Department of Agriculture May 25, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This regulation sets forth the terms and conditions of the 2003/2004 American Indian Livestock Feed Program (AILFP). Assistance will be available to eligible livestock producers for livestock feed crop years 2003 or 2004 whose eligible livestock occupied tribal- governed land at the time of a natural disaster in an area where a significant loss of livestock feed has occurred, creating a livestock feed emergency, as determined by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). Eligible producers can receive benefits for livestock feed crop year 2003, or 2004, but not both. Eligible tribal-governed land must be located in a primary county or counties that have received an emergency declaration by the President or emergency designation by the Secretary of Agriculture on or after January 1, 2003, for losses occurring in calendar year 2003, or calendar year 2004. Although the Presidential declarations and Secretarial designations were issued for natural disasters in those calendar years, tribal governments may request an initial 90-day feeding period and up to three 90-day extensions that extend from the beginning of a livestock feed crop year, to the end of that same livestock feed crop year. Further, livestock owners who sold eligible livestock as a direct result of natural disaster shall report those livestock as owned through the end of the production year (livestock feed crop year) in order to mitigate the livestock owner's losses. This rule is intended to implement legislation and assist affected producers in overcoming the effects of drought. In addition, this rule provides technical revisions for the Livestock Assistance Program regulations.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces it is soliciting competitive applications under its Technical and Supervisory Assistance (TSA) grant program. Grants will be awarded to eligible applicant organizations to conduct programs of technical and supervisory assistance for low-income rural residents to obtain and/or maintain occupancy of adequate housing.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, the provisions of three interim final rules that increased the quantity of Class 3 (Native) spearmint oil produced in the Far West that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 2004-2005 marketing year. This rule continues in effect the actions that increased the Native spearmint oil salable quantity by an additional 580,024 pounds from 773,474 pounds to 1,353,498 pounds, and the allotment percentage by an additional 27 percent from 36 percent to 63 percent. The Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee), the agency responsible for local administration of the marketing order for spearmint oil produced in the Far West, unanimously recommended this rule to avoid extreme fluctuations in supplies and prices and to help maintain stability in the Far West spearmint oil market.

In response to Federal District Judge Adelman's March 31, 2005 order regarding the ``McCaslin'' environmental impact statement and Record of Decision, I am preparing a Supplement to the September 2003 ``McCaslin Project'' Final Environmental Impact Statement. Consistent with the Court's findings, this supplement will clarify and add more detail to the cumulative effects regarding analysis area boundaries and other activities as they relate to specific Regional Forester Sensitive Species that may be affected by the actions considered in the original Environmental Impact Statement.

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) will exercise its option to adjust its land management plan revision process from compliance with the 1982 planning regulations, to conformance with new planning regulations adopted in January 2005. This adjustment will have the following effects: 1. The new rule redefines forest plans to be more strategic and flexible to better facilitate adaptive management and public collaboration. 2. The new rule focuses more on the goals of ecological, social, and economic sustainability and less on prescriptive means of producing goods and services. 3. The Responsible Official who will approve the final plan will now be the Forest Supervisor instead of the Regional Forester. 4. The GMUG will establish an environmental management system (per ISO 14001:2004(E)) prior to completion of the revised forest plan. 5. Upon completion of final rulemaking, the planning and decision- making process may be categorically excluded from analysis and documentation in an environmental impact statement and record of decision (see draft rule at 70 FR 1062, January 5, 2005. 6. The emphasis on public involvement will shift from public comment on a range of alternative plans, to an iterative public-Forest Service collaboration process intended to yield a single broadly supported plan. 7. Administrative review has changed from a post-decision appeals process to a pre-decision objection process. Public Involvement: There has been a great deal of public participation and collaborative work on this planning process over the past few years, including more than 60 public meetings. Results of this work and a detailed proposed action are available for review and comment. Current information and details of upcoming public participation opportunities are posted on our Web site: https:// www.fs.fed.us/r2/gmug/policy/planrev/.Contact Anne Janik at (970) 874-6637, or e-mail at, ajanik@fs.fed.us to be placed on our mailing list.

The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (Forest) is proposing to reissue a special use authorization in the form of an easement to Water Supply and Storage Company of Fort Collins, Colorado for Long Draw Reservoir and Dam to occupy National Forest System (NFS) lands. The authorization would allow for use of approximately 54 acres of NFS land surrounding a United States Department of Interior Easement, the occupancy of which resulted from a 1975 expansion of the original reservoir. The facility stores and releases water as part of a network of water facilities.