Fish and Wildlife Service February 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we) intend to gather information necessary to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and associated environmental documents for nine (9) Wetland Management Districts (WMDs) located in the State of North Dakota. The nine (9) WMDs are Devils Lake, Arrowwood, Valley City, Chase Lake, Kulm, Audubon, J. Clark Salyer, Lostwood and Crosby. We furnish this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to be considered in the planning process.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibits the taking, killing, or possessing of migratory birds unless permitted by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior. While some courts have held that the MBTA does not apply to Federal agencies, in July 2000, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the prohibitions of the MBTA do apply to Federal agencies, and that a Federal agency's taking and killing of migratory birds without a permit violated the MBTA. On March 13, 2002, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that military training exercises of the Department of the Navy that incidentally take migratory birds without a permit violate the MBTA. On December 2, 2002, the President signed the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act (Authorization Act). Section 315 of the Authorization Act provides that, not later than one year after its enactment, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall exercise his/her authority under Section 704(a) of the MBTA to prescribe regulations to exempt the Armed Forces for the incidental taking of migratory birds during military readiness activities authorized by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the military department concerned. The Authorization Act further requires the Secretary to promulgate such regulations with the concurrence of the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary has delegated this task to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). In passing the Authorization Act, Congress itself determined that allowing incidental take of migratory birds as a result of military readiness activities is consistent with the MBTA and the treaties. With this language, Congress clearly expressed its intention that the Armed Forces give appropriate consideration to the protection of migratory birds when planning and executing military readiness activities, but not at the expense of diminishing the effectiveness of such activities. This rule has been developed by the Service in coordination and cooperation with the Department of Defense and the Secretary of Defense concurs with the requirements herein. Current regulations authorize permits for take of migratory birds for activities such as scientific research, education, and depredation control (50 CFR parts 13, 21 and 22). However, these regulations do not expressly address the issuance of permits for incidental take. As directed by Section 315 of the Authorization Act, this rule authorizes such take, with limitations, that result from military readiness activities of the Armed Forces. If any of the Armed Forces determine that a proposed or an ongoing military readiness activity may result in a significant adverse effect on a population of a migratory bird species, then they must confer and cooperate with the Service to develop appropriate and reasonable conservation measures to minimize or mitigate identified significant adverse effects. The Secretary of the Interior, or his/her designee, will retain the power to withdraw or suspend the authorization for particular activities in appropriate circumstances.

Mr. Val Norman (Applicant/Cooperator) has applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an Enhancement of Survival Permit (ESP) for the Utah prairie dog (UPD) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This permit application includes a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) between the Applicant and the Service. The Service requests information, views, and opinions from the public via this notice. Further, the Service is soliciting information regarding the adequacy of the SHA as measured against the Service's Safe Harbor Policy and the regulations that implement it.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the FY 2007 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000, each year AFWA submits a list of projects to us for consideration of funding by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. We then review and award grants from this list.

Green Diamond Resource Company (Green Diamond) (previously Simpson Timber Company) has applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to amend its existing incidental take permit (ITP) for the federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina; ``NSO''). The existing ITP was issued in 1992, in association with a Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) and Implementation Agreement (IA), pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended. The proposed ITP amendment would authorize the take of eight additional owl pairs on Green Diamond's ownership in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, California. These additional takes would be authorized during the existing permit term expiring in 2022, and would provide Green Diamond operational flexibility while they and the Service further consider and evaluate the findings of a 10-year, comprehensive Plan review. The application for permit amendment includes proposed amendments to the existing IA and Plan, which describe the proposed action and the measures that Green Diamond will undertake to minimize and mitigate take of the NSO.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and/or marine mammals.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and/or marine mammals.

The following permits were issued.

This notice advises the public that the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) intends to prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and its implementing regulations, for Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located within the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia. This notice also advises the public that the Service is withdrawing a previous notice, published on May 8, 2002, stating that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be developed for the refuge. Comments already received under the previous notice will be considered during preparation of the subject CCP/EA. The Service is furnishing this notice in compliance with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.): (1) To advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, and (2) to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to include in the environmental documents.

The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River (California) restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council. Primary objectives of the meeting will include discussion of the following topics: Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) FY08 budget, 2007 Trinity River flow schedule, TRRP science program issues, 2006 salmon returns, salmon disease and mortality studies, Central Valley Project Improvement Act program review, TRRP executive director's report, and election of TAMWG officers. Completion of the agenda is dependent on the amount of time each item takes. The meeting could end early if the agenda has been completed. The meeting is open to the public.

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. The ICR, which is summarized below, describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC, which is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2007. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and marine mammals.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to reclassify the Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition does not provide substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that reclassification of the Utah prairie dog from threatened to endangered may be warranted. Therefore, we are not initiating a further status review in response to this petition. We are, however, initiating a 5-year review under section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Act for this species because such a review has not been conducted in the last 5 years. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of the Utah prairie dog or threats to the species.

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species.

We announce our receipt of applications to conduct certain activities pertaining to enhancement of survival of endangered species.

We announce our receipt of applications to conduct certain activities pertaining to enhancement of survival of endangered species.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting of the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (Council).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the locations and times of combined public meetings that have been scheduled to: (1) Provide information on the 12-month petition finding and proposed rule to list the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as threatened throughout its range, and (2) Receive verbal public comments on that proposal.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the initiation of a 5-year review of 58 species under section 4(c)(2)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act). The purpose of a 5-year review is to ensure that the classification of a species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate and 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 original listing of each of these 58 species. Based on the results of these 5-year reviews, we will make the requisite findings under section 4(c)(2)(A) of the Act. We also indicate in this notice the 5-year reviews we completed for species in California and Nevada in FY 2006.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the San Felipe gambusia (Gambusia clarkhubbsi) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition does not present substantial information indicating that listing the San Felipe gambusia may be warranted. Therefore, we will not initiate a further status review in response to this petition. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of the San Felipe gambusia or threats to it or its habitat at any time. This information will help us monitor and encourage the conservation of this species.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, or we), revise the regulations governing the annual Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Contest [also known as the Federal Duck Stamp Contest (contest)]. We now provide a special exemption that allows recent winning artists to submit entries for the 2007 contest only. We also clarify in our regulations our longstanding practice to include artwork from the third round of judging in an art tour for 1 year; early return of the artwork to the artist will make the artist ineligible for the next three contests. Finally, we correct minor grammatical errors in the contest procedures.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a meeting of the Lake Champlain Sea Lamprey Control Alternatives Workgroup (Workgroup). The Workgroup's purpose is to provide, in an advisory capacity, recommendations and advice on research and implementation of sea lamprey control techniques alternative to lampricides that are technically feasible, cost effective, and environmentally safe. The primary objective of the meeting will be to discuss potential focus research initiatives that may enhance alternative sea lamprey control techniques. The meeting is open to the public.

Under the Endangered Species Act (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to establish a distinct population segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM) of the United States. The proposed NRM DPS of the gray wolf encompasses the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, a small part of north-central Utah, and all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. We are also proposing to remove the gray wolf in the NRM DPS from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Act, because threats will have been reduced or eliminated if Wyoming adopts a State law and wolf management plan that we believe will adequately conserve wolves. The States of Montana and Idaho have adopted State laws and management plans that would conserve a recovered wolf population into the foreseeable future. However, Wyoming State law and its wolf management plan are not sufficient to conserve Wyoming's portion of a recovered NRM wolf population at this time. Therefore, if Wyoming fails to modify its management regime to adequately conserve wolves, we will keep a significant portion of the range in the Wyoming portion of the NRM DPS because there are not adequate regulatory mechanisms in that area. In this situation, wolves in the significant portion of the range in northwestern Wyoming, outside the National Parks, will retain their nonessential experimental status under section 10(j) of the Act. We will remove the remainder of the NRM DPS from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species. Any gray wolves in the remainder of Wyoming outside the National Parks and those portions of Washington, Oregon, and Utah in the NRM DPS, are not essential to conserving the NRM wolf population and these areas do not constitute a significant portion of the range in the DPS. Therefore these areas will not remain listed. We are also soliciting comments regarding our intention to use section 6 agreements to allow States outside the NRM DPS with Service-approved wolf management plans to assume management of listed wolves, including nonlethal and lethal control of problem wolves.

NOAA and the USFWS published final regulations for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument (Monument) on August 29, 2006. The preamble and regulatory text of that notice contained errors pertaining to the electronic mail address for submitting comments on the information collection requirements of that rule, the reference to the dimensions of the outer boundary of the Monument, and the numbering sequence for one paragraph. This final rule corrects those errors. This rule makes no substantive change to the regulations.