Department of the Interior July 22, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to reestablish the American burying beetle, a Federally listed endangered insect, into its historical habitat in Wah'kon-tah Prairie in southwestern Missouri. We propose to reestablish the American burying beetle under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), and to classify that reestablished population as a nonessential experimental population (NEP) within St. Clair, Cedar, Bates, and Vernon Counties, Missouri. This proposed rule provides a plan for establishing the NEP and provides for allowable legal incidental taking of the American burying beetle within the defined NEP area.

We, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from the AT&T Services, Inc. (applicant) for a 10-year incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of one Federally listed animal, the California tiger salamander. The applicant would implement a conservation program to minimize and mitigate the project activities, as described in applicant's low-effect habitat conservation plan (Plan). We request comments on the applicant's application and plan, and the preliminary determination that the plan qualifies as a ``low-effect'' habitat conservation plan, eligible for a Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). We discuss our basis for this determination in our environmental action statement (EAS), also available for public review.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Wind Farm Project and by this notice is (1) Opening the comment period; and (2) Segregating 107,175 acres of public lands located within the CCMS Right-of-Way (ROW) application area from appropriation under the public land laws including the 1872 Mining Law, but not the Mineral Leasing or Mineral Material Acts, for a period of 2 years from the date of publication of this notice.