Department of the Interior January 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and conducting public scoping meetings for a construction and right-of-way permit requested from Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River, and Appalachian National Scenic Trail, in connection with the proposed Susquehanna (Berwick, Pennsylvania) to Roseland, New Jersey 500 kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line. The line is being proposed by Pennsylvania Power and Light Electric Utilities (PPL) and Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), and would cross the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA), Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River, and Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT), in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This NPS EIS will examine a range of feasible alternatives and evaluate potential impacts on the natural resource and cultural resource values, and the human environment in the areas of these NPS units.

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) 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. This IC is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2010. 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 Lake Clark National Park Subsistence Resource Commission (LACL SRC), Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Subsistence Resource Commission (WRST 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. Each 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.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northeast California Resource Advisory Council will meet as indicated below.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of a travel management map depicting designated roads, vehicle ways and trails on public lands managed by the BLM Challis Field Office, Idaho. The map describes seasonal closure areas and trails and the daytime use restriction at the Challis Bridge Recreation Site in Idaho.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have issued the following permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species and/or marine mammals.

This proposed rule would establish regulations for fishing seasons, harvest limits, methods and means related to taking of fish and shellfish for subsistence uses during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board is presently on a schedule of completing the process of revising subsistence taking of fish and shellfish regulations in odd-numbered years and subsistence taking of wildlife regulations in even-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place during the preceding year. The Board

Notice of filing of plats of survey; Alaska.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) application and habitat conservation plan (HCP). Virginia H. McIntosh (applicant) requests a 5- year ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking two red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) (RCW) groups incidental to timber harvesting in Williamsburg County, South Carolina (project). The applicant's HCP describes the

Pursuant to Public Law 106-503, the Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee (SESAC) will hold its next meeting at the U.S. Geological Survey, John Wesley Powell National Center, Room 3B457, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia 20192. The Committee is comprised of members from academia, industry, and State government. The Committee shall advise the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on matters relating to the USGS's participation in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), announce the reopening of the comment period for our September 22, 2009, proposed rule to treat the shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) as threatened under the ``Similarity of Appearance'' provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the location and time of a public hearing to receive public comments on the proposal. If you have previously submitted comments, please do not resubmit them because we have already incorporated them in the public record and will fully consider them in our final decision.

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

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

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to revise the designation of critical habitat for the bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. In total, approximately 36,498 kilometers (km) (22,679 miles (mi)) of streams (which includes 1,585.7 km (985.30 mi) of marine shoreline area in the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound), and 215,870 hectares (ha) (533,426 acres (ac)) of reservoirs or lakes are being proposed for the revised critical habitat designation. The revised proposed critical habitat is located in Adams, Benewah, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Boundary, Butte, Camas, Canyon, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Gem, Idaho, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lewis, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Shoshone, Valley, and Washington counties in Idaho; Deer Lodge, Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, and Sanders counties in Montana; Baker, Clatsop, Columbia, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Morrow, Multnomah, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, and Wheeler counties in Oregon; Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Klickitat, Mason, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman, and Yakima counties in Washington; and Elko county, Nevada.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), have reconsidered our prudency determination concerning the designation of critical habitat for the jaguar (Panthera onca) and now find that designation of critical habitat is prudent. We are preparing a proposed designation of critical habitat for the jaguar in accordance with the Act this fiscal year and anticipate we will publish a proposed designation in January 2011.

The following applicants have applied for scientific research permits, or the Fish and Wildlife Service is amending their existing permit, to conduct certain activities with endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Act requires that we invite public comment on these permit applications.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our decision and the availability of the final CCP and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the Environmental Assessment for the Lower Florida Keys Refuges in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. We completed a thorough analysis of impacts on the human environment, which are included in the Environmental Assessment (Appendix N of the CCP). The CCP will guide us in managing and administering the Lower Florida Keys Refuges for the next 15 years.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, 10), notice is hereby given of the meetings of the Big Cypress National Preserve ORV Advisory Committee for 2010.

The National Park Service (NPS) is terminating the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Gila Cliff Dwellings General Management Plan because it has determined that an Environmental Assessment (EA) is the more appropriate National Environmental Policy Act compliance document. A Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS for the Gila Cliff Dwellings General Management Plan was published on April 16, 2008 (Federal Register Vol. 73, No. 74). Scoping conducted for the plan indicated that there were no significant impacts or controversy identified by the public. A preliminary impact analysis indicated that the alternatives have limited potential to result in significant/major effects on the human environment as they focus on different ways of protecting resources, providing appropriate visitor experiences, and

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Arizona State Office intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to support possible amendments to several BLM-Arizona Resource Management Plans (RMP) to identify sites and/or areas managed by the BLM that may be suitable for the development of renewable energy and to establish appropriate design criteria for such projects. By this notice, BLM-Arizona State Office is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces its intention to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend approval for the paperwork requirements in 43 CFR parts 3620 and 5510, which pertain to free use of, respectively, petrified wood, timber, et al. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved this information collection activity under the control number 1004-0001.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the FY 2010 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.