Department of the Interior November 28, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Roan Plateau planning area in Garfield and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado. The BLM Director signed the ROD on November 16, 2016, which constitutes the final decision of the BLM and makes the Approved RMP effective immediately.

The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College has completed an inventory of human remains in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and any present- day Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 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 should submit a written request to the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received an application from the Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association (Thunder Basin Association) for an Enhancement of Survival permit (permit) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), associated with implementation of a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for eight species (Covered Species) in specified areas in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana (Coverage Area). The CCAA would implement a Conservation Strategy developed by the Thunder Basin Association for farm and ranch operations, certain recreational activities, oil and gas activities, and surface/in-situ mining activities on enrolled non-Federal lands in the Coverage Area. The Association also proposes that the Conservation Strategy be implemented on Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in the Coverage Area through two additional agreements, a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Conservation Agreement (CA), that would also be administered by the Association. The intent of the CCAA and associated CCA and CA is to provide non-Federal landowners and BLM and USFS pemittees/lessees in the Coverage Area with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve the Covered Species and their habitats on enrolled properties while carrying out their operations in a manner that would contribute to precluding the need to list any of these species. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we have prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the potential impacts of issuance of the permit and implementation of the proposed CCAA, as well as the potential impacts of other Federal entities entering into the companion CCA and CA. The draft EA also analyzes the potential impacts of two alternatives to the consolidated proposed action, including a no action alternative. The permit application, the draft CCAA and draft EA are available for public review, and we seek public comment on these documents and potential issuance of the permit associated with the CCAA. Because the draft CCA and CA are part of the proposed action addressed in the draft EA, we have also made these draft agreements available for public review.