Department of the Interior December 9, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule will manage winter visitation and recreational use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. Publication of this final rule in the Federal Register complies with the November 7, 2008 order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming in Wyoming v. United States Department of the Interior, Case Nos. 07-CV-0319-B, 08-CV-00004- B, which reinstated the 2004 final rule on winter use in the parks, without its sunset provisions.

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 Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the CCP, we describe how we will manage Archie Carr NWR for the next 15 years.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intentions of the Bureau of Reclamation to seek extension of the information collection for the Lower Colorado River Well Inventory. The current OMB approval expires on March 31, 2009.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), publish this final rule to revise subpart IImport/Export Licenses, of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 14 (50 CFR 14), to clarify the import/export license and fee requirements, adjust the inspection fee schedule, and update license and inspection fee exemptions. We are clarifying when an import/export license is required by persons who engage in the business of importing and exporting wildlife as well as changing the license requirement exemptions. Revised regulations will help those importing and exporting wildlife better understand when an import/export license is required and will allow us to consistently apply these requirements. We are gradually increasing inspection fees, and now publishing the changes for 2008 through 2012. We determined that these inspection fees must be adjusted every year to cover the increased cost of providing inspection services. Because we are publishing these inspection fee changes now, importers and exporters can accurately predict the costs of importing and exporting wildlife several years in advance.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing that the information collection request for 30 CFR Part 772Requirements for Coal Exploration has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This information collection request describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden and cost for 30 CFR Part 772.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the FY 2009 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000, AFWA submits a list of projects to us each year to consider for funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant program. We then review and award grants from this list.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the comment period on the proposed revised designation of critical habitat for the wintering population of the piping plover (Charadrius melodus) in Texas under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis (DEA) and a draft environmental assessment of the proposed critical habitat designation and a corrected area estimated for 19 critical habitat units vacated by the court, and amended required determinations. We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule, the associated DEA, the draft environmental assessment, the corrected acreage figures, and our amended required determinations. Comments previously submitted on this rulemaking do not need to be resubmitted, as they will be incorporated into the public record and fully considered when preparing our final determination.