Department of the Interior October 7, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental assessment for Savannah Coastal National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Complex). The Complex consists of the following refuges: Pinckney Island NWR in Beaufort County, South Carolina; Savannah NWR in Chatham and Effingham Counties, Georgia, and Jasper County, South Carolina; Tybee NWR in Jasper County, South Carolina; Wassaw NWR in Chatham County, Georgia; and Blackbeard Island NWR off the coast of McIntosh County, Georgia. In the final CCP, we describe how we will manage these refuges for the next 15 years.

The final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Truckee River Restoration and Golf Course Reconfiguration Project is available for public review and comment. The Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency have evaluated comments and are recommending a preferred alternative for approval. The preferred alternative includes river ecosystem restoration with a reconfigured 18-hole golf course.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The petitioners provided three listing options for consideration by the Service: Listing the black- footed albatross throughout its range; listing the Hawaiian Islands breeding population of the black-footed albatross as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS); or listing the Japanese Islands breeding population of the black-footed albatross as a DPS. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the black-footed albatross rangewide is not warranted at this time. We find that the Hawaiian Islands breeding population and the Japanese Islands breeding population are separate DPSs, as defined by DPS policy. However, we further find that neither the Hawaiian Islands DPS nor the Japanese Islands DPS of the black-footed albatross warrants listing at this time. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the threats to the black- footed albatross or its habitat at any time.