Department of the Interior August 18, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to sell by public auction 86 parcels of Federal public land, aggregating approximately 3,197.00 acres, more or less, in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The sale will be under the authority of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2343), as amended by Title IV of the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 1994) (SNPLMA). The SNPLMA sale will be subject to the applicable provisions of Sections 203 and 209 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1713 and 1719), and BLM land sale and mineral conveyance regulations at 43 CFR parts 2710 and 2720. The sale will be conducted in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 16, 2005, using competitive bidding procedures under the regulations, at not less than the appraised fair market value (FMV) of each parcel. BLM may also continue the auction of up to five additional parcels near Laughlin, Nevada (hereinafter, ``the Laughlin parcels''), which remain unsold from a BLM competitive oral auction held in Laughlin, Nevada, on June 15, 2005. These five parcels aggregate approximately 1,796.65 acres and have been for sale on the Internet since the June 15, 2005, sale. If not sold on the Internet by November 16, 2005, BLM will take oral bids on these parcels at not less than the appraised fair market value of each parcel, at the proposed November 16, 2005, sale. Sealed bids may also be submitted for these parcels. These parcels are not within the SNPLMA disposal boundary and are sold solely under the authority of FLPMA. They were originally noticed for sale in the Federal Register on March 30, 2005, at 70 FR 16301. That notice provides that, ``If not sold, any parcel described above in this Notice may be identified for sale at a later date without further legal notice.'' 70 FR at 16303. More information on these parcels, as well as all parcels involved with the November 16 sale, is available at https:// propertydisposal.gsa.gov. If sold on the Internet or at the November 16, 2005, sale, these parcels will be sold under the terms of conditions of the original notice at 70 FR 16301. BLM's decision to sell the Laughlin parcels has already undergone notice and comment procedures pursuant to the sale regulations at 43 CFR part 2700. Environmental documentation prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act for sale of the Laughlin parcels has also undergone a public comment period. Therefore, BLM will not be accepting any new comments regarding the continued auction of the Laughlin parcels.

The McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area (MCNCA) Advisory Council will hold its next meeting of 2005 on September 7, 2005. The meeting will begin at 3 p.m. and will be held at the Fruita City Office Building, 325 East Aspen Avenue, Fruita, CO. An additional meeting will be held on December 7, 2005 at the Mesa County Administration Building; 544 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction, CO.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the plant Helianthus eggertii (Eggert's sunflower) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), because recovery actions have secured a number of populations and identified additional populations not previously known. Therefore, the threatened designation no longer correctly reflects the current status of this plant. This action is based on a review of all available data, which indicate that the species is now protected on Federal, State, and county lands; is more widespread and abundant than was documented at the time of listing; and is more resilient and less vulnerable to certain activities than previously thought. Due to the recent development of a management plan for H. eggertii, a management plan for the barrens/woodland ecosystem, and an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering and Development Center, on whose land a significant number of sites/populations occur, new management practices will include managing for, and monitoring the areas that contain, this species. Occurrences of H. eggertii are also found on six other Federal, State, or county lands, five of which now have conservation agreements with us to protect, manage, and monitor the species. The remaining site is jointly owned by the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission and The Nature Conservancy and has a dedicated conservation easement and a management plan in place to protect H. eggertii. At the time of listing, there were 34 known H. eggertii sites occurring in 1 county in Alabama, 5 counties in Kentucky, and 8 counties in Tennessee. The species was not defined in terms of ``populations'' at that time. Increased knowledge of H. eggertii and its habitat has resulted in increased success in locating new plant sites. Presently, there are 287 known H. eggertii sites (making up 73 populations) distributed across 3 counties in Alabama, 9 counties in Kentucky, and 15 counties in Tennessee. Consequently, H. eggertii is not likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range and, therefore, is no longer considered to be threatened.