National Estuarine Research Reserve System, 56775-56776 [2014-22589]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 184 / Tuesday, September 23, 2014 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Alaska Chinook Salmon Economic Data Report (EDR) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before November 24, 2014. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at JJessup@doc.gov). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Patsy A. Bearden, (907) 586– 7008, or patsy.bearden@noaa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: I. Abstract National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Region manages the groundfish fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. (MagnusonStevens Act). The FMP is implemented under regulations at 50 CFR part 679. NMFS manages the Bering Sea pollock fishery under the American Fisheries Act (AFA) (16 U.S.C. 1851). The AFA ‘‘rationalized’’ the Bering Sea pollock fishery in part by allowing for the formation and management of fishery cooperatives. AFA fishing vessels harvest pollock using pelagic (mid-water) trawl gear, which consists of large nets towed through the water by the vessel. At times, Chinook salmon and pollock occur in the same locations in the Bering Sea. Consequently, VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:55 Sep 22, 2014 Jkt 232001 Chinook salmon are incidentally caught in the nets as pollock is harvested. This incidental catch is called bycatch and is also called prohibited species catch (PSC). Chinook Salmon are defined as a prohibited species because they are caught by a vessel issued a Federal Fisheries Permit under § 679.4(b) while fishing for groundfish (pollock) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) or Gulf of Alaska. In December 2009, the Council recommended that NMFS implement the Chinook Salmon Economic Data Report (Chinook Salmon EDR) to evaluate the effectiveness of Chinook salmon bycatch management measures for the Bering Sea pollock fishery that were implemented under Amendment 91 to the BSAI FMP (75 FR 53026, August 30, 2010). The Chinook EDR Program provides information to the analysts and the Council for determining the effectiveness of the Incentive Plan Agreement (IPA). The Chinook EDR Program evaluates the effectiveness of the IPA incentives, the PSC limits, and the performance standard in terms of minimizing salmon bycatch in times of high and low levels of salmon abundance, and evaluates how Amendment 91 affects where, when, and how pollock fishing and salmon bycatch occur. The data collection program also provides data for NMFS and the Council to study and verify conclusions drawn by industry in the IPA annual reports. II. Method of Collection Attachment to email, electronically (Internet), fax, or mail. III. Data OMB Control Number: 0648–0633. Form Number(s): None. Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a current information collection). Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-profit organizations. Estimated Number of Respondents: 200. Estimated Time Per Response: 40 hours for Compensated Transfer Report; 4 hours each for Vessel Fuel Survey, Vessel Master Survey; and Chinook EDR Verification/Audit. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 9,976. Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $25,958. IV. Request for Comments Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 56775 is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record. Dated: September 17, 2014. Gwellnar Banks, Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 2014–22511 Filed 9–22–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Estuarine Research Reserve System Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of approval of the Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan Revision. AGENCY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce approves the Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. The revised management plan outlines the administrative structure; the research, education, training, and stewardship goals of the reserve; and the plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support reserve operations. The Waquoit Bay Reserve Management Plan revision will replace the plan approved in 2006. The Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National Estuarine Research Reserve takes an integrated approach to SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM 23SEN1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 56776 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 184 / Tuesday, September 23, 2014 / Notices management, linking research, education, training, and stewardship functions to address high-priority issues, including the impact of climate change on estuarine ecosystems; connections between watershed land use and water quality; assessment of ecosystem response to natural variability and human impacts; and understanding and enhancing ecosystem services of coastal habitats. Since the last management plan, the reserve implemented its core programs, expanded its monitoring infrastructure to establish a groundwater monitoring program and a Salt Marsh Observatory; enhanced its facilities with energy efficiency installations, campus building improvements, and updated educational exhibits; and furthered land conservation in the reserve’s watershed. This management plan includes a boundary expansion of 23 acres. The lands consist of the 11.4-acre Caleb Pond parcel on the northeast corner of Waquoit Bay as well as the addition of 12.4 acres to the Quashnet River lands. The Caleb Pond parcel is the largest single undeveloped parcel on Waquoit Bay and contains an upland coastal pine-oak forest habitat with fringing salt marsh and a connecting stream that contains diadromous fish runs of American eel and has historically supported an anadromous river herring run. The parcel is especially suitable for educational purposes and creates 40 acres of contiguous protected lands across the head of Waquoit Bay. The Quashnet River land parcel expands important contiguous and unfragmented habitat that is valuable as wildlife habitat and corridor, as well as increases protection of terrestrial, groundwater, and aquatic systems. This parcel is appropriate for education, recreation, and upland research purposes. The revised management plan will serve as the guiding document for the 2,804 acre Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for the next five years. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision can be viewed at https:// www.waquoitbayreserve.org/about/ management-plan/. Comments can be provided to the reserve manager at waquoit.bay@state.ma.us. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alison Krepp at (301) 563–7105 or Erica Seiden at (301) 563–1172 of NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:55 Sep 22, 2014 Jkt 232001 Dated: September 16, 2014. Donna Rivelli, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [FR Doc. 2014–22589 Filed 9–22–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–08–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office [Docket No.: PTO–P–2014–0031] Extension of Period for Comments on Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Request for comments; extension of comment period. AGENCY: The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) provided for new administrative trial proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board). The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a number of final rules and a trial practice guide in August and September of 2012 to implement the new administrative trial provisions of the AIA. The USPTO published a request for comments in the Federal Register on June 27, 2014, seeking public comment on all aspects of the new administrative trial proceedings, including the administrative trial proceeding rules and trial practice guide. The USPTO is now extending the period for public comment until October 16, 2014. DATES: Comment Deadline Date: Written comments must be received on or before October 16, 2014. ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent by electronic mail message over the Internet addressed to: TrialsRFC2014@ uspto.gov. Electronic comments submitted in plain text are preferred, but also may be submitted in ADOBE® portable document format or Microsoft Word® format. The comments will be available for viewing via the USPTO’s Internet Web site (https://www.uspto.gov). Because comments will be made available for public inspection, information that the submitter does not desire to make public, such as an address or phone number, should not be included in the comments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott R. Boalick, Vice Chief Administrative Patent Judge, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, at 571–272– 8138. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Sections 3, 6, and 18 of the AIA provided for the following new Board administrative trial proceedings: (1) Inter partes review; (2) post-grant review; (3) covered business method patents review; and (4) derivation proceedings. Pub. L. 112–29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011). The USPTO issued a number of final rules and a trial practice guide in August and September of 2012 to implement the new administrative trial provisions of the AIA. See Rules of Practice for Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Judicial Review of Patent Trial and Appeal Board Decisions, 77 FR 48612 (Aug. 14, 2012) (final rule); Changes to Implement Inter Partes Review Proceedings, PostGrant Review Proceedings, and Transitional Program for Covered Business Method Patents, 77 FR 48680 (Aug. 14, 2012) (final rule); Transitional Program for Covered Business Method Patents—Definitions of Covered Business Method Patent and Technological Invention, 77 FR 48734 (Aug. 14, 2012) (final rule); Changes to Implement Derivation Proceedings, 77 FR 56068 (Sept. 11, 2012) (final rule); and Office Patent Trial Practice Guide, 77 FR 48756 (Aug. 14, 2012). In issuing the administrative trial proceeding rules and trial practice guide, the USPTO committed to revisiting the rules and practice guide once the Board and public had operated under the rules and practice guide for some period and had gained experience with the new administrative trial proceedings. The USPTO began the process of revisiting the AIA administrative trial proceeding rules and trial practice guide by engaging in a nation-wide listening tour. The USPTO conducted a series of roundtables in April and May of 2014, held in Alexandria, New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Dallas, and Denver, to share information concerning the AIA administrative trial proceedings with the public and obtain public feedback on these proceedings. The USPTO also published a request for comments in the Federal Register on June 27, 2014, seeking public comment on all aspects of the new administrative trial proceedings, including the administrative trial proceeding rules and trial practice guide. See Request for Comments on Trial Proceedings Under the America Invents Act Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, 79 FR 36474–77 (June 27, 2014). The request for comments indicated that written comments must be received on or before September 16, 2014. See id. at 36474. In view of stakeholder requests for SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\23SEN1.SGM 23SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 184 (Tuesday, September 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56775-56776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22589]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Research Reserve System

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of approval of the Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National 
Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan Revision.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Estuarine Reserves Division, 
Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce approves the Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National 
Estuarine Research Reserve Management Plan revision. The revised 
management plan outlines the administrative structure; the research, 
education, training, and stewardship goals of the reserve; and the 
plans for future land acquisition and facility development to support 
reserve operations. The Waquoit Bay Reserve Management Plan revision 
will replace the plan approved in 2006.
    The Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts National Estuarine Research Reserve 
takes an integrated approach to

[[Page 56776]]

management, linking research, education, training, and stewardship 
functions to address high-priority issues, including the impact of 
climate change on estuarine ecosystems; connections between watershed 
land use and water quality; assessment of ecosystem response to natural 
variability and human impacts; and understanding and enhancing 
ecosystem services of coastal habitats. Since the last management plan, 
the reserve implemented its core programs, expanded its monitoring 
infrastructure to establish a groundwater monitoring program and a Salt 
Marsh Observatory; enhanced its facilities with energy efficiency 
installations, campus building improvements, and updated educational 
exhibits; and furthered land conservation in the reserve's watershed.
    This management plan includes a boundary expansion of 23 acres. The 
lands consist of the 11.4-acre Caleb Pond parcel on the northeast 
corner of Waquoit Bay as well as the addition of 12.4 acres to the 
Quashnet River lands. The Caleb Pond parcel is the largest single 
undeveloped parcel on Waquoit Bay and contains an upland coastal pine-
oak forest habitat with fringing salt marsh and a connecting stream 
that contains diadromous fish runs of American eel and has historically 
supported an anadromous river herring run. The parcel is especially 
suitable for educational purposes and creates 40 acres of contiguous 
protected lands across the head of Waquoit Bay. The Quashnet River land 
parcel expands important contiguous and unfragmented habitat that is 
valuable as wildlife habitat and corridor, as well as increases 
protection of terrestrial, groundwater, and aquatic systems. This 
parcel is appropriate for education, recreation, and upland research 
purposes.
    The revised management plan will serve as the guiding document for 
the 2,804 acre Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for the 
next five years. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve 
Management Plan revision can be viewed at https://www.waquoitbayreserve.org/about/management-plan/. Comments can be 
provided to the reserve manager at waquoit.bay@state.ma.us.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alison Krepp at (301) 563-7105 or 
Erica Seiden at (301) 563-1172 of NOAA's National Ocean Service, 
Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 East-West Highway, N/ORM5, 10th 
Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

    Dated: September 16, 2014.
Donna Rivelli,
Deputy Chief Financial Officer, National Ocean Service, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-22589 Filed 9-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P
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