Department of Agriculture July 25, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Forest Service is issuing a new directive to Forest Service Manual 2360 for Heritage Program Management. The Forest Service Manual for the Heritage Program was last amended in 1991. The new directive addresses laws, amendments, and Executive orders passed since 1991 and issues that are increasingly important to the Forest Service Heritage Program including increased Tribal coordination on a variety of issues from re-burial of human remains to tourism, growth of educational travel and heritage tourism, emphasis on use of historic properites, and increased theft of American antiquities. The directive provides Heritage Program guidance to Forest Service land managers. It does not change management direction, but rather clarifies responsibilities, authorities, and internal procedures to improve the management and protection of cultural resources on National Forest System lands.

This rule would reinstate the continuing assessment rate established for the Area No. 3 Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2008-2009 and subsequent fiscal periods at $0.02 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order regulating the handling of potatoes grown in northern Colorado. The continuing assessment rate was suspended for the 2006-2007 and subsequent fiscal periods to bring the monetary reserve within the program limit of two fiscal periods' operating expenses. Assessments upon potato handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins July 1 and ends June 30. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Kootenai National Forest will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose the environmental impacts of the proposed action to conduct a helicopter-assisted exploration drilling project near Troy, Montana. Genesis, Inc. submitted a proposed Plan of Operations on June 19, 2008, pursuant to Forest Service locatable mineral regulations 36 CFR 228, Subpart A. A single EIS, evaluating all components of the proposed project will be prepared. Scoping Comment Date: Comments concerning the proposed action must be postmarked by August 25, 2008, to be considered in the draft EIS.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to request approval to revise and extend a currently approved information collection, the Milk and Milk Products Surveys. Revision to burden hours may be needed due to changes in the size of the target population, sample design, and/or questionnaire length.