Department of Agriculture March 26, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Business and Cooperative Programs are administered through USDA Rural Development. USDA Rural Development announces the availability of approximately $1.5 million in competitive cooperative agreement funds. USDA Rural Development hereby requests proposals from 1890 Land-Grant Universities and Tuskegee University (1890 Institutions) for competitively awarded cooperative agreements for projects that support USDA Rural Development's goals and objectives of providing technical assistance for business creation in economically challenged rural communities, for educational programs to develop and improve upon the professional skills of rural entrepreneurs, and for outreach and promotion of USDA Rural Development's programs in small rural communities with the greatest economic need. Project proposals must be designed to overcome currently identified economic problems and lead to sustainable economic development. Project proposals that address both traditional and nontraditional business enterprises are encouraged. This initiative seeks to create a working partnership between USDA Rural Development and the 1890 Institutions through cooperative agreements. A cooperative agreement requires substantial involvement of the Government agency in carrying out the objectives of the project. Cooperative agreements will be awarded to the project proposals receiving the highest scores as determined by a peer review panel of USDA employees knowledgeable of the subject matter. Awards will be made to the extent that funds are available. However, USDA Rural Development is making no commitment to fund any particular project proposal or to make a specific number of awards. Eligible applicants must provide matching funds equal to at least 25 percent of the total project costs.

The Hayfork District of the Shasta Trinity National Forest is proposing to use vegetation treatments to improve forest health, reduce risks from fire and provide forest products on approximately 1,658 acres within the upper Salt Creek watershed on the South Fork Management Unit of the Shasta Trinity National Forest. Prescribed treatments are expected to produce approximately 4.8 million board feet or 10,600 hundred cubic feet (ccf) of merchantable sawtimber, and an estimated 4,710 bone dry tons of biomass. The Forest Service will analyze these vegetation treatments within the constraints of the Shasta Trinity National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, 1995. The proposed Salt project is in Trinity County, 10 air miles south of Hayfork, California and 3 air miles east of Post Mountain, California. The project area is within the Hayfork Adaptive Management Area (AMA), and Management Area 19, Indian Valley/Rattlesnake, of the Shasta-Trinity Land and Resource Management Plan (USFS 1995, p. 4-64 & 65). Treatment areas in T29N, R11W sections 4-9, T29N, R12W sections 1, 2 and 12, T30N, R11W sections 31 and 32, and T30N, R12W sections 25, 26, 35, and 36 M.D.M.