Department of Agriculture June 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will maintain user fees for cotton producers for 2007 crop cotton classification services under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act at the same level as in 2006. The fee is calculated in accordance with the formula provided in the Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987. The 2006 user fee for this classification service was $1.85 per bale. This rule would maintain the fee for the 2007 crop at $1.85 per bale. The fee and the existing reserve are sufficient to cover the costs of providing classification services, including costs for administration and supervision.

We are establishing regulations to prohibit or restrict the importation of certain articles from Canada that present a risk of being infested with emerald ash borer. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of this plant pest from infested areas in Canada to noninfested areas of the United States and to prevent further introductions of this plant pest into the United States.

We are amending the regulations for the importation of unmanufactured wood articles to bring the methyl bromide treatment schedule into alignment with current international phytosanitary standards. This action is necessary because international phytosanitary standards have changed and the regulations need to be updated to reflect current standards.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget, for an extension and revision to a currently approved information collection for Regulations Governing Inspection and Certification of Processed Fruits and Vegetables and Related Products.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this constitutes notice of the upcoming meeting of the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee. The Grain Inspection Advisory Committee meets twice annually to advise GIPSA on the programs and services we deliver under the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Recommendations by the committee help us to better meet the needs of our customers who operate in a dynamic and changing marketplace.

This notice for the Gemmill Thin project revises the first notice for the project which was published in the Federal Register on December 12, 2005 (page 73430). Comments received during the first comment period (December 12, 2006 to January 13, 2007) as well comments received during the comment period for this notice will be considered by the Responsible Official in the development of the draft environmental impact statement. The Shasta-Trinity National Forest proposes to improve, maintain and protect wildlife habitat for late-successional and old-growth associated species in the Chanchelulla Late-Successional Reserve on the South Fork Management Unit. The proposal includes thinning trees in overcrowded natural stands, thinning plantations and reducing the amount of existing fuels on a total of approximately 1,610 acres of National Forest System land. The project area is located on South Fork Management Unit in T.29 and 30 N., R.10 and 11 W., Mt. Diablo Meridian, northeast of the community of Wildwood, California and south of Chanchelulla Wilderness. Wildwood has bee listed as a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), identifying it as a community at risk from the threat of wildfire and giving it higher priority for fuels reduction treatments. The Forest Land and Resource Management Plan allocates this area to Late-Successional Reserve, Riparian Reserve (wetlands and areas adjacent to streams), and Matrix (commercial timber harvest emphasis). The project area is within designated critical habitat for the Northern spotted owl (CA-36).