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

Under the authority of 43 CFR 8364.1, notice is hereby given that a travel closure and restriction for the use and operation of motorized vehicles, including Off-Highway Vehicles, is in effect on public lands administered by the Cedar City Field Office, Bureau of Land Management.

On June 26, 2006, the Secretary of the Interior renewed the Charter for the PAWG and Task Groups. Representatives of (1) Sublette County, (2) the Town of Pinedale, (3) the oil and gas operators, (4) the environmental community, (5) the livestock operators, and (6) the adjacent landowner are being solicited. Individuals or groups interested in becoming a member of the PAWG should submit the specified information within 30 days of this Notice. Nomination forms may be found at https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/field_offices/Pinedale/pawg.html.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), will host a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee (Committee) workshop, on June 18, 2008. The workshop is open to the public. The workshop agenda will include the discussion and clarification of objectives to guide the Committee in its development of recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior.

In accordance with Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR 1501.7, 43 CFR 1610.2), the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Carrizo Plain National Monument Advisory Committee will meet as indicated below:

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with threatened and endangered species.

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

Per 30 U.S.C. 188(d), LoneTree Energy & Associates, LLC timely filed a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease NDM 95197, Divide 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 rentals and royalties 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; The increased royalty of 16\2/3\ percent or 4 percentages above the existing competitive royalty rate; and The $163 cost of publishing this Notice.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is publishing regulations implementing section 2719 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). IGRA allows Indian tribes to conduct class II and class III gaming activities on land acquired after October 17, 1988, only if the land meets certain exceptions. This rule articulates standards that the BIA will follow in interpreting the various exceptions to the gaming prohibitions contained in section 2719 of IGRA. It also establishes a process for submitting and considering applications from Indian tribes seeking to conduct class II or class III gaming activities on lands acquired in trust after October 17, 1988.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to designate revised critical habitat for the wintering population of the piping plover (Charadrius melodus) in 18 specific units in Texas under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). In total, approximately 138,881 acres (ac) (56,206 hectares (ha)) fall within the boundaries of the proposed revised critical habitat designation. The proposed revised critical habitat is located in Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Aransas, Calhoun, Matagorda, and Brazoria Counties, Texas. Other previously designated critical habitat for the wintering piping plover in Texas or elsewhere in the United States is unaffected by this proposal.

This notice announces that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) intends to cancel work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupe[ntilde]o Indians and the Big Lagoon Rancheria's Fee-to-Trust Transfer and Casino-Hotel Project, to have been located in San Bernardino County, California. The EIS is no longer needed because the Department of the Interior has decided not to accept the land into trust, on the basis that the proposed action did not adequately meet criteria in 25 CFR 151.3; 151.10(b); 151.10(c); and 151.11(b) for trust acquisition.

This notice announces that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) intends to cancel work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Lower Lake Rancheria's proposed casino and hotel project, to have been located in Oakland, California. The EIS is no longer needed because the Lower Lake Rancheria Koi Nation has not submitted a complete land acquisition application per 25 CFR 151 and has ceased pursuing activity on the EIS.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces that the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will conduct a meeting on matters pertaining to management and protection of wild, free-roaming horses and burros on the Nation's public lands.

We invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and associated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents for the Savannah Coastal Refuges' Complex. The Complex consists of the following refuges: Pinckney Island; Savannah; Tybee; Wassaw; Harris Neck; Blackbeard Island; and Wolf Island. A separate CCP is being prepared for the Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge. We provide this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other agencies, Tribes, and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider in the planning process.

Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and in response to a Right-of-Way (ROW) application filed by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Wyoming State Office, U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Caribou-Targhee and Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, announces their intention to prepare an EIS and conduct public scoping meetings. Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power propose to construct electric transmission lines from the proposed Windstar Substation near the Dave Johnston Power Plant at Glenrock, Wyoming to the proposed Hemingway substation near Melba, Idaho, approximately 20 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho. The project is composed of 11 transmission line segments with a total length of approximately 1,250 miles. Authorization of this proposal may result in the amendment of Forest Service and BLM land use plans (Forest Plans, Management Framework Plans, and Resource Management Plans).

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 revise an approval of the paperwork requirements that address the MMS's Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) which is a grant program. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of these requirements.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland (EBMUD or applicant) has applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 30-year incidental take permit for seven species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of two listed animals, two listed plants, and three currently unlisted species. The applicant would implement a conservation program to minimize and mitigate the project activities, as described in the East Bay Municipal Utility District Low-Effect East Bay Habitat Conservation Plan (plan). We request comments on the applicant's application and plan, and the preliminary determination that the plan qualifies as a ``low-effect'' habitat conservation plan, eligible for a Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). We discuss our basis for this determination in our Environmental Action Statement (EAS), which is also available for public review.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Far West Incorporated. The lands are in the vicinity of Chignik, Alaska, and are located in:

Notice is hereby given in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. Appendix, and part 65 of title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that the National Park System Advisory Board will meet July 21-22, 2008, in Washington, DC. The Board will have an orientation session on the morning of July 21, and in the afternoon tour park sites in the National Capital Region. On July 22, the Board will convene its business meeting from 8:30 a.m., to 5 p.m.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed issuance of an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to Hays County, Texas (Applicant). We also announce a public scoping meeting and public comment period.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing that the information collection requests for the titles described below have been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The information collection requests describe the nature of the information collections and the expected burden and cost for 30 CFR parts 750 and 842.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine threatened status for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Polar bears evolved to utilize the Arctic sea ice niche and are distributed throughout most ice-covered seas of the Northern Hemisphere. We find, based upon the best available scientific and commercial information, that polar bear habitatprincipally sea ice is declining throughout the species' range, that this decline is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, and that this loss threatens the species throughout all of its range. Therefore, we find that the polar bear is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all of its range. This final rule activates the consultation provisions of section 7 of the Act for the polar bear. The special rule for the polar bear, also published in today's edition of the Federal Register, sets out the prohibitions and exceptions that apply to this threatened species.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arizona Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet on June 19, 2008, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the BLM National Training Center located at 9828 North 31st Avenue in Phoenix from 8 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. Morning agenda items include: Review of the March 6, 2008, meeting minutes for RAC and Recreation Resource Advisory Council (RRAC) business; BLM State Director's update on statewide issues; RAC member orientation on BLM Programs and Federal Advisory Committee Act; presentations on BLM Solar Projects; and the proposed Goodyear Road; RAC questions on BLM Field Managers Rangeland Resource Team proposals; and reports by RAC working groups. A public comment period will be provided at 11:30 a.m. on June 19, 2008, for any interested publics who wish to address the Council on BLM programs and business. Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the RAC has been designated the RRAC, and has the authority to review all BLM and Forest Service (FS) recreation fee proposals in Arizona. The afternoon meeting agenda on June 19 will include review and discussion of the Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) Working Group Report, REA Work Group meeting schedule and future BLM/FS recreation fee proposals.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision approving lands for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act will be issued to Hungwitchin Corporation. The lands are in the vicinity of Eagle, Alaska, and are located in: