Department of Agriculture September 12, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule revises the regulations concerning the composition of the Federal Subsistence Board (Board). On October 23, 2009, the Secretary of the Interior announced the initiation of a Departmental review of the Federal Subsistence Management Program in Alaska. The review focused on how the program is meeting the purposes and subsistence provisions of Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), and how the program is serving rural subsistence users. The review proposed several administrative and regulatory changes to strengthen the program and make it more responsive to rural subsistence users. This rule expands the Federal Subsistence Board by two public members who possess personal knowledge of and direct experience with subsistence uses in rural Alaska. This action will afford additional stakeholder input to the process.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to send comments regarding any aspect of this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for a Survey on Rural Community Wealth and Health Care Provision.

The Forest Service will prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange. In the proposed land exchange the Forest Service would acquire approximately 39,371 acres of checkerboard land from Western Pacific Timber (WPT) located in Idaho and Clearwater Counties. The land is intermingled with the Clearwater National Forest near Powell, Idaho in the upper Lochsa River drainage. The Forest Service would convey to WPT an equal value of National Forest System (NFS) land located in Benewah, Bonner, Clearwater, Idaho Kootenai and Latah counties on the Clearwater, Nez Perce and Idaho Panhandle National Forests. The Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS for this project was published in the Federal Register (72824 Vol. 75, No. 227) on November 26, 2010. An SDEIS is being prepared to analyze a new alternative for exchange. The Idaho County Commissioners commented on the DEIS and stated that except for the No Action Alternative the rest of the alternatives analyzed would have negative economic impacts to Idaho County. The Commissioners identified approximately 45,043 acres of NFS land on the Nez Perce National Forest, entirely within Idaho County, that could be considered for exchange for the approximately 39,371 acres of checkerboard land that primarily lie within Idaho County. The Forest Service considered the proposal carefully and determined that an SDEIS is required to analyze an alternative where all the Federal lands proposed for exchange are in Idaho County.