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

Pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) John Day-Snake Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as indicated below:

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

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

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2011. 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. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing that the information collection request for Underground Mining Permit ApplicationsMinimum Requirements for Reclamation and Operation Plan, has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The information collection request describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden and cost. This information collection activity was previously approved by OMB and assigned control number 1029-0039.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing its intention to request approval to continue the collection of information for Surface Mining Permit ApplicationsMinimum Requirements for Reclamation and Operation Plan. This information collection activity was previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and assigned clearance number 1029-0036.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Northern Arizona Proposed Withdrawal and by this notice is announcing its availability.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we are extending the public comment period for the proposed establishment of the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Conservation Area. 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.

On October 18, 2011, via a Federal Register notice, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announced the availability of the final draft Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for our lands in Hawai`i, Idaho, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and the Pacific Island Territories (the Service's Region 1) for public review and comment. However, in that notice we gave an incorrect contact phone number, which we now correct. Note that if you already submitted a comment, you need not resubmit it.

The plats of survey of the following described lands are scheduled to be officially filed in the Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington State Office, Portland, Oregon, 30 days from the date of this publication.

In this Candidate Notice of Review (CNOR), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), present an updated list of plant and animal species native to the United States that we regard as candidates for or have proposed for addition to the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Identification of candidate species can assist environmental planning efforts by providing advance notice of potential listings, allowing landowners and resource managers to alleviate threats and thereby possibly remove the need to list species as endangered or threatened. Even if we subsequently list a candidate species, the early notice provided here could result in more options for species management and recovery by prompting candidate conservation measures to alleviate threats to the species. The CNOR summarizes the status and threats that we evaluated in order to determine that species qualify as candidates and to assign a listing priority number (LPN) to each species or to determine that species should be removed from candidate status. Additional material that we relied on is available in the Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Forms (species assessment forms) for each candidate species. Overall, this CNOR recognizes three new candidates, changes the LPN for seven candidates, and removes three species from candidate status. Combined with other decisions for individual species that were published separately from this CNOR in the past year, the current number of species that are candidates for listing is 244. This document also includes our findings on resubmitted petitions and describes our progress in revising the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists) during the period October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2011. We request additional status information that may be available for the 244 candidate species identified in this CNOR.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, notice has been published that the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northwest Resource Advisory Council (NW RAC) will meet on December 1, 2011. This notice provides supplemental information related to specific fee proposals that will be discussed at the December meeting in Gateway, Colorado, specifically the consideration of two new fee proposals for public lands within the Grand Junction Field Office, and one fee adjustment proposal for the Kremmling Field Office.

The National Park Service is seeking public comments and suggestions on the planning of the 2011 National Christmas Tree Lighting and the subsequent 31 day event.

Pursuant to the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a petition for reinstatement from Gasco Production Company for noncompetitive oil and gas leases NVN-080833, NVN-080834, NVN-080835, and NVN-080836 on land in White Pine County, Nevada. The petition was timely filed and was accompanied by all the rentals due since the leases terminated under the law. No valid leases have been issued affecting the lands.

In accordance with Title IV of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act, Bro Energy LLC timely filed a petition for reinstatement of oil and gas lease UTU85562 lands in Carbon County, Utah, accompanied by all required rentals and royalties accruing from July 1, 2011, the date of termination.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), notify the public that we are reopening the comment period on the May 22, 2003, proposed rule to remove the plant Frankenia johnstonii (Johnston's frankenia) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (List) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Comments submitted during the 2003 comment period will be considered and do not need to be resubmitted now. However, we invite comments on the new information presented in this announcement relevant to our consideration of the status of F. johnstonii. We encourage those who may have commented previously to submit additional comments, if appropriate, in light of this new information. We are also making available for public review the Draft Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for F. johnstonii.

In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Farmington District Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

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) Alaska Resource Advisory Council (RAC) will meet as indicated below.

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 (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sonoran Solar Energy Project (SSEP) and by this notice is announcing its availability.

Nominations are being solicited for two positions on the Pinedale Anticline Working Group (PAWG).

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are notifying the public that we (U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. for the National Land Remote Sensing Education, Outreach and Research Activity (NLRSEORA). As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), and as a 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. As a federal agency, we may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 29, 2012.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will file the plat of survey of the land described below in the BLM-Eastern States office in Springfield, Virginia, 30 calendar days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we intend to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the impacts of the proposed demolition of the Ballville Dam, located on the Sandusky River, near the City of Fremont in Sandusky County, Ohio. We are also announcing a public meeting and requesting public comments.