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

This Notice informs readers that BOEM is extending the deadline for submitting responses to the Call for Information and Nominations (``Call'') for Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Lease Sale 237. The Call was initially published as docket number 2013-23670 and amended docket number 2013-24053 with a November 18, 2013 comment deadline. Pursuant to this Notice, all responses to the Call must now be received no later than December 3, 2013. The Call is the initial step in the pre-lease process for Oil and Gas Lease Sale 237 in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area, tentatively scheduled to be held in 2016, as included in the OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2012-2017. The purpose of the Call is to obtain nominations and information on oil and gas leasing, exploration, and development that might result from an OCS oil and gas lease sale for the Chukchi Sea Planning Area.

The National Park Service announces the availability of a Draft General Management Plan (GMP)/Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Channel Islands National Park. The document identifies and analyzes three alternatives. Alternative 1 (no action alternative) reflects current management direction and serves as a baseline for comparison with the other alternatives. Existing facilities, resource programs, and visitor opportunities would continue as they are. Currently the park is not designated as wilderness. Alternative 2 emphasizes ecosystem preservation, restoration, and preservation of large expanses in relatively pristine resource conditions. Resource stewardship including ecosystem preservation and restoration, and preservation of natural landscapes, cultural landscapes, archeological resources, and historic structures would continue to be emphasized. Increased recreational opportunities would be provided for visitors to enjoy and appreciate the park. Alternative 3 (agency-preferred) emphasizes resource stewardship, while also placing more attention on expanding education and recreational opportunities and accommodations to provide diverse visitor experiences on the islands. Both Alternative 2 and Alternative 3 propose 66,675 acres of the park be recommended to Congress for designation as wilderness, primarily on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz islands.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) authorizing a right-of-way (ROW) grant to the Proponents' (Idaho Power Company and PacifiCorp, doing business as Rocky Mountain Power) to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission electric transmission lines on public lands for the Gateway West 230/345/500-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project (Project) and approving Land Use Plan (LUP) Amendments in Idaho and Wyoming. The Wyoming State Director's signature on the ROD constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the approved LUP Amendments effective immediately.

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for purposes authorized under the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Program. Additionally, we are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for regulating coal mining within their jurisdictional borders. We will award these grants during fiscal year 2014.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After review of the best available scientific and commercial information on both subspecies of Gunnison's prairie dog, we find that listing either C. g. gunnisoni or C. g. zuniensis or both is not warranted at this time. The best available information indicates that populations of both subspecies are stable and that there are no threats causing or projected to cause either subspecies to be at risk of extinction. This action also removes the Gunnison's prairie dog from our candidate list. Although listing is not warranted at this time, we ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning threats to the Gunnison's prairie dog or its habitat at any time.