Department of the Interior 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) Coos Bay District Resource Advisory Committee (CBDRAC) will meet as indicated below:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) is announcing its intention to request renewed approval for the collection of information for the permanent program performance standards-surface mining activities and underground mining activities.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has developed regulations that would authorize the nonlethal, incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of polar bears and Pacific walruses during year-round oil and gas industry (Industry) exploration, development, and production operations in the Beaufort Sea and adjacent northern coast of Alaska. Industry operations for the covered period include types of activities similar to those covered by the previous 5- year Beaufort Sea incidental take regulations that were effective from August 2, 2006, through August 2, 2011. We find that the total expected takings of polar bears and Pacific walruses during oil and gas industry exploration, development, and production activities will have a negligible impact on these species and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of these species for subsistence use by Alaska Natives. We base this finding on the results of 17 years of data on the encounters and interactions between polar bears, Pacific walruses, and Industry; recent studies of potential effects of Industry on these species; oil spill risk assessments; potential and documented Industry impacts on these species; and current information regarding the natural history and status of polar bears and Pacific walruses. This rule is effective for 5 years from date of issuance.

The Bureau of Reclamation has forwarded the following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Recreation Visitor Use Surveys. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost burden.

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 September 1, 2011.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the straight snowfly (Capnia lineata) and Idaho snowfly (Capnia zukeli) as endangered and to designate critical habitat for these species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that the petition does not present substantial information indicating that listing either of the species may be warranted. Therefore, we are not initiating a status review for either the straight snowfly or Idaho snowfly in response to this petition. However, we ask the public to submit to us any new information that may become available concerning the status of, or threats to, the straight snowfly or Idaho snowfly or their habitats at any time.

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:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the comment period on our February 22, 2011, proposal to revise the designation of critical habitat for the Rhadine exilis (ground beetle, no common name); Rhadine infernalis (ground beetle, no common name); Helotes mold beetle (Batrisodes venyivi); Cokendolpher Cave harvestman (Texella cokendolpheri); Robber Baron Cave meshweaver (Cicurina baronia); Madla Cave meshweaver (Cicurina madla); and Braken Bat Cave meshweaver (Cicurina venii); and the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver (Cicurina vespera) and Government Canyon Bat Cave spider (Neoleptoneta microps) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). These species are collectively known as the nine Bexar County invertebrates. We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis (DEA), an amended required determinations section of the proposal, and a public hearing. We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the revised proposed rule, the associated DEA, and the amended required determinations section. Comments previously submitted on this rulemaking do not need to be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.

The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture are hosting a Vendor Outreach Workshop for small businesses in the State of New Mexico of the United States that are interested in doing business with each agency. This outreach workshop will review market contracting opportunities for the attendees. Business owners will be able to share their individual perspectives with Contracting Officers, Program Managers and Small Business Specialists from the Department.

The United States Forest Service (USFS) has filed an application with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requesting the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw approximately 5,610 acres of National Forest System lands, for a period of 5 years in aid of legislation to protect certain lands along the Chetco Wild and Scenic River. This notice temporarily segregates the lands for up to 2 years from location and entry under the United States mining laws, and from operation of the mineral and geothermal leasing laws, while the withdrawal application is being processed. This notice also gives an opportunity to comment on the application and announces the date, time, and location of a public meeting.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are revising regulations governing the Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration, and Hunter Education and Safety (Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety) financial assistance programs. We proposed a revision of these regulations on June 10, 2010, to address changes in law, regulation, policy, technology, and practice during the past 25 years. We also proposed a clarification of some provisions of the issue-specific final rule that we published on July 24, 2008. This final rule simplifies specific requirements of the establishing authorities of the three programs and clarifies terms in those authorities as well as terms generally used in grant administration. We organized the final rule to follow the life cycle of a grant, and we reworded and reformatted the regulations following Federal plain language policy and current rulemaking guidance.

The State of Alaska (State) has filed an application with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a Recordable Disclaimer of Interest from the United States in those lands underlying Whitefish Lake and its outlet in southwestern Alaska. The State asserts that Whitefish Lake and its outlet were navigable and unreserved at the time of statehood; therefore, title to the submerged lands passed to the State at the time of statehood (1959). The lake and its outlet are partially within the exterior boundaries of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, created by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Public Law 96-487 of December 2, 1980, and administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will issue an appealable decision to Calista Corporation. The decision will approve the conveyance of the surface and subsurface estates in certain lands pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The lands are located south west of Sheldon Point, Alaska, and contain 20.55 acres. Notice of the decision will also be published four times in the Anchorage Daily News.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) for public review and comment. The Draft CCP/ EA describes our proposal and alternatives for managing the Refuge for the next 15 years.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announce the availability of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project DEIS and prospective draft Land Use Plan (LUP) Amendments. The DEIS analyzes the consequences of granting a right-of-way (ROW) to Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power for locating a 1,103-mile-long electric transmission line from the proposed Windstar Substation near the Dave Johnston Power Plant at Glenrock, Wyoming, to the proposed Hemingway Substation near Melba, Idaho. The project is composed of 10 transmission line segments of 230 and 500 kilovolts (kV); each segment would carry up to 3,000 megawatts (MW). The requested ROW width would generally be 300 feet but could range from 125 to 350 feet, depending on the design variation and structure type. The proposed route generally follows existing transmission lines and West-wide Energy (WWE) corridors designated pursuant to Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Approximately 610 miles (55 percent) of the proposed route is located within or adjacent to designated corridors or existing transmission lines. Approximately 500 miles (46 percent) of the total proposed length traverses Federally administered land in Idaho and Wyoming. In Idaho, approximately 280 miles of the proposed transmission lines would cross public land administered by seven BLM Field Offices: Bruneau, Burley, Four Rivers, Jarbidge, Owyhee, Pocatello, and Shoshone. In Wyoming, approximately 220 miles of the proposed transmission lines would cross public land administered by four BLM Field Offices: Casper, Kemmerer, Rawlins, and Rock Springs. The proposed route crosses approximately 16 miles in two units of the National Forest System: 7 miles in the Douglas Ranger District of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Wyoming and 9 miles in the Montpelier Ranger District of the Caribou- Targhee National Forest in Idaho. In addition, the proposed route crosses approximately 5 miles of land administered by the Bureau of Reclamation. Alternative routes are proposed that would cross the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho, the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and the acquisition area of the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. One alternative route in Segment 7 extends 9.5 miles into Nevada with approximately 7 miles on public land administered by the Wells Field Office. This project includes prospective amendments of USFS Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans) and BLM land use plans (Management Framework Plans and Resource Management Plans). By this notice, and the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS filed in May 2008 (see below), BLM is complying with requirements in 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2(c) and the USFS is complying with 36 CFR 219.8 to notify the public of potential amendments to land use plans. The BLM and USFS are integrating the land use planning process with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis process for this project. Your input is important and will be considered in the environmental analysis process. All comment submissions must include the commenter's name and street address. Comments including the names and addresses of the respondent will be available for public inspection at the locations listed below during their business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or any other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Over the River Art Project (Over the River Final EIS) and by this notice is announcing its availability and the initiation of the 30-day availability period.

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

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

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 August 26, 2011.

The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribe, has determined that the items meet the definition of sacred objects and repatriation to the Indian tribe stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the sacred objects may contact the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology.

Notice is hereby given of contractual actions that have been proposed to the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and were pending through December 31, 2010, and contract actions that have been completed or discontinued since the last publication of this notice on December 29, 2010. From the date of this publication, future notices during this calendar year will be limited to new, modified, discontinued, or completed contract actions. This annual notice should be used as a point of reference to identify changes in future notices. This notice is one of a variety of means used to inform the public about proposed contractual actions for capital recovery and management of project resources and facilities consistent with section 9(f) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. Additional announcements of individual contract actions may be published in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the areas determined by Reclamation to be affected by the proposed action.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered status for Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa skyrocket), a plant species in Archuleta County, Colorado; threatened status for Penstemon debilis (Parachute beardtongue) in Garfield County, Colorado; and threatened status for Phacelia submutica (DeBeque phacelia) in Mesa and Garfield Counties, Colorado, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Designation of critical habitat for the three species is proposed concurrently in a separate rule in this edition of the Federal Register.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are initiating 5-year status reviews under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), of seven animal and plant species. We conduct these reviews to ensure that our classification of each species on the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants as threatened or endangered is accurate. A 5-year review assesses the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We are requesting the public to send us any information that has become available since the most recent status reviews on each of these species. Based on review results, we will determine whether we should change the listing status of any of these species.

Notice is hereby given that the Big Willow closure to motorized vehicle use is in effect on public lands administered by the Four Rivers Field Office, Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Notice is hereby given in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission.