16330 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Notices 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: NOAA Fisheries will hold a 

workshop to discuss the data and 

models that will be used in the 

upcoming stock assessments for canary 

rockfish, darkblotched rockfish and 

arrowtooth flounder. 

DATES: The Pre-assessment Workshop 

for West Coast Canary Rockfish, 

Darkblotched Rockfish and Arrowtooth 

Flounder will be held Tuesday, April 24 

through Wednesday, April 25, 2007. 

The workshop will meet each day from 

8:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., or until 

business for the day is completed. 

ADDRESSES: The Pre-Assessment 

Workshop for West Coast Canary 

Rockfish, Darkblotched Rockfish and 

Arrowtooth Flounder will be held at 

Pacific States Marine Fisheries 

Commission, 205 S.E. Spokane Street, 

Portland, Oregon 97202. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Stacey Miller, Northwest Fisheries 

Science Center (NWFSC); telephone: 

(206) 437–5670; or Dr. Jim Hastie, 

Northwest Fisheries Science Center 

(NWFSC); telephone: (206)860–3412. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

workshop is intended to initiate dialog 

between members of the fishing 

community, stock assessment authors, 

data managers, and interested members 

of the public prior to the finalization of 

the stock assessment model. The 

specific objectives of the workshop are 

to: (1) Discuss the data used in the 

canary rockfish, darkblotched rockfish 

and arrowtooth flounder stock 

assessments including details on 

collections methods, current observed 

trends, and how the data will be 

incorporated into the assessment 

models; (2) discuss the rationale for 

making assumptions in the models, 

especially when data are missing or 

insufficient; (3) identify anomalies in 

the data and provide possible 

explanations; and (4) identify data gaps 

and future research possibilities. 

All participants are encouraged to 

pre-register for the workshop by 

contacting Ms. Stacey Miller, Northwest 

Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) by 

phone at (206)437–5670 or by email at 

Stacey.Miller@noaa.gov. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may 

come before the workshop participants 

for discussion, those issues may not be 

the subject of formal workshop action 

during this meeting. Workshop action 

will be restricted to those issues 

specifically listed in this notice and any 

issues arising after publication of this 

notice that require emergency action 

under section 305c) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, provided the public 

has been notified of the workshop 

participants’ intent to take final action 

to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to Ms. 

Stacey Miller at (206) 437–5670 at least 

five days prior to the meeting date. 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6201 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

National Estuarine Research Reserve 

System 

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, 

Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment 

Period for the Revised Management Plan 

for the Weeks Bay National Estuarine 

Research Reserve. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Estuarine Reserves Division, Office 

of Ocean and Coastal Resource 

Management, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), U.S. 

Department of Commerce is announcing 

a thirty day public comment period on 

the revised Weeks Bay National 

Estuarine Research Reserve 

Management Plan which will begin on 

the day this announcement is 

published. Comments should be sent 

within the comment period in hard 

copy or e-mail to Matthew Chasse at 

Matt.Chasse@noaa.gov or NOAA’s 

Estuarine Reserves Division, 1305 EastWest Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

The Weeks Bay National Estuarine 

Research Reserve was designated in 

February 1986 pursuant to Section 315 

of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

1972, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1461. The 

reserve has been operating under a 

management plan approved in 1998. 

Pursuant to 15 CFR 921.33(c), a state 

must revise its management plan every 

five years. The submission of this plan 

fulfills this requirement and sets a 

course for successful implementation of 

the goals and objectives of the reserve. 

A boundary expansion, new facility and 

land acquisition plans, and updated 

programmatic objectives are notable 

revisions to the 1998 approved 

management plan. 

Since the Weeks Bay National 

Estuarine Research Reserve was 

designated, it has been managed by the 

Alabama Department of Economic and 

Community Affairs. Since that time, 

state responsibility for the management 

of the reserve has been transferred to the 

Alabama Department of Conservation 

and Natural Resources (ADCNR), State 

Lands Division. A revised MOU 

between NOAA and the State of 

Alabama was approved to reflect these 

changes. Under ADCNR, the revised 

management plan outlines the 

administrative structure; the education, 

stewardship, and research goals of the 

reserve; and the plans for future land 

acquisition and facility development to 

support reserve operations. 

Three hundred and thirty three (333) 

acres of state-owned coastal and 

submerged lands adjacent to the reserve 

are incorporated through the boundary 

amendment in the management plan 

revision. The expansion provides a 

broader and more representative 

diversity of wetland and water habitats 

into the reserve boundary. The new 

boundary and will provide areas for 

reserve related research and education 

programs. The tidal freshwater riverine, 

emergent and forested wetland 

communities protected through this 

expansion further enhance the Weeks 

Bay reserve as an appropriate and 

ecologically representative site for longterm research and education. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt 

Chasse at (301) 563–1198 or Laurie 

McGilvray at (301) 563–1158 of NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service, Estuarine 

Reserves Division, 1305 East-West 

Highway, N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910. For copies of the 

Weeks Bay Management Plan revision, 

visit http://www.sarpc.org. 

Dated: March 28, 2007. 

David M. Kennedy, 

Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal 

Resource Management, National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. E7–6195 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–08–P 


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