46236 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 154 / Friday, August 8, 2008 / Notices 

Secretary of Agriculture and the 

Secretary of the Interior to plan and 

conduct hazardous fuels reduction 

projects on National Forest System and 

Bureau of Land Management Lands. The 

Forest Service, Bureau of Land 

Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife 

Service, and many State agencies with 

fire protection responsibilities have 

undertaken a very ambitious and 

expensive forest fuels reduction 

program. The Forest Service (FS) and 

university researchers will contact 

recipients of a phone/mail questionnaire 

to help forest and fire managers 

understand value trade-offs regarding 

fire hazard reduction programs in the 

wildland-urban interface. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

Through the questionnaire, researchers 

will evaluate the responses of Florida 

residents to different scenarios related 

to fire hazard reduction programs, how 

residents think the programs presented 

to them are effective, and calculate how 

much residents would be willing to pay 

to implement the alternatives. The 

collected information will help 

researchers provide better information 

to natural resources, forest, and fire 

managers when they are contemplating 

the kind and type of fire hazard 

reduction program to implement to 

achieve forest land management 

planning objectives. Without the 

information the agencies with fire 

protection responsibilities will lack the 

capability to evaluate the general public 

understanding of proposed fuels 

reduction projects and programs or their 

willingness to pay for implementing 

such programs. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals or households. 

Number of Respondents: 500. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

Other (One time only). 

Total Burden Hours: 317. 

Charlene Parker, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. E8–18308 Filed 8–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Under Secretary, 

Research, Education, and Economics; 

Notice of the Advisory Committee on 

Biotechnology and 21st Century 

Agriculture Meeting 

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 

U.S.C. App. 2, the United States 

Department of Agriculture announces a 

meeting of the Advisory Committee on 

Biotechnology and 21st Century 

Agriculture (AC21). 

DATES: The meeting dates are August 26, 

2008, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and August 27, 

2008, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Waugh Auditorium, USDA 

Economic Research Service, Third 

Floor, South Tower, 1800 M Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20036. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Schechtman, Telephone (202) 

720–3817. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

twentieth meeting of the AC21 has been 

scheduled for August 26–27, 2008. The 

AC21 consists of members representing 

the biotechnology industry, farmers, 

commodity processors and shippers, 

livestock handlers, environmental and 

consumer groups, and academic 

researchers. In addition, representatives 

from the Departments of Commerce, 

Health and Human Services, and State, 

and the Environmental Protection 

Agency, the Office of the United States 

Trade Representative, and the National 

Association of State Departments of 

Agriculture serve as ‘‘ex officio’’

members. At this meeting, the 

committee will continue its 

consideration of governance issues in 

the oversight of genetically engineered 

animals, with an emphasis on food 

animals intended for food or non-food 

uses. Background information regarding 

the work of the AC21 will be available 

on the USDA Web site at http:// 

www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/ 

_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navid=

BIOTECH&parentnav=AGRICULTURE&

navtype=RT. 

Requests to make oral presentations at 

the meeting may be sent to Michael 

Schechtman, Designated Federal 

Official, Office of the Deputy Secretary, 

USDA, 202 B Jamie L. Whitten Federal 

Building, 12th Street and Jefferson 

Drive, SW., Washington, DC 20250, 

Telephone (202) 720–3817; Fax (202) 

690–4265; e-mail 

Michael.schechtman@ars.usda.gov. On 

August 26, 2008, if time permits, 

reasonable provision will be made for 

oral presentations of no more than five 

minutes each in duration. Written 

requests to make oral presentations at 

the meeting must be received by the 

contact person identified herein at least 

three business days before the meeting. 

The meeting will be open to the public, 

but space is limited. If you would like 

to attend the meetings, you must register 

by contacting Ms. Dianne Fowler at 

(202) 720–4074, by fax at (202) 720–

3191 or by e-mail at 

Dianne.fowler@ars.usda.gov at least five 

business days prior to the meeting. 

Please provide your name, title, 

business affiliation, address, and 

telephone and fax numbers when you 

register. If you require a sign language 

interpreter or other special 

accommodation due to disability, please 

indicate those needs at the time of 

registration. 

Dated: July 30, 2008. 

Jeremy Stump, 

Senior Advisor to the Secretary for 

International and Homeland Security Affairs 

and Biotechnology. 

[FR Doc. E8–18276 Filed 8–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Shasta-Trinity National Forest, 

California; Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Pilgrim Vegetation Management 

Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to supplement 

an Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The Shasta-Trinity National 

Forest will prepare a Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement (SETS) 

for the Pilgrim Vegetation Management 

Project to present additional 

information consistent with the court 

ruling Conservation Congress v. Forest 

Service, Case No. 07–0264 (E.D. Cal., 

May 13, 2008). This action will require 

modification of the current Project Level 

Management Indicator Assemblage 

Report for the Pilgrim Vegetation 

Management Project dated February 15, 

2007. 

DATES: The draft SETS is expected to be 

issued in September 2008 and the final 

SETS expected in November 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Shasta-McCloud 

Management Unit, 204 W. Alma St., Mt. 

Shasta, California 96067. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Deimis Poehlmann, Planning Officer, 

Shasta-McCloud Management Unit, 

McCloud Ranger Station, P.O. Box 1620, 

McCloud, California 96057, telephone 

(530) 926–9656 or via e-mail at 

dpoehlmann@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest 

Service is proposing to prepare a 

supplement to the final environmental 

impact statement for the Pilgrim 

Vegetation Management Project in 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 154 / Friday, August 8, 2008 / Notices 46237 

accordance with FSH 1909.15—Chapter 

10—Section 18.1 and Section 18.2. 

The Record of Decision (ROD), 

Pilgrim Vegetation Management Project 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) and other relevant 

documentation can be found on the 

Shasta McCloud Management Unit 

website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ 

shastatrinity/projects/smmuprojects.shtml. 

The original Notice of Intent for this 

project was published in the Federal 

Register February 14, 2005. The Notice 

of Availability of the Pilgrim Vegetation 

Management Project Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement was 

published in the Federal Register on 

June 23, 2006. In June 1, 2007, a ROD 

was issued. This decision was appealed 

on August 5, 2007 and August 6, 2007. 

The Appeal Deciding Officer upheld the 

decision on September 18, 2007. A 

motion for summary judgment was filed 

by Conservation Congress and Klamath 

Forest Alliance in the United States 

District Court for the Eastern District of 

California on March 17, 2008. 

In the recent court ruling concerning 

the ROD for the Pilgrim Vegetation 

Management Project, Conservation 

Congress v. Forest Service, Case No. 07–

0264 (E.D. Cal., May 13, 2008), the court 

ruled the Forest Service did not fully 

comply with its monitoring obligations 

for certain species as outlined in the 

forest plan, and remanded the matter to 

the agency for further action consistent 

with the order. This SEIS will address 

and respond to the specific issues 

identified in the court ruling. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The draft SEIS will not change the 

purpose and need for the Pilgrim 

Vegetation Management Project as 

described in Chapter 1, pages 1 through 

15, of the FEIS. The draft SEIS will 

provide additional analysis and 

supplemental information specific to 

the issues identifed in the court ruling, 

Conservation Congress v. Forest Service, 

Case No. 07–0264 (E.D. Cal., May 13, 

2008), and document the analysis and 

changes made within the Project Level 

Management Indicator Assemblage 

Report (Appendix L) and within the 

FEIS as necessary. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action and alternatives 

will remain the same as described in 

Chapter 2, pages 17 through 33, of the 

FEIS. In summary, the FEIS considers 

four alternatives in detail. Alternative 4 

is the no action alternative. Alternative 

1, the Preferred Alternative, would 

restore forest health and ecosystem 

functions by commercial thinning and 

sanitation harvest on approximately 

3100 acres of overstocked coniferous 

stands, sanitation and salvage harvest 

on approximately 10 acres of knobcone 

pine, and regeneration of approximately 

415 acres of diseased and insect infested 

stands—15% green tree retention will 

not be met on approximately 255 of 

these acres because there are not enough 

disease-free trees to meet this standard. 

All regeneration units will be replanted 

with healthy conifer seedlings. 

Alternative 1 would also release 

approximately 20 acres of aspen by 

removing competing conifers, restore 

approximately 275 acres of dry 

meadows by removal of encroaching 

conifer trees, underburn approximately 

200 acres of natural and activity fuels, 

mechanically pile and burn 

approximately 700 acres of activity 

fuels, close approximately 10 miles of 

roads to reduce maintenance costs, 

decommission approximately 2 miles of 

roads not needed for future 

management, reconstruct one roadstream crossing, and construct 

approximately 0.3 miles of new road 

needed for present and future 

management. Alternative 2 is the same 

as Alternative 1 except that on 

approximately 535 acres of proposed 

thinning/sanitation, canopy closure 

would be maintained at 60% on 

average. Alternative 3 is the same as 

Alternative 1 except that on 

approximately 415 acres of regeneration 

harvest, 15% of the area would be 

retained in trees that are generally the 

largest and/or oldest trees in the stands 

even though they are diseased. 

Lead and Cooperating Agencies 

Lead Agency: USDA, Forest Service. 

Responsible Official 

J. Sharon Heywood, Forest 

Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity National 

Forest, 3644 Avtech Parkway, Redding, 

CA 96002. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Responsible Official will review 

the supplemental information and 

determine if any modifications should 

be made to the June 1, 2007 ROD. 

Scoping Process 

Scoping is not required for 

supplements to environmental impact 

statements (40 CFR 1502.9(c)4). 

Early Notice of Importance of Public 

Participation in Subsequent 

Environmental Review 

A draft SETS will be prepared for 

comment. A legal notice will be 

published in the newspaper of record 

and a Notice of Availability will be 

published in the Federal Register to 

inform the public that supplemental 

information is available for review and 

comment. The draft SETS will be 

distributed to all parties that received 

the 2007 FETS and ROD and to those 

parties that filed an appeal of the 2007 

decision. The comment period on the 

draft SEIS will be 45 days from the date 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes the notice of availability in 

the Federal Register. 

The Forest Service believes it is 

important to give reviewers notice of 

several court rulings related to public 

participation in the environmental 

review process. First, reviewers of draft 

SETS 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 SETS stage but are not 

raised until after completion of the final 

SETS may be 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. Timely submittal 

of comments and objections to the 

Forest Service ensures they can be 

meaningfully considered and responded 

to in the final SETS. 

To assist the Forest Service in 

identifying and considering issues and 

concerns on the proposed action, 

comments on the draft SETS should be 

as specific as possible. It is also helpful 

if comments refer to specific pages or 

chapters of the draft supplement. 

Comments may also address the 

adequacy of the draft SEIS or the merits 

of the alternatives fonnulated and 

discussed in the statement. In 

addressing these points, 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. 

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) 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
46238 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 154 / Friday, August 8, 2008 / Notices 

Dated: July 29, 2008. 

J. Sharon Heywood, 

Forest Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity National 

Forest. 

[FR Doc. E8–17994 Filed 8–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Shasta-Trinity National Forest, 

California; Shasta-Trinity National 

Forest Motorized Travel Management 

EIS 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The Shasta-Trinity National 

Forest (Forest) will prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement to 

disclose the impacts associated with the 

following proposed actions: 

1. Prohibition of cross-country 

motorized vehicle travel (with the 

exception of snowmobiles) off 

designated National Forest System 

(NFS) roads, NFS trails and areas by the 

public except as allowed by permit or 

other authorization (Travel Management 

Rule, 36 CFR Part 212, Subpart B). 

2. Amend the Forest Land and 

Resource Management Plan (Plan) to 

conform with the Travel Management 

Rule, Subpart B, by removing reference 

to OHV cross-country travel in the 

Forest Plan and include as a forest-wide 

standard ‘‘Prohibit wheeled vehicle 

travel off designated roads and trails 

except for administrative use or uses 

under permitted activities or within 

designated areas.’’

3. Add approximately 32 miles of 

existing unauthorized routes to the 

National Forest Transportation System 

(NFTS) as roads open to the public for 

wheeled motorized vehicle use by 

vehicle class and season of use. 

4. Add approximately 11 miles of 

existing unauthorized routes to the 

NFTS as motorized trails open to the 

public for wheeled motorized vehicle 

use by vehicle class and season of use. 

5. Restrict use below the high-water 

mark at Shasta Lake and Trinity Lake, 

(within the Shasta-Trinity National 

Recreation Area) to only highway legal 

vehicles and provide a maximum speed 

limit of 15 miles per hour (mph). 

DATES: The comment period on the 

proposed action will extend 30 days 

from the date the Notice of Intent is 

published in the Federal Register. 

Completion of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

is expected in January 2009 and the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) is expected in July 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: 

Travel Management Team, ShastaTrinity National Forest, 3644 Avtech 

Parkway, Redding, CA 96002. Electronic 

comments may be submitted to 

comments-pacificsouthwest-shastatrinity@fs.fed.us with Subject: 

Motorized Travel. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Remillard, Shasta-Trinity 

National Forest, 3644 Avtech Parkway, 

Redding, CA 96002, Phone: (530) 226–

2421, Fax: (530) 226–2470, e-mail: 

rremillard@fs.fed.us. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Over the past few decades, the 

availability and capability of motorized 

vehicles, particularly off-highway 

vehicles (OHVs) and sport utility 

vehicles (SUVs) has increased 

tremendously. Nationally, the number 

of OHV users has climbed sevenfold in 

the past 30 years, from approximately 5 

million in 1972 to 36 million in 2000. 

The ten states with the largest 

population also have the most OHV 

users. California has 4.35 million OHV 

users accounting for almost 11% of the 

U.S. total (Off-Highway Vehicle 

Recreation in the United States, Regions 

and States: A National Report from the 

National Survey on Recreation and the 

Environment (NSRE) Cordell, Betz, 

Green and Owens June 2005). There 

were 786,914 ATVs and OHV 

motorcycles registered in 2004, up 

330% since 1980. Annual sales of ATVs 

and OHV motorcycles in California were 

the highest in the U.S. for the last 5 

years. Four-wheel drive vehicle sales in 

California also increased by 1500% to 

3,046,866 from 1989 to 2002. 

Unmanaged OHV use has resulted in 

unplanned roads and trails, erosion, 

watershed and habitat degradation, and 

impacts to cultural resource sites. 

Compaction and erosion are the primary 

effects of OHV use on soils. Riparian 

areas and aquatic dependent species are 

particularly vulnerable to OHV use. 

Unmanaged recreation, including 

impacts from OHVs, is one of ‘‘Four Key 

Threats Facing the Nation’s Forests and 

Grasslands.’’ (USDA Forest Service, 

June 2004). 

On August 11, 2003, the Pacific 

Southwest Region of the Forest Service 

entered into a Memorandum of Intent 

(MOT) with the California Off-Highway 

Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, 

and the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle 

Recreation Division of the California 

Department of Parks and Recreation. 

That MOI set in motion a region-wide 

effort to ‘‘Designate OHV roads, trails, 

and any specifically defined open areas 

for motorized wheeled vehicles on maps 

of the 19 National Forests in California 

by 2007.’’

On November 9, 2005, the Forest 

Service published final travel 

management regulations in the Federal 

Register (FR Vol. 70, No. 216–Nov. 9, 

2005, pp 68264–6829 1). Subpart B of 

the final Travel Management Rule 

requires designation of those roads, 

trails, and areas that are open to motor 

vehicle use on National Forests. Route 

designations will be made by class of 

vehicle and, if appropriate, by time of 

year. The final rule allows for motor 

vehicle use only on designated system 

routes and in designated areas. 

On some NFS lands, long managed as 

open to cross-country motor vehicle 

travel, repeated use has resulted in 

unplanned, unauthorized, roads and 

trails. These routes generally were 

developed without environmental 

analysis or public involvement, and do 

not have the same status as NFS roads 

and NFS trails included in the forest 

transportation system. Nevertheless, 

some unauthorized routes are wellsited, provide excellent opportunities 

for outdoor recreation by motorized and 

non-motorized users, and would 

enhance the National Forest system of 

designated roads, trails and areas. Other 

unauthorized routes are poorly located 

and cause unacceptable impacts. Only 

NFS roads and NFS trails can be 

designated for wheeled motorized 

vehicle use. For an unauthorized route 

to be designated, it must first be added 

to the national forest transportation 

system (NFTS). 

In accordance with the Memorandum 

of Intent, the Forest recently completed 

an inventory of unauthorized routes on 

NFS lands and identified approximately 

5,085 unauthorized routes totaling 1,198 

miles. The Forest then used an 

interdisciplinary process to conduct 

travel analysis to determine whether 

any of the unauthorized routes should 

be proposed for addition to the NFTS in 

this proposed action. A number of 

routes were identified which could be 

considered in this or future decisions on 

the NFTS as a part of travel management 

on the Forest. The Responsible Official 

has made decisions on what, if any, 

changes to the existing NFTS would be 

a part of this proposed action. 

Roads, trails and areas that are 

currently part of the Forest 

transportation system and are open to 

wheeled motorized vehicle travel will 

remain designated for such unless 

changed by this proposal. This proposal 

focuses only on the prohibition of 

wheeled motorized vehicle travel off 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES