Department of the Interior March 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements for ``North American Amphibian Monitoring Program.'' This notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of this form.

This order establishes a 20-year term for two Secretarial Orders which withdrew lands from surface entry and mining and reserved them on behalf of the Bureau of Reclamation for the Salt Lake Basin and Gooseberry Projects. The lands, which currently aggregate approximately 6,768 acres after a previous partial revocation, are still needed for the purpose for which they were withdrawn. The lands will remain withdrawn from surface entry and mining but not from mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral material sales.

The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) will meet on April 15-16, 2008 in the 2nd Floor Boardroom of the American Institute of Architects Building, 1735 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20006. The NGAC, which is comprised of representatives from governmental, private sector, non-profit, and academic organizations, has been established to advise the Chair of the Federal Geographic Data Committee on management of Federal geospatial programs, the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, and the implementation of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-16. Topics to be addressed at the meeting include:

We (Department of the Interior, DOI) have submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. This IC is scheduled to expire March 31, 2008. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC.

In accordance with the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987, and as authorized by the Secretary of Transportation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) intends to make funds available to federally recognized Indian tribes on an annual basis for implementing traffic safety projects, which are designed to reduce the number of traffic crashes, death, injuries, and property damage within Indian Country. All project applications received will be reviewed and selected on a competitive basis. This notice informs Indian tribes that grant funds are available and that information packets are being mailed to all tribal leaders on the latest Tribal Leaders list that is compiled by the BIA. A copy of the Application Packet can also be obtained by contacting the BIA Indian Highway Safety Office.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), in cooperation with the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians (Tribe), National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), Contra Costa County, and California Department of Transportation, intends to file a final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the proposed approval of a 29.87 acre fee-to-trust transfer and gaming development project in Contra Costa County, California, and that the FEIS is now available to the public. In addition to the trust acquisition for gaming purposes, the proposed action includes approval by the NIGC of a gaming management contract. The FEIS is part of the administrative process that evaluates tribal applications that seek to have the United States take land into trust pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 465 and 25 CFR part 151.

Pursuant to Section 102(2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2) (C)), the National Park Service (NPS) announces the issuance of the Notice of Availability of the final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. The ICR is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2008. The BLM may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, the BLM may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB. On January 8, 2008, the BLM published a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 1364) requesting comment on this information collection. The comment period closed on March 8, 2008. The BLM received no comments. You may obtain copies of the collection of information and related forms and explanatory material by contacting the BLM Information Collection Clearance Officer at the telephone number listed in the ADDRESSES section below.

This notice sets forth the date of the May 3, 2008 meeting of the Flight 93 Advisory Commission.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of five Incidental Take Permit (ITP) Applications and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) from the following five applicants: Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, James and Melinda Carter, Ronald Sunde, and College Heights Development Corp. Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, and James and Melinda Carter each request an ITP for a duration of 5 years; Ronald Sunde requests an ITP for a duration of 3 years; and College Heights Development Corp. requests an ITP for a duration of 6 years under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicants collectively anticipate removing a total of approximately 7.23 acres of Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) occupied habitat incidental to constructing 24 single-family homes and an addition to an existing single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California (Projects). The applicants' HCPs describe the mitigation and minimization measures the applicants propose to address the effects of the Projects on the Mount Hermon June beetle. In addition, the College Heights Development Corp. HCP includes the federally endangered Ben Lomond wallflower (Erysimum teretifolium) and Ben Lomond spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana) as covered species, and their HCP describes mitigation and minimization measures for those species as well. We are requesting comments on the permit application and on our preliminary determination that the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) qualifies as a ``low effect'' HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We explain the basis for this possible determination in draft Environmental Action Statements (EAS) and associated Low Effect Screening Forms. The Applicants' Low Effect HCPs describe the mitigation and minimization measures they would implement, as required in Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the Act, to address the effects of the project on the Mount Hermon June beetle. These measures are outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The draft HCPs and EASs are available for public review.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public of our intent to gather information necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Tehachapi Uplands Multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). Tejon Ranch is preparing the MSHCP to apply for a 50-year incidental take permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, (Act). The permit is needed to authorize the incidental take of threatened and endangered species that could occur as a result of activities covered by the plan. The Service provides this notice to (1) describe the proposed action and possible alternatives; (2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an EIS; (3) announce the initiation of a public scoping period; and (4) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to be included in the EIS. A similar Notice of Intent was published on June 25, 2004 (69 FR 35663) when this project was called the Tejon Condor Habitat Conservation Plan. Because the project has been broadened to include additional species, this second Notice of Intent is being published to gather additional information.

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 Record of Decision (ROD), which documents the BLM's decision to designate and manage four (4) Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) within the Roan Plateau planning area. The Roan Plateau is located within Garfield and Rio Blanco Counties and within the jurisdiction of the Glenwood Springs Field Office in Colorado. The ROD announced today pertains only to approximately 21,034 acres of proposed ACEC and does not alter final decisions for the remaining approximately 52,568 acres within the Roan Plateau planning area, which were previously addressed in the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement (PRMPA/FEIS) and Record of Decision announced in the Federal Register, Volume 72, Number 111, on Monday, June 11, 2007.

Pursuant to 36 CFR 51.23, public notice is hereby given that the National Park Service proposes to extend the expiring concession contract for the operation of the Ok-A-Beh Marina within Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana for a period of up to 1 year, or until such time as a new contract is executed, whichever occurs sooner. This action is necessary to avoid interruption of visitor services.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for Wapack National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and request public review and comment on its proposals. We prepared the Draft CCP/EA in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997.

This order extends the withdrawal created by Public Land Order No. 6669 for an additional 20-year period. This extension is necessary to continue protection of the United States Forest Service's Lincoln Gulch Historic Site in Lewis and Clark County, Montana which would otherwise expire on March 23, 2008.

This order extends the withdrawal created by Public Land Order No. 6674 for an additional 20-year period. This extension is necessary to continue protection of the Bureau of Land Management's Blacktail Creek Paleontological Site in Fergus County, Montana, which would otherwise expire on April 26, 2008.

This order revokes in its entirety the withdrawal established by an Executive Order as to 9.06 acres of public land withdrawn from surface entry and reserved for use by the United States Coast Guard for lighthouse purposes. The reservation is no longer needed by the United States Coast Guard.

This order partially revokes a Public Land Order as it affects approximately 82,608 acres of public lands withdrawn and reserved as a utility and transportation corridor within Alaska. This order also makes the lands available for selection and conveyance to the State of Alaska.

The Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs made a final agency determination to acquire approximately 10.2 acres of land into trust for the Puyallup Tribe of Washington on March 14, 2008. This notice is published in the exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs by 209 Departmental Manual 8.1.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend an existing approval to collect information from entities desiring a right-of-way across public lands under 43 CFR parts 2800 and 2880. The BLM and several other agencies use Form 299, Application for Transportation and Utility System and Facility, to determine whether applicants qualify to hold right-of-way grants across public lands, and for several other purposes.

The DuPage County Forest Preserve District (District) (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 of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application includes a draft Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between the Applicant and the Service for the Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana). 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 a permit, which protects them from such liability. The Hine's emerald dragonfly (HED) was listed as endangered by the Service in January 1995. A Recovery Plan for the species was published in September 2001. The Service has made a preliminary determination that the proposed Agreement and permit application are eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The basis for this determination is contained in an Environmental Action Statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for public review.