31926 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices

6.5 miles in length); 2 natural gas

supply pipelines (one approximately 3.5

miles in length and the other

approximately 32 miles in length); and

a 7-mile-long electrical transmission

line.

Construction of the Power Project and

associated facilities would result in

short-term, long-term, and permanent

disturbances to desert tortoise and

Mohave ground squirrel habitat. The

Power Project would disturb

approximately 630.2 acres of habitat,

with approximately 244.1 acres of shortterm disturbance and 386.1 acres of

long-term and/or permanent

disturbance.

The Applicant proposes to minimize

and/or mitigate for impacts associated

with the Power Project, in part, by

conducting pre-construction surveys of

proposed work areas and construction

zones, and by developing an employee

and contractor education program that

would describe allowable practices

when constructing in desert tortoise and

Mohave ground squirrel habitat area.

The Applicant would revegetate habitat

disturbed during construction,

operation, maintenance, and/or

decommissioning activities in

accordance with an approved plan. As

compensation for impacts to habitat on

private land, the Applicant would

ensure the protection in perpetuity of

1,242.8 acres of off-site mitigation lands

or habitat credits, having habitat value

for both desert tortoises and Mohave

ground squirrels that is at least as great

as the value of the habitat being

impacted. The number of compensation

acres was developed based on an

agency-approved formula which

assesses the categories of previous and

potential disturbance, the condition and

classification of the impacted habitat,

and potential impacts to adjacent

habitat. To mitigate for impacts to desert

tortoise and Mohave ground squirrel

associated with construction and

operation of this gas pipeline, the

Applicant proposes that funding for

restoration activities may be provided

either in lieu of or in combination with

the purchase of compensation lands or

habitat credits.

In addition to issuance of an

incidental take permit by the Service,

High Desert Power Project Limited

Liability Company has requested other

federal authorizations for the proposed

project. The company seeks Nationwide

Permit No. 12 authorizations by the

Army Corps of Engineers, pursuant to

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, for

pipeline crossings of waters of the

United States. The company also seeks

a right-of-way grant from the Bureau of

Land Management pursuant to Section

28 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920,

to authorize construction, operation and

maintenance of the 32-mile natural gas

pipeline. The U.S. Air Force has Federal

land management authority over the

lands located within the former George

Air Force Base. The High Desert Power

Project Limited Liability Company and

Victor Valley Economic Development

Authority have jointly requested that

the Air Force act to supplement its prior

environmental record and to authorize

specifically the uses of the former

George Air Force Base lands proposed

for the High Desert Power Project by

way of an addendum to an existing lease

agreement between the Air Force and

Victor Valley Economic Development

Authority. Additionally, the High Desert

Power Project Limited Liability

Company has requested that the Air

Force grant easements authorizing the

use of certain Federal lands adjacent to

the former George Air Force Base for the

construction, operation and

maintenance of linear features of the

High Desert Power Project.

On December 30, 1998, a notice was

published in the Federal Register (63

FR 71940) announcing that the Service

would take the lead in preparing an

Environmental Impact Statement

addressing the Federal actions

associated with the High Desert Power

Project. The Bureau of Land

Management, U.S. Air Force and the

Army Corps of Engineers may use this

Environmental Impact Statement as the

basis for their separate Federal

decisions.

The Draft Environmental Impact

Statement analyzed the potential

environmental impacts that may result

from the Federal actions requested in

support of the proposed development of

the High Desert Power Project, and

identified various alternatives,

including the No Action Alternative (no

incidental take permit), the Combined

Cycle Power Plant with Dry Cooling

Alternative, and various alternatives

proposing the power plant be located in

different locations. Several of these

alternatives would reduce the amount of

habitat disturbance and levels of take of

threatened and endangered species

compared to the Proposed Project

Alternative but would have potentially

greater adverse effects on other

resources such as air quality, land use,

views, and geological hazards. Five

comment letters, totaling 16 individual

comments, were received on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement. A

response to each comment has been

included in Final Environmental Impact

Statement.

The analysis provided in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement is

intended to accomplish the following:

inform the public of the proposed

action; address public comments

received on the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement; disclose the direct,

indirect, and cumulative environmental

effects of the proposed actions; and

indicate any irreversible commitment of

resources that would result from

implementation of the proposed action.

Elizabeth H. Stevens,

Deputy Manager, Region 1, California/Nevada

Operations Office, Sacramento, California.

[FR Doc. 00–12348 Filed 5–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK–962–1410–HY]

Notice for Publication; F–19155–4

Alaska Native Claims Selection

In accordance with Departmental

regulation 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is

hereby given that a decision to issue

conveyance under the provisions of Sec.

14(e) of the Alaska Native Claims

Settlement Act of December 18, 1971, 43

U.S.C. 1613(e), will be issued to Doyon,

Limited. The lands involved are in the

vicinity of Fort Yukon, Alaska.

Fairbanks Meridian, Alaska

T. 18 N., R. 14 E.,

Secs. 29 and 32, those lands formerly

within Native allotment F–14713 Parcel

B.

Containing approximately 40 acres.

A notice of the decision will be

published once a week, for four (4)

consecutive weeks, in the Fairbanks

Daily News Miner. Copies of the

decision may be obtained by contacting

the Alaska State Office of the Bureau of

Land Management, 222 West Seventh

Avenue, #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513–

7599, (907) 271–5960.

Any party claiming a property interest

which is adversely affected by the

decision, an agency of the Federal

government, or regional corporation,

shall have until June 19, 2000 to file an

appeal. However, parties receiving

service by certified mail shall have 30

days from the date of receipt to file an

appeal. Appeals must be filed in the

Bureau of Land Management at the

address identified above, where the

requirements for filing an appeal may be

obtained. Parties who do not file an

appeal in accordance with the

requirements of 43 CFR Part 4, Subpart

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 98 / Friday, May 19, 2000 / Notices 31927

E, shall be deemed to have waived their

rights.

Stephanie Clusiau,

Land Law Examiner, Branch of ANCSA

Adjudication.

[FR Doc. 00–12611 Filed 5–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–$$–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA–610–09–0777–42]

Amendment to the Meeting of the

California Desert District Advisory

Council

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, in

accordance with Public Laws 92–463

and 94–579, that the California Desert

District Advisory Council to the Bureau

of Land Management, U.S. Department

of the Interior, will participate in a field

tour of the BLM-administered public

lands within the West Mojave

Management Planning area on Friday,

June 9, 2000, from 7:30 a.m to 4 p.m.,

and meet in formal session on Saturday,

June 10, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The

Saturday meeting will be held at the

Kerr-McGee Center, located at 100 West

California Avenue, Ridgecrest,

California. To reach the Center, turn

west onto California from China Lake

Boulevard and follow the road to the

Center.

The Council and interested members

of the public will assemble for the field

tour at the Best Western China Lake Inn

parking lot at 7:15 a.m. and depart at

7:30 a.m. Tour stops will include the

Desert Tortoise Natural Area, the Rand

Mountains, and the Jawbone Canyon

Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.

Members of the public are welcome to

participate in the tour, but should plan

on providing their own transportation,

drinks, and lunch.

The Council will meet in formal

session on Saturday. Discussions will

focus on issues being addressed in the

West Mojave Coordinated Management

Plan. Council members also will hear a

presentation and accept public

comment on the development of BLM’s

National Off-Highway Vehicle

Management Strategy. The presentation

is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m.

The national strategy will be

developed with substantial input from

off-highway vehicle (OHV) user groups,

environmental organizations, State and

local agencies, and the general public.

The strategy will address landmanagement issues prompted by the

growing popularity of OHV recreation.

The strategy will recognize the interests

of OHV users while protecting

environmental sensitive areas on BLMmanaged public lands.

BLM will accept written and oral

comments at the June 10 meeting. The

Council Chair will determine the time

allotment for each speaker, based on the

number of people who register to

comment. Written comments also may

be submitted to Mark Conley, BLM OHV

Coordinator, Bureau of Land

Management, 2800 Cottage Way, Room

W–1834, Sacramento, CA 95825.

All Desert District Advisory Council

meetings are open to the public. Time

for public comment may be made

available by the Council Chairman

during the presentation of various

agenda items, and is scheduled at the

beginning of the meeting for topics not

on the agenda.

Written comments may be filed in

advance of the meeting for the

California Desert District Advisory

Council, c/o Bureau of Land

Management, Public Affairs Office, 6221

Box Springs Boulevard, Riverside,

California 92507–0714. Written

comments also are accepted at the time

of the meeting and, if copies are

provided to the recorder, will be

incorporated into the minutes.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Doran Sanchez at (909) 697–5220, BLM

California Desert District External

Affairs.

Dated: May 15, 2000.

Tim Salt,

District Manager.

[FR Doc. 00–12610 Filed 5–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR–030–00–1020–XU: GPO–0210]

Notice of Correction; John Day/Snake

Resource Advisory Council Meeting

AGENCY: Vale District, Bureau of Land

Management, Interior.

ACTION: Meeting of John Day/Snake

Resource Advisory Council: Enterprise,

Oregon, May 23 & 24, 2000.

SUMMARY: Correction to the second day

meeting location published May 3, 2000

in the Federal Register. On May 24,

2000 the meeting will be held next door

to Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

office, 88401 Hwy 82, at the Best

Western Rama Inn conference room,

Enterprise, Oregon from 8:00 a.m. to

3:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Juan

Palma, Bureau of Land Management,

Vale District Office, 100 Oregon Street,

Vale, Oregon 97918, Telephone (541)

473–3144.

Juan Palma,

District Manager.

[FR Doc. 00–12596 Filed 5–18–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–33–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory

Commission Two Hundred and

Twenty-Eight Meeting; Notice of

Meeting

Notice is hereby given in accordance

with the Federal Advisory Committee

Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 770 U.S.C.

App 1, section 10), that a meeting of the

Cape Code National Seashore Advisory

Commission will be held on Friday,

June 2, 2000.

The Commission was reestablished

pursuant to Public Law 87–126 as

amended by Public Law 105–280. The

purpose of the Commission is to consult

with the Secretary of the Interior, or his

designee, with respect to matters

relating to the development of Cape

Code National Seashore, and with

respect to carrying out the provisions of

sections 4 and 5 of the Act establishing

the Seashore.

The Commission members will meet

at 1 p.m. at Headquarters, Marconi

Station, Wellfleet, Massachusetts for the

regular business meeting to discuss the

following:

1. Adoption of Agenda

2. Approval of Minutes of Previous

Meeting—March 17, 2000

3. Report of Officers

4. Subcommittee Reports

Personal Watercraft Subcommittee

Nickerson Fellowship Committee

5. Superintendent’s Report:

Highlands Center

News from Washington

Fort Hill burn results

Penniman House renovations

Horseshoe Crabs

USGS Water Study

6. Old Business

Advisory Committee Handbook

7. New Business

8. Agenda and date for next meeting

9. Public comment

10. Adjournment

The meeting is open to the public. It

is expected that 15 persons will be able

to attend the meeting in addition to

Commission members. Interested

persons may make oral/written

presentations to the Commission during

the business meeting or file written

statements. Such requests should be

made to the park superintendent at least