18238 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Notices 

of data to be prepared during and 

shortly after the field program, and will 

facilitate transfer of the data to 

statistical, graphical, or other programs 

for additional processing and archiving. 

Results from the vessel-based 

observations will provide: (1) A basis for 

real-time mitigation; (2) information 

needed to estimate the number of 

northern sea otters that are determined 

to have been harassed; (3) data on the 

occurrence, distribution, and activities 

of marine mammals in the area where 

hovercraft operations are conducted; 

and (4) data on the behavior and 

movement patterns of northern sea 

otters seen at times with and without 

hovercraft activity. 

b. Baseline Skiff Surveys 

The Applicants will conduct baseline 

skiff surveys in April during each 

construction year to document 

distribution and abundance of sea otters 

in the project area. A minimum of three 

skiff-based line transect surveys will be 

conducted during each survey event. 

Additionally, a survey event will be 

conducted in April after construction is 

completed to document distribution and 

abundance. Surveys will be conducted 

from a skiff or vessel and will 

encompass marine waters from a depth 

of 40 meters to mean high tide. 

c. Reporting 

Reports on vessel- and land-based 

activities during construction and 

vessel-based monitoring will be faxed or 

e-mailed to the Service on a regular 

basis. Reports will describe hovercraft 

operations and construction activities, 

and northern sea otter monitoring 

activities during the reporting period. 

Frequency and specific content of 

reports will be determined based on 

consultation with the Service. 

Endangered Species Act 

The proposed activity will occur 

within the range of the southwest 

Alaska DPS of the northern sea otter, 

which is presently listed as threatened 

under the ESA, as amended. The FAA 

and the Service’s Anchorage Fish and 

Wildlife Field Office in Anchorage, 

Alaska, had consulted under Section 7 

of the ESA, and concluded that the 

proposed activity would not jeopardize 

the southwest Alaska DPS of the 

northern sea otter. However, at the time 

the consultation occurred, critical 

habitat had not been designated. 

Therefore, we reinitiated consultation 

with the Applicants to take into 

consideration rescheduled project dates 

and potential impacts to critical habitat. 

As a result of that reinitiation, we 

concluded that the proposed activity 

would not jeopardize the continued 

existence of the southwest Alaska DPS 

of northern sea otter and would not 

result in the destruction or adverse 

modification of designated critical 

habitat. We have reinitiated Section 7 

consultation with the Applicants to take 

into consideration the rescheduled dates 

and modifications of this project. We 

will also complete intra-Service section 

7 consultation prior to finalization of 

the IHA, which will include these 

considerations as well as potential 

impacts to critical habitat. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

The Applicants provided a Final EA 

on the project in 2007 and the Service 

found that the Final EA met NEPA 

standards for analyzing the effects of the 

issuance of the IHA. The Applicants 

have prepared a Supplemental EA for 

the modifications to the proposed 

action. Subsequent to closure of the 

comment period for this IHA, we make 

an equivalent finding on the 

Supplemental EA. To obtain a copy of 

the Final and Supplemental EAs, 

contact the individual identified in the 

section FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Government-to-Government Relations 

With Native American Tribal 

Governments 

In accordance with the President’s 

memorandum of April 29, 1994, 

‘‘Government-to-Government Relations 

with Native American Tribal 

Governments’’ (59 FR 22951), Executive 

Order 13175, Secretarial Order 3225, 

and the Department of the Interior’s 

manual at 512 DM 2, we readily 

acknowledge our responsibility to 

communicate meaningfully with 

federally recognized Tribes on a 

Government-to-Government basis. On 

July 24, 2008, and February 7, 2011, we 

contacted the Native Village of Akutan 

to offer Government-to-Government 

consultation on this project. The Tribal 

Administrator declined the offer, stating 

that their Tribe fully supports the 

development of an airport on Akun 

Island. 

Proposed Authorization 

The Service proposes to issue an IHA 

for small numbers of northern sea otters 

harassed incidentally by the Applicants 

while conducting the Akutan Airport, 

Alaska, Airport Construction and 

Hovercraft Operation. The final IHA 

would specify the starting date and 

ending date (1 year later) for the 

authorization. Authorization for 

incidental take beyond the period 

specified in the final IHA will require a 

request for renewal. 

The final IHA would also incorporate 

the mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting requirements discussed in this 

proposal. The Applicants will be 

responsible for following those 

requirements. These authorizations do 

not allow the intentional taking of 

northern sea otters. 

If the level of activity exceeds that 

described by the Applicants, or the level 

or nature of take exceeds those projected 

here, the Service will reevaluate its 

findings. The Secretary may modify, 

suspend, or revoke an authorization if 

the findings are not accurate or the 

conditions described herein are not 

being met. 

Request for Public Comments 

The Service requests interested 

persons to submit comments and 

information concerning this proposed 

IHA. Consistent with section 

101(a)(5)(D)(iii) of the MMPA, we are 

opening the comment period on this 

proposed authorization for 30 days (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Dated: March 22, 2011. 

Geoffrey L. Haskett, 

Regional Director, Alaska Region. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7764 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R9–FHC–2011–N061; 94300–1122– 

0000–Z2] 

Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory 

Committee; Announcement of Public 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), will host a 

Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory 

Committee (Committee) meeting on 

April 27, 2011. The meeting is open to 

the public. The meeting agenda will 

include a presentation and discussion of 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Notices 18239 

the Service’s Draft Land-Based Wind 

Energy Guidelines. 

DATES: The meeting will take place on 

April 27, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Eastern Time. If you are a member of the 

public wishing to attend, you must 

register online no later than April 20, 

2011 (see ‘‘Meeting Participation 

Information’’ under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION). 

ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax 

Drive, Room 530, Arlington, VA 22203 

(see ‘‘Meeting Location Information’’ 

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel London, Division of Habitat and 

Resource Conservation, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the 

Interior, (703) 358–2161. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On March 13, 2007, the Department of 

the Interior published a notice of 

establishment of the Committee in the 

Federal Register (72 FR 11373). The 

Committee’s purpose is to provide 

advice and recommendations to the 

Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) on 

developing effective measures to avoid 

or minimize impacts to wildlife and 

their habitats related to land-based wind 

energy facilities. All Committee 

members serve without compensation. 

In accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

App.), a copy of the Committee’s charter 

is filed with the Committee 

Management Secretariat, General 

Services Administration; Committee on 

Environment and Public Works, U.S. 

Senate; Committee on Natural 

Resources, U.S. House of 

Representatives; and the Library of 

Congress. The Secretary appointed 22 

individuals to the Committee on 

October 24, 2007, representing the 

varied interests associated with wind 

energy development and its potential 

impacts to wildlife species and their 

habitats. The Committee provided its 

recommendations to the Secretary on 

March 4, 2010. 

Draft Land-Based Wind Energy 

Guidelines 

The Draft Land-Based Wind Energy 

Guidelines were made available for 

public comment on February 18, 2011, 

with a comment-period ending date of 

May 19, 2011. The draft Guidelines are 

available for comment at http:// 

www.fws.gov/windenergy/docs/Wind_

Energy_Guidelines_2_15_

2011FINAL.pdf. We will publish the 

final Guidelines for public use after 

consideration of any comments 

received. The purpose of the Guidelines, 

once finalized, will be to provide 

recommendations on measures to avoid, 

minimize, and compensate for effects to 

fish, wildlife, and their habitats. For 

more information, including how to 

comment on the draft Guidelines, see 

our Federal Register notice of February 

18, 2011 (76 FR 9590). 

Meeting Location Information 

Please note that the meeting location 

is accessible to wheelchair users. If you 

require additional accommodations, 

please notify us at least 1 week in 

advance of the meeting. 

Meeting Participation Information 

All Committee meetings are open to 

the public. The public has an 

opportunity to comment at all 

Committee meetings. 

We require that all persons planning 

to attend the meeting register at http:// 

www.fws.gov/windenergy no later than 

April 20, 2011. We will give preference 

to registrants based on date and time of 

registration. Limited standing room at 

the meeting may be available if all seats 

are filled. 

Dated: March 29, 2011. 

Rachel London, 

Alternate Designated Federal Officer, Wind 

Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7788 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R9–IA–2011–N069; 96300–1671– 

0000–P5] 

Endangered Species; Marine 

Mammals; Receipt of Applications for 

Permit 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications 

for permit. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, invite the public to 

comment on the following applications 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered species, marine mammals, 

or both. With some exceptions, the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA) prohibits activities with listed 

species unless a Federal permit is issued 

that allows such activities. Both laws 

require that we invite public comment 

before issuing these permits. 

DATES: We must receive comments or 

requests for documents on or before 

May 2, 2011. We must receive requests 

for marine mammal permit public 

hearings, in writing, at the address 

shown in the ADDRESSES section by May 

2, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Brenda Tapia, Division of 

Management Authority, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax 

Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203; 

fax (703) 358–2280; or e-mail 

DMAFR@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brenda Tapia, (703) 358–2104 

(telephone); (703) 358–2280 (fax); 

DMAFR@fws.gov (e-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Comment Procedures 

A. How do I request copies of 

applications or comment on submitted 

applications? 

Send your request for copies of 

applications or comments and materials 

concerning any of the applications to 

the contact listed under ADDRESSES. 

Please include the Federal Register 

notice publication date, the PRTnumber, and the name of the applicant 

in your request or submission. We will 

not consider requests or comments sent 

to an e-mail or address not listed under 

ADDRESSES. If you provide an email 

address in your request for copies of 

applications, we will attempt to respond 

to your request electronically. 

Please make your requests or 

comments as specific as possible. Please 

confine your comments to issues for 

which we seek comments in this notice, 

and explain the basis for your 

comments. Include sufficient 

information with your comments to 

allow us to authenticate any scientific or 

commercial data you include. 

The comments and recommendations 

that will be most useful and likely to 

influence agency decisions are: (1) 

Those supported by quantitative 

information or studies; and (2) Those 

that include citations to, and analyses 

of, the applicable laws and regulations. 

We will not consider or include in our 

administrative record comments we 

receive after the close of the comment 

period (see DATES) or comments 

delivered to an address other than those 

listed above (SEE ADDRESSES). 

B. May I review comments submitted by 

others? 

Comments, including names and 

street addresses of respondents, will be 

available for public review at the 

address listed under ADDRESSES. The 

public may review documents and other 

information applicants have sent in 

support of the application unless our 

allowing viewing would violate the 

Privacy Act or Freedom of Information 

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