69618 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 229 / Tuesday, November 30, 2004 / Notices 

from 15 January to 15 May of any year 

if the nest is not successful. 

Approval of the HCP may qualify as 

a categorical exclusion under NEPA, as 

provided by the Departmental Manual 

(516 DM 2, Appendix 1, and 516 DM 6, 

Appendix 1) and as a ‘‘low effect’’ plan 

as defined by the Habitat Conservation 

Planning Handbook (Service, November 

1996). Determination of low effect HCPs 

is based upon the plan having: Minor or 

negligible effects on federally-listed, 

proposed, and candidate species and 

their habitats; minor or negligible effects 

on other environmental values or 

resources; and impacts that considered 

together with the impacts of other past, 

present, and reasonably foreseeable 

similarly situated projects would not 

result, over time, in cumulative effects 

to the environmental values or resources 

which would be considered significant. 

If it is found to qualify as a low-effect 

HCP, further NEPA documentation 

would not be required. 

Public Review and Comment 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

application, draft Environmental Action 

Statement or the proposed HCP, you 

may submit your comments to the 

address listed in the ADDRESSES section 

of this document. We will evaluate this 

permit application, associated 

documents, and comments submitted 

thereon to determine whether the 

permit application meets the 

requirements of section 10(a) of the Act 

and NEPA regulations. Individual 

respondents may request that we 

withhold their home address from the 

record, which we will honor to the 

extent allowable by law. There also may 

be circumstances in which we would 

withhold from the record a respondent’s 

identity, as allowable by law. If you 

wish us to withhold your name and/or 

address, you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comment. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, are 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. If we determine that the 

requirements are met, we will issue an 

incidental take permit under section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the Act to the Applicants 

for the take of the bald eagle, incidental 

to otherwise lawful activities in 

accordance with the terms of the permit. 

We will not make our final decision 

until after the end of the 30-day 

comment period and will fully consider 

all comments received during the 

comment period. 

Pursuant to an order issued on June 

10, 2004, by the District Court for the 

District of Columbia in Spirit of the Sage 

Council v. Norton, Civil Action No. 98–

1873 (D. D.C.), the Service is enjoined 

from issuing new section 10(a)(1)(B) 

permits or related documents containing 

‘‘No Surprises’’ assurances, as defined 

by the Service’s ‘‘No Surprises’’ rule 

published at 63 FR 8859 (February 23, 

1998), until such time as the Service 

adopts new permit revocation rules 

specifically applicable to section 

10(a)(1)(B) permits in compliance with 

the public notice and comment 

requirements of the Administrative 

Procedures Act. This notice concerns a 

step in the review and processing of a 

section 10(a)(1)(B) permit and any 

subsequent permit issuance will be in 

accordance with the Court’s order. Until 

such time as the June 10, 2004, order 

has been rescinded or the Service’s 

authority to issue permits with ‘‘No 

Surprises’’ assurances has been 

otherwise reinstated, the Service will 

not approve any incidental take permits 

or related documents that contain ‘‘No 

Surprises’’ assurances. 

The Service provides this notice 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and 

pursuant to implementing regulations 

for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).

Dated: November 2, 2004. 

Daniel H. Diggs, 

Acting Deputy Regional Director, Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 04–26418 Filed 11–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Notice of Intent To Prepare 

Comprehensive Conservation Plan and 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge 

Complex, Martin, SD

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service intends to gather information 

necessary to prepare a Comprehensive 

Conservation Plan and associated 

environmental documents for the 

Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge 

Complex located in South Dakota. The 

Service is issuing this notice in 

compliance with its policy to advise 

other organizations and the public of its 

intentions and to obtain suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues to be 

considered in the planning process.

DATES: Written comments should be 

received by January 1, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments and request for 

more information should be sent to: 

Lacreek NWR Planning Project, HC5 

Box 114, Martin, South Dakota 57551.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Kelly, Refuge Planner, Division of 

Refuge Planning, P.O. Box 25486, DFC, 

Denver, Colorado 80225; (303) 236–

8132.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Service has initiated comprehensive 

conservation planning for the 

management of its natural resources. 

The complex consists of Bear Butte 

NWR, located southeast of Sturgis, 

South Dakota, and Lacreek NWR and 

Wetland Management District located 

near Martin, South Dakota in the 

southwestern part of the state. 

Comprehensive planning will develop 

management goals, objectives, and 

strategies to carry out the purposes of 

the Complex’s refuges and Wetland 

Management District, and comply with 

laws and policies governing refuge 

management and public use of refuges. 

Opportunities will be provided for 

public input at open houses to be held 

near Lacreek and Bear Butte Refuges. 

All information provided voluntarily 

by mail, phone, or at public meetings 

becomes part of the official public 

record (i.e. names, addresses, letters of 

comment, input recorded during 

meetings). If requested under the 

Freedom of Information Act by a private 

citizen or organization, the Service may 

provide copies of such information. The 

environmental impact assessment of 

this project will be conducted in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), NEPA Regulations (40 CFR 1500–

1508), other appropriate Federal laws 

and regulations, Executive Order 12996, 

and the National Wildlife Refuge 

System Improvement Act of 1997, and 

Service policies and procedures for 

compliance with those regulations.

Dated: October 15, 2004. 

Sharon R. Rose, 

Acting Regional Director, Region 6, Denver, 

Colorado.

[FR Doc. 04–26422 Filed 11–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management 

[WY–920–1320–EL, WYW150210] 

Notice of Competitive Coal Lease Sale 

Reoffer, WY

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior.