Department of the Interior February 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 460l- 9(c)(1), the boundary of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in the State of Indiana is modified to include an additional nineteen tracts totaling 48.75 acres of land. These tracts are adjacent to the boundary of the national lakeshore and are depicted on a map entitled ``Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Proposed Boundary Adjustment,'' dated October 2009, and numbered 314/80,013. Eight of the tracts are non-Federal, to be acquired by donation. The remaining eleven tracts are Federally owned.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is adjusting certain special recreation permit fees for various recreation activities on BLM administered Public Lands and related waters. The BLM is adjusting the minimum fee for commercial, competitive and organized group activities or events.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mojave- Southern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet in Las Vegas, Nevada. The meetings are open to the public. Dates and Times: March 16, 2011, at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA) Visitor's Center, Las Vegas, Nevada; July 21, 2011, at the BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, Nevada; and September 22, 2011, at the BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, Nevada. Meeting times will be made public prior to each meeting. Each meeting will include a general public comment period that will be listed in the final meeting agenda that will be available two weeks prior to each meeting.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species, marine mammals, or both. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) prohibit activities with listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activities. Both laws require that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) Science Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) will meet as indicated below:

The purpose of this notice is to reopen the nomination period for the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Farmington, New Mexico, Resource Advisory Councils (RAC). The RACs provide advice and recommendations to the BLM on land use planning and management of the public lands within the Albuquerque and Farmington Districts. The Farmington, New Mexico, RAC is only seeking applicants who meet the criteria for elected official in Category Three.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the unsilvered fritillary butterfly (Speyeria adiaste) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, and designate critical habitat. Based on our review, we find that the petition does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the unsilvered fritillary may be warranted. Therefore, we are not initiating a status review in response to this petition. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of, or threats to, the unsilvered fritillary or its habitat at any time.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list Thorne's hairstreak butterfly (Callophrys [Mitoura] gryneus thornei) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing Thorne's hairstreak butterfly is not warranted at this time. However, we ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the threats to Thorne's hairstreak butterfly or its habitat at any time.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list Astragalus hamiltonii (Hamilton milkvetch), Penstemon flowersii (Flowers penstemon), Eriogonum soredium (Frisco buckwheat), Lepidium ostleri (Ostler's peppergrass), and Trifolium friscanum (Frisco clover) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing A. hamiltonii and P. flowersii is not warranted at this time. However, we ask the public to submit to us new information that becomes available concerning the threats to A. hamiltonii and P. flowersii or their habitat at any time. We find that listing E. soredium, L. ostleri, and T. friscanum as threatened or endangered is warranted. However, currently listing E. soredium, L. ostleri, and T. friscanum is precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Upon publication of this 12-month petition finding, we will add E. soredium, L. ostleri, and T. friscanum to our candidate species list. We will develop proposed rules to list E. soredium, L. ostleri, and T. friscanum as our priorities allow. We will make determinations on critical habitat during development of the proposed listing rules. In the interim period, we will address the status of the candidate taxa through our annual Candidate Notice of Review.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Alabama regulatory program (Alabama program) under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the Act). Alabama proposes revisions to its Program regarding their license fees, annual license updates, and blaster certification fees. Alabama intends to revise its program to improve operational efficiency. The fees will be used to recover Alabama's anticipated costs of reviewing, administering, and enforcing Alabama's licensing and blaster certification requirements. This document gives the times and locations that the Alabama program and proposed amendment to that program are available for your inspection, the comment period during which you may submit written comments on the amendment, and the procedures that we will follow for the public hearing, if one is requested.

We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. This collection consists of 17 forms. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 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 May 31, 2011.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12- month finding on a petition to list the plant Solanum conocarpum (marron bacora) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After review of all available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing S. conocarpum is warranted. Currently, however, listing S. conocarpum is precluded by higher priority actions to amend the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Upon publication of this 12-month petition finding, we will add S. conocarpum to our candidate species list. We will develop a proposed rule to list S. conocarpum as our priorities allow. We will make any determination on critical habitat during development of the proposed listing rule. In any interim period, the status of the candidate taxon will be addressed through our annual Candidate Notice of Review (CNOR).

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the remains and any present-day Tribe. Representatives of any Indian Tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the museum. Disposition of the human remains to the Tribes stated below may occur if no additional requestors come forward.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is seeking comments on a proposed collection of information that will allow the BIE to obtain information from individuals on their qualifications to serve on the Advisory Board for Exceptional Children (Advisory Board) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. The BIE is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect this information. This notice is not requesting nominations; it is requesting comment on the information the BIE may collect in the future for nominations by a separate Federal Register notice.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal and with this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet in Carson City, Nevada and Gerlach, Nevada. The meetings are open to the public.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability for public comment of draft Wind Energy Guidelines (Guidelines). These draft Guidelines are intended to supersede the Service's 2003 voluntary, interim guidelines for land-based wind development. Additionally, they are intended to respond to accelerated development of land-based, wind energy generation projects in the United States. These draft voluntary Guidelines provide developers and agency staff with an iterative process to make the best possible decisions in selecting sites to avoid and minimize negative effects to fish, wildlife and their habitats resulting from construction, operation and maintenance of land-based, wind energy facilities.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the General Management Plan (Final GMP/EIS) for Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Virginia. When approved, the plan will provide guidance to park management for administration, development, and interpretation of park resources over the next 20 years. The Final GMP/EIS responds to, and incorporates, agency and public comments received on the Draft GMP/EIS, which was available for public and agency review from November 28, 2008 through February 26, 2009. Copies of the Draft EIS/GMP were available at the park office, by request, and on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment Web site (https://parkplanning.nps.gov/cebegmp). Public meetings were held on January 28 and 29 and February 4, 2009. Agency and public comments with NPS responses are provided as Appendix E and F, respectively of the Final GMP/EIS.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, has filed an application with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that proposes to extend the duration of Public Land Order (PLO) No. 6881 for an additional 20-year term. PLO No. 6881 withdrew approximately 95 acres of National Forest System lands from location and entry under the United States mining laws to protect recreational values and the investment of Federal funds at the Howard Lake, Ross Creek, and Yaak Falls Recreation Areas. The withdrawal created by PLO No. 6881 will expire on September 18, 2011, unless extended. This notice also gives the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed action and to request a public meeting.

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the ACWI, to be held March 1, 2011, via teleconference and web-based presentations. This ACWI meeting will serve a dual purpose: (1) During the morning, the Federal water agencies will have an opportunity to brief ACWI about the proposed 2012 budget. Each organization will have no more than five minutes to report, so we can ensure adequate time for discussion and for feedback from the non- Federal ACWI member organizations. (2) During the afternoon, some or all of the seven USGS science strategic planning teams (SSPTs) will present information about their activities and solicit ACWI feedback. The USGS SSPTs are part of a new science planning effort that Dr. Marcia McNutt, Director of the USGS, started within the bureau. The USGS 10-year strategic science plan (https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2007/1309/), which was released in 2007, identified six thematic areas upon which the USGS would concentrate. USGS has received much positive feedback on this plan and the efforts to move it forward. Director McNutt has commissioned seven SSPTs, one for each of the areas identified in the 2007 plan plus one additional team for Core Science Systems. These teams will work from the present through October 2011 to develop a more targeted 10-year science plan for each of their respective areas: Core Science Systems Ecosystems Energy and Minerals Environmental Health Global Change Natural Hazards Water These teams will work over the next 10 months to develop a strategic plan for each area and to carefully examine how efforts need to be integrated across all seven areas. It is also of the utmost importance to everyone at the USGS to have your input into this process, and that process will begin at the ACWI WebEx meeting on March 1. The ACWI was established under the authority of the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-92-01 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the ACWI is to provide a forum for water information users and professionals to advise the Federal Government on activities and plans that may improve the effectiveness of meeting the Nation's water information needs. Member organizations help to foster communications between the Federal and non-Federal sectors on sharing water information. Membership, limited to 35 organizations, represents a wide range of water resources interests and functions. Representation on the ACWI includes all levels of government, academia, private industry, and professional and technical societies. For more information on the ACWI, its membership, subgroups, meetings and activities, please see the Web site at: https://ACWI.gov.

This notice announces the date for the March 15, 2011, Meeting of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park Advisory Commission.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will file the plat of survey of the lands described below in the BLM Montana State Office, Billings, Montana, on March 18, 2011.