Department of the Interior January 25, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) and California Department of Water Resources (DWR), as co-lead agencies, have jointly prepared a Final EIS/EIR for the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) which would implement section 205(a) of the Truckee-Carson- Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, Title II of Public Law 101-618 (Settlement Act). The Final EIS/EIR has evaluated the proposed action (TROA Alternative), Local Water Supply Alternative, and No Action Alternative. Implementation of the proposed action would not result in any significant adverse environmental effects. A Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft EIS/EIR was published in the Federal Register on August 25, 2004 (69 FR 52303). The public review period on the Revised Draft EIS/EIR initially ended on October 29, 2004, but was extended to December 30, 2004.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend an existing approval to collect information from mining claimants concerning use and occupancy of mining claims on public lands. The nonform information under 43 CFR subpart 3715 authorizes the BLM to manage the use and occupancy of public lands for developing the mineral deposits by mining claimants.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our final Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Rice Lake and Mille Lacs NWRs, Minnesota. In this final CCP, we describe how we will manage these refuges for the next 15 years.

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's (BLM) Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Advisory Committee (GSENMAC) will meet as indicated below.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 20-year incidental take permit (ITP) for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) (KBB) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The ITP would allow the Applicant to engage in habitat management, right-of-way maintenance, and certain development activities in occupied KBB habitat on non-Federal land in Michigan. The permit application includes a draft Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that describes the proposed action and measures the Applicant will undertake to minimize and mitigate take of KBB. Section 9 of the Act and its implementing regulations prohibit the take of animal species listed as endangered or threatened. The definition of take under the Act includes the following activities: to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect listed animal species, or attempt to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). Section 10 of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1539, establishes a program whereby persons seeking to pursue activities that otherwise could give rise to liability for unlawful ``take'' of federally protected species may receive an ITP, which protects them from such liability. To obtain an ITP, an applicant must submit a HCP containing appropriate minimization and mitigation measures and ensure that the taking is incidental to, and not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B) and 1539(a)(2)(A). Once we have determined the applicant has satisfied these and other statutory criteria, we may issue the ITP. This notice, provided pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act, as amended, advises the public and other agencies of the availability of the draft HCP and draft EA for review and comment.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we will submit to the Office of management and Budget (OMB) an information collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements for the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP). This notice provides the public an opportunity to comment on the ICR.