Department of Agriculture December 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service was required to cancel the October 17-18, 2013 meeting of the Forest Resource Coordinating Committee due to the Government partial shutdown which began October 1, 2013. The Notice of Meeting for the October 17- 18, 2013 meeting was published in the Federal Register, Volume 78, Number 180, Tuesday, September 17, 2013, Page 57128.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the revision of a currently approved Information Collection 0596-0225, Timber Sale Contract Operations and Administration.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the extension with revision of a currently approved information collection, Financial Information Security Request Form.

The Stanislaus National Forest proposes to remove hazard trees and dead trees within the Rim Fire perimeter in the Stanislaus National Forest in order to: capture the economic value of those trees which pays for their removal from the woods and potentially other future restoration treatments; provide for greater worker and public safety; reduce fuels for future forest resiliency to fire; and, improve road infrastructure to ensure proper hydrologic function.

This document informs the public that the Western Interior Alaska Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council (Council) will hold a public meeting by teleconference on December 11, 2013. The public is invited to participate and to provide oral testimony. The purpose of the Council is to provide recommendations and information to the Federal Subsistence Board, to review policies and management plans, and to provide a public forum for subsistence issues.

The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board (Board) will meet in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Board is established consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. App. II), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et.seq.), the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. sec. 1612), and the Federal Public Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (Pub. L. 108-447). The purpose of the Board is to provide advice and recommendations on a broad range of forest issues such as forest plan revisions or amendments and forest health, including fire and mountain pine beetle epidemics, travel management, forest monitoring and evaluation, recreation fees, and site-specific projects having forest-wide implications. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to: (1) Conduct Annual Ethics Training for all members of the Advisory Board; (2) provide orientation to Board Members on Basic Laws governing the Forest Service work; (3) update and discussion with working group on Motorized Travel on trails in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota; and (4) update and report on Mountain Pine Beetle Working Group actions.

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area (A-Basin) has submitted a proposal to the White River National Forest (WRNF) to pursue approval of proposed projects included in its 2012 Master Development Plan (MDP). The WRNF has accepted this proposal, and is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the potential environmental effects of implementing the projects. The Proposed Action is designed to: Provide The Beavers with snow safety operations and ski patrol services consistent with statements made in the 2002 WRNF Forest Plan FEIS; accommodate existing and future demand for high Alpine and open bowl skiing while protecting and enhancing the distinctive skiing experience that A-Basin provides; improve access to Montezuma Bowl; upgrade or remove existing lifts, as needed; improve water storage capacity for existing snowmaking operations; and, enhance four-season recreational opportunities.

We are amending the regulations that govern the importation of animals and animal products to revise the conditions for the importation of live bovines and products derived from bovines with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). We are basing importation conditions on the inherent risk of BSE infectivity in specified commodities, as well as on the BSE risk status of the region in which the commodities originate. We are establishing a system for classifying regions as to BSE risk that is consistent with the system employed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the international standard-setting organization for guidelines related to animal health. The conditions we are adopting for the importation of specified commodities are based on internationally accepted scientific literature, and are, in general, consistent with guidelines set out in the OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Code. We are also classifying certain specified countries as to BSE risk and are removing BSE restrictions on the importation of cervids and camelids and products derived from such animals. We are making these amendments after conducting a thorough review of relevant scientific literature and a comprehensive evaluation of the issues and concluding that the changes to the regulations will continue to guard against the introduction of BSE into the United States, while allowing the importation of additional animals and animal products into this country.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice announces the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) intention to request a revision of a currently approved information collection regarding the procedures for notifying the Agency about new technology because the OMB approval will expire on January 31, 2014, and because FSIS has revised its total annual burden estimate in light of the latest available data.

The Forest Service intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to establish management direction for the land and resources within Chimney Rock National Monument, designated by Presidential Proclamation on September 21, 2012. The Forest Service, as the responsible agency, proposes to amend the 2013 San Juan National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan to provide for the protection of the objects of interest identified in the Proclamation. These objects include significant archaeology, archaeoastronomy, visual and landscape characteristics, and geological and biological features.