Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 2014 / Notices 64165 

Asheville, NC 

Tusquitee Ranger District: Cherokee 

Scout, published weekly 

(Wednesday) in Murphy, NC 

Uwharrie Ranger District: 

Montgomery Herald, published 

weekly (Wednesday) in Troy, NC 

Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas 

and Oklahoma 

Forest Supervisor Decisions: 

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 

published daily in Little Rock, AR 

District Ranger Decisions: 

Caddo-Womble Ranger District: 

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 

published daily in Little Rock, AR 

Jessieville-Winona-Fourche Ranger 

District: Arkansas DemocratGazette, published daily in Little 

Rock, AR 

Mena-Oden Ranger District: Arkansas 

Democrat-Gazette, published daily 

in Little Rock, AR 

Oklahoma Ranger District (Choctaw; 

Kiamichi; and Tiak): McCurtain 

Daily Gazette, published daily in 

Idabel, OK 

Poteau-Cold Springs Ranger District: 

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 

published daily in Little Rock, AR 

Ozark-St. Francis National Forests, 

Arkansas 

Forest Supervisor Decisions: 

The Courier, published daily 

(Tuesday through Sunday) in 

Russellville, AR 

District Ranger Decisions: 

Bayou Ranger District: The Courier, 

published daily (Tuesday through 

Sunday) in Russellville, AR 

Boston Mountain Ranger District: 

Southwest Times Record, published 

daily in Fort Smith, AR 

Buffalo Ranger District: The Courier, 

published daily (Tuesday through 

Sunday) in Russellville, AR 

Magazine Ranger District: Southwest 

Times Record, published daily in 

Fort Smith, AR 

Pleasant Hill Ranger District: Johnson 

County Graphic, published weekly 

(Wednesday) in Clarksville, AR 

St. Francis National Forest: The Daily 

World, published daily (Sunday 

through Friday) in Helena, AR 

Sylamore Ranger District: Stone 

County Leader, published weekly 

(Wednesday) in Mountain View, AR 

National Forests and Grasslands in 

Texas, Texas 

Forest Supervisor Decisions: 

The Lufkin News, published daily in 

Lufkin, TX 

District Ranger Decisions: 

Angelina National Forest: The Lufkin 

News, published daily in Lufkin, 

TX 

Caddo & LBJ National Grasslands: 

Denton Record-Chronicle, 

published daily in Denton, TX 

Davy Crockett National Forest: The 

Lufkin News, published daily in 

Lufkin, TX 

Sabine National Forest: The Daily 

News, published daily in Lufkin, 

TX 

Sam Houston National Forest: The 

Courier, published daily in Conroe, 

TX 

Dated: October 9, 2014. 

Jerome Thomas, 

Deputy Regional Forester. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25326 Filed 10–27–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

Notice of Intent To Request To 

Conduct a New Information Collection 

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 this 

notice announces the intention of the 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS) to seek approval to conduct a 

new information collection consisting of 

two questionnaires, the Quarterly 

Colony Loss Survey and the Annual 

Colony Loss Survey. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by December 29, 2014 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number 0535– 

NEW, by any of the following methods: 

• Email: ombofficer@nass.usda.gov. 

Include docket number above in the 

subject line of the message. 

• eFax: (855) 838–6382. 

• Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD– 

ROM submissions to: David Hancock, 

NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 

South Building, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

2024. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand 

deliver to: David Hancock, NASS 

Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Room 5336 South Building, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Renee Picanso, Associate Administrator, 

National Agricultural Statistics Service, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, (202) 

720–2707. Copies of this information 

collection and related instructions can 

be obtained without charge from David 

Hancock, NASS Clearance Officer, at 

(202) 690–2388. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Pollinator Surveys. 

OMB Control Number: 0535–NEW. 

Type of Request: Intent to seek 

approval to conduct a new information 

collection for a period of three years. 

Abstract: The primary objective of the 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS) is to prepare and issue state and 

national estimates of crop and livestock 

production, prices, and disposition; as 

well as economic statistics, 

environmental statistics related to 

agriculture and also to conduct the 

Census of Agriculture. 

Pollinators (honeybees) are vital to the 

agricultural industry for producing food 

for the world’s population. Ad hoc 

surveys showed a dramatic rise in the 

number of disappearances of honeybee 

colonies in North America in late 2006; 

disappearances ranged from 10–15 

percent annual colony loss in some 

areas to greater than 30 percent in other 

areas. Often called Colony Collapse 

Disorder (CCD), the condition occurs 

when worker bees from a beehive or a 

European honeybee colony abruptly 

disappear, with minimal mortality 

evident near the hive and an intact 

queen and food supply readily 

available. European beekeepers 

observed similar phenomena in 

Belgium, France, the Netherlands, 

Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and 

initial reports have also come in from 

Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a 

lesser degree, while the Northern 

Ireland Assembly received reports of a 

decline greater than 50 percent. The 

mechanisms of CCD and the reasons for 

its apparent increasing prevalence 

remain unclear. The likely combination 

of factors includes: Infections with 

Varroa mites and other pathogens and 

viruses; pesticides, such as the 

neonicotinoid class; inadequate 

nutrition and loss of natural forage 

habitat; genetic factors; and changing 

beekeeping practices and stress on 

colonies from transportation. 

The collapse of honeybee colonies is 

significant economically because many 

agricultural crops worldwide are 

pollinated by European honeybees. 

According to the Agriculture and 

Consumer Protection Department of the 

United Nations Food and Agriculture 

Organization, the worth of global crops 

with honeybee pollination was 

estimated to be close to $200 billion in 

2005. Shortages of honeybees in the 

United States have led to substantial 


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64166 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 2014 / Notices 

increases in the cost to farmers renting 

them for pollination services. USDA and 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), in consultation with other 

relevant Federal partners, are scaling up 

efforts to address the decline of 

honeybee health with a goal of ensuring 

the recovery of this critical subset of 

pollinators. NASS supports this USDA– 

EPA CCD National Action Plan, which 

emphasizes the importance of 

coordinated action to identify the extent 

and causal factors in honeybee and 

pollinator declines. 

To efficiently collect critical 

information on the status and health of 

the commercial honeybee population, 

NASS proposes two new surveys that 

complement its existing Bee and Honey 

Inquiry (0535–0153), which targets bee 

keepers with 5 or more colonies. The 

Colony Loss Quarterly Survey will be 

administered quarterly to a subsample 

of bee keepers responding to the annual 

Bee and Honey Inquiry. The Colony 

Loss Annual Survey will be 

administered to bee keepers with fewer 

than 5 colonies; these respondents will 

be asked to report quarterly honeybee 

colony losses on an annual basis. 

Together, these surveys will yield the 

number of honeybee colonies that are 

comparable in methodology to the 

Census of Agriculture counts (which is 

available only every 5 years). The data 

collected will include state of colony 

residence, the commercial movement of 

colonies between states, newly added or 

replacement colonies, colony losses, 

and presence of colony stress factors, 

such as pests or parasites. 

The Colony Loss Surveys are strongly 

encouraged by beekeepers, the National 

Academy of Sciences, and the USDA 

Office of the Inspector General. This 

action will provide an improved 

baseline, annual, and quarterly data to 

describe any loss or change in the 

number of colonies and issues and 

practices which may be associated with 

colony stress and decline. 

NASS is committed to collaborating 

with USDA and the other departments 

on a unified and complementary 

approach to develop and support the 

Pollinator Health Initiative. This will 

allow NASS and its collaborators to 

address critical information needs at an 

accelerated pace and guide honeybee 

management at a national scale. 

Authority: These data will be collected 

under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a). 

Individually identifiable data collected under 

this authority are governed by Section 1770 

of the Food Security Act of 1985 as amended, 

7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to afford 

strict confidentiality to non-aggregated data 

provided by respondents. This Notice is 

submitted in accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–113) and 

the Office of Management and Budget 

regulations at 5 CFR part 1320. 

NASS also complies with OMB 

Implementation Guidance, 

‘‘Implementation Guidance for Title V 

of the E-Government Act, Confidential 

Information Protection and Statistical 

Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA),’’ 

Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 115, June 

15, 2007, p. 33376. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 10 minutes per 

response. Publicity materials and 

instruction sheet will account for 5 

minutes of additional burden per 

respondent. Respondents who refuse to 

complete a survey will be allotted 2 

minutes of burden per attempt to collect 

the data. NASS plans to conduct two 

different surveys as a part of this 

approval request. Once a year, NASS 

will contact approximately 20,000 small 

bee operations (fewer than 5 colonies). 

Approximately 3,300 operations with 5 

or more bee colonies will be contacted 

quarterly to collect bee loss data. NASS 

will conduct the surveys initially using 

a mail and internet approach. This will 

be followed up with phone and personal 

enumeration for non-respondents. 

NASS will attempt to obtain an 80% 

response rate. 

Respondents: Farmers and 

beekeepers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

23,300. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: With an estimated 

response rate of approximately 80%, we 

estimate the burden to be 7,020 hours. 

Comments: Comments are invited on: 

(a) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, through 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, technological or 

other forms of information technology 

collection methods. 

All responses to this notice will 

become a matter of public record and be 

summarized in the request for OMB 

approval. 

Signed at Washington, DC, October 15, 

2014. 

R. Renee Picanso, 

Associate Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25609 Filed 10–27–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Economic Development Administration 

Notice of Petitions by Firms for 

Determination of Eligibility To Apply 

for Trade Adjustment Assistance 

AGENCY: Economic Development 

Administration, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice and Opportunity for 

Public Comment. 

Pursuant to Section 251 of the Trade 

Act 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2341 

et seq.), the Economic Development 

Administration (EDA) has received 

petitions for certification of eligibility to 

apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance 

from the firms listed below. 

Accordingly, EDA has initiated 

investigations to determine whether 

increased imports into the United States 

of articles like or directly competitive 

with those produced by each of these 

firms contributed importantly to the 

total or partial separation of the firm’s 

workers, or threat thereof, and to a 

decrease in sales or production of each 

petitioning firm. 

LIST OF PETITIONS RECEIVED BY EDA FOR CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY FOR TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE

[10/20/2014 through 10/22/2014] 

Firm name Firm address 

Date accepted 

for 

investigation 

Product(s) 

Kebby Industries, Inc ..................... 4075 Kilburn Avenue, Rockford, IL 

61101.

10/20/2014 The firm manufactures hand tools and filters for the 

pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and packaging industries. 


asabaliauskas on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES