Department of Agriculture February 7, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing to amend the Hawaii quarantine regulations to allow the interstate movement of untreated Sharwil avocados from Hawaii into the continental United States. As a condition of movement, Sharwil avocados from Hawaii would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include requirements for registration and monitoring of places of production and packinghouses, an orchard trapping program, grove sanitation, limits on harvest periods and distribution areas, and harvesting and packing requirements to ensure that only intact fruit that have been protected against infestation are shipped. This action would allow for the interstate movement of Sharwil avocados from Hawaii into other States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

We are amending the regulations concerning the importation of fruits and vegetables to allow the importation of fresh bananas from the Philippines into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the bananas will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that will include requirements for importation of commercial consignments, monitoring of fruit flies to establish low- prevalence places of production, harvesting only of hard green bananas, and inspection for quarantine pests by the national plant protection organization of the Philippines. The bananas will also have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that they were grown, packed, and inspected and found to be free of quarantine pests in accordance with the proposed requirements. This action will allow the importation of bananas from the Philippines while continuing to protect against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

This is a corrected notice. This notice updates information about proposed actions in the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The DEIS will include two site- specific, nonsignificant amendments of the Nez Perce Forest Plan (1987). The proposed amendments would clarify the Forest's interpretation of old growth standards found in the Nez Perce Forest Plan, and would adopt the Regional soils standard for the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration project area. The original notice was published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2012, pages 775 and 776. The Forest Service gives notice of its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Clear Creek Integrated Restoration Project. The Proposed action would use a combination of timber harvest, pre- commercial thinning, prescribed fire and reforestation to achieve the desired range of age classes, size classes, vegetative species distributions, habitat complexity (diversity) and landscape patterns across the forested portions of the project area. Road decommissioning, culvert replacements and road improvements are also proposed to improve watershed health. The EIS will analyze the effects of the proposed action and alternatives. The Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest invites comments and suggestions on the issues to be addressed. The agency gives notice of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and decision making process on the proposal so interested and affected members of the public may participate and contribute to the final decision.

The Bighorn National Forest is proposing to charge new fees at two recreation rental sites under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, (Title VIII, Pub. L. 108-447). Fees are assessed based on the level of amenities and services provided, costs of operation and maintenance, market assessment, and public comment. Funds from the fees will be retained locally and used for the operation and maintenance of these recreation sites. The Sheep Mountain Fire Lookout on the Powder River Ranger District will be available for overnight rental. The facility is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Buffalo, Wyoming, at the end of Forest Road 28. The lookout offers an extraordinary experience in a historical structure. Renting a historical lookout is widely popular on national forests. The fee proposed for this facility is $50 per night. The lookout can accommodate two to four people. A single vault toilet will be available nearby; water and electricity are not available. This facility will be available from approximately Memorial Day to the end of October, weather permitting. The Powder River Ranger District is also proposing rental of the Pole Creek cabin, located off Forest Road 456. The cabin is located along both a winter snowmobile trail and a trail within the Pole Creek Cross Country Ski Area. The cabin can accommodate up to four people; water and electricity are not available. A single vault toilet is located nearby. The proposed fee for this site is $35 per night. The Pole Creek Cabin will be available all year. An analysis of nearby private cabins and recreation rental facilities with similar amenities indicates that the proposed fees are comparable with similar sites in the area.