Department of the Interior April 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We (U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. 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. We 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.

The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) will meet on May 12-13, 2009 at the George Washington University Cafritz Conference Center, 800 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20052. The meeting will be held in room 405.

Pursuant to section 102(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), and in accord with Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations including 40 CFR 1501.7, the National Park Service is expanding the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which is being prepared for the General Management Plan (GMP) for Channel Islands National Park. As part of this conservation planning effort, the EIS will include a wilderness study to determine if any portions of the park should be recommended for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System as defined in the Wilderness Act of 1964. This new element will be included as part of the EIS currently in preparation. Accordingly this notice supplements and updates the original Notice of Intent published with regard to initiation of the GMP project in the Federal Register on November 8, 2001. As a result, the scope of the EIS will be expanded to include an evaluation of foreseeable effects associated with possible designation of wilderness within the park.

The McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area (MCNCA) Advisory Council has scheduled one additional meeting for 2009. This meeting will be a non-voting work session designed to gather information. During this meeting, the Advisory Council will discuss matters related to future organization of the MCNCA Advisory Council. These meetings are open to the public and public input into representation by the MCNCA Advisory Council is desired.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the lead Federal agency, and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), acting as the lead State agency, will prepare a joint EIS/EIR for the proposed Nimbus Fish Hatchery Weir Replacement Project (Project). The purpose of the Project is to create and maintain a reliable system of collecting adult fish for use in the Nimbus Fish Hatchery (Hatchery).

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 CFR part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the National Park Service (NPS) invites public comments on an extension of a currently approved collection of information (OMB 1024- 0226).

This notice contains a correction to the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act Classification published in the Federal Register [73 FR No. 200, pages 61166-61167] on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

This notice contains a correction to the Public Land Order No. 7724 published in the Federal Register [74 FR No. 1, page 118] on

Public Land Order No. 7662 partially revoked Public Land Order No. 5047. This order opens the previously withdrawn land to mining.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, extend the expiration dates for two existing depredation orders for double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) for 5 years so that we can continue to authorize take of double-crested cormorants without a permit under the terms and conditions of the depredation orders. This action will continue to allow take of depredating double-crested cormorants to protect aquaculture, fish hatcheries, fish resources, other birds, vegetation, and habitats.

The County of Los Angeles, Department of Parks and Recreation (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. The Service is considering the issuance of a 30-year permit to the Applicant that would authorize take of the federally endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis; ``PVB'') through a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA). The purpose of this SHA is for the Applicant to restore a minimum of 8 acres of habitat for the PVB through the implementation of a habitat restoration plan at Deane Dana Friendship Community Regional Park (Friendship Park), a known historic location for this species. Friendship Park is owned by the County of Los Angeles. The Applicant seeks to provide for the long-term recovery of PVB in the wild through the restoration of suitable habitat that can accommodate passive or active reintroduction of the site from the U.S. Navy Defense Fuel Support Point, San Pedro (DFSP) or other extant locations that may be present within the historic range of the species. The Service has made a preliminary determination that the proposed SHA and permit application are eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The basis for this preliminary determination is contained in an Environmental Action Statement.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Jackson Hole Airport Use Agreement Extension for Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. This

As required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the National Park Service (NPS) is hereby giving notice that the Advisory Committee on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail will hold a meeting. Designated through an amendment to the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241), the new trail will consist of ``a series of water routes extending approximately 3,000 miles along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in the States of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and in the District of Columbia,'' tracing the 1607-1609 voyages of Captain John Smith to chart the land and waterways of the Chesapeake Bay. This meeting is open to the public. Preregistration is required for both public attendance and comment. Any individual who wishes to attend the meeting and/or participate in the public comment session should register via e-mail at Christine_Lucero@nps.gov or telephone: (757) 898-2432. For those wishing to make comments, please provide a written summary of your comments prior to the meeting. The Designated Federal Official for the Advisory Council is John Maounis, Superintendent, Captain John Smith National Historic Trail, telephone: (410) 267-5778.

This notice announces a meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force. The meeting is open to the public. The meeting topics are identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (1972), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG) will meet in Pinedale, Wyoming. This meeting is open to the public.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS) identify the Western Great Lakes (WGL) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus). The geographic extent of this DPS includes all of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan; the eastern half of North Dakota and South Dakota; the northern half of Iowa; the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana; and the northwestern portion of Ohio. We also revise the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife established under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) by removing gray wolves within the WGL DPS. We are taking these actions because available data indicate that this DPS no longer meets the definitions of threatened or endangered under the Act. The threats have been reduced or eliminated, as evidenced by a population that is stable or increasing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and greatly exceeds the numerical recovery criteria established in its recovery plan. Completed State wolf management plans will provide adequate protection and management of the WGL DPS after this revision of the listing. This final rule removes this DPS from the lists of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife, removes the currently designated critical habitat for the gray wolf in Minnesota and Michigan, and removes the current special regulations for gray wolves in Minnesota.

The Gates of the Arctic National Park Subsistence Resource Commission (GAAR SRC) and Denali National Park Subsistence Resource Commission (DENA SRC) will meet to develop and continue work on National Park Service (NPS) subsistence hunting program recommendations and other related subsistence management issues. These meetings are open to the public and will have time allocated for public testimony. The public is welcomed to present written or oral comments to the SRC. This meeting will be recorded and meeting minutes will be available upon request from the park superintendent for public inspection approximately six weeks after each meeting. The NPS SRC program is authorized under Title VIII, Section 808 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Public Law 96-487, to operate in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. The Endangered Species Act requires that we invite public comment on these permit applications.

(Authorities: 47 U.S.C. 332 note (Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section 704(c)); 16 U.S.C. 5; other applicable authorities and National Park Service (NPS) Director's Order 53) Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks has received an application from Verizon Wireless to construct an eighty foot tall, cellular tower with associated support structures and equipment. The location of the proposed telecommunication site is Park Ridge, near Grant Grove within Kings Canyon National Park. Park Ridge is an established telecommunications site for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Current structures on Park Ridge include: two concrete block structures containing NPS and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) communications equipment with power generators; a twenty foot fire lookout tower; two forty foot lattice towers with NPS and USFS telecommunications equipment; and a thirty foot tower on the NPS communications building supporting a passive reflector used for landline service operated by Verizon California.