Department of the Interior June 13, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460 (Dr. Howard C. Rosenbaum, Principal Investigator) has requested an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 31-1741/MA081663.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), the Bureau of Reclamation has prepared a Final EIS for the San Luis Drainage Feature Reevaluation. Under section 1502.14(e) of the NEPA regulations, the Council for Environmental Quality requires identification of a preferred alternative in the Final EIS. To comply with this requirement and in accordance with the Federally-mandated Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies, Reclamation has identified the National Economic Development alternative, the In-Valley/Drainage-Impaired Area Land Retirement Alternative, as the preferred alternative.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of an EA and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)/Application for amendment to an issued incidental take permit. D & E Investments (permittee) requests an amendment to its ITP Number PRT-787172, which was issued in 1994 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for the take of the Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) (ABM). The proposed take would be incidental to otherwise lawful activities, including the construction, occupancy, use, operation, and maintenance of a residential condominium at Kiva Dunes on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, in Baldwin County, Alabama.

We announce our receipt of applications to conduct certain activities pertaining to enhancement of survival of endangered species.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-109 section 102(2)(C)), the National Park Service (NPS) is preparing a General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Fire Island National Seashore, located in the towns of Islip and Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York. Established by Act of Congress in 1964, much of Fire Island National Seashore is composed of a barrier island encompassing approximately 19,500 acres of both upland and tidal land. Seventeen villages and hamlets are located within Fire Island National Seashoreprimarily on the western end of the island. The park also manages the William Floyd Estate, a 611 acre historic property located on the mainland in Mastic, NY. The GMP/EIS will be prepared by planners in the NPS Northeast Region, with assistance from advisors and consultants and will propose a long-term approach to managing Fire Island National Seashore. Consistent with the park's mission, NPS policy, and other laws and regulations, alternatives will be developed to guide the management of the park over the next 15 to 20 years. A range of alternatives will be formulated for natural and cultural resource protection, visitor use and interpretation, facilities development, and operations. The EIS will assess the impacts of alternative management strategies that will be described in the general management plan for Fire Island National Seashore. The public will be invited to express comments about the management of the park early in the process through public meetings and other media; and will have an opportunity to review and comment on the draft GMP/EIS. Following public review processes outlined under NEPA, the final plan will become official, authorizing implementation of the preferred alternative. The target date for the Record of Decision is April 2010.

This notice announces a public meeting of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Citizen Advisory Commission. Notice of these meetings is required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2). Date: Thursday, August 24, 2006, 7 p.m. Address: Lehman Township Municipal Building, Municipal Road, Bushkill, PA 18324. The agenda will include reports from Citizen Advisory Commission members including committees such as National Resources, Inter- Governmental, Cultural Resources, By-Laws, Special Projects, and Public Visitation and Tourism. Superintendent John J. Donahue will give a report on various park issues, including cultural resources, natural resources, construction projects, and partnership ventures. The agenda is set up to invite the public to bring issues of interest before the Commission. Date: Saturday, November 4, 2006, 9 a.m. Address: Frankford Township Municipal Building, 151 State Highway 206, Augusta, NJ 07822. The agenda will include reports from Citizen Advisory Commission members including committees such as Natural Resources, Inter- Governmental, Cultural Resources, By-Laws, Special Projects, and Public Visitation and Tourism. Superintendent John J. Donahue will give a report on various park issues, including cultural resources, natural resources, construction projects, and partnership ventures. The agenda is set up to invite the public to bring issues of interest before the Commission. Date: Thursday, January 11, 2007, 7 p.m., Snow date: January 18, 2007. Address: Monroe County Conservation District, 8050 Running Valley Road, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. The agenda will include reports from Citizen Advisory Commission members including committees such as Natural Resources, Inter- Governmental, Cultural Resources, By-Laws, Special Projects, and Public Visitation and Tourism. Superintendent John J. Donahue will give a report on various park issues, including cultural resources, natural resources, construction projects, and partnership ventures. The agenda is set up to invite the public to bring issues of interest before the Commission.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C., chapter 3507) and 5 CFR part 1320, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements, the National Park Service (NPS) invites public comments on an extension of a currently approved information collection (OMB 1024-0064).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), in cooperation with the State of Tennessee and Conservation Fisheries, Inc., a nonprofit organization, propose to reintroduce 15 mussels listed as endangered under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act): Appalachian monkeyface (pearlymussel) (Quadrula sparsa), birdwing pearlymussel (Conradilla caelata = Lemiox rimosus), cracking pearlymussel (Hemistena or currently =Lastena lata), Cumberland bean (pearlymussel) (Villosa trabalis), Cumberlandian combshell (Epioblasma brevidens), Cumberland monkeyface (pearlymussel) (Quadrula intermedia), dromedary pearlymussel (Dromus dromas), fanshell (Cyprogenia stegaria), fine-rayed pigtoe (Fusconaia cuneolus), orangefoot pimpleback (pearlymussel) (Plethobasus cooperianus), oyster mussel (Epioblasma capsaeformis), ring pink (mussel) (Obovaria retusa), rough pigtoe (Pleurobema plenum), shiny pigtoe (Fusconaia cor), and white wartyback (pearlymussel) (Plethobasus cicatricosus); 1 endangered aquatic snail: Anthony's riversnail (Athearnia anthonyi); 2 endangered fishes: duskytail darter (Etheostoma percnurum) and pygmy madtom (Noturus stanauli); and 3 fishes listed as threatened under section 4 of the Act: slender chub (Erimystax cahni), spotfin chub (=turquoise shiner) (Erimonax monachus), and yellowfin madtom (Noturus flavipinnis) into their historical habitat in the free-flowing reach of the French Broad River below Douglas Dam to its confluence with the Holston River, Knox County, Tennessee, and in the free-flowing reach of the Holston River below Cherokee Dam to its confluence with the French Broad River. Based on the evaluation of species experts, none of these 21 species currently exist in these river reaches or their tributaries. These species are being reintroduced under the authority of section 10(j) of the Act and would be classified as a nonessential experimental population (NEP). The geographic boundaries of the proposed NEP would extend from the base of Douglas Dam (river mile (RM) 32.3 (51.7 kilometers (km)) down the French Broad River, Knox and Sevier Counties, Tennessee, to its confluence with the Holston River and then up the Holston River, Knox, Grainger, and Jefferson Counties, Tennessee, to the base of Cherokee Dam (RM 52.3 (83.7 km)) and would include the lower 5 RM (8 km) of all tributaries that enter these river reaches. These proposed reintroductions are recovery actions and are part of a series of reintroductions and other recovery actions that the Service, Federal and State agencies, and other partners are conducting throughout the species' historical ranges. This proposed rule provides a plan for establishing the NEP and provides for limited allowable legal take of these 16 mollusks and 5 fishes within the defined NEP area. We have decided to include all 21 species in a single rulemaking to allow us to restore the aquatic ecosystem as quickly as possible as we bring each of these species on line in the propagation facilities. We have reasons to believe all of these species co-existed in the past, and also want the public to understand that all of these species will be reintroduced into the same stretch of river rather than being confused by 21 separate NEPs.