Department of the Interior July 22, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the white-sided jackrabbit (Lepus callotis) as an endangered species and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Following a review of the petition, we find the petition provides substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing this species may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a status review to determine if listing this species is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are requesting the public to submit scientific and commercial data and other information regarding the white-sided jackrabbit. We will make a determination on critical habitat if and when we initiate a listing action for this species.

Pursuant to Sec. 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Record of Decision for the Final General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS) for Governors Island National Monument, New York. On June 1, 2009, the Regional Director, Northeast Region, approved the Record of Decision for the GMP/EIS, selecting Alternative D, The Harbor Center, which was described as the preferred alternative in the Final GMP/EIS issued on April 26, 2009. As soon as practicable, the NPS will begin to implement the selected alternative. The National Monument will be developed as a Harbor Center with partners as a hub of activities and a jumping-off point for visitors exploring New York Harbor. This course of action and three other alternatives were presented and analyzed in the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements. The full range of foreseeable environmental consequences was assessed, and appropriate mitigating measures were identified.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an information collection request (ICR) for the extension of the currently approved paperwork requirements for Bird Banding and Recovery Reports. This collection consists of two forms (Application for Federal Bird Banding or Marking Permit and Reporting Encounter of Marked Bird with a Metal Federal Band (Recovery Report) and an electronic database (Bandit). 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.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for the Guam National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) for public review and comment. It describes our proposal for managing the Refuge for the next 15 years. In the Draft CCP/EA we describe alternatives, including our preferred alternative, to manage the Refuge for the 15 years following approval of the final CCP.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published a final rule in the Federal Register on October 8, 2008, to revise our regulations governing falconry in the United States. With this action, we propose to make several changes to those regulations to correct inconsistencies and oversights and make the regulations clearer. Because a few of our changes are technically substantive, we are opening a comment period for this action.