[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 69 (Monday, April 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18962-18963]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8726]


 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 69 / Monday, April 10, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 18962]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Tongass National Forest Timber; Demand Considerations; Alaska

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: A notice of availability and request for comment on draft 
timber sale procedures for the Tongass National Forest was published in 
the Federal Register on November 27, 1998 (Vol. 63, No. 228). The draft 
procedures described an approach for incorporating market and industry 
information in planning the annual sale program for the Tongass 
National Forest in accordance with Section 101 of the Tongass Timber 
Reform Act. The draft procedures were made available to the public at 
the Regional Forester's office in Juneau, Alaska, and the three Forest 
Supervisor's Offices in Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Sitka, Alaska. In 
addition, the document was posted on the internet at a location 
identified in press releases and briefing sessions. A total of six sets 
of comments were received and incorporated in the final procedures 
(``Responding to the Market Demand for Tongass Timber,'' R10-MB-413, 
April 2000, USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region). Implementation 
direction for the procedures is included in the Forest Service Sale 
Preparation Handbook, Region 10 Supplement 2409.18-2000-1. The Forest 
Service hereby gives notice that the final procedures and Forest 
Service directive are now available to the public.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final procedures and Region 10 Supplement may 
be obtained by writing Rick Cables, Regional Forester, Alaska Region, 
Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 21628, Juneau, Alaska 99802-1628. The 
final procedures are also posted on the Alaska Region internet site at 
www.fs.fed.us./r10/ro/epb/economic.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frederick L. Norbury or Kathleen S. 
Morse, Ecosystem Planning Staff, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 21628, 
Juneau, Alaska 99802-1628; (907) 586-8886/8809.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory and Regulatory Background

    Section 705(a) of the Alaska National Lands Conservation Act (Pub. 
L. 96-487) required the Forest Service to ``maintain the timber supply 
from the Tongass National Forest to dependent industry at a rate of 
four billion five hundred million board feet measure per decade.'' 
Section 101 of the Tongass Timber Reform Act (Pub. L. 101-626) removed 
the timber supply mandate and substituted a more general requirement 
that the Forest Service seek to provide a supply of timber from the 
Tongass which meets the annual market demand for timber from such 
forest and meets the market demand for timber from such forest over the 
planning cycle. The legislation qualified this admonishment, saying 
that efforts to meet market demand must be consistent with providing 
for the multiple use and sustained yield of all renewable forest 
resources. Further, such efforts are subject to appropriations, other 
applicable law and the requirements of the National Forest Management 
Act (Pub. L. 94-588).
    In the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Tongass Land and Resource 
Management Plan (May 23, 1997) the Regional Forester made a commitment 
to ``develop procedures to ensure that annual timber offerings are 
consistent with market demand.'' In April 1999, a new ROD for the 
Tongass Forest Plan was issued by Under Secretary Lyons. The 1999 ROD 
referenced the draft procedures, finding them to be ``an appropriate 
methodology for the purposes of implementing the `seek to meet market 
demand' language of the TTRA.'' The 6* draft procedures were made 
available for public review and comment via Federal Register 
notification on November 27, 1998 (Vol. 63, No. 228). The procedures 
and implementing direction have been finalized.

Summary of Procedures

    The procedures estimate the volume of timber likely to be purchased 
from the Tongass National Forest in the coming year based on 
observations of industry behavior in prior years. The industry draws 
its annual raw material supply from an accumulated inventory of timber 
volume under contract, sometimes called the ``buffer stock.'' This 
inventory must be large enough to keep mills operating at a steady rate 
while new sales are being prepared for offer and harvest. Historically, 
the Forest Service has attempted to allow the industry as a whole to 
hold the equivalent of two to three years' worth of raw material as 
volume under contract. The procedures suggest a similar approach but 
define this inventory requirement in more analytical terms.
    The draft procedures assume that, at a minimum, the industry will 
want to maintain its existing timber inventory and will purchase timber 
to replace that harvested in a given year. If the existing timber 
inventory is lower than desired, the industry is likely to purchase 
more timber than is processed in order to build inventory. Commonly, if 
the inventory is higher than desired, the industry is likely to 
purchase less. By comparing the current inventory with an estimate of 
the desired inventory and factoring in projected annual harvest, the 
Forest Service can develop a range of expected timber purchases for any 
given year. The volume offered will be adjusted to fall within the most 
current estimate.

Comments and Responses

    The Forest Service issued a Notice of Availability and Request for 
Comment on the draft procedures in the Federal Register on November 27, 
1998 (Vol. 63, No. 228). The comment period closed January 1, 1999.
    All relevant comments have been given full consideration in 
adoption of the final procedures and implementing direction. Comments 
were received from two environmental organizations, one timber industry 
association, two economic consulting firms, and one timber sale 
purchaser. All respondents were from Alaska or from entities 
representing Alaskan interests. A summary of the comments and responses 
is in the final report.


[[Page 18963]]


    Dated: March 24, 2000.
James A. Caplan,
Deputy Regional Forester for Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 00-8726 Filed 4-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M