National Monitoring Plan for Native Bees: Stakeholder and Public Listening Session, 25755-25756 [2017-11554]
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25755
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 82, No. 106
Monday, June 5, 2017
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
Office of the Secretary
National Monitoring Plan for Native
Bees: Stakeholder and Public
Listening Session
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, Office of the Secretary,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice of listening session and
request for stakeholder input.
AGENCY:
On behalf of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)
Pollinator Health Working Group,
USDA National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA) will host a Listening
Session to discuss a strategy to monitor
native bees in the United States.
DATES: The session will occur on
Wednesday, June 28, 2017 from 8:00
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST). Regardless of
attendance, anyone interested may
submit written comments. Those
comments are due to Andrew Clark at
Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov by July
6, 2017.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place
´
at the USDA South Building Cafe
Conference Center A–C located at 1400
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20250. All participants
must report to the Independence
Avenue and 12th Street entrance and
must present a valid government-issued
I.D. (e.g., state driver’s license or
identification card) for admission.
RSVP and Registration: Individuals
wishing to attend the event must RSVP
no later than June 14, 2017 by emailing
Andrew Clark at Andrew.P.Clark@
nifa.usda.gov. In-person participation is
limited to the first 100 individuals who
register. Everyone is welcome to
participate in the listening session by
webinar. A few days before the event,
NIFA’s Web site will include details
about the webinar at https://
nifa.usda.gov/
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:31 Jun 02, 2017
Jkt 241001
resources?f%5B0%5D=field_resource_
type%3A18.
Onsite participants may provide a
five-minute oral presentation addressing
the following:
• Why is a national monitoring plan
for native bees important;
• What kind of information/data is
needed; and
• How would the information be
used?
Registrants wishing to provide an oral
presentation must provide a two to three
sentence overview of the questions
above. PowerPoint presentation are
allowed but not required. If interested,
please email your overview and
PowerPoint to Andrew Clark at
Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov by 2:00
p.m., EST on June 23. Individuals
scheduled to provide an oral
presentation will receive notification of
an assigned time by June 28. A written
transcript of each presentation is
required by July 6.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrew Clark, Program Specialist, NIFA
at (202) 401–6550 or by email at
Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose: Several
species of animal pollinators in the
United States have experienced
significant population declines. The
most economically important
pollinators include managed bees (e.g.,
European honey bee, bumble bees,
alfalfa leafcutter bee, etc.) as well as
wild native bees. Numerous biotic and
abiotic causes are responsible for these
declines. Frequently reported factors
include:
• Invasive pests, parasites, and
diseases;
• Increased exposure to pesticides,
pollutants or toxins;
• Nutritional deficits;
• Extreme weather events;
• Agricultural intensification and
habitat loss;
• Reduced genetic diversity; and
• Changes in pollinator or crop
management practices.
The loss of both managed and wild
bees would have severe impacts on
crops that depend on pollinators, and
would ultimately impact food security.
This loss would also negatively impact
natural ecosystem services dependent
on pollinators.
In June 2014, a Presidential
memorandum directed the formation of
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
a National Pollinator Task Force chaired
by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and
the Administrator of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). The Task Force released a
Pollinator Research Action Plan in May
2015. The Plan included actions needed
to assess native bee populations,
including developing baseline data,
assessing trends in pollinator
populations, expanding bee
identification capacities, and expanding
collaboration between government and
university scientists.
During 2015, Senators Barbara Boxer,
Kristen Gillibrand, and Diane Feinstein
asked the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) to review USDA and EPA
efforts to protect bee health.
In their 2016 report, a key GAO
findings was,
‘‘USDA has increased monitoring of honey
bee colonies managed by beekeepers to better
estimate losses nationwide but does not have
a mechanism in place to coordinate the
monitoring of wild, native bees.’’
The GAO Report recommended that
USDA coordinate with members of the
Pollinator Task Force to develop a
monitoring plan that would:
• Establish roles and responsibilities
of lead and support agencies;
• Establish shared outcomes and
goals; and
• Obtain input from relevant
stakeholders, such as states.
A first step towards developing a
national monitoring plan, the listening
session will gather input from a diverse
range of people who are interested in
native bee diversity, abundance, and
large scale national monitoring
strategies.
Prospectus: The morning portion of
the listening session will include brief
introductions and opening remarks by
USDA leaders and relevant federal
agencies followed by five-minute oral
presentations. Approximately 15
minutes of questions and discussion
will follow every fifth presentation.
After lunch, public presentations will
continue, followed by closing remarks.
The NIFA Web site (www.nifa.usda.gov)
will include a link to a detailed
schedule approximately a week before
the listening session.
E:\FR\FM\05JNN1.SGM
05JNN1
25756
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 106 / Monday, June 5, 2017 / Notices
Done at Washington, DC, May 30, 2017.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and
Agriculture.
202–502–8659. The eLibrary link also
provides access to the texts of formal
documents issued by the FERC such as
orders, notices, and rulemakings.
For information related specifically to
the new information provided in this
Notice, please contact Karen Overcash,
Forest Planner, George Washington and
Jefferson National Forests, at 540–265–
5175 or kovercash@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[FR Doc. 2017–11554 Filed 6–2–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Updated Information
Concerning the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Project and Supply Header Project and
the Associated Forest Service Land
and Resource Management Plan
Amendments
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice; updating information.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The USDA Forest Service
(Forest Service) is participating as a
cooperating agency with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
in the preparation of the Atlantic Coast
Pipeline (ACP) and Supply Header
Project Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS). On January 6, 2017, the Forest
Service published in the Federal
Register (82 FR 1685) a Notice of
Availability of the Atlantic Coast
Pipeline and Supply Header Project
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
and the Draft of Amendments to the
George Washington and Monongahela
National Forests’ Land and Resource
Management Plans (LRMPs) to allow for
the ACP to cross through these National
Forests. Since that publication, the
Forest Service determined there is a
need to disclose the following: New
information relating to the proposed
LRMP amendments; a change in the
Responsible Officials for the
amendments; and the substantive
provisions in the planning regulations
that are likely to be directly related to
the proposed amendments. In addition,
a proposed change to one of the LRMP
amendments will result in a change to
the administrative review procedures as
outlined in the January 6, 2017 Federal
Register Notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information about the ACP Project is
available from the FERC’s Office of
External Affairs at 866–208–FERC
(3372), or on the FERC Web site
(www.ferc.gov). On the FERC’s Web site,
go to ‘‘Documents & Filings,’’ click on
the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link, click on ‘‘General
Search’’ and enter the docket number
CP15–554. Be sure you have selected an
appropriate date range. For assistance,
please contact FERC Online Support at
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or toll free
at 866–208–3676, or for TTY, contact
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:31 Jun 02, 2017
Jkt 241001
Background
This Notice is specific to the Forest
Service. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline
route would cross 5.1 miles of lands
managed by the Monongahela National
Forest (MNF), in Pocahontas County,
West Virginia and 15.9 miles of lands
managed by the George Washington
National Forest (GWNF), in Highland,
Bath, and Augusta Counties, Virginia.
The Supply Header Project would not
affect the Monongahela or George
Washington National Forests.
The FERC is the NEPA Lead Federal
Agency for the environmental analysis
of the construction and operation of the
proposed ACP and Supply Header
Project. The Forest Service is the
Federal agency responsible for
authorizing this use and issuing special
use permits for natural gas pipelines
across National Forest System (NFS)
lands under its jurisdiction. As a
condition of issuing a Special Use
Permit (SUP) for ACP to construct,
operate, maintain, and eventually
decommission a natural gas
transmission pipeline that crosses NFS
lands, the Forest Service would include
such terms and conditions deemed
necessary to protect Federal property
and otherwise protect the public
interest.
The Forest Service intends to adopt
FERC’s EIS for its decision to authorize
the construction and operation of ACP,
along with the necessary project-specific
amendments to the LRMPs, if the
analysis provides sufficient evidence to
support those decisions and the Forest
Service is satisfied that its comments
and suggestions have been addressed.
Planning Rule Requirements for LRMP
Amendments
On December 15, 2016 the
Department of Agriculture Under
Secretary for Natural Resources and
Environment issued a final rule that
amended the 36 CFR 219 regulations
pertaining to National Forest System
Land Management Planning (the
planning rule) (81 FR 90723, 90737).
The amendment to the 219 planning
rule clarified the Department’s direction
for amending LRMPs. The Department
also added a requirement for amending
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Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
a plan for the responsible official to
provide notice ‘‘about which
substantive requirements of §§ 219.8
through 219.11 are likely to be directly
related to the amendment’’ (36 CFR
219.13(b)(2), 81 FR at 90738). Whether
a rule provision is directly related to an
amendment is determined by any one of
the following: The purpose for the
amendment, a beneficial effect of the
amendment, a substantial adverse effect
of the amendment, or a lessening of plan
protections by the amendment.
The following descriptions of the
proposed or potential LRMP
amendments that are anticipated to be
addressed in the Final EIS include a
description of the ‘‘substantive
requirements of §§ 219.8 through
219.11’’ likely to be directly related to
each amendment.
New Information for LRMP
Amendments and Relationship to
Substantive Requirements in the
Planning Rule
The FERC’s Draft EIS for the ACP and
the Notice of Availability published in
the Federal Register on January 6, 2017
included the consideration of a Forest
Service authorization for construction
and operation of the ACP across NFS
lands and the associated Forest Service
LRMP amendments that would be
needed to make the project consistent
with the respective LRMPs if the Forest
Service were to approve the
authorization (36 CFR 219.15).
The Draft EIS identified ‘‘projectspecific plan amendments’’ that would
be needed for the construction and
operation of the ACP that otherwise
could not, or potentially could not, meet
certain standards in the MNF or GWNF
LRMPs. These amendments are
considered project-specific amendments
because they would apply only to ACP
and would not change LRMP
requirements for other projects.
Since the Draft EIS, the Forest Service
has reconsidered whether a projectspecific amendment would still be
necessary to ensure the ACP was
consistent with some of the LRMP
standards, has identified the need for a
project-specific amendment with
respect to several other LRMP
standards, and has determined that a
management prescription reallocation
would not be necessary to approve the
project.
Monongahela National Forest
The following potential amendment
to the MNF LRMP would be a projectspecific amendment, applicable only to
the ACP Project. This amendment
would not change the applicability of
E:\FR\FM\05JNN1.SGM
05JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 106 (Monday, June 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25755-25756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11554]
========================================================================
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. 82, No. 106 / Monday, June 5, 2017 /
Notices
[[Page 25755]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
National Monitoring Plan for Native Bees: Stakeholder and Public
Listening Session
AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Office of the
Secretary, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of listening session and request for stakeholder input.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
Pollinator Health Working Group, USDA National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA) will host a Listening Session to discuss a strategy
to monitor native bees in the United States.
DATES: The session will occur on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 from 8:00
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST). Regardless of attendance, anyone interested
may submit written comments. Those comments are due to Andrew Clark at
Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov by July 6, 2017.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the USDA South Building
Caf[eacute] Conference Center A-C located at 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250. All participants must report to the
Independence Avenue and 12th Street entrance and must present a valid
government-issued I.D. (e.g., state driver's license or identification
card) for admission.
RSVP and Registration: Individuals wishing to attend the event must
RSVP no later than June 14, 2017 by emailing Andrew Clark at
Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov. In-person participation is limited to the
first 100 individuals who register. Everyone is welcome to participate
in the listening session by webinar. A few days before the event,
NIFA's Web site will include details about the webinar at https://nifa.usda.gov/resources?f%5B0%5D=field_resource_type%3A18.
Onsite participants may provide a five-minute oral presentation
addressing the following:
Why is a national monitoring plan for native bees
important;
What kind of information/data is needed; and
How would the information be used?
Registrants wishing to provide an oral presentation must provide a
two to three sentence overview of the questions above. PowerPoint
presentation are allowed but not required. If interested, please email
your overview and PowerPoint to Andrew Clark at
Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov by 2:00 p.m., EST on June 23. Individuals
scheduled to provide an oral presentation will receive notification of
an assigned time by June 28. A written transcript of each presentation
is required by July 6.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Clark, Program Specialist, NIFA
at (202) 401-6550 or by email at Andrew.P.Clark@nifa.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background and Purpose: Several species of
animal pollinators in the United States have experienced significant
population declines. The most economically important pollinators
include managed bees (e.g., European honey bee, bumble bees, alfalfa
leafcutter bee, etc.) as well as wild native bees. Numerous biotic and
abiotic causes are responsible for these declines. Frequently reported
factors include:
Invasive pests, parasites, and diseases;
Increased exposure to pesticides, pollutants or toxins;
Nutritional deficits;
Extreme weather events;
Agricultural intensification and habitat loss;
Reduced genetic diversity; and
Changes in pollinator or crop management practices.
The loss of both managed and wild bees would have severe impacts on
crops that depend on pollinators, and would ultimately impact food
security. This loss would also negatively impact natural ecosystem
services dependent on pollinators.
In June 2014, a Presidential memorandum directed the formation of a
National Pollinator Task Force chaired by the U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture, and the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The Task Force released a Pollinator Research Action Plan
in May 2015. The Plan included actions needed to assess native bee
populations, including developing baseline data, assessing trends in
pollinator populations, expanding bee identification capacities, and
expanding collaboration between government and university scientists.
During 2015, Senators Barbara Boxer, Kristen Gillibrand, and Diane
Feinstein asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review
USDA and EPA efforts to protect bee health.
In their 2016 report, a key GAO findings was,
``USDA has increased monitoring of honey bee colonies managed by
beekeepers to better estimate losses nationwide but does not have a
mechanism in place to coordinate the monitoring of wild, native
bees.''
The GAO Report recommended that USDA coordinate with members of the
Pollinator Task Force to develop a monitoring plan that would:
Establish roles and responsibilities of lead and support
agencies;
Establish shared outcomes and goals; and
Obtain input from relevant stakeholders, such as states.
A first step towards developing a national monitoring plan, the
listening session will gather input from a diverse range of people who
are interested in native bee diversity, abundance, and large scale
national monitoring strategies.
Prospectus: The morning portion of the listening session will
include brief introductions and opening remarks by USDA leaders and
relevant federal agencies followed by five-minute oral presentations.
Approximately 15 minutes of questions and discussion will follow every
fifth presentation. After lunch, public presentations will continue,
followed by closing remarks. The NIFA Web site (www.nifa.usda.gov) will
include a link to a detailed schedule approximately a week before the
listening session.
[[Page 25756]]
Done at Washington, DC, May 30, 2017.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2017-11554 Filed 6-2-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P