefront of wood

manufacturing and utilization

technology. Members of the American

Forest & Paper Association, Committee

on Research and Evaluation (AF&PACORE) will chair panel discussions on

nine selected topics related to wood

utilization.

Dated: February 17, 1995.

Kenneth R. Peterson,

Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 95–4573 Filed 2–23–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Changes in Hydric Soils of the United

States

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of change.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 7 CFR 12.30(a)(4),

Natural Resources Conservation Service

(formerly the Soil Conservation

Service), United States Department of

Agriculture gives notice of a change in

the wording of the criteria used to

generate the list of hydric soils of the

United States as published in the third

edition of Hydric Soils of the United

States, Miscellaneous Publication 1491,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil

Conservation Service, June 1991.

For further information contact: Craig

A. Ditzler, Chair, National Technical

Committee for Hydric Soils, National

Soil Survey Center, NRCS, Room 152,

Mail Stop 33, Federal Building, 100

Centennial Mall North, Lincoln,

Nebraska 68508–3866, Telephone (402)

437–5353.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The list of

hydric soils was created by computer

using criteria that were developed by

the National Technical Committee for

Hydric Soils. The criteria are selected

soil properties that are documented in

Soil Taxonomy and were designed

primarily to generate a list of hydric

soils from the national database of Soil

Interpretations Records. Criteria 1, 3,

and 4 serve as both database criteria and

as indicators for identification of hydric

soils. Criterion 2 serves only to retrieve

soils from the database.

The wording of criterion 2 has been

changed to incorporate recent changes

in Soil Taxonomy and delete references

to water-table frequency and duration.

Until all soils have been reclassified, the

computer program will continue to

select soils under their former

classification. The water-table frequency

and duration data are not contained on

the Soil Interpretations Records and,

therefore, were not selection criteria.

The wording of criterion 2 also has

been changed to clarify the way in

which water-table data were used to

select soils from the Soil Interpretations

Records database. Because the watertable depths on the Soil Interpretations

Records are entered in 0.5 ft.

increments, previous versions of

criterion 2 used water tables at less than

0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 ft. in order to extract

hydric soils from the database with

actual recorded water tables of 0.0, 0.5,

and 1.0 ft.

It is important to note that these

changes do not cause any soils to be

added or deleted from the list.

Criteria for Hydric Soils

1. All Histosols except Folists, or

2. Soils in Aquic suborders, great

groups, or subgroups, Albolls suborder,

Aquisalids, Pachic subgroups, or

Cumulic subgroups that are:

a. somewhat poorly drained with a

water table equal to 0.0 foot (ft) from the

surface during the growing season, or

b. poorly drained or very poorly

drained and have either:

(1) water table equal to 0.0 ft. during

the growing season if textures are coarse

sand, sand, or fine sand in all layers

within 20 inches (in), or for other soils,

or

(2) water table at less than or equal to

0.5 ft. from the surface during the

growing season if permeability is equal

to or greater than 6.0 in/hour (h) in all

layers within 20 in, or

(3) water table at less than or equal to

1.0 ft. from the surface during the

growing season, if permeability is less

than 6.0 in/h in any layer within 20 in,

or

3. Soils that are frequently ponded for

long duration or very long duration

during the growing season, or

4. Soils that are frequently flooded for

long duration or very long duration

during the growing season.

Dated: January 26, 1995.

Richard W. Arnold,

Director, Soils Division.

[FR Doc. 95–4604 Filed 2–23–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–M

Rural Business and Cooperative

Development Service

Inviting Applications for Rural

Technology Development Grants

AGENCY: Rural Business and Cooperative

Development Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural Business and

Cooperative Development Service

(RBCDS) announces the availability of

approximately $1.75 million in

competing Rural Technology

Development Grant (RTDG) funds for

fiscal year (FY) 1995. The intended

effect of this notice is to solicit

applications for FY 1995, notify

applicants of RBCD’s objectives for FY

1995, and award grants before May 25,

1995. The purpose of the grant program

is to establish and operate centers for

rural technology or cooperative

development.

DATES: The deadlines for receipt of a

preapplication is April 10, 1995.

Preapplication received after the date

will not be considered for FY 1995

funding.

ADDRESSES: Entities wishing to apply for

assistance should contact Rural

Economic and Community Development

(RECD) State Offices to receive further

information and copies of the

preapplication package. The program

will be operated by RECD at the State

level.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Barton, Loan Specialist,

Community Facilities Division, Room

6304, South Agriculture Building, 14th

and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–0700,

Telephone: (202) 720–1504.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Refer to 7

CFR part 4284–F, published in the

Federal Register on August 12, 1994 (59

FR 41429) for the information collection

requirements of the RTDG program. The

RTDG program was previously

administered by the former Rural

Development Administration. Under the

reorganization of the Department of

Agriculture, the responsibility for

administering this program was

transferred to RBCDS. Part 4284–F of

title 7 of the Code of Federal