Department of the Interior June 14, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application from the City of Santa Cruz (applicant) for a 30-year incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The proposed permit would authorize take of the federally endangered Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) and the federally endangered Zayante band winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis infantilis), and will address associated impacts and conservation measures for the federally endangered Ben Lomond spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana), incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with the operation and maintenance of the existing Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant, construction of new facilities, which have the potential for minor temporary and long-term impacts to Mount Hermon June beetle habitat within Santa Cruz County, California, and restoration activities at the mitigation site. The Service's proposed action is the issuance of a permit to the City of Santa Cruz for a low-effect habitat conservation plan (HCP) for incidental take of Mount Hermon June beetle and Zayante band-winged grasshopper. Associated impacts and conservation measures for Ben Lomond spineflower would also be included in the HCP. We are requesting comments on the applicant's permit application and on our preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a low-effect HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and the associated low-effect screening form, which are available for public review, along with the draft HCP.

This order extends the withdrawal created by Public Land Order No. 6997, as corrected, for an additional 20-year period. The extension is necessary to continue the protection of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, which would otherwise expire on September 27, 2013.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), proposed in an earlier document to establish annual hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds for the 2013-14 hunting season. This supplement to the proposed rule provides the regulatory schedule, announces the Service Migratory Bird Regulations Committee and Flyway Council meetings, and provides Flyway Council recommendations resulting from their March meetings.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, and the Alaska National Lands Interest Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Central Yukon Field Office, Fairbanks, Alaska, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Central Yukon Planning Area. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues. The RMP will replace the existing Utility Corridor RMP, Central Yukon RMP, and part of the Southwest Management Framework Plan. Additionally, the RMP will cover lands in the Fairbanks North Star Borough that are currently not included in any management plan.

We are announcing receipt of North Dakota's response to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's (OSM) March 13, 2013, issue letter pertaining to a previously proposed amendment to the North Dakota regulatory program (hereinafter, the ``North Dakota program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or ``the Act''). North Dakota intends to revise its program to be consistent with the corresponding Federal regulations, add a new subsection to an existing rule with general requirements on the format of electronic applications, and make a minor correction to a provision pertaining to a separate rule which was amended to no longer require renewal of a permit once lands in that permit are no longer being mined or used in the support of mining. This document gives the times and locations that the North Dakota 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.