Department of the Interior February 8, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center Advisory Board will meet March 7, 2006, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (PST) at the Best Western Sunridge Inn, One Sunridge Way, Baker City, Oregon. Meeting topics will include a Center update, education and outreach, and other topics as may come before the board. The meeting is open to the public. Public comment is scheduled for 10 to 10:15 a.m.

Under the provisions of section 371(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the lessee, Charles A. Einarsen, timely filed a petition for reinstatement of competitive oil and gas lease WYW153586 in Natrona County, Wyoming. The lessee paid the required rental accruing from the date of termination, September 1, 2002, and submitted a signed agreement, specifying future rental and royalty rates for this lease would be at $10.00 per acre or fraction of an acre and 16\2/3\ percent respectively. In accordance with 43 CFR 3103.4-1 and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(f) the lessee petitioned to reduce the rental and royalty rates for the subject lease to the rates specified in sections 1 and 2 of the original lease agreement and submitted justification and rationalization for the request. After thoroughly reviewing the lessee's petition and taking into consideration the information submitted, we have granted the request to reduce the rental rates to those in Section 1 of the original lease agreement but have denied the request for a reduced royalty rate. The purpose of granting a reduced royalty rate is to extend the productive life of an existing well. Normally it cannot be determined whether a lease can be successfully operated at the higher royalty rate required for reinstated leases until the lease has been fully developed. Because the productivity of the leasehold has not been fully determined, the request for a reduced royalty rate is premature. No leases were issued that affect these lands. The lessee had paid the required $500 administrative fee for lease reinstatement and $166 cost for publishing this Notice. The lessee has met all the requirements for reinstatement of the lease per Sec. 31(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 188(e)). We are proposing to reinstate the lease, effective the date of termination subject to: The original terms and conditions of the lease; The rental rates specified in section 1 of the original lease agreement; and The increased royalty of 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate.

The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) is amending its regulations that implement the Equal Access to Justice Act to bring them up to date with amendments to the statute that have been enacted since 1983.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our intention to conduct rulemaking to establish a distinct population segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States (NRM). The NRM DPS of gray wolf encompasses the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, a small part of north-central Utah, and all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. The threats to the wolf population in the NRM DPS have been reduced or eliminated as evidenced by the population exceeding the numerical, distributional, and temporal recovery goals each year since 2002. The States of Montana and Idaho have adopted State laws and State wolf management plans that would conserve a recovered NRM wolf population within their boundaries into the foreseeable future. However, we have determined that Wyoming State law and its wolf management plan do not provide the necessary regulatory mechanism to assure that Wyoming's share of a recovered NRM wolf population will be conserved if the ESA's protections were removed. Therefore, we intend to conduct a future rulemaking to propose that the gray wolf in the NRM wolf DPS be removed from the List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended, if Wyoming adopts a State law and a State wolf management plan that is approved by the Service. Concerns regarding the Wyoming plan would have to be resolved before a NRM DPS delisting could be finalized. This ANPRM is being issued in advance of completion of the 12 month status review of NRM wolves. This status review remains in progress.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the Kootenai River population of the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) (Kootenai sturgeon) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). In total, approximately, 6.9 river miles (RM) (11.1 river kilometers (RKM)) of the Kootenai River fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation located in Boundary County, Idaho. This designation is in addition to the 11.2 miles (18 kilometers) of the Kootenai River already designated as critical habitat for the Kootenai sturgeon.