Department of the Interior April 5, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice is issued in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(I). The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is contemplating the granting of an exclusive license in the United States to practice the invention embodied in U.S. Patent No. 6,466,009 B1, entitled, ``Flexible Printed Circuit Magnetic Flux Probe.'' The exclusive license is to be granted to Iris Power Engineering having a place of business in Toronto, Canada. Iris Power Engineering is owned by Koch Industries, Inc. of Wichita, Kansas. The patent rights in this invention have been assigned to the United States of America. The prospective exclusive license will be royalty-bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. While the primary purpose of this notice is to announce Reclamation's intent to grant an exclusive license to practice the above listed patent, it also serves to publish the availability of this patent for licensing in accordance with law. The prospective license may be granted unless Reclamation receives written evidence and argument which establish that the grant of the license would not be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announces that a Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge are available for review and comment. The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, requires the Service to develop a comprehensive conservation plan for each national wildlife refuge. The purpose in developing a comprehensive conservation plan is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal mandates, and Service policies. In addition to outlining broad management direction on conserving wildlife and their habitats, the plan identifies wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education and interpretation. Significant issues addressed in the draft plan include: Threatened and endangered species; waterfowl management; neotropical migratory birds; bottomland hardwood restoration; agriculture; visitor services (hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and environmental education and interpretation); funding and staffing; cultural resources; land acquisition; and forest and fragmentation. The Service developed four alternatives for managing the refuge and chose Alternative 2 as the preferred alternative. Alternatives

This notice publishes the Samish Indian Nation's Liquor Control Ordinance. The Ordinance regulates and controls the possession, sale and consumption of liquor within land under the jurisdiction of the Samish Indian Nation. The land to which this Ordinance applies is in trust. This Ordinance will increase the ability of the tribal government to control the tribe's liquor distribution and possession, and at the same time will provide an important source of revenue for the continued operation and strengthening of the tribal government and the delivery of tribal services.