Department of the Interior June 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving the surface and subsurface estates in certain lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, will be issued to Bering Straits Native Corporation. The lands are in the vicinity of Council, Alaska, and are located in:

Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) subparts 1500- 1508, and 43 CFR subpart 3600, notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Las Vegas Field Office will be preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Rinker and Service Rock Projects, two proposed competitive mineral material sales which would result in two open pit limestone quarries that would merge in the future into one open pit, and associated facilities, located on public lands in Clark County, Nevada.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the RMPA/ Record of Decision (ROD) pertaining to all lands within the Roan Plateau planning area located in the Glenwood Springs Field Office with the exception of those areas proposed as ACECs in the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMPA/ FEIS). This notice also provides supplemental information and announces an associated 60-day comment period regarding four proposed ACECs identified in the PRMP/FEIS, as required at 43 CFR 1610.7-2(b). Final RMPA decisions for portions of the planning area, which include proposed ACECs, are deferred until comments are analyzed.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and/or marine mammals.

The following permits were issued.

This rule makes public conduct at Hoover Dam subject to the same rules governing public conduct at other Bureau of Reclamation facilities. In order to do this, Reclamation is removing from the Code of Federal Regulations the existing 43 CFR part 421 (Rules of Conduct at Hoover Dam) and making public conduct on all Reclamation projects subject to 43 CFR part 423 (Public Conduct on Bureau of Reclamation Facilities, Lands, and Waterbodies).

(1) 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) with its cooperating agencies has prepared a Proposed RMP and Final EIS for the Casper Field Office. The document is available for public review. (2) Pursuant to FLPMA, the BLM also announces the availability of supplemental information regarding proposed ACECs that were considered in the Draft Resource Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DRMP/DEIS), but only partially described in the original NOA published in the Federal Register (Vol. 71, No. 140) on July 21, 2006. This notice of supplemental information fulfills an administrative procedural requirement and presents no new information that was not already made available to the public during the previous 90-day comment period on the DRMP/DEIS.

The following permits were issued.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application for a 20-year EOS permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), from Bob Mack and Carolyn Williams (applicants). The permit application includes a proposed 3-year SHA between the applicants and us. We are accepting comments on the SHA, permit application, and EAS.

Union Pacific Railroad (applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 5-year incidental take permit for one covered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) associated with the proposed double-tracking and rail and drainage improvements in the City of Colton, San Bernardino County, California. A conservation program to mitigate for the project activities would be implemented as described in the proposed Union Pacific Railroad Alhambra Subdivision Project Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan (proposed HCP), which would be implemented by the applicant. We are requesting comments on the permit application and on the preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a ``Low- effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and the associated Low Effect Screening Form, which are also available for public review.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of a Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) evaluating the take of raptors from the wild for use in falconry and in raptor propagation, and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for take of raptors for those purposes. We have prepared the FEA and the FONSI as part of the process we must follow to finalize two rules under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has examined and found suitable for classification approximately 16 acres of public land in Pima County, Arizona, for lease or conveyance to the Drexel Heights Fire District under the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as amended, and in keeping with section 7 of the Taylor Grazing Act, as amended. The Fire District proposes to use the land for the expansion of an existing fire station facility, operated by the Drexel Heights Fire District.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that Walton Development LLC (applicant) has applied for an incidental take permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended. We are considering issuing a 5-year permit to the applicant that would authorize take of the federally endangered San Bernardino kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami parvus; ``SBKR''). The proposed permit would authorize the take of individual SBKR. The applicant needs the permit because take of SBKR could occur during the applicant's proposed construction of a residential and light industrial development on a 42.5-acre site in the City of Redlands, San Bernardino County, California. The permit application includes a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), which describes the proposed action and the measures that the applicant will undertake to mitigate take of the SBKR.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to remove the Bliss Rapids snail (Taylorconcha serpenticola) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (Act). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific information that delisting the Bliss Rapids snail may be warranted, and are initiating a status review. We plan to conduct this review concurrent with the ongoing status review initiated on July 27, 2004, which we are required to make every 5 years under section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Act. We are requesting submission of any new information on the Bliss Rapids snail since its original listing as a threatened species in 1992. At the conclusion of our status review, we will make the requisite recommendation under section 4(c)(2)(B) of the Act and issue a 12-month finding on the petition, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.

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

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 from Aspect Energy LLC and G & H Production Company, LLC for competitive oil and gas lease WYW172904 for land in Weston County, Wyoming. The petition was filed on time and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the date the lease terminated under the law.

On December 17, 2004, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a Notice of Availability (Vol. 69, No. 242) of the Draft Rawlins Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for public review and comment in the Federal Register. BLM planning regulations at 43 CFR 1610.7-2 require the BLM to notify the public of proposed ACECs in a Federal Register Notice. The proposed ACECs and resource use limitations that are identified in the Draft RMP/EIS were not specifically identified in the original notice. This notice fulfills the regulatory requirements. (Supplemental information can be found in the original Notice of Availability (NOA) published in the Federal Register.)

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the opening of a public comment period regarding the status of the wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) in the contiguous United States. We are initiating this status review pursuant to a court order requiring us to prepare a 12-month finding on a petition to list the wolverine in the contiguous United States as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Through this action, we encourage all interested parties to provide us information regarding the status of, and any potential threats to, the wolverine in the contiguous United States.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of a Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) evaluating the possible effects of defining ``disturb'' under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act), and a Finding of No Significant Impact for the preferred alternative. We prepared the environmental assessment as part of the National Environmental Policy Act process. Based on public comments received on the draft environmental assessment (DEA) and proposed rule defining disturb, we modified the preferred alternative in the FEA, and have adopted the modified version of the preferred alternative as the final definition of ``disturb'' under the Eagle Act. The final rule codifying the definition of ``disturb'' is published elsewhere in today's Federal Register.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service), are codifying a definition of ``disturb'' under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act). Given that the Eagle Act's prohibition against disturbance applies to both bald and golden eagles, the definition will apply to golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) as well as bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). If the bald eagle is delisted, the Eagle Act will be the primary law protecting bald as well as golden eagles. The Eagle Act prohibits unregulated take of bald and golden eagles and provides a statutory definition of ``take'' that includes ``disturb.'' Although disturbing eagles has been prohibited by the Eagle Act since the statute's enactment in 1940, the meaning of ``disturb'' has not been explicitly defined by the Service or by the courts. To define ``disturb,'' we considered Congressional intent, the common meaning of the term as applied to the conservation intent of the Eagle Act, and the working definitions of ``disturb'' currently used by Federal and State agencies to manage eagles. This definition of ``disturb'' will apply to eagles in Alaska, where the bald eagle has never been listed under the ESA, as well as eagles throughout the 48 contiguous States. (Eagles do not occur in Hawaii.) In addition to this final rule, the Service is publishing three related documents elsewhere in today's Federal Register: a notice of availability of the final environmental assessment for the definition of ``disturb''; a notice of availability for National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines; and a proposed rule to codify additional take authorizations under the Eagle Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces that the Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) is available for Mingo, Pilot Knob, and Ozark Cavefish NWRs, Missouri. The CCP was prepared pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Goals and objectives in the CCP describe how the agency intends to manage the refuge over the next 15 years.