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

This notice publishes the Liquor Control Ordinance of the Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (Tribe). The Ordinance regulates and controls the possession, sale and consumption of liquor within the tribal lands of the Tribe. The tribal lands are located within the geographic area that includes all land included within the definition of ``Indian country,'' as established and described by Federal law, and that is under the jurisdiction of the Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, including all tribally-owned trust lands. This Ordinance allows for possession and sale of alcoholic beverages within its exterior boundaries. This Ordinance will increase the ability of the tribal government to control the community's liquor distribution and possession, and at the same time will provide an important source of revenue for the continued operation and strengthening of the tribal government and the delivery of tribal services.

The National Park Service (NPS) is expanding the scope of the General Management Plan (GMP)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being prepared for Everglades National Park. As part of this planning effort, the NPS will include a wilderness study to determine if any portions of the East Everglades Expansion Area should be recommended for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System as defined in the Wilderness Act of 1964. The study will be included as part of the GMP/EIS currently in preparation. The wilderness study will only address East Everglades, the 109,000 acres which were added to the park by the Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989. A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the GMP was originally published in the Federal Register of October 25, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 207). That EIS now will be expanded to include an evaluation of the impacts associated with possible designation of wilderness in East Everglades. This notice is being furnished under the National Environmental Policy Act regulations, 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1506.6. To facilitate sound planning and analysis of environmental impact, the NPS is gathering information necessary for the preparation of the GMP, the wilderness study, and the associated EIS and is obtaining suggestions and information from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues to be addressed. Comments and participation in this scoping process are invited.

The Bureau of Land Management announces the continuation of temporary closure of certain public lands in Cassia County. This closure prohibits bolting and placement of fixed anchors to rocks, and overnight camping. This is to allow further time for analysis of a fixed anchor management plan.

This order restricts all public use on a year-round basis on approximately 289 acres of public lands in the Saginaw Hill area administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tucson Field Office, Arizona. Existing management designations established in the Phoenix Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement, dated September 1989, remain unchanged. This order modifies the restriction order published in the Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 68, Monday, April 11, 2005, page 18420. This order is issued under the authority of 43 CFR 8364.1 and affects the following public lands:

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) advises the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the consideration of a Habitat Conservation Plan and application for an incidental take permit, pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (ESA), including consideration of conservation measures for State-listed species to address the effects of the conservation and transfer of water from Imperial Irrigation District (IID) to the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) and Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD). The Habitat Conservation Plan will cover a broad array of activities including: water conservation, water conveyance and drainage, operation and maintenance of the water conveyance system, system improvements, miscellaneous activities, and third party activities required to achieve the conservation and transfer of up to 200,000 acre-feet of water per year to the SDCWA and 100,000 acre-feet per year to the CVWD, and to meet the voluntary cap on IID's water use of 3.1 million acre- feet per year from the Colorado River. The IID (Applicant) intends to request an incidental take permit for up to 96 listed and unlisted species of concern under specific provisions of the permit. In the case of unlisted species, the permit would provide coverage should these species be listed in the future. The Service provides this notice pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the NEPA. The purpose of the Supplemental EIS/EIR is to provide any additional environmental assessment required to evaluate additions and changes to the Water Conservation and Transfer Project (Project) that have occurred since the approval of the Final EIS/EIR by the Bureau of Reclamation (Federal lead agency for the Project) and to support the application for an incidental take permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA by the Service. The Service is seeking suggestions and information from other agencies, affected tribes, and the public on the scope of issues to be considered in preparation of the Supplemental EIS/EIR. To satisfy both Federal and State environmental policy requirements, the Service as Federal lead agency and the IID as State lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) are conducting this joint scoping process for the preparation of the supplemental environmental document.

This document sets a date, time, place, and procedures for a public hearing in connection with the proposed Class II definitions and game classification standards published in the Federal Register on May 25, 2006 (71 FR 30232, 71 FR 30238). Additionally, this document extends the period for comments on the proposed regulations. Finally, this document provides an errata for the preamble to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register on May 25, 2006 (71 FR 30238).

Per 30 U.S.C. 188(d), Coastal Petroleum Company timely filed petitions for reinstatement of oil and gas leases MTM 93186 and MTM 93187, Valley County, Montana. The lessee paid the required rentals accruing from the date of termination. No leases were issued that affect these lands. The lessee agrees to new lease terms for rentals and royalties of $5 per acre and 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate. The lessee paid the $500 administration fee for the reinstatement of each lease and $163 cost for publishing this Notice. The lessee met the requirements for reinstatement of the leases per Sec. 31 (d) and (e) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 188). We are proposing to reinstate the leases, effective the date of termination subject to: The original terms and conditions of the leases; The increased rental of $5 per acre for each lease; The increased royalty of 16 \2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate for each lease; and The $163 cost of publishing this Notice.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho Falls District Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, Department of the Interior, announces the proposed extension of a public information collection required by The American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994, ``Trust Funds for Tribes and Individual Indians, 25 CFR part 115,'' OMB Control No. 1035-0004, and that it is seeking comments on its provisions. After public review, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians will submit the information collection to Office of Management and Budget for review and approval.

Per 30 U.S.C. 188(d), Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation timely filed a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease. NDM 94462, Mountrail County, North Dakota. The lessee paid the required rental accruing from the date of termination. No leases were issued that affect these lands. The lessee agrees to new lease terms for rental and royalty of $10 per acre and 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate. The lessee paid the $500 administration fee for the reinstatement of the lease and $163 cost for publishing this Notice. The lessee met the requirements for reinstatement of the lease per Sec. 31(d) and (e) of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 188). We are proposing to reinstate the lease, effective the date of termination subject to: The original terms and conditions of the lease; The increased rental of $10 per acre for the lease; The increased royalty 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentage above the existing competitive royalty rate for the lease; and The $163 cost of publishing this Notice.

This notice is published in exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Principal Deputy Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs by 209 DM 8. The regulations implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act provide that Indian tribes may designate an agent other than the tribal chairman for service of notice proceedings under the Act, 25 CFR 23.12. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register on an annual basis the names and addresses of the designated agents. This is the current list of Designated Tribal Agents for service of notice, and includes the listings of designated tribal agents received by the Secretary of the Interior prior to the date of this publication.

Notice is hereby given that the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Colorado State Office, will offer certain coal resources in the Wadge seam in Routt County, Colorado, hereinafter described as Federal coal lease application (LBA) COC 67514 for competitive lease by sealed bid in accordance with the provisions for competitive lease sales in 43 CFR 3422.2(a), and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) inadvertently published an incorrect version of this notice in the Federal Register on July 20, 2006 [71 FR 41234]. The BLM is republishing the revised version of this notice. In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Jack Morrow Hills Coordinated Activity Plan (JMH CAP) and Green River Resource Management Plan (GRRMP) Amendment. The ROD documents the BLM's decision to approve a land use plan amendment that addresses approximately 574,800 acres of public land located in Sweetwater, Sublette, and Fremont counties in southwestern Wyoming. The JMH CAP/ GRRMP Amendment contains land use plan decisions that supersede previous land use planning decisions made in the GRRMP and completes decisions deferred in the GRRMP. The JMH CAP/ROD went into effect on the date the Wyoming State Director signed the ROD.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act), as amended. The requested permit, which is for a period of 50 years, would authorize incidental take of the threatened Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis) as a result of conservation actions, on-going livestock operations, recreation, land treatments, and other existing land-use activities. The Applicant would issue certificates of inclusion under a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) to private landowners who would voluntarily agree to implement appropriate conservation measures for the species. We invite the public to review and comment on the permit application and the associated draft SHA.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has developed regulations that would authorize the nonlethal, incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of polar bears and Pacific walrus during year-round oil and gas industry (Industry) exploration, development, and production operations in the Beaufort Sea and adjacent northern coast of Alaska. Industry operations for the covered period are similar to, and include all activities covered by the previous 16- month Beaufort Sea incidental take regulations that were effective from November 28, 2003, through March 28, 2005 (68 FR 66744, November 28, 2003). This rule is effective for 5 years from date of issuance. We find that the total expected takings of polar bear and Pacific walrus during oil and gas industry exploration, development, and production activities will have a negligible impact on these species and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of these species for subsistence use by Alaska Natives. We base this finding on the results of 12 years of data on the encounters and interactions between polar bears, Pacific walrus, and Industry; recent studies of potential effects of Industry on these species; and oil spill risk assessments using oil spill trajectory models, polar bear density models, potential and documented Industry impacts on these species, and models to determine the likelihood of impacts to polar bears should an accidental oil release occur.

The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council. Primary objectives of the meeting will include: Trinity River Restoration Program Fiscal Year 2007 budget; science framework; TAMWG Charter renewal; Executive Director's report; reports from Trinity River Restoration Program workgroups; Klamath River conditions and Klamath-Trinity management coordination: restoration experience on Clear Creek; and Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) program review. Completion of the agenda is dependent on the amount of time each item takes. The meeting could end early if the agenda has been completed. The meeting is open to the public.

Duke Construction Corporation (Applicant) requests an incidental take permit (ITP) for a duration of two years pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Applicant anticipates taking about 0.77 acre of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) foraging, sheltering, and potential nesting habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of three single-family homes and supporting infrastructure, over a two-year term, in Brevard County, Florida (Project). The destruction of 0.77 acre of foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat is expected to result in the take of one family of scrub-jays. The Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of the Project to the Florida scrub-jay. These measures are outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

This provides notice of the Federal Subsistence Board's in- season management actions to protect Chinook salmon escapement in the Unalakleet River, and to provide additional subsistence harvest opportunities for Chinook salmon in the Yukon River and for sockeye salmon in the Copper River. The revised fishing schedule for the Chitina Subdistrict of the Copper River, the additional fishing time on the Yukon River, and the closure of the Unalakleet River provide exceptions to the Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska, published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2006. Those regulations established seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means relating to the taking of fish and shellfish for subsistence uses during the 2006 regulatory year.