Migratory Bird Hunting; Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds, 12216-12217 [E6-3350]
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12216
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 46 / Thursday, March 9, 2006 / Notices
hours in room 4107, 4501 North Fairfax
Drive, Arlington, Virginia.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Millsap, Chief, or Ron W. Kokel,
Division of Migratory Bird Management,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (703)
358–1714.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
September 8, 2005, we published a
Notice of Intent to prepare a
supplemental EIS on the sport hunting
of migratory birds (70 FR 53376). For
more detailed background information,
we refer the reader to this document.
sooner than 60 days from the date of
this notice.
Dated: March 3, 2006.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada
Operations Office, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. E6–3351 Filed 3–8–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Migratory Bird Hunting; Notice of
Intent To Prepare a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement on
the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds
Background and Overview
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of meetings.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service or we) is issuing this
notice to invite public participation in
the scoping process for preparing a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Sport Hunting of
Migratory Birds under the authority of
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The SEIS
will consider a range of management
alternatives for addressing sport hunting
of migratory birds under the authority of
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The
Service seeks suggestions and comments
on the scope and substance of this
supplemental EIS, options or
alternatives to be considered, and
important management issues. Federal
and State agencies and the public are
invited to present their views on the
subject to the Service. This notice
invites further public participation in
the scoping process, identifies the
location, date, and time of public
scoping meetings, and identifies to
whom you may direct questions and
comments.
You must submit written
comments regarding EIS scoping by May
30, 2006, to the address below. All
comments received from the initiation
of this process on September 8, 2005,
until May 30, 2006, will be considered.
Dates for twelve public scoping
meetings are identified in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
ADDRESSES: You should send written
comments to the Chief, Division of
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Department of the
Interior, MS MBSP–4107–ARLSQ, 1849
C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.
Alternately, you may fax comments to
(703) 358–2217 or e-mail comments to
huntingseis@fws.gov. You may inspect
comments during normal business
hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
DATES:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
13:58 Mar 08, 2006
Jkt 208001
Migratory game birds are those bird
species so designated in bilateral
conventions between the United States
and Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia
for the protection and management of
these birds. Under the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703–712) and the
Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of
1978 (16 U.S.C. 7421), the Secretary of
the Interior is authorized to determine
when ‘‘hunting, taking, capture, killing,
possession, sale, purchase, shipment,
transportation, carriage, or export of any
* * * bird, or any part, nest or egg’’ of
migratory game birds can take place,
and to adopt regulations for this
purpose. These regulations are issued
with due regard to ‘‘the zones of
temperature and the distribution,
abundance, economic value, breeding
habits, and times and lines of migratory
flight of such birds’’ and compatibility
with the conventions between the
United States and Canada, Mexico,
Japan, and Russia for the protection and
management of migratory birds. This
responsibility has been delegated to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the
Department of the Interior as the lead
Federal agency for managing and
conserving migratory birds in the
United States.
The Service currently promulgates
regulations allowing and governing the
hunting of migratory game birds in the
families Anatidae (waterfowl), Gruidae
(cranes), Rallidae (rails), Scolopacidae
(snipe and woodcock), and Columbidae
(doves and pigeons). Regulations
governing seasons and limits are
promulgated annually, in part due to
considerations such as the abundance of
birds, which can change from year to
year, and are developed by establishing
the frameworks, or outside limits, for
earliest opening and latest closing dates,
season lengths, limits (daily bag and
possession), and areas for migratory
game bird hunting. These ‘‘annual’’
regulations have been promulgated by
the Service each year since 1918. Other
regulations, termed ‘‘basic’’ regulations
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(for example, those governing hunting
methods), are promulgated once and
changed only when a need to do so
arises. All hunting regulations are
contained in 50 CFR Parts 20 and 92.
In the September 8, 2005, Federal
Register, we provided information on
the current process for establishing
sport hunting regulations, the tribal
regulations process, the Alaska
subsistence process, and past NEPA
considerations (a 1975 EIS and a 1988
supplemental EIS).
Issue Resolution and Environmental
Review
We intend to develop a supplemental
EIS on the ‘‘Issuance of Annual
Regulations Permitting the Sport
Hunting of Migratory Birds,’’ beginning
the process with our September 8, 2005,
announcement. Federal and State
agencies, private conservation
organizations, and all other interested
parties and individuals are invited to
participate in the process by presenting
their views on the subject. We seek
suggestions and comments regarding the
scope and substance of this
supplemental EIS, particular issues to
be addressed and why, and options or
alternatives to be considered. In
particular, in regard to the scope and
substance of this supplemental EIS, we
seek comments on the following:
(1) Harvest management alternatives
for migratory game birds to be
considered,
(2) Limiting the scope of the
assessment to sport hunting (i.e.,
exclusion of the Alaska migratory bird
subsistence process), and
(3) Inclusion of basic regulations
(methods and means).
We will conduct the development of
this supplemental EIS in accordance
with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), other
appropriate Federal regulations, and
Service procedures for compliance with
those regulations. We are furnishing this
Notice in accordance with 40 CFR
1501.7, to obtain suggestions and
information from other agencies, tribes,
and the public on the scope of issues to
be addressed in the supplemental EIS.
Public Scoping Meetings
Twelve public scoping meetings will
be held on the following dates at the
indicated locations and times:
1. March 24, 2006: Columbus, Ohio, at
the Hyatt Regency Columbus, 350 North
High Street; 1 p.m.
2. March 28, 2006: Memphis,
Tennessee, at the Holiday Inn Select
Downtown, 160 Union Avenue; 7 p.m.
E:\FR\FM\09MRN1.SGM
09MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 46 / Thursday, March 9, 2006 / Notices
hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
3. March 30, 2006: Rosenburg, Texas,
at the Texas Agricultural Extension
Service Education Center, 1402 Band
Road, Suite 100, Highway 36; 7 p.m.
4. April 5, 2006: Anchorage, Alaska,
at the Howard Johnson Motel, 239 North
4th Avenue; 7 p.m.
5. April 6, 2006: Denver, Colorado, at
the Colorado Department of Wildlife,
Northeast Region Service Center, Hunter
Education Building, 6060 Broadway; 7
p.m.
6. April 10, 2006: Hadley,
Massachusetts, at the Northeast
Regional Office of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center
Drive; 7 p.m.
7. April 12, 2006: Charleston, South
Carolina, at the Fort Johnson Marine
Laboratory, 217 Fort Johnson Road,
James Island; 7 p.m.
8. April 19, 2006: Fargo, North
Dakota, at the Best Western Doublewood
Inn, 3333 13th Avenue South; 7 p.m.
9. April 20, 2006: Bloomington,
Minnesota, at the Minnesota Valley
National Wildlife Refuge Visitors
Center, 3815 American Boulevard East;
7 p.m.
10. April 24, 2006: Salt Lake City,
Utah, at the Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources, 1594 West North Temple; 7
p.m.
11. April 26, 2006: Arlington,
Virginia, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room
200; 1 p.m.
12. April 26, 2006: Sacramento,
California, at the California Department
of Fish and Game, Auditorium,
Resource Building, 1416 Ninth Street; 7
p.m.
At the scoping meetings, you may
choose to submit oral and/or written
comments. To facilitate planning, we
request that if you want to submit oral
comments at meetings, send us your
name and the meeting location you plan
to attend. You should send this
information to the location indicated
under ADDRESSES. However, you are not
required to submit your name prior to
any particular meeting in order to
present oral comments.
Public Comments Solicited
You may also submit written
comments using one of the methods
provided under ADDRESSES. All
comments must be submitted by the
date listed under DATES.
Our practice is to make comments,
including names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review
during regular business hours.
Individual respondents may request that
we withhold their home address from
the rulemaking record, which we will
honor to the extent allowable by law.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
13:58 Mar 08, 2006
Jkt 208001
There also may be circumstances in
which we would withhold from the
rulemaking record a respondent’s
identity, as allowable by law. If you
wish us to withhold your name and/or
address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your
comment. However, we will not
consider anonymous comments. We
will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
All comments received, including
names and addresses, will become part
of the public record. Further, all written
comments must be submitted on 8.5-by11-inch paper.
Dated: March 3, 2006.
H. Dale Hall,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6–3350 Filed 3–8–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
North American Wetlands
Conservation Council Meeting
Announcement
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The North American
Wetlands Conservation Council
(Council) will meet to select North
American Wetlands Conservation Act
(NAWCA) grant proposals for
recommendation to the Migratory Bird
Conservation Commission
(Commission). The meeting is open to
the public.
DATES: March 14, 2006, 1–4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Holiday Inn, Interstate I–80, 7838
South Highway #281, Grand Island, NE
68803. The Council Coordinator is
located at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Mail
Stop: MBSP 4501–4075, Arlington,
Virginia 22203.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David A. Smith, Council Coordinator,
(703) 358–1784 or dbhc@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with NAWCA (Pub. L. 101–
233, 103 Stat. 1968, December 13, 1989,
as amended), the State-private-Federal
Council meets to consider wetland
acquisition, restoration, enhancement,
and management projects for
recommendation to, and final funding
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12217
approval by, the Commission. Proposal
due dates, application instructions, and
eligibility requirements are available
through the NAWCA Web site at
https://birdhabitat.fws.gov. Proposals
require a minimum of 50 percent nonFederal matching funds. Canadian and
U.S. Small grant proposals will be
considered at the Council meeting. The
tentative date for the Commission
meeting is June 14, 2006.
Dated: February 6, 2006.
Paul Schmidt,
Assistant Director—Migratory Birds.
[FR Doc. E6–3320 Filed 3–8–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree
Under the Clean Water Act and the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability
Act
Notice is hereby given that on
February 28, 2006, a proposed decree in
United States, the State of West
Virginia, and the State of Ohio v. Elkem
Metals Company L.P., Ferro Invest III
Inc., Ferro Invest II LLC, and Erament
Marietta Inc., Civil Action No. 2:03–CV–
529, was lodged with the United States
District Court for the Southern District
of Ohio.
In this action, the United States
sought injunctive relief and civil
penalties under Section 309(b) and (d)
of the Clean Water Act (‘‘CWA’’), 33
U.S.C. 1319(b) and (d), against Elkem
Metals Company L.P., its two general
partners, and Eramet Marietta Inc. for
violations of Section 301 of the Act, 33
U.S.C. 1311, and the terms and
conditions of the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System
(‘‘NPDES’’) permit for the Marietta,
Ohio, ferro-alloy manufacturing facility
formerly owned by Elkem Metals and
now owned by Eramet Marietta. In
addition, the United States, the State of
West Virginia, and the State of Ohio, as
trustees for natural resources, sought
damages from the Defendants for injury
to natural resources resulting from
wastewater discharges from the
Marietta, Ohio, facility, under section
107(a) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (‘‘CERCLA’’), 42 U.S.C.
9607(a).
Under the proposed Consent Decree,
Defendants would pay a total of $3.25
million to resolve the various claims:
$2,040,000 will be paid into the
Department of the Interior’s Natural
Resources Damage Assessment and
E:\FR\FM\09MRN1.SGM
09MRN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12216-12217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3350]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Migratory Bird Hunting; Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the Sport Hunting of
Migratory Birds
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of meetings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) is issuing
this notice to invite public participation in the scoping process for
preparing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the
Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds under the authority of the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act. The SEIS will consider a range of management
alternatives for addressing sport hunting of migratory birds under the
authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Service seeks
suggestions and comments on the scope and substance of this
supplemental EIS, options or alternatives to be considered, and
important management issues. Federal and State agencies and the public
are invited to present their views on the subject to the Service. This
notice invites further public participation in the scoping process,
identifies the location, date, and time of public scoping meetings, and
identifies to whom you may direct questions and comments.
DATES: You must submit written comments regarding EIS scoping by May
30, 2006, to the address below. All comments received from the
initiation of this process on September 8, 2005, until May 30, 2006,
will be considered. Dates for twelve public scoping meetings are
identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
ADDRESSES: You should send written comments to the Chief, Division of
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department
of the Interior, MS MBSP-4107-ARLSQ, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC
20240. Alternately, you may fax comments to (703) 358-2217 or e-mail
comments to huntingseis@fws.gov. You may inspect comments during normal
business hours in room 4107, 4501 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington,
Virginia.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Millsap, Chief, or Ron W. Kokel,
Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
(703) 358-1714.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 8, 2005, we published a Notice
of Intent to prepare a supplemental EIS on the sport hunting of
migratory birds (70 FR 53376). For more detailed background
information, we refer the reader to this document.
Background and Overview
Migratory game birds are those bird species so designated in
bilateral conventions between the United States and Canada, Mexico,
Japan, and Russia for the protection and management of these birds.
Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) and the Fish
and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 7421), the Secretary of
the Interior is authorized to determine when ``hunting, taking,
capture, killing, possession, sale, purchase, shipment, transportation,
carriage, or export of any * * * bird, or any part, nest or egg'' of
migratory game birds can take place, and to adopt regulations for this
purpose. These regulations are issued with due regard to ``the zones of
temperature and the distribution, abundance, economic value, breeding
habits, and times and lines of migratory flight of such birds'' and
compatibility with the conventions between the United States and
Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia for the protection and management of
migratory birds. This responsibility has been delegated to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior as the lead
Federal agency for managing and conserving migratory birds in the
United States.
The Service currently promulgates regulations allowing and
governing the hunting of migratory game birds in the families Anatidae
(waterfowl), Gruidae (cranes), Rallidae (rails), Scolopacidae (snipe
and woodcock), and Columbidae (doves and pigeons). Regulations
governing seasons and limits are promulgated annually, in part due to
considerations such as the abundance of birds, which can change from
year to year, and are developed by establishing the frameworks, or
outside limits, for earliest opening and latest closing dates, season
lengths, limits (daily bag and possession), and areas for migratory
game bird hunting. These ``annual'' regulations have been promulgated
by the Service each year since 1918. Other regulations, termed
``basic'' regulations (for example, those governing hunting methods),
are promulgated once and changed only when a need to do so arises. All
hunting regulations are contained in 50 CFR Parts 20 and 92.
In the September 8, 2005, Federal Register, we provided information
on the current process for establishing sport hunting regulations, the
tribal regulations process, the Alaska subsistence process, and past
NEPA considerations (a 1975 EIS and a 1988 supplemental EIS).
Issue Resolution and Environmental Review
We intend to develop a supplemental EIS on the ``Issuance of Annual
Regulations Permitting the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds,''
beginning the process with our September 8, 2005, announcement. Federal
and State agencies, private conservation organizations, and all other
interested parties and individuals are invited to participate in the
process by presenting their views on the subject. We seek suggestions
and comments regarding the scope and substance of this supplemental
EIS, particular issues to be addressed and why, and options or
alternatives to be considered. In particular, in regard to the scope
and substance of this supplemental EIS, we seek comments on the
following:
(1) Harvest management alternatives for migratory game birds to be
considered,
(2) Limiting the scope of the assessment to sport hunting (i.e.,
exclusion of the Alaska migratory bird subsistence process), and
(3) Inclusion of basic regulations (methods and means).
We will conduct the development of this supplemental EIS in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), other appropriate
Federal regulations, and Service procedures for compliance with those
regulations. We are furnishing this Notice in accordance with 40 CFR
1501.7, to obtain suggestions and information from other agencies,
tribes, and the public on the scope of issues to be addressed in the
supplemental EIS.
Public Scoping Meetings
Twelve public scoping meetings will be held on the following dates
at the indicated locations and times:
1. March 24, 2006: Columbus, Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency Columbus,
350 North High Street; 1 p.m.
2. March 28, 2006: Memphis, Tennessee, at the Holiday Inn Select
Downtown, 160 Union Avenue; 7 p.m.
[[Page 12217]]
3. March 30, 2006: Rosenburg, Texas, at the Texas Agricultural
Extension Service Education Center, 1402 Band Road, Suite 100, Highway
36; 7 p.m.
4. April 5, 2006: Anchorage, Alaska, at the Howard Johnson Motel,
239 North 4th Avenue; 7 p.m.
5. April 6, 2006: Denver, Colorado, at the Colorado Department of
Wildlife, Northeast Region Service Center, Hunter Education Building,
6060 Broadway; 7 p.m.
6. April 10, 2006: Hadley, Massachusetts, at the Northeast Regional
Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Westgate Center
Drive; 7 p.m.
7. April 12, 2006: Charleston, South Carolina, at the Fort Johnson
Marine Laboratory, 217 Fort Johnson Road, James Island; 7 p.m.
8. April 19, 2006: Fargo, North Dakota, at the Best Western
Doublewood Inn, 3333 13th Avenue South; 7 p.m.
9. April 20, 2006: Bloomington, Minnesota, at the Minnesota Valley
National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, 3815 American Boulevard East;
7 p.m.
10. April 24, 2006: Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources, 1594 West North Temple; 7 p.m.
11. April 26, 2006: Arlington, Virginia, at the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 200; 1 p.m.
12. April 26, 2006: Sacramento, California, at the California
Department of Fish and Game, Auditorium, Resource Building, 1416 Ninth
Street; 7 p.m.
At the scoping meetings, you may choose to submit oral and/or
written comments. To facilitate planning, we request that if you want
to submit oral comments at meetings, send us your name and the meeting
location you plan to attend. You should send this information to the
location indicated under ADDRESSES. However, you are not required to
submit your name prior to any particular meeting in order to present
oral comments.
Public Comments Solicited
You may also submit written comments using one of the methods
provided under ADDRESSES. All comments must be submitted by the date
listed under DATES.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to
the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which
we would withhold from the rulemaking record a respondent's identity,
as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or
address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your
comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make
all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
All comments received, including names and addresses, will become
part of the public record. Further, all written comments must be
submitted on 8.5-by-11-inch paper.
Dated: March 3, 2006.
H. Dale Hall,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6-3350 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P