[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10223-10224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5043]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143]


Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological 
Control Agent for Russian Thistle

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 Russian thistle, Salsola tragus. The environmental 
assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release 
of a nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria salsolae, for the biological 
control of Russian thistle in the continental United States. 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 April 
9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0143 to submit or view comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143.
    Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on the 
environmental assessment in our reading room. The reading room is 
located in room 1141 of the USDA

[[Page 10224]]

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: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Carmen Soileau, Senior 
Entomolgist, Evaluation and Permitting of Regulated Organisms and Soil, 
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1237; (301) 
734-5055.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 
to issue permits for release of a nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria 
salsolae, for the biological control of Russian thistle, Salsola 
tragus, in the continental United States.
    Russian thistle or tumbleweed, is a highly invasive weed native to 
the mountainous regions of southwest Asia. Since the introduction of 
Russian thistle to South Dakota in the early 1870s, it has spread 
steadily throughout the central and western regions of the United 
States and southern Canada. It is an agricultural pest that grows 
primarily in fallow or disturbed soil, along roadsides and irrigation 
canals, and in waste areas in arid and semiarid zones. During drought 
periods, it can invade some habitats and displace native species. The 
infestation of Russian thistle causes millions of dollars of damage by 
disrupting automobile traffic, clogging irrigation canals, piling up 
against fences and houses, and igniting and spreading wildfires.
    There are currently several control methods for Russian thistle, 
including herbicides, timed grazing, tilling, and other methods. 
However, these approaches have proven to be ineffective. Therefore, 
APHIS is proposing to issue permits for the release of a blister mite, 
Aceria salsolae, into the environment for use as a biological control 
agent to reduce the severity of Russian thistle infestations in the 
continental United States.
    The proposed biological control agent, A. salsolae, is a mite in 
the insect family Eriophyid and can be found in Turkey, Uzbekistan, and 
Greece. The mites are usually hidden in crevices of the leaf axils, 
flowers, and fruits of the Russian thistle. They feed on the target 
plant by inserting stylets (needle-like mouth parts) into plant cells 
and feeding on the cell contents. After about 3 weeks, the leaf 
meristems (growing tips) die and the mites use the wind to disperse to 
fresh meristems. Feeding on epidermal cells in meristematic tissue 
causes cell death of the leaf and flower meristems, thus stunting 
growth of the plant and delaying and reducing reproduction.
    The mite is not expected to directly harm any plants outside the 
targeted Russian thistle (sensu lato). Host specific tests of A. 
salsolae were conducted using a total of 39 species and 12 varieties of 
host plants from 5 families, including 25 native species of North 
America. After 4 weeks of laboratory experiments, no live mites were 
found on any of the nontarget test plants outside the genus Salsola and 
none of the nontarget plants showed any sign of feeding damage. 
Furthermore, the results clearly show that there was no population 
increase on these nontarget plant species, particularly in comparison 
to the population growth observed on Russian thistle.
    APHIS' review and analysis of the potential environmental impacts 
associated with releasing a biological control agent, A. salsolae, into 
the environment are documented in detail in an environmental assessment 
(EA) entitled ``Field Release of Aceria salsolaea (Acari: Eriophyidae), 
a Mite for Biological Control of Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus), in 
the Continental United States'' (October 2008). 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 Regulations.gov Web site or in our 
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). You may request paper copies of the EA by calling or 
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 
Please refer to the title of the EA when requesting copies.
    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 4th day of March 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E9-5043 Filed 3-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P