Department of Agriculture January 22, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The USDA Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for reducing fuels, improving forest stand conditions, salvaging present and future bark beetle mortality, and creating fuel breaks around the Diamond Lake and Lemolo Lake Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas, and along evacuation routes that lead to and from these areas. Fuel loadings have increased due to fire exclusion and an ongoing bark beetle outbreak in both lodgepole and mixed conifer stands throughout the area. This EIS will be prepared under the authority of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA). The project proposes variable density commercial thinning on about 3,146 acres of lodgepole pine, leaving between 20-50 trees per acre (TPA), interspersed with 10% of the area with no treatment; commercial thinning from below on about 2,244 acres of mixed conifer stands, leaving 50-200 TPA; overstory removal on 59 acres of lodgepole pine stands, leaving about 20 TPA; non-commercial treatment of fuels using pre-commercial thinning, mastication, whip felling, chipping, piling and burning on about 2,013 acres; treating all activity-created fuels by underburning, crushing, machine piling, masticating, handpile burning, and/or yarding tops attached; using 25 miles of existing unclassified roads to access thinning/treatment areas, then decommissioning about 5 miles that are not used for trails or as the old highway; building 15 miles of new temporary spur roads for access, then decommissioning them after use; road reconstruction and maintenance throughout the planning area; and use of existing rock pits; all acreages and miles are approximate and are refined during sale layout. The project includes amending the 1990 Umpqua National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP). The planning area is located approximately 75 miles east of Roseburg, Oregon. The project is expected to be implemented starting in Fiscal Year 2009. The agency gives notice of the full environmental analysis and decision-making process that will occur on the proposal so that interested and affected people may become aware of how they can participate in the process and contribute to the final decision.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an Agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development, intends to hold a public scoping meeting and prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) related to possible financial assistance to Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (Brazos) of Waco, Texas, for the proposed construction of approximately 600 MW gas-fired unit at the existing Jack County Generating Facility. Brazos is requesting USDA Rural Development to provide financial assistance for the proposal.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces the availability of approximately $500,000 (subject to availability of funds) for Commodity Partnerships for Small Agricultural Risk Management Education Sessions (the Commodity Partnerships Small Sessions Program). The purpose of this cooperative partnership agreement program is to deliver training and information in the management of production, marketing, and financial risk to U.S. agricultural producers. The program gives priority to educating producers of crops currently not insured under Federal crop insurance, specialty crops, and underserved commodities, including livestock and forage. A maximum of 50 cooperative partnership agreements will be funded, with no more than five in each of the ten designated RMA Regions. The maximum award for any cooperative partnership agreement will be $10,000. Awardees must demonstrate non- financial benefits from a cooperative partnership agreement and must agree to the substantial involvement of RMA in the project. Funding availability for this program may be announced at approximately the same time as funding availability for similar but separate programs CFDA No. 10.455 (Community Outreach and Assistance Partnerships), CFDA No. 10.456 (Risk Management Research Partnerships), CFDA No. 10.457 (Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education), and CFDA No. 10.458 (Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States). Prospective applicants should carefully examine and compare the notices for each program. The collections of information in this announcement have been approved by OMB under control number 0563-0067 through January 31, 2009.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces the availability of approximately $4.5 million (subject to availability of funds) to fund cooperative agreements under the Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States program (the Targeted States Program). The purpose of this cooperative agreement program is to deliver crop insurance education and information to U.S. agricultural producers in certain States that have been designated as historically underserved with respect to crop insurance. The States, collectively referred to as Targeted States, are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. A maximum of 15 cooperative agreements will be funded, one in each of the 15 Targeted States. Awardees of awards must agree to the substantial involvement of RMA in the project. Funding availability for this program may be announced at approximately the same time as funding availability for similar but separate programsCFDA No. 10.455 (Community Outreach and Assistance Partnerships), CFDA No. 10.456 (Risk Management Research Partnerships) CFDA No. 10.457 (Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education), and CFDA No. 10.459 (Commodity Partnerships for Small Agricultural Risk Management Education Sessions). Prospective applicants should carefully examine and compare the notices for each program. The collections of information in this announcement have been approved by OMB under control number 0563-0067 through January 31, 2009. This Announcement Consists of Eight Sections:

The Wild Rivers Ranger District of the Rogue RiverSiskiyou National Forest proposes to begin charging a $5 day use fee per vehicle at the Illinois River Scenic Recreation area. The District proposes to charge a $10 fee for the overnight use of Store Gulch Campground. Implementation of these news fees is proposed to begin in 2008. Use of the developed recreation facilities on the Illinois River of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest have shown that people appreciate and enjoy the availability of the recreation experience. Funds generated through recreation fees will be used for the continued operation and maintenance of the Illinois River Scenic Recreation area along with other improvements including law enforcement and sanitation.