Department of the Interior 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit College, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit College. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to offer 28 parcels of public land totaling approximately 440.42 acres in the Las Vegas Valley by competitive sale, at not less than the appraised fair market values (FMV). The sale parcels would be offered for sale pursuant to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (SNPLMA), as amended. The sale would be subject to the applicable provisions of Sections 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), and BLM land sale regulations.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose to list Arabis georgiana (Georgia rockcress), a plant species in Georgia and Alabama, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants and extend the Act's protections to this species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), determine to list the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) as threatened under the authority of section 4(e) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), due to the similarity in appearance with the endangered Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus), Sumatran (Dicerorhinos sumatrensis), Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis), black (Diceros bicornis) and northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). Differentiating between the horns and other products made from the southern white rhino and the endangered Javan, Sumatran, Indian, black, and northern white rhino is difficult for law enforcement, decreasing their ability to enforce and further the provisions and policies of the Act. This similarity of appearance has resulted in the documented trade of listed rhinoceros species, often under the guise of being the unprotected southern white rhinoceros, and this difficulty in distinguishing between the rhino species protected under the Act and the southern white rhino constitutes an additional threat to all endangered rhinoceros species. The determination that the southern white rhino should be treated as threatened due to similarity of appearance will substantially facilitate law enforcement actions to protect and conserve all endangered rhino species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for two Texas plants, Leavenworthia texana (Texas golden gladecress) and Hibiscus dasycalyx (Neches River rose-mallow), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Critical habitat for the Texas golden gladecress is located in Sabine and San Augustine Counties, Texas, and for the Neches River rose-mallow in Nacogdoches, Houston, Trinity, Cherokee, and Harrison Counties, Texas. The effect of this regulation is to designate critical habitat for these two East Texas plants under the Endangered Species Act.

We are announcing the approval of an amendment to the Pennsylvania regulatory program (the ``Pennsylvania program'') under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (``SMCRA'' or the ``Act''). Pennsylvania proposed to revise its program at 25 Pa. Code 86.1, 86.3, and 86.17, to reflect the addition of new definitions and revisions to Pennsylvania's regulations on the use of the Coal Refuse Disposal Control Fund (``CRDCF'') and permit and reclamation fees. OSM is approving the proposed amendment which was submitted by Pennsylvania on December 19, 2012.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of the Interior is issuing a public notice regarding the Department of the Interior system of records titled ``Oracle Federal Financials.'' The Oracle Federal Financials application is a financial software package that clients may use to perform budgeting, purchasing, and procurement functions. The related system of records contains information relating to corporations and other business entities as well as individuals. Records in this system are subject to the Privacy Act only if they are about an individual within the meaning of the Act, and not if they are about a business or other non-individual.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the approved recovery plan for the dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris), a species that is federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). This plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to achieve removal of the species from the protections of the Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, determine endangered species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, for the Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus). This final rule implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for this species. We have also determined that critical habitat for the Jemez Mountains salamander is prudent and determinable in the proposed rule and will soon publish in the Federal Register our final determination designating critical habitat for the Jemez Mountains salamander.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered or threatened species. The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), prohibits activities with endangered and threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activities. The Act and the National Environmental Policy Act also require that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

Pursuant to Section 102 (2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) is releasing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Dog Management Plan (Plan/SEIS), Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), California. Current dog management in the park is based on a number of factors. Areas included in the GGNRA Citizens' Advisory Commission's 1979 pet policy, followed by the park for over twenty years, must be managed in accordance with the June 2, 2005, decision by the U.S. District Court for Northern California (US vs. Barley, 405 F.Supp. 2d 1121) holding that NPS cannot enforce the NPS-wide regulation requiring on leash walking of pets (36 CFR 2.15(a)(2)) in areas where the park had previously allowed off leash use until notice and comment rulemaking under 36 CFR 1.5(b) is completed. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be published for notice and comment after comments on the Plan/SEIS have been received, evaluated, and addressed. A final rule will be published after the final Plan/FEIS has been published and a Record of Decision signed. The purpose of the Plan/SEIS is to determine the manner and extent of dog use in appropriate areas of the park, provide a clear, enforceable dog management policy, preserve and protect natural and cultural resources and natural processes, provide a variety of visitor experiences, improve visitor and employee safety, and reduce user conflicts. The Plan/SEIS evaluates the impacts of six alternatives for dog management in 22 areas of GGNRA. The range of alternatives includes the consensus recommendations of the GGNRA Negotiated Rulemaking Committee for Dog Management, the 1979 Pet Policy, 36 CFR 2.15, voice-control dog walking and commercial dog walking. The preferred alternative includes site specific treatments from multiple action alternatives that together allow for a balanced range of visitor experiences, including areas that prohibit dogs, and areas that allow on-leash and voice- control dog walking. It includes the following key elements: The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee's consensus agreements; on-leash and/or voice and sight-control dog walking in multiple specific areas of the park where impacts to sensitive resources and visitor experience are minimized; no dogs in areas of the park where impacts are unacceptable and can not be mitigated; a monitoring-based management strategy measuring compliance in on-leash and voice and sight-control dog walking areas that will provide information for a range of management responses as needed, including further restrictions or elimination of a use where compliance is not able to be achieved by lesser actions; permits for both individual and commercial dog walkers for more than three dogs, with a maximum of six, in limited areas of the park; and the site-specific analysis of Rancho Corral de Tierra as a recently- acquired GGNRA site evaluated under the Plan/SEIS.

This notice publishes the approval of the Class III Tribal- State Gaming Compact between the Wiyot Tribe and the State of California.

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

The Bureau of Reclamation, the lead Federal agency, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT), cooperating agencies, are intending to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed WMAT Rural Water System. Pursuant to the WMAT Water Rights Quantification Act (Title III of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010), the United States Congress authorized and directed Reclamation to plan, design, and construct the WMAT Rural Water System to divert, store, and distribute water from the North Fork of the White River for the use and benefit of the WMAT. The proposed action would fulfill the Bureau of Reclamation's statutory mandate under the WMAT Water Rights Quantification Act. The Rural Water System would also serve the purpose of providing a long-term, dependable, and sustainable water supply for residents and businesses on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), recently published a proposal to remove the gray wolf from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) but to maintain endangered status for the Mexican wolf by listing it as a subspecies (Canis lupus baileyi), and we announced the opening of a 90-day public comment period on the proposed action, ending September 11, 2013. We now extend the public comment period to October 28, 2013. We are extending the public comment period to allow all interested parties additional time to comment on the proposed rule. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule. We also announce three public hearings on our proposed rule.

This publishes notice of the Extension of the Class III gaming compact between the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the State of South Dakota.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan for the West Chocolate Mountains Renewable Energy Evaluation Area (REEA) located in Imperial County, California. The BLM California State Director signed the ROD on August 12, 2013, which constitutes the BLM's final decision.

The plats of survey of the described lands were officially filed in the Arizona State Office, Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix, Arizona, on dates indicated.

The Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary is announcing a public meeting of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee.

As required by 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an appealable decision will be issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to Evansville, Inc. The decision approves the surface estate in the lands described below for conveyance pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.). The subsurface estate in these lands will be conveyed to Doyon, Limited when the surface estate is conveyed to Evansville, Inc. The lands are in the vicinity of Evansville, Alaska, and are located in:

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 Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received a permit application from the Iron County Commission and are announcing the availability of a Draft Low-effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Utah prairie dog in Iron County, Utah, for review and comment by the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments. We request comment on the draft low-effect HCP.

Following consultation with the General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) is renewing the charter for the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Work Group. The purpose of the Adaptive Management Work Group is to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary concerning the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and the exercise of other authorities pursuant to applicable Federal law.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 6-month extension of the final determination of whether to list four subspecies of Mazama pocket gopher (Roy Prairie, Olympia, Tenino, and Yelm) as threatened and reopen the comment period on the proposed rule to list and designate critical habitat for the four subspecies. We are taking this action because there is substantial disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the available data relevant to the proposed listing and critical habitat rule, making it necessary to solicit additional information by reopening the comment period for 45 days. In addition, we are considering broadening the scope of the special rule for the four subspecies proposed under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act, and specifically seek public comment on this issue.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following application to conduct certain activities with endangered or threatened species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), prohibits activities with endangered and threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The Act requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.