Department of the Interior January 8, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are initiating 5-year reviews under the Endangered Species Act, as amended, for five northeastern species. A 5-year review is based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We are requesting submission of any such information that has become available since the previous 5-year review for each species.

This notice publishes the current list of 574 Tribal entities recognized by and eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) by virtue of their status as Indian Tribes.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), California State University, Chico (CSU Chico) intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The cultural items were removed from Butte County, CA.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Portland State University (PSU) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were removed from Columbia County, OR, and Cowlitz County, WA.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Portland State University (PSU) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Tillamook County, OR.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), The Fort Ticonderoga Association has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Essex County, NY.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Bonanzaville, Cass County Historical Society (Bonanzaville) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes in this notice. The human remains were removed from unknown locations in either North Dakota or South Dakota.

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Yosemite National Park (YOSE) has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains were removed from Mariposa County, CA.

The plats of survey of the following described lands are scheduled to be officially filed in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Oregon State Office, Portland, Oregon, 30 calendar days from the date of this publication.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Metro Heights Montebello, LLC (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened coastal California gnatcatcher and endangered least Bell's vireo incidental to construction of the Montebello Hills Phase B Project, in the City of Montebello, Los Angeles County, California. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.