Department of the Interior February 28, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hereby provides constructive notice that it will issue an appealable decision approving conveyance of the surface estate in certain lands to Kugkaktlik Limited, for the Native village of Kipnuk, pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, as amended (ANCSA). The lands approved for conveyance lie partially within the former Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range, now known as the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The subsurface estate in the lands lying outside the former Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range will be conveyed to Calista Corporation when the surface estate is conveyed to Kugkaktlik Limited.

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) Farmington Field Office, Farmington, New Mexico, and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Navajo Regional Office, Gallup, New Mexico, have prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This notice announces a 90-day public review period of the Draft RMPA/EIS, and that the BLM and BIA will hold public meetings to solicit comments.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Paulding Wind Farm II, LLC; Paulding Wind Farm III, LLC; and Paulding Wind Farm IV (collectively, the applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for the Timber Road II, III, and IV Wind Farms project. If approved, the ITP would authorize the incidental take of the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat for a 30-year term. The applicant has prepared a draft habitat conservation plan, which is available for public review. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment, which has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. We request public comment on the application and associated documents.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS) Caribou-Targhee National Forest (CTNF), have prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the proposed East Smoky Panel Mine Project (Project) and by this notice are announcing its availability.