Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD-Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project, 48120-48121 [2011-20036]
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48120
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 152 / Monday, August 8, 2011 / Notices
Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of
August 2011.
Gregory L. Parham,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
communities and resources on adjacent
lands of other ownerships from largescale wildfire by reducing hazardous
fuel levels.
[FR Doc. 2011–20177 Filed 8–5–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Black Hills National Forest, Custer,
SD—Mountain Pine Beetle Response
Project
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
This project proposes to treat
areas newly infested by mountain pine
beetles on approximately 325,000 acres
of the Black Hills National Forest.
Treatments would occur in both South
Dakota and Wyoming, and on all four
Ranger Districts. Treatments would be
carried out within the scope of direction
provided in the Revised Land and
Resource Management Plan for the
Black Hills National Forest, as amended.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received by
September 7, 2011. The draft
environmental impact statement is
expected in February 2012, and the final
environmental impact statement is
expected in August 2012.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor, Black
Hills National Forest, 1019 N. 5th Street,
Custer, SD 57730. Comments may also
be sent via e-mail to comments-rockymountain-black-hills@fs.fed.us, with
‘‘MPB Response Project’’ in the subject
line. Electronic comments must be
submitted in Word (.doc), Rich Text
(.rtf), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katie Van-Alstyne, project team leader,
Black Hills National Forest, Mystic
Ranger District, Rapid City, SD 57701,
phone (605) 343–1567. 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 Time, Monday through
Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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SUMMARY:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purposes of the project are to
reduce the threat to ecosystem
components including forest resources
on National Forest System (NFS) lands
from the ongoing mountain pine beetle
epidemic, and to help protect local
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18:57 Aug 05, 2011
Jkt 223001
Proposed Action
Background The Black Hills National
Forest (the Forest) lies in the Black Hills
of western South Dakota and eastern
Wyoming. Of the roughly 1.5 million
acres in the Black Hills, about 1.2
million acres are National Forest System
(NFS) lands, with lands of other
ownership comprising another 300,000
acres. The predominant tree species on
lands of all ownerships in the Black
Hills is ponderosa pine (Pinus
ponderosae). Since 1997 the Black Hills
area has experienced a significant
increase in pine tree mortality from an
outbreak of mountain pine beetle
(Dendroctonus ponderosae). In many
parts of the Forest beetle populations
are at or approaching epidemic levels.
The outbreak in the Black Hills is part
of a larger bark beetle epidemic which
has recently affected more than 40
million acres of forest land in the
western United States.
In the Black Hills mountain pine
beetles (MPB) typically prefer stands of
dense, mature pine trees. Tree stands in
this condition are frequent and
continuous throughout the area. Once
attacked by beetles, most trees typically
die, and eventually fall to the ground,
adding dead and dry fuels within an
area already rated as having high
wildfire hazard. Since 1980, due to
several factors including drought the
Forest has seen a dramatic increase in
acreage burned by wildfires. In that
period over 250,000 acres have burned,
consuming forest resources and posing
threats to lands of other ownership
intermingled with NFS lands.
Proposal The primary management
tools for reducing beetle-caused tree
mortality are removing infested trees,
and reducing the density of remaining
trees to lessen the susceptibility to
attack. The Forest Service is working to
manage persistent and increasing
populations of the mountain pine beetle
across the Forest. As part of that larger
effort the Forest is proposing the
Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project
(MPBRP—the project). The project
would be conducted as an authorized
hazardous fuels reduction project under
the authority of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). The
proposed action would treat newly
detected infestations that may occur on
about 325,000 acres of NFS lands to
reduce and slow the spread of MPB.
Specifically, newly infested trees would
be removed, or made unsuitable for
occupancy by beetles, before beetles can
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
mature and further disperse to other
trees. Some surrounding mature trees at
risk of infestation may also be removed.
A variety of treatment options would be
available for use depending on
conditions encountered on infested
sites. Actual treatments used at any
specific location would be determined
at the time of implementation.
Treatment options would include
commercial tree removal using groundbased or cable logging equipment, or
helicopter; non-commercial methods
such as chipping trees or cutting them
into short sections; and spraying small
areas of trees to prevent infestation.
Some temporary road construction is
proposed, although generally road
access would use existing road
templates where available. Roads would
be closed after use.
Possible Alternatives
The No Action alternative would not
authorize any actions on the project area
at this time. Other alternatives may be
developed in response to public
comments.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
No cooperating agencies have been
identified.
Responsible Official
The Responsible Official for this
project is the Forest Supervisor, Black
Hills National Forest, 1019 North 5th
Avenue, Custer, South Dakota, 57730.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
After considering the proposed action
and any alternatives, the environmental
analysis, and public comment, the
Forest Supervisor will decide whether
to conduct treatments to reduce and
slow the progress of the beetle
epidemic. If an action alternative is
selected, the Supervisor will decide
where treatments may occur, and what
actions are appropriate and may be
taken. Finally, the decision will include
the scope of monitoring that should
occur. No Forest Plan amendment is
proposed.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the
scoping process, which guides the
development of the environmental
impact statement. The Forest Service
seeks to involve interested parties in
identifying issues related to responding
to and managing the ongoing insect
outbreak. Public comment will help the
planning team identify key issues and
opportunities to develop appropriate
responses and alternatives, and
monitoring strategies, and to evaluate
the effects of the proposal.
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 152 / Monday, August 8, 2011 / Notices
Three public meetings are planned at
this stage of project analysis. Those will
be held August 23, 2011, in Sundance,
Wyoming, at the Crook County
Courthouse; August 25 in Hill City,
South Dakota, at the high school; and
August 30 in Spearfish, SD, at the
Holiday Inn. All meetings will begin at
6 p.m. Mountain Time (MT), and end at
8 p.m. M.T. In addition, three public
meetings will be held during the
comment period on the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement.
The Forest Service recognizes the
broad public interest in the
communities and counties lying in or
adjacent to the Black Hills, as well as
the States of South Dakota and
Wyoming. The initial mailing list for
this project includes counties and
municipalities lying wholly or partially
within the Forest boundary.
It is important that reviewers provide
their comments at such times and in
such manner that they are useful to the
agency’s preparation of the
environmental impact statement.
Therefore, comments should be
provided prior to the close of the
comment period and should clearly
articulate the reviewer’s concerns and
contentions.
Comments received in response to
this solicitation, including names and
addresses of those who comment, will
be part of the public record for this
proposed action. Comments submitted
anonymously will be accepted and
considered, however.
August 2, 2011.
Dennis Jaeger,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2011–20036 Filed 8–5–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 51–2011]
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Foreign-Trade Zone 77—Memphis, TN;
Application for Reorganization and
Expansion Under Alternative Site
Framework
An application has been submitted to
the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board
(the Board) by the City of Memphis,
grantee of FTZ 77, requesting authority
to reorganize the zone under the
alternative site framework (ASF)
adopted by the Board (74 FR 1170, 1/12/
09 (correction 74 FR 3987, 1/22/09); 75
FR 71069–71070, 11/22/10). The ASF is
an option for grantees for the
establishment or reorganization of
general-purpose zones and can permit
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18:57 Aug 05, 2011
Jkt 223001
significantly greater flexibility in the
designation of new ‘‘usage-driven’’ FTZ
sites for operators/users located within
a grantee’s ‘‘service area’’ in the context
of the Board’s standard 2,000-acre
activation limit for a general-purpose
zone project. The application was
submitted pursuant to the Foreign-Trade
Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a81u), and the regulations of the Board
(15 CFR part 400). It was formally filed
on August 3, 2011.
FTZ 77 was approved by the Board on
April 2, 1982 (Board Order 189, 47 FR
16191, 04/15/82), expanded on June 17,
1992 (Board Order 582, 57 FR 28483,
06/25/92) and expanded and
reorganized on September 27, 2001
(Board Order 1193, 66 FR 52741, 10/17/
01).
The current zone project includes the
following sites: Site 1 (22 acres)—Port of
Memphis at President’s Island Industrial
Park, intersection of Port Street and
Channel Avenue, Memphis; Site 2 (7
acres)—Spinnaker Inc., 5000 East Raines
Road, Memphis; Site 3 (109 acres
total)—Contract Warehouse Associates
and Barrett Distribution Centers, (106
acres) at 4836 Hickory Hill Road,
Memphis; and Cox Construction (Parcel
3, 3 acres), 227 Highway 45 West,
Humboldt; Site 4 (419 acres total)—at
Memphis Depot Business Park (Parcel 1,
391 acres) at 2163 Airways Blvd.,
Memphis; Flextronics Inc. (Parcel 2, 24
acres) at 5200 Tradeport Street, 6100
Holmes St, and 6380 Holmes Street,
Memphis; and, Ozburn Hessey Logistics
(Parcel 3, 4 acres) at 5265 Hickory Hill
Road, Memphis; Site 5 (5 acres)—
Quality Packaging Services
International, 3755 Knight Arnold Road,
Memphis; Site 6 (0.5 acres)—FedEx
Supply Chain Services, Inc., 5025
Tuggle Road, Memphis; Site 7 (30
acres)—Del-Nat Tire Corporation, 2365
Texas Drive, Memphis; Site 8 (79
acres)—Patterson Warehouses, Inc.,
5388 Airways Blvd., Memphis; and, Site
9 (50 acres)—Baxter Healthcare
Corporation, 4835 S. Mendenhall Road,
Memphis.
The grantee’s proposed service area
under the ASF would be Shelby County,
Tennessee, as described in the
application. If approved, the grantee
would be able to serve sites throughout
the service area based on companies’
needs for FTZ designation. The
proposed service area is within the
Memphis Customs and Border
Protection port of entry.
The applicant is requesting authority
to reorganize and expand its existing
zone project under the ASF as follows:
to remove parcel 3 of Site 3; to clarify
the boundaries of parcel 1 of the 391acre Memphis Depot Business Park
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
48121
within Site 4; to renumber parcel 2 of
Site 4 as Site 11; to renumber parcel 3
of Site 4 as Site 12; and, to include an
additional 16 acres at Site 6 (new total—
16.5 acres). Site 4 would become a
magnet site and Sites 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 11 and 12 would become ‘‘usagedriven’’ sites. The applicant is also
requesting approval of the following
‘‘magnet’’ site: Proposed Site 10 (2, 000
acres)—Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial
Park, Paul Lowery Road in the
southwest corner of the Memphis city
limits. The ASF allows for the possible
exemption of one magnet site from the
‘‘sunset’’ time limits that generally
apply to sites under the ASF, and the
applicant proposes that proposed
magnet Site 10 be so exempted. Because
the ASF only pertains to establishing or
reorganizing a general-purpose zone, the
application would have no impact on
FTZ 77’s authorized subzones.
In accordance with the Board’s
regulations, Kathleen Boyce of the FTZ
Staff is designated examiner to evaluate
and analyze the facts and information
presented in the application and case
record and to report findings and
recommendations to the Board.
Public comment is invited from
interested parties. Submissions (original
and 3 copies) shall be addressed to the
Board’s Executive Secretary at the
address below. The closing period for
their receipt is October 7, 2011. Rebuttal
comments in response to material
submitted during the foregoing period
may be submitted during the subsequent
15-day period to October 24, 2011.
A copy of the application will be
available for public inspection at the
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 2111,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20230–0002, and in the ‘‘Reading
Room’’ section of the Board’s Web site,
which is accessible via https://
www.trade.gov/ftz. For further
information, contact Kathleen Boyce at
Kathleen.Boyce@trade.gov or (202) 482–
1346.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011–20049 Filed 8–5–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48120-48121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20036]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD--Mountain Pine Beetle
Response Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This project proposes to treat areas newly infested by
mountain pine beetles on approximately 325,000 acres of the Black Hills
National Forest. Treatments would occur in both South Dakota and
Wyoming, and on all four Ranger Districts. Treatments would be carried
out within the scope of direction provided in the Revised Land and
Resource Management Plan for the Black Hills National Forest, as
amended.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by September 7, 2011. The draft environmental impact statement is
expected in February 2012, and the final environmental impact statement
is expected in August 2012.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor,
Black Hills National Forest, 1019 N. 5th Street, Custer, SD 57730.
Comments may also be sent via e-mail to comments-rocky-mountain-black-hills@fs.fed.us, with ``MPB Response Project'' in the subject line.
Electronic comments must be submitted in Word (.doc), Rich Text (.rtf),
or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Van-Alstyne, project team
leader, Black Hills National Forest, Mystic Ranger District, Rapid
City, SD 57701, phone (605) 343-1567. 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 Time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purposes of the project are to reduce the threat to ecosystem
components including forest resources on National Forest System (NFS)
lands from the ongoing mountain pine beetle epidemic, and to help
protect local communities and resources on adjacent lands of other
ownerships from large-scale wildfire by reducing hazardous fuel levels.
Proposed Action
Background The Black Hills National Forest (the Forest) lies in the
Black Hills of western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Of the roughly
1.5 million acres in the Black Hills, about 1.2 million acres are
National Forest System (NFS) lands, with lands of other ownership
comprising another 300,000 acres. The predominant tree species on lands
of all ownerships in the Black Hills is ponderosa pine (Pinus
ponderosae). Since 1997 the Black Hills area has experienced a
significant increase in pine tree mortality from an outbreak of
mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). In many parts of the
Forest beetle populations are at or approaching epidemic levels. The
outbreak in the Black Hills is part of a larger bark beetle epidemic
which has recently affected more than 40 million acres of forest land
in the western United States.
In the Black Hills mountain pine beetles (MPB) typically prefer
stands of dense, mature pine trees. Tree stands in this condition are
frequent and continuous throughout the area. Once attacked by beetles,
most trees typically die, and eventually fall to the ground, adding
dead and dry fuels within an area already rated as having high wildfire
hazard. Since 1980, due to several factors including drought the Forest
has seen a dramatic increase in acreage burned by wildfires. In that
period over 250,000 acres have burned, consuming forest resources and
posing threats to lands of other ownership intermingled with NFS lands.
Proposal The primary management tools for reducing beetle-caused
tree mortality are removing infested trees, and reducing the density of
remaining trees to lessen the susceptibility to attack. The Forest
Service is working to manage persistent and increasing populations of
the mountain pine beetle across the Forest. As part of that larger
effort the Forest is proposing the Mountain Pine Beetle Response
Project (MPBRP--the project). The project would be conducted as an
authorized hazardous fuels reduction project under the authority of the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). The proposed action
would treat newly detected infestations that may occur on about 325,000
acres of NFS lands to reduce and slow the spread of MPB. Specifically,
newly infested trees would be removed, or made unsuitable for occupancy
by beetles, before beetles can mature and further disperse to other
trees. Some surrounding mature trees at risk of infestation may also be
removed. A variety of treatment options would be available for use
depending on conditions encountered on infested sites. Actual
treatments used at any specific location would be determined at the
time of implementation. Treatment options would include commercial tree
removal using ground-based or cable logging equipment, or helicopter;
non-commercial methods such as chipping trees or cutting them into
short sections; and spraying small areas of trees to prevent
infestation. Some temporary road construction is proposed, although
generally road access would use existing road templates where
available. Roads would be closed after use.
Possible Alternatives
The No Action alternative would not authorize any actions on the
project area at this time. Other alternatives may be developed in
response to public comments.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
No cooperating agencies have been identified.
Responsible Official
The Responsible Official for this project is the Forest Supervisor,
Black Hills National Forest, 1019 North 5th Avenue, Custer, South
Dakota, 57730.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
After considering the proposed action and any alternatives, the
environmental analysis, and public comment, the Forest Supervisor will
decide whether to conduct treatments to reduce and slow the progress of
the beetle epidemic. If an action alternative is selected, the
Supervisor will decide where treatments may occur, and what actions are
appropriate and may be taken. Finally, the decision will include the
scope of monitoring that should occur. No Forest Plan amendment is
proposed.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. The Forest
Service seeks to involve interested parties in identifying issues
related to responding to and managing the ongoing insect outbreak.
Public comment will help the planning team identify key issues and
opportunities to develop appropriate responses and alternatives, and
monitoring strategies, and to evaluate the effects of the proposal.
[[Page 48121]]
Three public meetings are planned at this stage of project
analysis. Those will be held August 23, 2011, in Sundance, Wyoming, at
the Crook County Courthouse; August 25 in Hill City, South Dakota, at
the high school; and August 30 in Spearfish, SD, at the Holiday Inn.
All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. Mountain Time (MT), and end at 8 p.m.
M.T. In addition, three public meetings will be held during the comment
period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
The Forest Service recognizes the broad public interest in the
communities and counties lying in or adjacent to the Black Hills, as
well as the States of South Dakota and Wyoming. The initial mailing
list for this project includes counties and municipalities lying wholly
or partially within the Forest boundary.
It is important that reviewers provide their comments at such times
and in such manner that they are useful to the agency's preparation of
the environmental impact statement. Therefore, comments should be
provided prior to the close of the comment period and should clearly
articulate the reviewer's concerns and contentions.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names
and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record
for this proposed action. Comments submitted anonymously will be
accepted and considered, however.
August 2, 2011.
Dennis Jaeger,
Deputy Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2011-20036 Filed 8-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P