[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 126 (Thursday, July 1, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39894-39895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14981]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 126 / Thursday, July 1, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 39894]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-040-1]


Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological 
Control Agent for Old World Climbing Fern

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to 
the control of Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum. The 
environmental assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, 
the release of a nonindigenous moth, Cataclysta camptozonale, for the 
biological control of Old World climbing fern in Florida. We are making 
the environmental assessment available to the public for review and 
comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 2, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-040-1, 
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your 
comment refers to Docket No. 04-040-1.
     E-mail: Address your comment to 
[email protected]. Your comment must be contained in the body 
of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name 
and address in your message and ``Docket No. 04-040-1'' on the subject 
line.
     Agency Web site: Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html for a form you can use to submit an e-mail comment through 
the APHIS Web site.
    Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this 
docket in our reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of 
the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to 
help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the 
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups 
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Robert Flanders, Branch Chief, 
Biological and Technical Services, Pest Permit Evaluations, Plant 
Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, 
MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum (Cav.) R. Br. 
(Lygodiaceae), is a climbing fern that has a large native range that 
extends through much of the Old World tropics. It has become 
established in central and southern peninsular Florida where it grows 
in a number of wetland and mesic (having a moderate supply of moisture) 
habitats including hammocks, cypress swamps, flatwoods, bayheads, and 
disturbed sites.
    The climbing fern is a highly invasive, exotic weed that climbs 
over plants, including tall trees, to form massive walls of vegetation. 
It also forms thick mats on the ground that smother native plants. New 
infestations can arise great distances from existing populations 
because the weed produces millions of spores that are spread by wind 
and other physical carriers. A single spore is capable of starting a 
new infestation.
    In Florida, the potential distribution of this weed includes all 
habitats from Lake Okeechobee south. It also has the potential to 
invade the Gulf Coast of Mexico and southern Texas.
    The Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has received a permit 
application for the release of a nonindigenous moth, Cataclysta 
camptozonale (Hampson) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), for the biological 
control (biocontrol) of Old World climbing fern in Florida. The purpose 
of the proposed release is to reduce the severity of infestations of L. 
microphyllum in Florida.
    The proposed biocontrol agent, C. camptozonale, is a moth in the 
insect family Crambidae and is native to Australia. The moth is self-
replicating. The adult moth lays eggs in small clusters on leaflets of 
the target weed, L. microphyllum, and the eggs hatch in 6 to 7 days. 
Larvae feed on the leaves of L. microphyllum for approximately 11 to 12 
days. Older larvae spin a loose web of silk on leaves of the weed and 
pupate. Pupae develop to adults in 7 to 9 days.
    The moth is also host specific. Host specificity tests conducted in 
Australia and Florida indicate that C. camptozonale is specific to a 
few Lygodium species.
    Therefore, APHIS is considering issuing a permit for the release of 
C. camptozonale into the continental United States in order to reduce 
the severity and extent of Old World climbing fern infestation. APHIS' 
review and analysis of the proposed action and its alternatives are 
documented in detail in an environmental assessment (EA) entitled, 
``Field Release of Cataclysta camptozonale (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), an 
Insect for Biological Control of Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium 
microphyllum), in the Continental United States'' (April 2004). We are 
making the EA available to the public for review and comment. We will 
consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed 
under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.
    The EA may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/. In the middle of that page, click on ``Document/Forms Retrieval 
System.'' At the next screen, click on the triangle beside ``Permits--
Environmental Assessments.'' A list of documents will appear; the EA 
for Old World climbing fern is document number 0038. You may request 
paper copies of the EA by calling or writing to the person listed

[[Page 39895]]

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 
EA when requesting copies. The EA is also available for review in our 
reading room (information on the location and hours of the reading room 
is listed under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice).
    The EA has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for 
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), (3) USDA regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1), and (4) 
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of June 2004.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-14981 Filed 6-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P