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

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) Eastern Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will meet as indicated below.

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 December 12, 2011.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announces the availability of and requests comments on the Proposed 5-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017 (``Proposed Program''). This is part of a multi-step process required by law before the Secretary of the Interior may approve a new 5-year program. BOEM is publishing a Notice of Availability of the 5-Year Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) concurrently with this notice.

Pursuant to Public Law 96-472, the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC) will hold a 1\1/2\-day meeting on November 14 and 15, 2011, on the campus of the University of Washington. The Council is comprised of members from academia and the Federal Government. The Council shall advise the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey on proposed earthquake predictions, on the completeness and scientific validity of the available data related to earthquake predictions, and on related matters as assigned by the Director. Additional information about the Council may be found at: https://www.earthquake.usgs.gov/aboutus/nepec/. At the meeting, the Council will receive briefings on lessons learned from the 2010 Chile and 2011 Japan subduction earthquakes, monitoring and research efforts relating to earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest, research and development relating to earthquake early warning and short-term aftershock forecasting, and recent findings from the study of episodic tremor and slip and from the analysis of various seismic hazards in and around the State of Washington. The Council will also receive brief updates on the project intended to deliver an updated Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3) in summer 2012, and on other topics. A draft workshop agenda is available on request (contact information below). In order to ensure sufficient seating and hand- outs, it is requested that visitors pre-register by November 8, 2011. Members of the public wishing to make a statement to the Council should provide notice of that intention by November 8 so that time may be allotted in the agenda.

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) Central Montana 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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rock Springs Field Office, Rock Springs, Wyoming, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Quaking Aspen Wind Energy Project (Quaking Aspen). By this notice, BLM is: (1) Announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify potential issues related to the Quaking Aspen EIS; and (2) Segregating 3,698.35 acres of BLM-administered lands located within the Quaking Aspen 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.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Council will meet to select North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant proposals for recommendation to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. This meeting is open to the public, and interested persons may present oral or written statements.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has submitted an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a 3-year renewal of OMB control number 1004-0201, which pertains to management of oil shale on public lands.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby given of meetings of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC). Comprised of 29 nonfederal invasive species experts and stakeholders from across the nation, the purpose of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice to the National Invasive Species Council, as authorized by Executive Order 13112, on a broad array of issues related to preventing the introduction of invasive species and providing for their control and minimizing the economic, ecological, and human health impacts that invasive species cause. The Council is co-chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce. The duty of the Council is to provide national leadership regarding invasive species issues. Purpose of Meeting: The meeting will be held on December 6-8, 2011 in Washington, DC and will focus primarily invasive species as it relates to commerce. The purpose of the meeting is to convene the full ISAC and consider strategies and methodologies for implementing performance elements outlined in the 2008-2012 Invasive Species National Management Plan. The meeting is open to the public. An orientation session will be held on Monday, December 5, 2011, for the six new ISAC members appointed by Secretary Ken Salazar on September 16, 2011. There will be no ISAC business conducted during the orientation session, which is closed to the public.

To implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or the Convention), the Parties to the Convention meet periodically to review what species in international trade should be regulated and other aspects of the implementation of CITES. The sixteenth regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP16) is tentatively scheduled to be held in March 2013 in Thailand. This is our second in a series of Federal Register notices that, together with an announced public meeting, provide you with an opportunity to participate in the development of the U.S. negotiating positions for CoP16. We published our first CoP16-related Federal Register notice on June 14, 2011, in which we requested information and recommendations on species proposals for the United States to consider submitting for consideration at CoP16. Further input from the public on species proposals will be sought in a future notice. With this notice we are soliciting and invite you to provide us with information and recommendations on resolutions, decisions, and agenda items that the United States might consider submitting for discussion at CoP16. In addition, with this notice we provide preliminary information on how to request approved observer status for nongovernmental organizations that wish to attend the meeting.

This notice opens lands for selection by the State of Alaska (State), subject to Section 24 of the Federal Power Act (FPA). The lands include approximately 1,355 acres of National Forest System lands withdrawn for Power Site Classification No. 221 by the Secretarial Order dated May 14, 1929, and approximately 948 acres of public land withdrawn for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Power Project No. 13234. This action will permit conveyance of the land to the State, if such land is otherwise available, and retain the power rights to the United States. Any land described herein that is not conveyed to the State will remain subject to the terms and conditions of the Tongass National Forest reservation and any other withdrawal of record.

The purpose of this notice is to request public nominations to fill three positions for the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wyoming's 10-member Resource Advisory Council (RAC). The RAC provides advice and recommendations to the BLM on land use planning and management of the National System of Public Lands within the State of Wyoming.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone National Park, located in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The EIS evaluates eight alternatives, and identifies the Preferred Alternative as Alternative 8, a one-year plan to allow oversnow vehicle use in the park for the winter of 2011/2012, at the same levels (up to 318 commercially guided, best available technology snowmobiles and 78 commercially guided snowcoaches per day) that were allowed under the interim regulation in place for the winters of 2009/ 2010 and 2010/2011. NPS intends to supplement this EIS next year, in order to make a long-term decision prior to the 2012/2013 winter season.

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 requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Alaska State Office hereby notifies the public it will hold an oil and gas lease sale bid opening for select tracts in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The United States reserves the right to withdraw any tract from this sale prior to issuance of a written acceptance of a bid.

This notice provides the names of individuals who have been appointed to serve as members of the Department of the Interior Performance Review Board.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) proposes migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska for the 2012 season. These regulations will enable the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and prescribe regional information on when and where the harvesting of birds may occur. These regulations were developed under a co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. The rulemaking is necessary because the regulations governing the subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska are subject to annual review. This rulemaking proposes region- specific regulations that go into effect on April 2, 2012, and expire on August 31, 2012.

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) prohibit 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 are announcing receipt of a proposed amendment to the Alaska regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``Alaska program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or ``the Act''). Alaska intends to revise its rules to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations and to conform to the drafting manual for the State of Alaska. This document gives the times and locations that the Alaska 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.

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 Bering Straits Native Corporation. The decision will approve the conveyance of the surface and subsurface estates in certain lands pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). The lands are located east of Teller, Alaska, and contain 47.87 acres. Notice of the decision will also be published four times in the Nome Nugget.

On September 1, 2011, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published in the Federal Register a 90-day finding on a petition to list all chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We are now correcting an incorrect Docket Number given under ADDRESSES in that document. We are also making the petition and the large volume of supporting documents submitted with the petition available to the public on https:// www.regulations.gov. To allow the public adequate time to review the petition and provide information, we are reopening the public comment period for an additional 90 days. However, please note that information already submitted does not need to be resubmitted.

In compliance 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) Medford District Office, Ashland Resource Area, Medford, Oregon, intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) which will amend the 2008 Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Resource Management Plan (CSNM RMP), and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.