Department of the Interior March 8, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The following applicants have applied for scientific research permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.

A Notice of Intent to prepare a Resource Management Plan for public lands and resources in Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties, Utah was published in the Federal Register, volume 66, No. 48, Monday, March 12, 2001. This supplements that notice with a call for coal resource and other resource information, as required in 43 CFR 3420.1.

This notice closes certain public lands in Yellowstone County, Montana, to target shooting with firearms. This restriction is necessary for the management of actions, activities, and public use on certain public lands that may have, or are having, adverse impacts on persons using public lands, on property, and on resources located on public lands. Increasing levels of public use are creating conflicts between different user groups. Hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, wildlife observers, hunters, and target shooters all utilize the subject lands.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carson City Field Office, announces the temporary closure of selected public lands under its administration in Lyon, Storey, Churchill, Carson, Douglas, Mineral, Washoe and Nye Counties. By agreement with the Las Vegas and Battle Mountain Field Offices and the Tonopah Field Station, those lands affected by the Vegas to Reno and Nevada 1000 OHV Races in Nye and Esmeralda Counties are included in this closure. This action is taken to provide for public and participant safety and to protect adjacent natural and cultural resources during the conduct of permitted special recreation events.

The Powder River Regional Coal Team (RCT) has scheduled a public meeting for April 27, 2005, to review current and proposed activities in the Powder River Coal Region and to review pending coal lease applications (LBA).

In accordance with title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 8364.1 notice is hereby given that all the below listed land, administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is closed to the discharge of firearms for the purpose of target shooting. The closure encompasses the Sacramento River Bend Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and nearby scattered parcels, as well as future public land encompassed by the below descriptions. This immediate closure is necessary to protect human health and safety in an area of increasing recreational use and population growth.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), confirm the non- economic exclusions made to our previous final rule (August 6, 2003, 68 FR 46683, effective September 5, 2003), which designated critical habitat pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for 4 vernal pool crustaceans and 11 vernal pool plants. A total of approximately 1,184,513 ac (479,356 ha) of land falls within the boundaries of designated critical habitat. This estimate reflects exclusion of: Lands within the boundaries of Habitat Conservation Plans, National Wildlife Refuge lands and National fish hatchery lands (33,097 ac (13,394 ha)), State lands within ecological reserves and wildlife management areas (20,933 ac (8,471 ha)), Department of Defense lands within Beale and Travis Air Force Bases as well as Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts Army installations (64,259 ac (26,005 ha)), Tribal lands managed by the Mechoopda Tribe (644 ac (261 ha)), and the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve (10,200 ac (4,128 ha)) from the final designation. The area estimate does not reflect the exclusion of lands within the California counties of Butte, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, and Solano, which are excluded from the final designation pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of the Act and pending further analysis as directed by the October 29, 2004, order by the court. This critical habitat designation requires us to consult under section 7 of the Act with regard to actions authorized, funded, or carried out by a Federal agency. Section 4 of the Act requires us to consider economic and other relevant impacts when specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We solicited data and comments from the public on all aspects of the proposed rule, including data on economic and other impacts of the designation.