Department of Agriculture June 16, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for a certification program for imported articles of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. to prevent the introduction of potato brown rot.

This interim final rule revises regulations at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, part 223, on noncompetitive disposal of timber and other forest products based on the Secretary of Agriculture's determination that extraordinary conditions exist. The rule will expand upon the 1996 interim final rule currently applicable to certain sales in Washington and Oregon. The 1996 interim final rule defines extraordinary conditions to mean those circumstances where a contract must be changed to prevent environmental degradation or resource damage, or as the result of administrative appeals, litigation, court orders, or catastrophic events and applies throughout the National Forest System. This rule permits, without advertisement, timber or forest products from outside the area specified in the contract to replace material deleted from the contract when such extraordinary conditions exist. Replacement material must come from the same national forest as the subject contract and the decision to replace must be made in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. The value of replacement material may not exceed the value of the material it is replacing by more than 10% or $10,000, whichever is less, as determined by standard Forest Service appraisal methods. The intended effect of this rule is to reduce damage claims by offering replacement material of similar volume, quantity, value, access and topography in lieu of contract cancellations or partial cancellations.

The Dixie National Forest proposes specific commercial timber harvest, pre-commercial stand treatment, and fencing in the Pockets Project area. These actions will contribute to meeting the Dixie National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) goals and objectives and comply with the standards and guidelines set in the LRMP. Connected with the commercial timber harvest is road system modification, including changes in the forest road system, road construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and travel management. The proposed treatments are needed at this time due to a spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus refipennis) epidemic. In some stands, beetle attacks have removal most of the live Engelman spruce trees greater than 12 inches diameter at breast height. Timely removal of insect infested spruce trees can reduce current tree mortality from spruce bark beetle. The development of diverse healthy stands can help reduce the risk and extent of future outbreaks. The Pockets Resource Management Project is located completely within public lands on the Dixie National Forest, Escalante Ranger District. It is approximately 22 miles northwest of Escalante, Utah. The 8,564 acre project area is located within the Antimony Creek, Coyote hollow-Antimony Creek, and pacer Lake watersheds. The project area is located between 8,712 and 10,243 feet above sea level within the Engelmann spruce/subalpine fir, Douglas-fir, and aspen forest cover types.

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of vegetation management, fuels reduction, watershed rehabilitation activities, wildlife habitat improvement, and access management changes, including road decommissioning. The project is located in the Grizzly planning subunit on the Three Rivers Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana, and northeast of Troy, Montana.