60710 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 5, 2023 / Notices 

members of the public to be involved in 

the NEPA process are also described on 

the project website. Throughout the 

scoping process, Federal agencies, 

Tribal, State, and local governments, 

and the general public have the 

opportunity to help the USGS identify 

significant resources and issues, impactproducing factors, reasonable 

alternatives, and potential mitigation 

measures to be analyzed in the EIS, as 

well as to provide additional related 

information. 

Public Comments 

Federal agencies, Tribal, State, and 

local governments, and other interested 

parties are requested to comment on the 

scope of the EIS, significant issues that 

should be addressed, and alternatives 

that should be considered. For 

information on how to submit 

comments, see the ADDRESSES section 

above. The USGS does not consider 

anonymous comments. Please include 

your name, address, and email as part 

of your comment. The USGS makes all 

comments, including the names, 

addresses, and other personally 

identifiable information (PII) included 

in the comment, available for public 

review online. Individuals can request 

that the USGS withhold their PII from 

the public record; however, the USGS 

cannot guarantee that it will be able to 

do so. 

Additionally, under section 304 of the 

NHPA, the USGS is required, after 

consultation with the Secretary of the 

Interior, to withhold the location, 

character, or ownership of historic 

resources if it determines that disclosure 

may, among other things, cause a 

significant invasion of privacy, risk 

harm to the historic resources, or 

impede the use of a traditional religious 

site by practitioners. Tribal entities and 

other parties providing information on 

historic resources should designate 

information that they wish to be held as 

confidential and provide the reasons 

why the USGS should do so. All 

submissions from organizations or 

agencies and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or agencies will be made 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. 

Request for Identification and Public 

Comment on Potential Alternatives, 

Information, and Analyses Relevant to 

the Proposed Action 

The USGS requests data, comments, 

concerns, information, analysis, 

alternatives, or suggestions relevant to 

the Proposed Action from the public; 

affected Federal, Tribal, State, and local 

governments, agencies, and offices; the 

scientific community; industry; or any 

other interested party. Specifically, the 

USGS requests information on the 

following topics: 

Potential effects that the Proposed 

Action could have on physical resources 

and conditions including biological 

resources, air quality, hydrology, 

wetlands, and other waters of the 

United States. 

1. Potential effects that the Proposed 

Action could have on socioeconomic 

and cultural resources, including 

demographics, employment, economics, 

environmental justice, land use, utility 

services, traffic, and aesthetic and visual 

resources. 

2. Other possible reasonable 

alternatives to the Proposed Action that 

the USGS should consider, including 

additional alternatives. 

3. As part of its compliance with 

NHPA section 106 and its implementing 

regulations (36 CFR part 800), the USGS 

seeks comment and input from the 

public regarding the identification of 

historic properties within the Proposed 

Action’s area of potential effects defined 

in a cultural resources study available 

on the project website at https://

nwhceis.com/, the potential effects on 

those historic properties from the 

Proposed Action, and any information 

that supports identification of historic 

properties under the NHPA. The USGS 

also solicits proposed measures to 

avoid, minimize, or mitigate any 

adverse effects on historic properties. 

The USGS’s effects analysis for historic 

properties will be available for publicand consulting-party comment in the 

Draft EIS. 

4. Information on other current or 

planned activities in, or in the vicinity 

of, the Proposed Action, their possible 

impacts on the Proposed Action, and 

the Proposed Action’s possible impacts 

on those activities. 

5. Other information relevant to the 

Proposed Action and its potential 

impacts on the environment. 

To promote informed decisionmaking, comments should be as specific 

as possible and should provide as much 

detail as necessary to meaningfully and 

fully inform the USGS of the 

commenter’s position. Comments 

should explain why the issues raised are 

important to the consideration of 

potential environmental impacts and 

possible alternatives to the Proposed 

Action as well as to economic, 

employment, and other impacts 

affecting the quality of the human 

environment. 

The Draft EIS will include a summary 

of information submitted during the 

scoping process for consideration by the 

USGS with the alternatives and 

environmental analyses of the proposed 

action. 

Charise White, 

Acting Center Director, National Wildlife 

Health Center, U.S. Geological Survey. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19055 Filed 9–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4388–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500172774] 

Public Meeting for the Steens 

Mountain Advisory Council, Oregon 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management’s (BLM) Steens 

Mountain Advisory Council (SMAC) 

will meet as follows. 

DATES: The SMAC will hold a meeting 

Thursday, October 19, from 10:15 a.m. 

to 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT), and 

Friday, October 20, from 8:30 to 11:30 

a.m. PT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the BLM Burns District Office at 28910 

Highway 20 West, Hines, Oregon. 

Virtual attendance through the Zoom for 

Government platform will also be 

available. The final meeting agenda and 

Zoom link will be published on the 

SMAC web page at least 10 days in 

advance at https://on.doi.gov/2PnZRcl. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara 

Thissell, Public Affairs Specialist, BLM 

Burns District Office, 28910 Highway 20 

West, Hines, Oregon 97738; telephone: 

(541) 573–4519; email: tthissell@

blm.gov. Individuals in the United 

States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability may 

dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to 

access telecommunications relay 

services. Individuals outside the United 

States should use the relay services 

offered within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

SMAC was established on August 14, 

2001, pursuant to the Steens Mountain 

Cooperative Management and Protection 

Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106–399), to 

provide recommendations to the BLM 

regarding new and unique approaches 

to management of the public lands 

within the bounds of the Steens 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 5, 2023 / Notices 60711 

Mountain Cooperative Management and 

Protection Area and cooperative 

programs and incentives for landscape 

management that meet human needs, 

and to advise the BLM on potential 

maintenance and improvement of the 

ecological and economic integrity of the 

area. 

Agenda items for October 19 include 

reports from the Designated Federal 

Officer and Andrews/Steens Mountain 

Resource Area Field Manager; an 

introduction to strategic planning for 

the SMAC; 2023 recreation program 

recap; information sharing about the 

Inflation Reduction Act; discussion 

about the Bridge Creek Area Allotment 

Management Plan Environmental 

Impact Statement; and an opportunity 

for SMAC members to share information 

from their constituents or present 

research. 

Agenda items for October 20 include 

a discussion about the Page Springs 

Weir; information sharing about 

‘‘reasonable use’’ as written in the 

Steens Act; and continued discussion 

about strategic planning for the SMAC. 

An optional field trip at noon to the 

BLM’s Wild Horse Corral Facility in 

Hines is available. The field trip will 

depart from the BLM Burns District 

Office. The public is welcome to attend 

and must provide their own 

transportation. Any other matters that 

may reasonably come before the SMAC 

may also be included at any time 

throughout the meetings. 

Public comment periods are 

scheduled for 2:15 p.m. PT on 

Thursday, October 19, and 10:45 a.m. 

PT on Friday, October 20. Depending on 

the number of people wishing to 

comment and the time available, the 

amount of time for oral comments may 

be limited. Written public comments 

may be sent to the BLM Burns District 

Office listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. All comments received at least 1 

week prior to the meeting will be 

provided to the SMAC prior to the 

meeting. The meeting may end early if 

all business items are completed ahead 

of schedule or may be extended if 

discussions warrant more time. All 

meetings, including virtual sessions, are 

open to the public in their entirety. 

Please make requests in advance for 

sign language interpreter services, 

assistive listening devices, or other 

reasonable accommodations. We ask 

that you contact the person listed in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of this notice at least 7 business 

days prior to the meeting to give the 

BLM sufficient time to process your 

request. All reasonable accommodation 

requests are managed on a case-by-case 

basis. 

Public Disclosure of Comments: 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comments, please 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. 

(Authority: 5 U.S.C. ch. 10) 

Jeffrey Rose, 

District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19052 Filed 9–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–24–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_OR_FRN_MO4500172864] 

Notice of Public Meeting for the 

Southeast Oregon Resource Advisory 

Council 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management’s (BLM’s) Southeast 

Oregon Resource Advisory Council 

(RAC) will meet as follows. 

DATES: The Southeast Oregon RAC will 

meet Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, from 9 

a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) and 

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, from 9 a.m. 

to 12 p.m. PT. Thirty-minute public 

comment periods will be offered at 3:45 

p.m. PT on Tuesday, Oct. 17 and 10:45 

a.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 18. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting is open to the 

public and will be held at the BLM 

Lakeview Interagency Office, 1301 S. G 

St., Lakeview, OR 97639. A virtual 

option will also be offered. Instructions 

for participating virtually, the final 

agenda, and additional meeting details 

will be posted at least 10 days in 

advance of the meeting on the RAC web 

page: https://www.blm.gov/get-involved/ 

resource-advisory-council/near-you/ 

oregon-washington/southeast-oregonrac. Previous meeting minutes, 

membership information, and upcoming 

agendas are also available at this 

website. 

Public comments can be mailed to 

BLM Vale District, Attn: Shane 

DeForest, 100 Oregon St., Vale, OR 

97918 or sent via email to sdefores@

blm.gov. All comments received will be 

provided to the Southeast Oregon RAC 

members. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larisa Bogardus, Public Affairs Officer, 

3100 H St., Baker City, Ore. 97814; (541) 

219–6863; lbogardus@blm.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, blind, hard of hearing, or have a 

speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their countries to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Southeast Oregon RAC is chartered, and 

the 15 members are appointed by the 

Secretary of the Interior. Their diverse 

perspectives represent commodity, noncommodity, and local interests. The 

RAC serves in an advisory capacity to 

BLM and U.S. Forest Service officials 

concerning planning and management 

of public land and national forest 

resources located, in whole or part, 

within the boundaries of the BLM’s 

Vale, Burns, and Lakeview Districts and 

the Fremont-Winema and Malheur 

National Forests. All meetings are open 

to the public in their entirety. 

Information to be distributed to the RAC 

is requested before the start of each 

meeting. 

Agenda topics for Oct. 17 will include 

District updates, an update on the 

Lakeview Resource Management Plan 

Amendment, and presentations on a 

programmatic aquatic and riparian 

restoration environmental assessment, 

the Louse Canyon Geographic 

Management Area Environmental 

Impact Statement, and the Tri-State 

Fuels Environmental Impact Statement. 

Oct. 18 agenda topics will include a 

presentation on commercial and 

dispersed recreation, a wild horse and 

burro update, and a mining and 

minerals update. 

Meeting Accessibility/Special 

Accommodations: For sign language 

interpreter services, assistive listening 

devices, or other reasonable 

accommodations, please contact Larisa 

Bogardus, Vale District BLM (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 7 

business days before the meeting to 

ensure there is sufficient time to process 

the request. The Department of the 

Interior manages accommodation 

requests on a case-by-case basis. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1