8738 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 37 / Thursday, February 25, 2010 / Notices 

may be affected by the establishment of 

the NEP. 

Wood Bison Status in Canada and ESA 

Petition 

In 1988, the Committee on the Status 

of Endangered Wildlife in Canada 

reclassified the wood bison from 

‘‘endangered’’ to ‘‘threatened’’ status 

under Canada’s Species at Risk Act 

because Canadian populations of wood 

bison were recovering. In 2007, 

Canada’s Wood Bison Recovery Team 

petitioned the Service to reclassify 

wood bison from endangered to 

threatened status under the Act. On 

February 3, 2009, we published a 

finding that the petition presented 

substantial information indicating that 

this action may be warranted and 

initiated a status review for wood bison 

(74 FR 5908). Following our review of 

the wood bison’s status, we will issue a 

finding on the petition, in which we 

will determine whether it is appropriate 

to retain the species’ endangered status, 

reclassify it as threatened, or even to 

remove the wood bison from listed 

status under the Act. 

Regulatory Status of Wood Bison in 

Alaska 

The State will not consider 

reintroducing wood bison to Alaska in 

the absence of Federal regulatory 

assurance to landowners and land 

managers that such action would not 

adversely affect resource development 

activities important to Alaska’s 

economy. Such assurance could be 

accomplished through a change in the 

species’ listing status throughout its 

range or through the establishment of a 

NEP pursuant to section 10(j) of the Act. 

A reclassification of the wood bison to 

‘‘threatened’’ status, without the 

establishment of a NEP pursuant to ESA 

section 10(j), would not provide 

sufficient regulatory assurance. 

Scoping Process 

To ensure compliance with NEPA and 

the Act, the Service and ADF&G are 

cooperating to prepare a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) and 

proposed rule to establish, under 

section 10(j) of the Act, a non-essential 

experimental population of wood bison 

in Alaska. The purpose of this scoping 

process is to aid the development of the 

EA by collecting comments on this 

action as a way to support wood bison 

conservation. We also seek comments 

on the environmental effects of 

reintroducing wood bison to Alaska. 

In addition to the ‘‘no action’’ 

alternative, our draft EA will consider: 

(1) The environmental effects of 

issuing 10(j) and 4(d) rules for wood 

bison in Alaska; 

(2) the environmental effects of 

reintroducing wood bison to one or 

more of the potential release sites Minto 

Flats, Yukon Flats, and the lower 

Innoko/Yukon River area; 

(3) the environmental effects of 

reintroducing wood bison to Alaska in 

the absence of 10(j) and 4(d) rules. 

We will incorporate the relevant 

public comments we receive in response 

to this scoping notice into our analysis 

of impacts of the proposed action and 

project alternatives in the draft EA. This 

document will include maps of the 

proposed reintroduction area or areas, 

based on public input and current 

knowledge of wood bison habitat in 

Alaska. We will make the draft EA 

available for a minimum 30-day public 

review period. The final environmental 

document, which will address the 

comments we receive during the draft 

EA public comment period, will be 

available on the internet. 

Request for Public Comments 

We wish to ensure that any 10(j) rule 

and associated environmental 

documents we issue relating to the 

wood bison in Alaska effectively 

evaluate all potential issues associated 

with wood bison reintroduction to 

Alaska. Therefore, we request comments 

or recommendations concerning any of 

the considerations we have listed above; 

and also concerning: The biological and 

habitat requirements of the species; 

information on the distribution and 

quality of habitat for the wood bison in 

Alaska; the overall approach to the 

conservation of wood bison in Canada 

and Alaska; reasons why any specific 

areas might require special management 

or should be excluded from, or added 

to, the proposed reintroduction site or 

sites; and any other pertinent issues of 

concern. We seek comments from the 

public; Tribal, local, State, and Federal 

government agencies; the scientific 

community; industry; or any other 

affected or interested party. To 

determine whether to prepare a Finding 

of No Significant Impact or an 

Environmental Impact Statement, we 

will take into consideration all 

comments and any additional 

information we receive. 

References 

A complete list of all references in 

this notice is available upon request 

from the Fish and Wildlife Service (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Author(s) 

The primary author of this package is 

the Fisheries and Ecological Services 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Anchorage, AK. 

Dated: February 12, 2010. 

Gary Edwards, 

Deputy Regional Director, Region 7, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3889 Filed 2–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

LLNM915000L14200000.BJ0000] 

Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey, NM 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of filing of Plats of 

Survey. 

SUMMARY: The plats of survey described 

below are scheduled to be officially 

filed in the New Mexico State Office, 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 

Santa Fe, New Mexico, thirty (30) 

calendar days from the date of this 

publication. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

New Mexico Principal Meridian, New 

Mexico (NM) 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey in Township 14 

North, Range 10 West, of the New 

Mexico Principal Meridian, accepted 

September 4, 2009, for Group 1093 NM. 

The plat, in two sheets, representing 

the dependent resurvey and survey, in 

Township 16 North, Range 19 West, of 

the New Mexico Principal Meridian, 

accepted September 30, 2009, for Group 

1073 NM. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey, of the Canon De 

San Diego Grant, accepted November 

19, 2009, for Group 1100 NM. 

The plat representing the dependent 

resurvey and survey, in Township 17 

North, Range 24 East, of the New 

Mexico Principal Meridian, accepted 

December 2, 2009, for Group 1102 NM. 

Indian Meridian, Oklahoma (OK) 

The plat, in two sheets, representing 

the dependent resurvey and survey in 

Township 15 North, Range 11 West, of 

the Indian Meridian, accepted October 

16, 2009, for Group 180 OK. 

The plat, in four sheets, representing 

the dependent resurvey and survey in 

Township 20 North, Range 16 West, of 

the Indian Meridian, accepted October 

14, 2009, for Group 162 OK. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 37 / Thursday, February 25, 2010 / Notices 8739 

The plat, in four sheets, representing 

the dependent resurvey and survey in 

Township 5 South, Range 13 West, of 

the Indian Meridian, accepted 

September 24, 2009, for Group 80 OK. 

The plat, in three sheets, representing 

the dependent resurvey and survey, in 

Township 5 South, Range 15 West, of 

the Indian Meridian, accepted 

September 24, 2009, for Group 82 OK. 

The plat, in two sheets, representing 

the dependent resurvey and survey, in 

Township 24 North, Range 2 East, of the 

Indian Meridian, accepted November 

19, 2009, for Group 159 OK. 

If a protest against a survey, as shown 

on any of the above plats is received 

prior to the date of official filing, the 

filing will be stayed pending 

consideration of the protest. A plat will 

not be officially filed until the day after 

all protests have been dismissed and 

become final or appeals from the 

dismissal affirmed. 

A person or party who wishes to 

protest against any of these surveys 

must file a written protest with the New 

Mexico State Director, Bureau of Land 

Management, stating that they wish to 

protest. 

A statement of reasons for a protest 

may be filed with the notice of protest 

to the State Director, or the statement of 

reasons must be filed with the State 

Director within thirty (30) days after the 

protest is filed. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

These plats will be available for 

inspection in the New Mexico State 

Office, Bureau of Land Management, 

P.O. Box 27115, Santa Fe, New Mexico 

87502–0115. Copies may be obtained 

from this office upon payment. Contact 

Marcella Montoya at 505–438–7537, or 

Marcella_Montoya@nm.blm.gov, for 

assistance. 

Stephen W. Beyerlein, 

Acting, Chief, Branch of Cadastral, Survey/ 

GeoSciences. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3828 Filed 2–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLCOS05000 2009] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource 

Management Plan for the 

Uncompahgre Field Office and 

Associated Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO), 

Montrose, Colorado intends to prepare a 

Resource Management Plan (RMP) with 

an associated Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the UFO and by this 

notice is announcing the beginning of 

the scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. The RMP 

will replace the existing 1985 San Juan/ 

San Miguel RMP and the 1989 

Uncompahgre Basin RMP. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the RMP and the 

associated EIS. Comments on issues and 

planning criteria may be submitted in 

writing until March 29, 2010 

Scoping meetings were held recently 

in the following locations: 

Hotchkiss, CO, January 12, 2010. 

Delta, CO, January 13, 2010. 

Montrose, CO, January 14, 2010. 

Ridgway, CO, January 19, 2010. 

Norwood, CO, January 20, 2010. 

Naturita, CO, January 21, 2010. 

Telluride, CO, February 3, 2010. 

The dates and locations of all scoping 

meetings were announced 15 days in 

advance through local media, a 

newsletter and the BLM Web site at: 

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/ufo/ 

uncompahgre_rmp.html. Comments 

received during scoping meetings held 

in January and February, 2010 will be 

incorporated in the record and 

considered by the BLM. In order to be 

included in the Draft EIS, all comments 

must be received prior to the close of 

the 30-day scoping period. The BLM 

will provide additional opportunities 

for public participation upon 

publication of the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on issues and planning criteria by any 

of the following methods: 

• Web site: http://www.blm.gov/co/st/ 

en/fo/ufo/uncompahgre_rmp.html. 

• E-mail: uformp@blm.gov. 

• Fax: (970) 240–5367. 

• Mail: BLM Uncompahgre Field 

Office, RMP Project Manager, 2465 S. 

Townsend Ave., Montrose, Colorado 

81401. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined at the UFO during 

regular business hours (from 8 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 

except holidays). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Bruce Krickbaum, RMP Project 

Manager, telephone (970) 240–5300; 

address BLM Uncompahgre Field Office 

2465 South Townsend Ave, Montrose, 

Colorado 81401; e-mail 

uformp@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document: provides notice that the BLM 

UFO, Montrose, Colorado, intends to 

prepare an RMP with an associated EIS 

for the UFO; announces the beginning of 

the scoping process; and seeks public 

input on issues and planning criteria. 

The planning area is located in Delta, 

Gunnison, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray and 

San Miguel counties, Colorado, 

encompasses approximately 675,677 

acres of public land, and excludes the 

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation 

Area and the Dominguez-Escalante 

National Conservation Area, which are 

managed under separate RMPs. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the planning 

process. Preliminary issues for the 

planning area have been identified by 

BLM personnel, Federal, State, and local 

agencies, and other stakeholders. The 

issues include: 

• Managing vegetative and water 

resources, terrestrial and aquatic habitat 

and special management areas, while 

sustaining biological diversity and 

native species populations; 

• Managing mineral, renewable and 

nonrenewable energy resources; 

• Managing increasing numbers and 

types of human activities and uses; 

• Managing land tenure adjustments, 

withdrawals and utility/energy 

corridors; 

• Managing and protecting cultural, 

historical and paleontological resources 

and Native American religious 

concerns; and 

• Managing public lands and 

resources, including authorized and 

permitted land uses, for a growing 

population and expanding urban 

interface, with consideration for 

community values and needs. 

Preliminary planning criteria include: 

• Compliance with the FLPMA, the 

NEPA and other applicable laws and 

regulations. 

• Incorporation of the Colorado BLM 

Standards for Public Land Health. 

• Continued management of 

Wilderness Study Areas under the 

Interim Management Policy for Lands 

under Wilderness Review until 

Congress acts on a designation or 

releases lands from consideration. 

• Decisions will be made that affect 

all BLM lands, including the subsurface 

mineral estate, within the planning area. 

• Recognition of valid existing rights. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES