PSICC; Colorado; Upper Monument Creek EIS, 29397-29398 [2014-11847]
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29397
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 79, No. 99
Thursday, May 22, 2014
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.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
PSICC; Colorado; Upper Monument
Creek EIS
Pike and San Isabel National
Forests and Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands, Forest Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement.
AGENCY:
The Pike and San Isabel
National Forests Cimarron and
Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC)
propose to conduct forest restoration
activities on 25,000 acres within the
67,000 acre Upper Monument Creek
(UMC) analysis area. Treatment
activities include mechanical thinning,
mastication, hand thinning, and
prescribed fire. The treatments will be
used singularly or in combination to
transition forested plant communities
across the landscape towards desired
future conditions that are more
characteristic of a resilient forest.
Resilient forests are better able to
respond to large high intensity
wildfires, insects and disease outbreaks,
and extreme water flows that are known
to occur in the project’s location along
Colorado’s Front Range. By protecting
against the aforementioned extreme
events, resilient forests are better
equipped to protect the following
identified values at risk; adjoining
private property, water quality and
quantity, water conveyance facilities,
transportation systems, wildlife
habitats, heritage sites, municipal
watersheds and timber resources,
Resilient forests also help attenuate the
impacts of increased noxious weeds,
sedimentation, and other hydrologic
disturbances
In order to successfully complete the
amount and types of treatments
necessary for the maximum amount of
resilience, the PSICC might need to
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:36 May 21, 2014
Jkt 232001
amend the PSICC Land and Resource
Management Plan to adjust plan
standards and guidelines. Plan
standards and guideline amendments
might include but are not limited to the
following; forest regeneration, big game
winter range, wildlife habitat, and
allowable levels and types of fire and
fuels treatments. Proposed Land and
Resource Management Plan
amendments will help the PSICC
achieve resiliency, and protect the
values at risk within in each Land and
Resource Management Plan
Management Area in the Upper
Monument Creek Project Area.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received by July
7, 2014. The draft environmental impact
statement is expected April 2015 and
the final environmental impact
statement is expected August 2015.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Pikes Peak Ranger District, Attn: UMC
Project, 601 South Weber St., Colorado
Springs, CO 80903. Comments may also
be sent via email to psicc_umc@
fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to 719–477–
4233.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Allan Hahn, District Ranger, 719–636–
1602, ahahn@fs.fed.us; or Mike Picard,
Team Leader, 719–530–3959, mpicard
@fs.fed.us.
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: Public
meeting notices will be published in the
Colorado Springs Gazette, showing
locations, dates and times for each
public meeting. A Web site is available
for current information about the project
including maps and descriptions of the
planned activities. https://www.upper
monumentcreek.blogspot.com/.
Purpose and Need for Action
The size, severity, and behavior of
recent wildfires on the Pike National
Forest and along the Front Range have
highlighted the risks posed by current
forest conditions. The human and
environmental costs of wildfire
suppression and rehabilitation have
seen a significant increase across the
region in recent decades. As a result of
increasing risks for large fires and
extreme water flows, there is a need to
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
make strategic investments in vegetative
treatments within the UMC landscape.
Strategically placed vegetative
treatments reduce the vulnerability of
surrounding communities, municipal
watersheds, and natural resource values
at risk to severe fire and excessive water
flows in the future.
Proposed Action
In response to the conditions
described above, the proposed action is
to effectively treat up to 25,000 acres
within the 67,000 acre analysis area.
Combinations of mechanical thinning
with product removal, mastication,
hand thinning, and prescribed fire will
be used to shift forest conditions across
the analysis area towards agreed upon
desired conditions. Emphasis will be on
retention of older trees in all forest
types, opening up densely closed stands
of mid to late seral classes, creating a
more open forest environment and
improving shrub and grass diversity.
The forest ecosystems that will be the
primary targets for treatments will be
the ponderosa pine, dry mixed conifer,
aspen, and mesic mixed conifer, with
some treatments in lodgepole and oak/
ponderosa types. Vegetative treatments
will balance the need to protect
important values at risk within and
adjoing the project area. Values at risk
include but are not limited to the
following; private property, utility
infrastructure, wildlife habitat and fully
functioning rivers and streams.
The Proposed Action includes the use
of adaptive management principals to
enable land managers with public
participation to identify management
treatments that modify forest structure,
pattern, and composition across the
landscape to help improve forest
resiliency and function in response to
the potential for large, high intensity
fires and excessive water flows within
the Upper Monument Project Area.
Adaptive management relies on
monitoring change conditions and the
result of actions to determine if
management changes are needed, and if
so, what changes and to what degree.
Possible Alternatives
In this EIS we will use the Iterative
Alternative Process, to make changes to
that action to keep it viable and
responsive to our analysis, and to public
comments. We will conclude the
analysis with one alternative. The final
alternative will reflect the USFS
E:\FR\FM\22MYN1.SGM
22MYN1
29398
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 99 / Thursday, May 22, 2014 / Notices
accepted proposed changes from
internal Forest Service specialist
analysis and external public comments.
Dated: May 15, 2014.
Erin Connelly,
Forest and Grassland Supervisor.
Responsible Official
[FR Doc. 2014–11847 Filed 5–21–14; 8:45 am]
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
Section 7101 of the
Agricultural Act of 2014 requires the
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA) to establish a
process through which institutions may
apply for designation as a NLGCA.
Designation as a NLGCA is one way an
institution may qualify to receive an
exemption from the new matching fund
requirement described in Section 7128
of the Agricultural Act of 2014. NLGCA
designation also satisfies the eligibility
requirement for the Capacity Building
Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of
Agriculture program, which is
authorized under 7 U.S.C. 3319i.
This notice outlines the criteria to
qualify for NLGCA designation and the
steps to obtain such designation.
Additionally, McIntire-Stennis and
Hispanic-serving Agricultural Colleges
and Universities may opt out of their
current designation and request NLGCA
designation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Matthew Lockhart (202) 559–5088,
(FAX) (202) 401–7752, mlockhart@
nifa.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
considered for NLGCA designation, an
Authorized Representative (AR) of one
of these institutions must submit a
declaration of the institution’s intent not
to be considered a HSACU or
Cooperating Forestry School, as
applicable, to NLGCA.status@
nifa.usda.gov prior to submitting the
request for NLGCA status.
For example, the email should read
‘‘The [insert name of University and
City/State] has decided to opt out of
being classified as an HSACU/as an
institution eligible to receive funds
under the McIntire- Stennis Cooperative
Forestry Act of 1962, in accordance with
Section 7101 of the Agricultural Act of
2014. We plan on applying for
designation as a Non-Land-Grant
College of Agriculture.’’
Requests to opt out of McIntireStennis status must be submitted by
June 13th for fiscal year 2014, and for
fiscal years 2015 through 2018, by
December 30th. In accordance with
Section 7101, this declaration by such
institutions shall remain in effect until
September 30, 2018, and will result in
the institution not being eligible for
funds available to it under its prior
status for this period of time.
Requesting NLGCA Designation
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P
The Responsible Official for this
decision will be the PSICC Forest
Supervisor.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Nature of Decision To Be Made
This decision will include the type of
treatments expected to achieve our
objectives, the locations of treatments,
the monitoring methods to be used, and
the adaptive management strategy that
will provide direction for making future
adjustments to this decision. This
decision will only cover actions within
the Upper Monument Creek analysis
area.
Preliminary Issues
A primary concern for management of
this area is the resiliency of the various
forest types, and their resistance to
large, high intensity wildfires, and
extreme water flows. Maintaining
vegetative cover across the landscape
will help to minimize the risks to
municipal and domestic water sources
and other resource values within the
project area.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the
scoping process, which guides the
development of the environmental
impact statement. There will be public
meetings held in several municipalities
during this scoping period. Each of
those meetings will be announced in the
Colorado Springs Gazette with the
location, date, and time included.
Comments can also be made through
email to the contacts listed above. A
Web site is also available for conveying
information and submitting comments.
https://www.uppermonumentcreek.blog
spot.com/
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.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
21:05 May 21, 2014
Jkt 232001
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture
Process for Non-Land Grant College of
Agriculture (NLGCA) Designation
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
Criteria for NLGCA Designation
In order for an institution to qualify
as a NLGCA, it must be a public college
or university offering a baccalaureate or
higher degree in the study of food and
agricultural sciences, as defined in 7
U.S.C. 3103(9).
Opting Out of Current Designation
Section 7101 of the Agricultural Act
of 2014 (Pub. L. 113–73), amended 7
U.S.C. 3103 to allow Hispanic-serving
Agricultural Colleges and Universities
(HSACUs) and State-certified non-land
grant institutions eligible to receive
funds under the McIntire-Stennis
Cooperative Forestry Act of 1962 to opt
out of their respective designation to
qualify as Non-Land Grant Colleges of
Agriculture. For these institutions to be
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
To request that NIFA provide
certification of NLGCA status, an AR
must go to https://www.nifa.usda.gov/
form/form.html and submit a web-based
form indicating the institution meets the
qualifications. By submitting this
request electronically, the AR certifies
that they have the authority to make this
request on behalf of their institution.
Receipt of NLGCA Designation
Within 30 days of submission, NIFA
will provide the administrative point of
contact specified on the request, with a
certification of NLGCA designation or a
response indicating why the request for
certification is being denied. Future
Requests for Application issued by
NIFA may require NLGCA certification.
NIFA will include instructions for
attaching the certification to the
applications, as appropriate.
This process is in effect immediately
upon publication in the Federal
Register.
Done at Washington, DC, this 16th day of
May, 2014.
Meryl Broussard,
Associate Director, Programs, National
Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2014–11851 Filed 5–21–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–22–P
E:\FR\FM\22MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29397-29398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11847]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 99 / Thursday, May 22, 2014 /
Notices
[[Page 29397]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
PSICC; Colorado; Upper Monument Creek EIS
AGENCY: Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands, Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Pike and San Isabel National Forests Cimarron and Comanche
National Grasslands (PSICC) propose to conduct forest restoration
activities on 25,000 acres within the 67,000 acre Upper Monument Creek
(UMC) analysis area. Treatment activities include mechanical thinning,
mastication, hand thinning, and prescribed fire. The treatments will be
used singularly or in combination to transition forested plant
communities across the landscape towards desired future conditions that
are more characteristic of a resilient forest. Resilient forests are
better able to respond to large high intensity wildfires, insects and
disease outbreaks, and extreme water flows that are known to occur in
the project's location along Colorado's Front Range. By protecting
against the aforementioned extreme events, resilient forests are better
equipped to protect the following identified values at risk; adjoining
private property, water quality and quantity, water conveyance
facilities, transportation systems, wildlife habitats, heritage sites,
municipal watersheds and timber resources, Resilient forests also help
attenuate the impacts of increased noxious weeds, sedimentation, and
other hydrologic disturbances
In order to successfully complete the amount and types of
treatments necessary for the maximum amount of resilience, the PSICC
might need to amend the PSICC Land and Resource Management Plan to
adjust plan standards and guidelines. Plan standards and guideline
amendments might include but are not limited to the following; forest
regeneration, big game winter range, wildlife habitat, and allowable
levels and types of fire and fuels treatments. Proposed Land and
Resource Management Plan amendments will help the PSICC achieve
resiliency, and protect the values at risk within in each Land and
Resource Management Plan Management Area in the Upper Monument Creek
Project Area.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received
by July 7, 2014. The draft environmental impact statement is expected
April 2015 and the final environmental impact statement is expected
August 2015.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Pikes Peak Ranger District, Attn:
UMC Project, 601 South Weber St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Comments
may also be sent via email to psicc_umc@fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to
719-477-4233.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allan Hahn, District Ranger, 719-636-
1602, ahahn@fs.fed.us; or Mike Picard, Team Leader, 719-530-3959,
mpicard@fs.fed.us.
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: Public meeting notices will be published in
the Colorado Springs Gazette, showing locations, dates and times for
each public meeting. A Web site is available for current information
about the project including maps and descriptions of the planned
activities. https://www.uppermonumentcreek.blogspot.com/.
Purpose and Need for Action
The size, severity, and behavior of recent wildfires on the Pike
National Forest and along the Front Range have highlighted the risks
posed by current forest conditions. The human and environmental costs
of wildfire suppression and rehabilitation have seen a significant
increase across the region in recent decades. As a result of increasing
risks for large fires and extreme water flows, there is a need to make
strategic investments in vegetative treatments within the UMC
landscape. Strategically placed vegetative treatments reduce the
vulnerability of surrounding communities, municipal watersheds, and
natural resource values at risk to severe fire and excessive water
flows in the future.
Proposed Action
In response to the conditions described above, the proposed action
is to effectively treat up to 25,000 acres within the 67,000 acre
analysis area. Combinations of mechanical thinning with product
removal, mastication, hand thinning, and prescribed fire will be used
to shift forest conditions across the analysis area towards agreed upon
desired conditions. Emphasis will be on retention of older trees in all
forest types, opening up densely closed stands of mid to late seral
classes, creating a more open forest environment and improving shrub
and grass diversity. The forest ecosystems that will be the primary
targets for treatments will be the ponderosa pine, dry mixed conifer,
aspen, and mesic mixed conifer, with some treatments in lodgepole and
oak/ponderosa types. Vegetative treatments will balance the need to
protect important values at risk within and adjoing the project area.
Values at risk include but are not limited to the following; private
property, utility infrastructure, wildlife habitat and fully
functioning rivers and streams.
The Proposed Action includes the use of adaptive management
principals to enable land managers with public participation to
identify management treatments that modify forest structure, pattern,
and composition across the landscape to help improve forest resiliency
and function in response to the potential for large, high intensity
fires and excessive water flows within the Upper Monument Project Area.
Adaptive management relies on monitoring change conditions and the
result of actions to determine if management changes are needed, and if
so, what changes and to what degree.
Possible Alternatives
In this EIS we will use the Iterative Alternative Process, to make
changes to that action to keep it viable and responsive to our
analysis, and to public comments. We will conclude the analysis with
one alternative. The final alternative will reflect the USFS
[[Page 29398]]
accepted proposed changes from internal Forest Service specialist
analysis and external public comments.
Responsible Official
The Responsible Official for this decision will be the PSICC Forest
Supervisor.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
This decision will include the type of treatments expected to
achieve our objectives, the locations of treatments, the monitoring
methods to be used, and the adaptive management strategy that will
provide direction for making future adjustments to this decision. This
decision will only cover actions within the Upper Monument Creek
analysis area.
Preliminary Issues
A primary concern for management of this area is the resiliency of
the various forest types, and their resistance to large, high intensity
wildfires, and extreme water flows. Maintaining vegetative cover across
the landscape will help to minimize the risks to municipal and domestic
water sources and other resource values within the project area.
Scoping Process
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides
the development of the environmental impact statement. There will be
public meetings held in several municipalities during this scoping
period. Each of those meetings will be announced in the Colorado
Springs Gazette with the location, date, and time included. Comments
can also be made through email to the contacts listed above. A Web site
is also available for conveying information and submitting comments.
https://www.uppermonumentcreek.blogspot.com/
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.
Dated: May 15, 2014.
Erin Connelly,
Forest and Grassland Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2014-11847 Filed 5-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P
