Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement on the Harvest of Glaucous-Winged Gull Eggs by the Huna Tlingit in Glacier Bay National Park, 77837-77838 [E8-30133]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008 / Notices
0165, telephone number (303) 231–
3899, fax number (303) 231–3409.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On April 28, 2008, the Department
published a notice of intent to establish
an Indian Oil Valuation Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee (73 FR 22970).
In that notice, the Department requested
interested parties to nominate
representatives for membership on the
Committee. The Department received 1
comment opposing the establishment of
a negotiated rulemaking committee and
10 responses nominating individuals to
serve on the Committee. The
Department believes that using a
negotiated rulemaking committee to
make specific recommendations
regarding valuation of oil from Indian
leases would help the agency in
developing a rulemaking. Therefore, the
Department is establishing the Indian
Oil Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking
Committee.
II. Statutory Provisions
The Negotiated Rulemaking Act of
1996 (NRA) (5 U.S.C. 561 et seq. ); the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. Appendix 2, section 1 et seq. );
the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act of 1982 (FOGRMA) (30
U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ); the Indian Mineral
Development Act of 1982 (25 U.S.C.
2101–2108; and 25 U.S.C. 2 and 9); 30
CFR part 206; 25 CFR part 225; and
Indian oil and gas lease and agreement
terms.
III. The Committee and Its Process
In a negotiated rulemaking, a
proposed rule is developed by a
committee composed of representatives
of government and the interests that will
be significantly affected by the rule.
Decisions are made by ‘‘consensus.’’
represented by the representatives listed
below:
A representative of the Shoshone and
Arapaho Tribes of the Wind River
Reservation;
A representative of the Ute Indian
Tribe;
A representative of the allottees at
Fort Berthold, North Dakota;
A representative of the allottees of
Oklahoma Indian Land/Mineral Owners
of Associated Nations;
A representative of the Blackfeet
Nation;
A representative of the Council of
Petroleum Accountants Societies
(COPAS) Revenue Committee;
A representative of the Independent
Petroleum Association of Mountain
States;
A representative of Peak Energy
Resources;
A representative of Resolute Natural
Resources;
A representative of Chesapeake
Energy;
Two representatives of the Minerals
Management Service; and
A representative of the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs.
If anyone believes their interests will
not be adequately represented by these
organizations, they must demonstrate
and document that assertion through an
application submitted no later than 10
calendar days following publication of
this notice. You may fax your
documentation to (303) 231–3409.
The first meeting date will be
published in a Federal Register notice.
Future meetings will be determined at
this first meeting and notice of the dates
published in the Federal Register.
Certification
I hereby certify that the Indian Oil
Valuation Negotiated Rulemaking
Committee is in the public interest.
‘‘[C]onsensus’’ means unanimous
concurrence among the interests represented
on a negotiated rulemaking committee
established under this subchapter, unless
such committee (A) agrees to define such
term to mean a general but not unanimous
concurrence; or (B) agrees upon another
specified definition.
Dated: December 10, 2008.
Foster L. Wade,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and
Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E8–30139 Filed 12–18–08; 8:45 am]
5 U.S.C. 562(2) (A) and (B).
The negotiated rulemaking process is
initiated by the Agency’s identification
of interests potentially affected by the
rulemaking under consideration. Those
interests were identified by the
comments received regarding the
Federal Register notice published on
April 28, 2008.
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
IV. Membership of the Committee
The MMS believes that the interests
significantly affected by this rule will be
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:29 Dec 18, 2008
Jkt 217001
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
National Park Service
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact
Statement on the Harvest of GlaucousWinged Gull Eggs by the Huna Tlingit
in Glacier Bay National Park
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice of Availability of the
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact
Statement on the Harvest of GlaucousAGENCY:
ACTION:
PO 00000
Frm 00247
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
77837
Winged Gull Eggs by the Huna Tlingit
in Glacier Bay National Park.
SUMMARY: The National Park Service
announces the availability of a Draft
Legislative Environmental Impact
Statement (LEIS) for the Harvest of
Glaucous-Winged Gull Eggs by the Huna
Tlingit in Glacier Bay National Park.
The document describes and analyzes
the environmental impacts of a
preferred alternative and one additional
action alternative for managing a limited
harvest of glaucous-winged gull eggs. A
no action alternative is also evaluated.
This notice announces the public
comment period, the locations of public
hearings, and solicits comments on the
draft LEIS.
DATES: Comments on the draft LEIS
must be received no later than March 6,
2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the
draft LEIS should be submitted to Mary
Beth Moss, Project Manager, Glacier Bay
National Park and Preserve, PO Box 140,
Gustavus, AK 99829.
Submit comments electronically
through the NPS Planning, Environment
and Public comment system (PEPC) at
https://parkplanning.nps.gov. The draft
LEIS may be viewed and retrieved at
this Web site as well. Hard copies of the
draft LEIS are available by request from
the aforementioned address. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the
locations of public hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Beth Moss, Project Manager,
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve,
Telephone: 907 317–1270.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
purpose of the draft LEIS is to analyze
the effects of the limited collection of
glaucous-winged gull eggs within
Glacier Bay National Park by Hoonah
Indian Association (HIA; the federally
recognized government of the Huna
Tlingit) tribal members if legislation
authorizing collection were enacted.
Glacier Bay is the traditional homeland
of the Huna Tlingit. The Huna Tlingit
harvested eggs at gull rookeries in
Glacier Bay, including the large nesting
site on South Marble Island, prior to the
park being established in 1925. Egg
collection was curtailed in the 1960s.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act
prohibited the harvest of gull eggs, and
by statute and NPS regulations, harvest
is precluded within park boundaries.
In the late 1990s, at the behest of
tribal leaders, the NPS agreed to explore
ways to authorize this important
cultural tradition. Section 4 of the
Glacier Bay National Park Resource
Management Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–
455) requires the Secretary of Interior, in
E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM
19DEN1
77838
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 245 / Friday, December 19, 2008 / Notices
consultation with local residents, to
assess whether sea gull eggs can be
collected in the park on a limited basis
without impairing the biological
sustainability of the gull population in
the park. The Act further requires that
if the study determines that the limited
collection of sea gull eggs can occur
without impairing the biological
sustainability of the gull population in
the park, the Secretary shall submit
recommendations for legislation to
Congress. Sea gull eggs cannot be
collected absent legislation.
NPS commissioned ethnographic and
biological studies to inform the analysis
included in this draft LEIS. The draft
LEIS considers a reasonable range of
alternatives based on project objectives,
park resources and values, and public
input that include:
Alternative 1 (No Action): This
alternative would not propose
legislation to authorize the harvest of
glaucous-winged gull eggs in Glacier
Bay National Park. Glaucous-winged
gulls would continue to breed in Glacier
Bay without human disturbance.
Alternative 2: This alternative would
propose legislation to authorize harvest
of glaucous-winged gull eggs at up to
two designated locations on a single
pre-selected date on or before June 9 of
each year. Approximately 12 tribal
members would have the opportunity to
harvest eggs each year.
Alternative 3 (NPS Preferred
Alternative): Alternative 3 would
propose legislation to authorize harvest
of glaucous-winged gull eggs at several
designated locations in Glacier Bay
National Park on two separate dates.
The first harvest would occur on or
before June 9th; a second harvest at the
same sites would occur within nine
days of the first harvest. The logistics of
vessel transportation would limit the
number of sites that could be visited in
a given day. Depending on weather and
other conditions, as well as the sites
selected, harvest would likely occur at
three to four sites. Approximately 24
tribal members would have the
opportunity to harvest eggs each year.
Both action alternatives would
propose legislation authorizing the
management of harvest activities under
the guidelines of a harvest management
plan cooperatively developed by the
NPS and the HIA. NPS would conduct
monitoring activities to ensure that park
resources and values were not impacted.
The Superintendent would retain the
authority to close gull colonies to
harvest.
Public hearings are scheduled in
Alaska at the following locations:
Anchorage, Juneau, Gustavus, and
Hoonah, Alaska. The specific dates and
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:29 Dec 18, 2008
Jkt 217001
times of the meetings and public
hearings will be announced in local
media.
Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment -including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us to withhold your
personal identifying information from
public review we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so. We will always
make submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives of or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
Dated: October 17, 2008.
Sue E. Masica,
Regional Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. E8–30133 Filed 12–18–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–HX–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft General Management Plan
Amendment/Environmental Impact
Statement, Petrified Forest National
Park, Arizona
AGENCY: National Park Service,
Department of Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Termination of
Environmental Impact Statement for the
General Management Plan, Petrified
Forest National Park, in favor of an
Environmental Assessment.
SUMMARY: The National Park Service
(NPS) is terminating preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the General Management Plan
amendment, Petrified Forest National
Park, Arizona. A Notice of Intent to
prepare the EIS for the Petrified Forest
National Park General Management Plan
Amendment was published at 72 FR
159, pages 46244 and 46245, August 17,
2007. The National Park Service has
since determined that an Environmental
Assessment (EA) rather than an EIS is
the appropriate level of environmental
documentation for the plan.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Petrified National Park Expansion Act of
2004 (Pub. L. 108–430) added
approximately 125,000 acres in private
and other agency ownership to the
existing Petrified Forest National Park,
and directed the National Park Service
to develop a plan to manage the
addition lands. A general management
plan amendment will establish the
PO 00000
Frm 00248
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
overall management direction of the
addition lands for the next 15 to 20
years. The plan amendment was
originally scoped as an EIS. Publication
of the Federal Register Notice was
followed with a newsletter to affected
agencies and interested parties, and a
public meeting in Holbrook, Arizona.
However, few comments were received
during the scoping process. The NPS
planning team has developed two
alternative management concepts for the
addition lands. The ‘‘No-Action’’
concept would allow for the
continuation of existing conditions, and
the addition lands would remain a mix
of private, state, and NPS ownership,
with a small proportion of those lands
owned and managed by the NPS.
Current land uses, activities, and
structures would remain, and resources
would not necessarily be well protected.
The ‘‘Preferred’’ concept would allow
for cautious NPS management of
addition lands within NPS jurisdiction,
while gathering as much information
about them as possible. Resource
inventories, condition assessments, and
research would be conducted to
increase understanding of the addition
lands. This concept provides for a
higher level of resource protection than
the No-Action concept. These
management concepts will be expanded
upon and refined through the planning/
environmental assessment process.
DATES: The NPS will notify the public
by mail, Web site, and other means, of
public review periods and meetings
associated with the draft GMP
amendment/EA. All public review and
other written public information will be
made available online at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/pefo.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cliff
Spencer, Superintendent, Petrified
Forest National Park, P.O. Box 2217,
Petrified Forest, Arizona 86028;
telephone, (928) 524–6228, extension
225; e-mail cliff_spencer@nps.gov.
Dated: December 8, 2008.
Michael D. Snyder,
Regional Director, Intermountain Region,
National Park Service.
[FR Doc. E8–30135 Filed 12–18–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–7V–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Southern Delivery System, Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of
Southern Delivery System Final
E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM
19DEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 245 (Friday, December 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77837-77838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30133]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
National Park Service
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement on the Harvest
of Glaucous-Winged Gull Eggs by the Huna Tlingit in Glacier Bay
National Park
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Legislative Environmental
Impact Statement on the Harvest of Glaucous-Winged Gull Eggs by the
Huna Tlingit in Glacier Bay National Park.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Park Service announces the availability of a
Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (LEIS) for the Harvest
of Glaucous-Winged Gull Eggs by the Huna Tlingit in Glacier Bay
National Park. The document describes and analyzes the environmental
impacts of a preferred alternative and one additional action
alternative for managing a limited harvest of glaucous-winged gull
eggs. A no action alternative is also evaluated. This notice announces
the public comment period, the locations of public hearings, and
solicits comments on the draft LEIS.
DATES: Comments on the draft LEIS must be received no later than March
6, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the draft LEIS should be submitted to
Mary Beth Moss, Project Manager, Glacier Bay National Park and
Preserve, PO Box 140, Gustavus, AK 99829.
Submit comments electronically through the NPS Planning,
Environment and Public comment system (PEPC) at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov. The draft LEIS may be viewed and retrieved at
this Web site as well. Hard copies of the draft LEIS are available by
request from the aforementioned address. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
for the locations of public hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Moss, Project Manager,
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Telephone: 907 317-1270.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the draft LEIS is to analyze
the effects of the limited collection of glaucous-winged gull eggs
within Glacier Bay National Park by Hoonah Indian Association (HIA; the
federally recognized government of the Huna Tlingit) tribal members if
legislation authorizing collection were enacted. Glacier Bay is the
traditional homeland of the Huna Tlingit. The Huna Tlingit harvested
eggs at gull rookeries in Glacier Bay, including the large nesting site
on South Marble Island, prior to the park being established in 1925.
Egg collection was curtailed in the 1960s. The Migratory Bird Treaty
Act prohibited the harvest of gull eggs, and by statute and NPS
regulations, harvest is precluded within park boundaries.
In the late 1990s, at the behest of tribal leaders, the NPS agreed
to explore ways to authorize this important cultural tradition. Section
4 of the Glacier Bay National Park Resource Management Act of 2000
(Pub. L. 106-455) requires the Secretary of Interior, in
[[Page 77838]]
consultation with local residents, to assess whether sea gull eggs can
be collected in the park on a limited basis without impairing the
biological sustainability of the gull population in the park. The Act
further requires that if the study determines that the limited
collection of sea gull eggs can occur without impairing the biological
sustainability of the gull population in the park, the Secretary shall
submit recommendations for legislation to Congress. Sea gull eggs
cannot be collected absent legislation.
NPS commissioned ethnographic and biological studies to inform the
analysis included in this draft LEIS. The draft LEIS considers a
reasonable range of alternatives based on project objectives, park
resources and values, and public input that include:
Alternative 1 (No Action): This alternative would not propose
legislation to authorize the harvest of glaucous-winged gull eggs in
Glacier Bay National Park. Glaucous-winged gulls would continue to
breed in Glacier Bay without human disturbance.
Alternative 2: This alternative would propose legislation to
authorize harvest of glaucous-winged gull eggs at up to two designated
locations on a single pre-selected date on or before June 9 of each
year. Approximately 12 tribal members would have the opportunity to
harvest eggs each year.
Alternative 3 (NPS Preferred Alternative): Alternative 3 would
propose legislation to authorize harvest of glaucous-winged gull eggs
at several designated locations in Glacier Bay National Park on two
separate dates. The first harvest would occur on or before June 9th; a
second harvest at the same sites would occur within nine days of the
first harvest. The logistics of vessel transportation would limit the
number of sites that could be visited in a given day. Depending on
weather and other conditions, as well as the sites selected, harvest
would likely occur at three to four sites. Approximately 24 tribal
members would have the opportunity to harvest eggs each year.
Both action alternatives would propose legislation authorizing the
management of harvest activities under the guidelines of a harvest
management plan cooperatively developed by the NPS and the HIA. NPS
would conduct monitoring activities to ensure that park resources and
values were not impacted. The Superintendent would retain the authority
to close gull colonies to harvest.
Public hearings are scheduled in Alaska at the following locations:
Anchorage, Juneau, Gustavus, and Hoonah, Alaska. The specific dates and
times of the meetings and public hearings will be announced in local
media.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment -including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will
always make submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives of or officials
of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in
their entirety.
Dated: October 17, 2008.
Sue E. Masica,
Regional Director, Alaska.
[FR Doc. E8-30133 Filed 12-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-HX-P