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

The Secretary of the Interior proposes to extend on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management, the duration of Public Land Order (PLO) No. 6631 for an additional 20 year period. PLO No. 6631 withdrew 24.65 acres of public land in Okanogon County, Washington, from settlement, sale, location or entry under the general land laws, including the United States mining laws, to protect the natural and recreational values, and the investment in Federal funds at the Split Rock Recreation Area. This notice also gives an opportunity to comment on the proposed action and to request a public meeting.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will file the plats of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Montana State Office, Billings, Montana, thirty (30) days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork requirements under the Endangered Species Act Biological Opinions, issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries) and is titled: ``Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs)Implementation of Seismic Survey Mitigation Measures and Protected Species Observer Program, NTLVessel Strike Avoidance and Injured/Dead Protected Species Reporting; and NTLMarine Trash and Debris Awareness and Elimination.''

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (the Commission) will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 1:30 p.m., at the National Building Museum, Room 312, 401 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss currently authorized and proposed memorials in the District of Columbia and its environs. In addition to discussing general matters and conducting routine business, the Commission will review the status of legislative proposals introduced in the 109th Congress to establish memorials in the District of Columbia and its environs, as follows:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing that the information collection request for the title described below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden and cost.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered status pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for 11 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies Drosophila aglaia, D. differens, D. hemipeza, D. heteroneura, D. montgomeryi, D. musaphilia, D. neoclavisetae, D. obatai, D. ochrobasis, D. substenoptera, and D. tarphytrichia. We determine threatened status pursuant to the Act for one species of Hawaiian picture-wing flyD. mulli. This final rule implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for these 12 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies.

This notice announces a meeting of the Arizona Resource Advisory Council (RAC). The business meeting will be held on June 8, 2006, in Elgin, Arizona, at the National Audubon Society Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch located at 366 Research Ranch Road (approximately 55 miles from Tucson east on I-10 and south on State Route 83S past Sonoita, AZ). It will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. The agenda items to be covered include: Review of the March 2, 2006 Meeting Minutes; BLM State Director's Update on Statewide Issues; Presentations on BLM's Invasive Weeds Program and the San Juan Bautista De Anza TrailArizona segment, Updates on the Recreation Resource Advisory Committee and Arizona Land Use Planning; RAC Questions on Written Reports from BLM Field Managers; Field Office Rangeland Resource Team Proposals; Reports by the Standards and Guidelines, Recreation, Off-Highway Vehicle Use, Public Relations, Land Use Planning and Tenure, and Wild Horse and Burro Working Groups; Reports from RAC members; and Discussion of future meetings. A public comment period will be provided at 11:30 a.m. on June 8, 2006, for any interested publics who wish to address the Council.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has received requests from Shell Offshore, Inc. (Shell), ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. (CPAI), and GXT Houston (GXT) for authorizations to take small numbers of marine mammals by harassment incidental to conducting open-water seismic operations in the Chukchi Sea. In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, the Service requests comments on its proposed authorization for the operators identified above to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of Pacific walrus and polar bears in the Chukchi Sea area between June 1, 2006, and November 30, 2006.

The following permits were issued.

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

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (1972), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) was planned to meet in Pinedale, Wyoming, for a business meeting. Due to lack of PAWG member availability, this meeting has been cancelled.

Under the provisions of 30 U.S.C. 188(d) and (e), and 43 CFR 3108.2-3(a) and (b)(1), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease TXNM 101033 from the lessee, Blackwell BMC, L.P., for lands in Grayson County, Texas. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement (RMP/EIS) for the Kobuk-Seward Peninsula Planning Area.

This notice announces an upcoming meeting of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Commission. Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463). Meeting Date and Time: Friday, May 12, 20061:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the reopening of the comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Alameda whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus) and the availability of the draft economic analysis of the proposed designation of critical habitat. The draft economic analysis identifies potential costs of approximately $532 million over a 20-year period, or approximately $47 million per year, as a result of the proposed designation of critical habitat, including those costs coextensive with listing. If this cost is annualized (adjusted for inflation and value over the time period to equate to an annual cost) over the 20 year period, the potential costs are predicted to be approximately $47 million per year. We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule and the associated draft economic analysis. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted as they will be incorporated into the public record as part of this comment period, and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) examined and found suitable for classification for lease or conveyance under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act, as amended, approximately 5 acres of public land in Clark County, Nevada. The Church Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Church) proposes to use the land for a church and related facilities.

This order partially revokes a Public Land Order insofar as it affects 200 acres of National Forest System lands withdrawn for the Clear Creek Recreation Area.

We are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Kentucky regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Kentucky program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Kentucky submitted three separate items proposing revisions pertaining to prepayment of civil penalties, easements of necessity for reclamation on bankruptcy sites, and various statutes to eliminate outdated language. Kentucky intends to revise its program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations and SMCRA. This document gives the times and locations that the Kentucky program and this submittal are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list a distinct population segment (DPS) of the roundtail chub (Gila robusta) in the lower Colorado River basin, and to list the headwater chub (G. nigra) as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The petition also asked the Service to designate critical habitat. After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that the petitioned action is not warranted for a DPS of the roundtail chub in the lower Colorado River basin, as explained below, but that listing is warranted for the headwater chub. Currently, however, listing of the headwater chub is precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Upon publication of this 12-month petition finding, the headwater chub will be added to our candidate species list. We will develop a proposed rule to list the headwater chub as our priorities allow. Any determinations on critical habitat will be made during development of the proposed rule.

The third meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Bird Banding Laboratory (Committee) will take place June 13 and 14, 2006, at the Western Regional Office for Ducks Unlimited, 3074 Gold Canal Drive, Rancho Cordova, California 95670-6116. The meeting runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The purpose of the Advisory Committee, which is co-chaired by the USGS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is to represent the interests of the bird banding community, including both game and non-game birds, in advising the U.S. Department of the Interior, USGS, on current and future management of the Bird Banding Laboratory. The agenda for this meeting will focus on a full Committee review of the results of the work done since the last meeting by the writing subgroup. The subgroup was charged with developing draft one- page position papers on the following topics: (1) Bird banding permits; (2) data collection and storage; (3) data dissemination; (4) partnerships; and overarching issues. Subsequent to the review discussion, the Committee will finalize statements for each issue and begin developing recommendations for action. The meeting is open to all members of the interested public, and time on the agenda has been reserved at the conclusion of each day's work for the Committee to receive verbal comments (limited to 5 minutes per person) from the public. To speak before the Committee, please register in advance with Mr. Daniel James (see contact information below), the USGS Designated Federal Official (DFO) for the Committee.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) intends to seek approval of the following proposed new information collection: Recreation Survey, New Melones Lake Project, Sonora, CA. Before submitting the information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget for approval, Reclamation is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the information collection.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing its intention to request approval to continue the collections of information under 30 CFR part 740, Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations on Federal Lands. This information collection activity was previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and assigned clearance numbers 1029-0027.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Twin Hills Native Corporation, for lands in the vicinity of Twin Hills, Alaska, and located in: