Department of the Interior May 24, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The plat of survey of the following described lands was officially filed in the Oregon State Office, Portland, Oregon, on January 31, 2006.

This notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) intends to gather information necessary to prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and an associated environmental assessment for the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee et seq), and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370d). The Service is providing this notice to advise other agencies, Tribal Governments, and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of the issues and alternatives to include in the CPP and the environmental document.

The newly appointed McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area (MCNCA) Advisory Council will hold its first meeting on June 22, 2006. The meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m. and will be held at the Mesa County Administration Building; 544 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction, CO. Additional meetings for 2006 will be determined at the June 22nd meeting and published in the Federal Register.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to remove the California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants pursuant to section 4(b)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We, therefore, are initiating a status review of the California brown pelican to determine if delisting under the Act is warranted. We note that the taxon on the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Species is the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). The petition requests specifically the delisting of the California brown pelican, (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus), rather than the delisting of the entire listed entity. Brown pelicans in coastal States along the Atlantic Coast and in Florida and Alabama were removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife on February 4, 1985 (50 FR 4938). The brown pelican remains listed as endangered throughout the remainder of its range in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. Because a status review is also required for the 5-year review of listed species under section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Act, we are electing to initiate a 5-year review of the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) throughout its range and prepare these reviews simultaneously. The purpose of reviews conducted under this section of the Act is to ensure that the classification of species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate. To ensure that the reviews are comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information regarding this species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. After reviewing the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that the petitioned action is not warranted. However, we will continue to seek new information on the biology of the species as well as potential threats. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of, or threats to, the species. This information will help us monitor the status of this species.