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,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

32104 

Vol. 74, No. 128 

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests 

and Thunder Basin National 

Grassland; Wyoming; Thunder Basin 

National Grassland Land and Resource 

Management Plan Amendment for 

Prairie Dog Management 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement, 

correction. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service proposes 

to: (1) Develop a project-level and sitespecific implementation strategy to 

manage black-tailed prairie dogs 

(Cynomys ludovicianus) using the full 

suite of management tools to maintain 

viable populations to support 

blackfooted ferret reintroduction and 

populations of other associated species 

while reducing unwanted colonization 

of adjoining lands along national 

grassland boundaries and (2) to amend 

the Thunder Basin National Grassland 

Land and Resource Management Plan 

(LRMP) as needed to support the sitespecific implementation plan and to 

modify the boundary of the black-footed 

ferret reintroduction area. The ferret 

area modification is proposed to provide 

a more logical boundary, based on 

topographical and biological barriers for 

prairie dog colonies, and to include 

lands recently acquired through land 

exchange. 

A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

for this project was published March 13, 

2007 (72 FR 11323–11324). More than 

six months have elapsed since the 

projected FEIS date in the original NOI. 

This revised NOI is being issued to 

update the projected date of availability 

of the FEIS. 

DATES: The Notice of Availability of the 

draft environmental impact statement 

was published in the Federal Register 

on February 8, 2008 (73 FR 7555–7556). 

The final environmental impact 

statement is expected in July, 2009. No 

further formal public comment 

opportunities will be offered on this 

project. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cristi Painter, Wildlife Biologist or 

Misty Hays, Deputy District Ranger, 

Douglas Ranger District, 2250 East 

Richards St, Douglas, WY 82633 (307 

358–4690. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Standard Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since the 

1960s, the Forest Service has been 

challenged to balance our duty to 

conserve prairie dog habitat and manage 

the impacts from prairie dogs on public 

lands and neighboring private lands. 

Prairie dog management on the Thunder 

Basin National Grassland fluctuated 

throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980s 

from periods of active use of 

rodenticide, management to maintain 

prairie dog populations and no 

rodenticide use. However, with the 

petition for listing the prairie dog in 

1998, rodenticide use was prohibited by 

Forest Service policy from 1999 until 

2004 when the US Fish and Wildlife 

Service issued its decision to remove 

the prairie dog from its candidate list. In 

2001 the LRMP was completed with the 

2002 Record of Decision (ROD). The 

LRMP continued to limit use of prairie 

dog rodenticide to situations involving 

public health and safety risks and 

damage to facilities. In 2002, as the 

Thunder Basin National Grassland 

LRMP was being completed a plague 

epizootic impacted prairie dog colonies 

on the Thunder Basin National 

Grassland in April and May 2002 

reducing populations from an estimated 

21,000 acres of inventoried active 

colonies in 2001 to about 3,300 acres of 

inventoried active colonies in 2002. 

Since 2002, active colonies have been 

recovering from the plague event from 

29–69% annually. In 2004, as part of the 

appeal decisions on the LRMP, USDA 

Deputy Under Secretary, David Tenny, 

issued instructions directing the 

Thunder Basin National Grassland to 

ensure that local land managers work 

together with State and county officials 

and local landowners to aggressively 

implement the spirit and intent of the 

good neighbor policy. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

To meet Grassland-wide Goals and 

Objectives (Goal 1.b, Objective 1), the 

desired conditions prescribed under the 

MA 3.63 direction, the National Black 

Footed Ferret Recovery Plan, and the 

LRMP appeal direction, the purpose of 

the proposed action is to establish the 

public support and maintain the 

biological environment needed to 

facilitate the reintroduction of blackfooted ferrets on the Thunder Basin 

National Grassland (TBNG). 

To achieve this purpose, the Forest 

Service has identified the need to: 

• Proactively manage prairie dog 

populations on the TBNG in an 

environmentally, biologically, and 

socially acceptable manner that 

provides for the long-term conservation 

of black-tailed prairie dogs and other 

species associated with prairie dog 

colonies. 

• Manage prairie dog populations, 

colonies and complexes on the TBNG in 

adequate acreages and distributions to 

provide habitat conditions that support 

future reintroductions of black-footed 

ferrets. 

• Address the potential for prairie 

dog movement from the TBNG to 

adjoining private and State lands and 

local landowner concerns about 

possible losses of agricultural 

production, costs of controlling prairie 

dogs, effects on land values, and risks to 

human and animal health and safety 

that may occur if prairie dogs colonize 

adjacent non-federal lands as a result of 

this movement. 

• Conserve prairie dogs on the TBNG 

for the wide variety of wildlife species 

that are dependent on the habitat 

provided by prairie dog colonies. 

• Gain local landowner and State of 

Wyoming support for a prairie dog 

management on the TBNG that provides 

for the biological needs of the blackfooted ferret and minimizes potential 

adverse impacts to adjacent non-federal 

landowners. 

Proposed Action 

The Forest Service proposes to 

develop a project-level and site-specific 

implementation strategy to manage 

prairie dogs using the full suite of 

management tools to maintain viable 

populations to support black-footed 

ferret reintroduction and populations of 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 7, 2009 / Notices 32105 

other associated species while reducing 

unwanted colonization of prairie dogs 

on adjoining lands along National 

Grassland boundaries. The Forest 

Service also proposes to amend the 

LRMP as needed to support the sitespecific implementation plan and to 

modify the boundary of the black-footed 

ferret reintroduction area. The ferret 

reintroduction area modification is 

proposed in order to provide a more 

logical boundary based on topographical 

and biological barriers for prairie dog 

colonies and to include lands recently 

acquired through land exchange. All 

standards and guidelines as currently 

prescribed in the LRMP for Black 

Footed Ferret Reintroduction Habitat 

will apply to the modified area. 

Methods for implementing the proposed 

actions include a suite of non-lethal and 

lethal management tools such as: 

rodenticide, limited shooting, 

landownership adjustment, third-party 

solutions, financial incentives, 

conservation agreements, conservation 

easements, live-trapping, reduced 

livestock grazing to create visual 

barriers, and physical barriers. 

Responsible Official 

Mary H. Peterson, Forest Supervisor, 

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests 

and Thunder Basin National Grassland, 

2468 Jackson Street, Laramie, Wyoming 

82070 is the official responsible for 

making the decision on this action. She 

will document her decision and 

rationale in a Record of Decision. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The Responsible Official will consider 

the results of the analysis and its 

findings and then document the final 

decision in a Record of Decision (ROD). 

The decision will include a 

determination whether or not to amend 

the LRMP to support the prairie dog 

management strategy and adjust the 

boundaries of the Black Footed Ferret 

Reintroduction Management Area. 

Scoping Process 

Concurrent with this NCI, letters 

requesting comments will be sent to 

interested parties. Anyone who provides 

comments to the DEIS or expresses 

interest during the comment period will 

have eligibility. 

Preliminary Issues 

The Forest Service has identified the 

following preliminary issues: (1) 

Potential impacts to the Black-Footed 

Ferret, an Endangered species; (2) 

Potential impacts to the black-tailed 

prairie dog, a Forest Service Region 2 

Sensitive Species and other associated 

sensitive species; (3) Potential impacts 

to adjacent private lands; (4) Potential 

impacts to livestock grazing permits on 

National Grassland. 

Comment Requested 

Comments and input regarding the 

proposal were requested from the 

public, other groups and agencies via 

direct mailing on May 9, 2007. The Draft 

EIS was issued for a 45-day public 

comment in December 19, 2007 and the 

comment period was extended for an 

additional 45 days from February 4, 

2008 until March 24, 2008. No further 

formal public comment will be accepted 

on this project. 

Dated: June 22, 2009. 

Misty A. Hays, 

Deputy District Ranger. 

[FR Doc. E9–15842 Filed 7–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of Sanders County Resource 

Advisory Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the authorities in 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463) and under the Secure 

Rural Schools and Community SelfDetermination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106– 

393) the Lolo and Kootenai National 

Forests’ Sanders County Resource 

Advisory Committee will meet on July 

16 at 7 p.m. in Thompson Falls, 

Montana for a business meeting. The 

meeting is open to the public. 

DATES: July 16, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will he held at 

the Thompson Falls Courthouse, 1111 

Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 

59873. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Randy Hojem, Designated Federal 

Official (DFO), District Ranger, Plains 

Ranger District, Lolo National Forest at 

(406) 826–3821. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Agenda 

topics include recommendations on 

new RAC project proposals, reviewing 

progress on current projects, and 

receiving public comment, If the 

meeting location is changed, notice will 

be posted in the local newspapers, 

including the Clark Fork Valley Press, 

and Sanders County Ledger. 

Dated: June 24, 2009. 

Randy Hojem, 

DFO, Plains Ranger District, Lolo National 

Forest. 

[FR Doc. E9–15844 Filed 7–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food and Nutrition Service 

National Advisory Council on Maternal, 

Infant and Fetal Nutrition; Notice of 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, this notice 

announces a meeting of the National 

Advisory Council on Maternal, Infant 

and Fetal Nutrition. 

DATES: July 21–23, 2009, 9 a.m.–5:30 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Food and Nutrition Service, 3101 

Park Center Drive, Room 830 (July 21), 

Room 204 A & B (July 22–23), 

Alexandria, VA 22302. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carla McTigue, Supplemental Food 

Programs Division, Food and Nutrition 

Service, Department of Agriculture, 

(703) 305–2086. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Council will continue its study of the 

Special Supplemental Nutrition 

Program for Women, Infants and 

Children (WIC), and the Commodity 

Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). 

The agenda will include updates and 

discussion of implementation of the 

WIC food package, WIC cost 

containment, CSFP Farm Bill 

provisions, participation trends, and 

current research studies. Meetings of the 

Council are open to the public. 

Members of the public may participate, 

as time permits. Members of the public 

may file written statements before or 

after the meeting with Carla McTigue, 

Supplemental Food Programs Division, 

3101 Park Center Drive, Room 522, 

Alexandria, Virginia 22302. If members 

of the public need special 

accommodations, please notify Mr. 

Dennis Murray by July 7, 2009, at (703) 

305–2704, or e-mail at 

dennis.murray@fns.usda.gov. 

Dated: July 1, 2009. 

Julia Paradis, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–15970 Filed 7–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P