Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 117 / Friday, June 16, 2000 / Notices 37797

(Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi). The

species occurs on lands managed by the

U.S. Forest Service, Coronado National

Forest; U.S. Department of the Army,

Fort Huachuca; and private lands in the

San Rafael Valley and adjacent portions

of the Huachuca and Patagonia

mountains in southeastern Santa Cruz

and southwestern Cochise counties,

Arizona. The Service solicits review and

comment from the public on this draft

Plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft Recovery

Plan must be received on or before

August 15, 2000 to receive

consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the draft Recovery Plan may obtain a

copy by contacting Jim Rorabaugh,

Arizona Ecological Services Field

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite 103,

Phoenix, Arizona 85021–4951 (602/

640–2720 x238). Written comments and

materials regarding the plan should be

addressed to the Field Supervisor at this

same address. Comments and materials

received are available on request for

public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim

Rorabaugh (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restoring an endangered or

threatened animal or plant species to

the point where it is again a secure, selfsustaining member of its ecosystem is a

primary goal of the Service’s

endangered species program. To help

guide the recovery effort, the Service is

working to prepare recovery plans for

most of the listed species native to the

United States. Recovery plans describe

actions considered necessary for

conservation of the species, establish

criteria for the recovery levels for

downlisting or delisting them, and

estimate time and cost for implementing

the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973

(Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), requires the development of

recovery plans for listed species unless

such a plan would not promote the

conservation of a particular species.

Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in

1988, requires that public notice and an

opportunity for public review and

comment be provided during recovery

plan development. The Service will

consider all information presented

during a public comment period prior to

approval of each new or revised

recovery plan. The Service and other

Federal agencies will also take these

comments into account in the course of

implementing approved recovery plans.

The Draft Sonora Tiger Salamander

Recovery Plan describes the status,

current management, recovery

objectives and criteria, and specific

actions needed to reclassify the Sonora

tiger salamander from endangered to

threatened, and to ultimately delist it.

The draft Plan was developed by Dr.

James Collins and Jonathan Snyder,

Arizona State University, Tempe,

Arizona, in coordination with the

Service and a team of stakeholders (the

Participation Team), which included

ranchers, landowners and managers,

agency representatives, and

herpetologists. The salamander

currently only breeds in livestock

watering tanks in the San Rafael Valley

of southeastern Arizona. Its natural

breeding habitats are no longer present

or are now unsuitable. The salamander

is threatened by loss of natural habitats;

predation by nonnative fish, bullfrogs,

and crayfish; genetic swamping by nonnative barred tiger salamanders; disease;

low genetic diversity; and collection for

bait or translocation by anglers. Actions

needed to recover the salamander

include maintenance and enhancement

of habitats, control of non-native

organisms, control of collection and

transport of tiger salamanders, actions to

reduce spread of disease, monitoring,

research, public education and

information, and adaptive management.

The draft Recovery Plan includes a draft

Participation Plan, prepared by the

Participation Team, which details how

the plan should be implemented to

minimize social and economic impacts

while still providing for the prompt

recovery of the salamander. The Service

will work with the Participation Team

to address comments received during

the comment period. The draft Plan will

be revised and finalized based on those

comments.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the Draft Sonora Tiger Salamander

Recovery Plan. All comments received

by the date specified above will be

considered prior to approval of the plan.

Authority: The authority for this action is

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act,

16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: May 29, 2000.

Nancy M. Kaufman,

Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 00–15117 Filed 6–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–030–1010–DC–032F]

Environmental Statements; Notice of

Intent; Walker River Basin, NV; Water

and/or Water Rights From Willing

Sellers

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Carson City Field Office, 5665 Morgan

Mill Road, Carson City, NV 89701.

ACTION: Second Amendment to the

February 1, 2000 notice of intent to

prepare an environmental impact

statement for obtaining water and/or

water rights from willing sellers in the

Walker River Basin.

Second Amendment to the February

1, 2000 notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement for

obtaining Water and/or water rights

from willing sellers in the Walker River

Basin for the purposes of protecting the

Walker Lake ecosystem from

degradation resulting from increasing

total dissolved solids (TDS) in the lake;

possible use in a settlement of the

United States’ water rights claims in the

Walker River Basin should a settlement

be negotiated; and to assist in recovery

of the threatened Lahontan cutthroat

trout in the Walker River Basin.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM), Carson City Field

Office, in cooperation with the Bureau

of Indian Affairs (BIA), Phoenix Area

Office, The Bureau of Reclamation

(BOR), Lahontan Basin Area Office and

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(FWS), Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office,

will hold four public workshops for the

purposes of refining issues identified in

the on-going scoping process and

developing reasonable alternative for

consideration and analysis in the

Walker River Basin Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS).

These workshops are a follow-up to

public scoping meetings held in

February, 2000 regarding BLM’s

proposal to obtain water and/or water

rights from willing sellers to protect the

Walker Lake ecosystem from

degradation resulting from increasing

concentrations of total dissolved solids

(TDS) in the lake, for possible use in a

settlement of the United States’ water

rights claims in the Walker River Basin

should a settlement be negotiated, and

to assist in the recovery of the

threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout.

EFFECTIVE DATES: A series of four public

workshops will be held between July 5

and July 13, 2000. The workshops will

be held from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. at

each of the following locations:

37798 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 117 / Friday, June 16, 2000 / Notices

July 5, 2000 Yerington H.S. MultiPurpose Room, 114 Pearl St.,

Yerington, Nevada

July 6, 2000 Mineral County Library,

110 1st St., Hawthorne, Nevada

July 12, 2000 Memorial Hall, School

Street, Bridgeport, California

July 13, 2000 Carson City Field Office

(BLM), 5665 Morgan Mill Rd,

Carson City, Nevada

These workshops will be conducted

by Desert Research Institute as the

principal contractor for preparing the

Walker River Basin EIS, and personnel

from the Bureau of Land Management,

Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of

Indian Affairs, and the Fish and

Wildlife Service will participate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

additional information, write to the

Field Manager of the Carson City Field

Office at the address listed in the agency

section of this notice, call or email Walt

Devaurs (BLM Team Leader) at (775)

885–6150, wdevaurs@nv.blm.gov; or

Mike McQueen (BLM NEPA

Coordinator) at (775) 885–6120,

mmcqueen@nv.blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

proposed EIS schedule is as follows:

Begin Initial Public Comment Period

February 1, 2000

Hold Four Public Workshops July 5–

13, 2000

End of Extended Public Scoping Period

July 31, 2000

Issue Draft EIS (75-day public review)

November 24, 2000

End Draft EIS Public Review February

7, 2000

Issue Final EIS (30-day public review)

June 1, 2001

Issue Record of Decision August 5,

2001

End 30-Day Appeal Period/

Implementation September 5,

2001

Dated: June 12, 2000.

John O. Singlaub,

Field Office Manager.

[FR Doc. 00–15255 Filed 6–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO–600–00–1010–PG–241A]

Northwest Colorado Resource

Advisory Council Meeting

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Meeting.

SUMMARY: The next meeting of the

Northwest Colorado Resource Advisory

Council (RAC) will be held on Friday,

July 21, 2000, from 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.

at the U.S. Forest Service Office

building located at 925 Weiss Drive,

Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

DATES: The meeting date is Friday, July

21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The RAC meeting will be

held at the U. S. Forest Service Office

building located at 925 Weiss Drive,

Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lynn Barclay, Public Affairs Specialist,

Craig BLM Office, 455 Emerson Street,

Craig, CO 81625—Phone (970) 826–

5096.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

meeting will begin at 9 a. m. on July 21,

2000. The purpose of the meeting is to

consider several resource management

topics. These topics are review of

Recreation Guidelines as prepared by

BLM staff, update of County Wilderness

Forum process, review of BLM plan to

develop strategy to manage ORV’s,

progress report of Wildlife Committee,

RAC association with the U.S. Forest

Service, and BLM Management Report

on wilderness review for Vermillion

Cliffs. The meeting will adjourn at 4:00

p.m.

Interested members of the public may

make oral statements at the meeting at

10:15 a.m. or submit written statements

following the meeting. Per-person time

limits for oral statements may be set to

allow all interested individuals an

opportunity to speak.

Summary minutes of RAC meetings

are maintained in the BLM Northwest

Center Office located at 2815 H Road,

Grand Junction, CO., 81506, phone (970)

244–3000 and the Craig BLM Office

located at 455 Emerson Street, Craig,

CO., 81625, phone (970) 826–5000.

They are available for public inspection

and reproduction during regular

business hours within thirty (30) days

following the meeting.

Dated: June 12, 2000.

Richard M. Arcand,

Assistant Manager, Northwest Center Office.

[FR Doc. 00–15306 Filed 6–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[UTU–76557]

Utah; Proposed Reinstatement of

Terminated Oil and Gas Lease

June 12, 2000.

In accordance with Title IV of the

Federal Oil and Gas Royalty

Management Act (Public Law 97–451), a

petition for reinstatement of oil and gas

lease UTU–76557 for lands in Grand

County, Utah, was timely filed and

required rentals accruing from January

1, 2000, the date of termination, have

been paid.

The lessees have agreed to new lease

terms for rentals and royalties at rates of

$5 per acre and 162⁄3 percent,

respectively. The $500 administrative

fee has been paid and the lessees have

reimbursed the Bureau of Land

Management for the cost of publishing

this notice.

Having met all the requirements for

reinstatement of the lease as set out in

section 31 (d) and (e) of the Mineral

Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 188), the

Bureau of Land Management is

proposing to reinstate lease UTU–76557,

effective January 1, 2000, subject to the

original terms and conditions of the

lease and the increased rental and

royalty rates cited above.

Irene J. Anderson,

Acting Chief, Branch of Minerals

Adjudication.

[FR Doc. 00–15256 Filed 6–15–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–$$–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV–056–1430–ES; N–66384]

Notice of Realty Action: Direct Sale

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management.

ACTION: Direct sale of reversionary

interest—Recreation or Public Purposes

Patent, Number 27–72–0082

SUMMARY: The following described

public land in Las Vegas, Clark County,

Nevada, was patented to Clark County

on June 7, 1972 under the Recreation or

Public Purpose Act for a public park.

Clark County requests the purchase of

the reversionary interest. The land has

been examined and found suitable for

sale at fair market value under the

provisions of the Federal Land Policy

and Management Act (43 CFR 2711.3–

3).

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada

T. 21 S., R. 62 E., M.D.M.

Sec. 25, S1⁄2N1⁄2NE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2NE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4, SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2N1⁄2NW1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2NW1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

SW1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2SE1⁄4NE1⁄4SE1⁄4SW1⁄4, S1⁄2SE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2N1⁄2SW1⁄4SE1⁄4, S1⁄2SW1⁄4SE1⁄4.

Containing 78.75 acres, more or less,

located near the Wetlands Park. The land is

not required for any federal purpose. The