Department of Agriculture September 6, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Notice invites the following eligible States: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming, to submit an Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424), and to enter into a Cooperative Agreement with the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) for the allocation of organic certification cost-share funds. The AMS has allocated $1.5 million for this organic certification cost-share program in Fiscal Year 2011. Funds are available to 16 designated States to provide cost-share assistance to organic crop and livestock producers certified under the USDA Organic Standards (7 CFR 205). Eligible States interested in obtaining cost-share funds for their organic producers must submit an Application for Federal Assistance via https://www.grants.gov and enter into a cooperative agreement with AMS for the allocation of funds.

On October 19, 2010, the Forest Service published a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Tollgate Fuels Reduction Project in the Federal Register. The project is located within the Upper 204/Tollgate Wildland Urban Interface as identified in the Umatilla County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), as amended. The project planning area encompasses approximately 46,000 acres and is situated approximately 40 miles south/southwest of Walla Walla, Washington. The project has been planned and will be implemented using the authorities of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2004. After the initial request for public comment on the Tollgate proposal subsequent analysis identified two additional actions that needed to be incorporated into the Tollgate Fuels Reduction Project: Amend the Umatilla National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan): There is need to prepare a site specific amendment to the Umatilla National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The proposed amendment will focus on the entry and treatment of fuels within select Riparian Habitat Conservation Areas (RHCAs). RHCA treatment is only proposed for the following units of the Tollgate Fuels Reduction Project- units 38, 75, 19, 66, and 61. These units were included on the map which accompanied the original scoping of this project, but we were not aware of the need for a Forest Plan Amendment until we had spent more time on the ground in these units. The proposed action does not propose any additional treatments within any RHCAs not contained in units listed above. All other RHCA will have the appropriate PACFISH buffers applied. Realignment of Forest Road 3718155: During subsequent review of public comments and associated road use needs to accomplish the fuels reduction objectives, it was determined that a realignment of a 0.35 mile segment of FR 3718155 would be required. Approximately 0.35 miles of FR is inside the RHCA of a perennial non-fishbearing stream and has a native surface (soil). The road is adjacent to a spring and the roadbed is saturated for much of the year in that location. As part of the Tollgate proposed action, this segment of road would be moved to an upland site which occurs outside of the RHCA. The existing segment of road would be decommissioned and rehabilitated. These actions would occur prior to the implementation of fuels reduction activities within the area. FR 3718155 is listed as a closed road by the Walla Walla RD Access and Travel Management Plan. This realignment activity would not change its Access and Travel Management status. Following the completion of fuels reduction activities, FR 3718155 will be gated and will retain its current status as a closed road.