Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 16057 

To comply with the public 

consultation process, on December 5, 

2011, we published a Federal Register 

notice (76 FR 75894) announcing that 

we would submit this ICR to OMB for 

approval. The notice provided the 

required 60-day comment period. In 

addition, § 250.199 provides the OMB 

control number for the information 

collection requirements imposed by the 

30 CFR 250 regulations and forms. The 

regulation also informs the public that 

they may comment at any time on the 

collections of information and provides 

the address to which they should send 

comments. We have received no 

comments in response to these efforts. 

Public Comment Procedures: Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should 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. 

Acting BSEE Information Collection 

Clearance Officer: Cheryl Blundon (703) 

787–1607. 

Dated: February 22, 2012. 

Douglas W. Morris, 

Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5944 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–VH–C 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R1–ES–2012–N026; 

FXES11130100000F5–123–FF01E00000] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Recovery Permit 

Applications 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, invite the public to 

comment on the following applications 

for permits to conduct activities with 

the purpose of enhancing the survival of 

endangered species. The Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), 

prohibits certain activities with respect 

to endangered species unless a Federal 

permit allows such activity. The Act 

also requires that we invite public 

comment before issuing such permits. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by April 

18, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Endangered Species 

Program Manager, Ecological Services, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific 

Regional Office, 911 NE 11th Avenue, 

Portland, OR 97232–4181. Please refer 

to the permit number for the application 

when submitting comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colleen Henson, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, at the above address or by 

telephone (503–231–2071) or fax (503– 

231–6243). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

prohibits certain activities with respect 

to endangered and threatened species 

unless a Federal permit allows such 

activity. Along with our implementing 

regulations in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 17, the 

Act provides for certain permits, and 

requires that we invite public comment 

before issuing these permits for 

endangered species. 

A permit granted by us under section 

10(a)(1)(A) of the Act authorizes the 

permittee to conduct activities 

(including take or interstate commerce) 

with respect to U.S. endangered or 

threatened species for scientific 

purposes or enhancement of 

propagation or survival. Our regulations 

implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 

Act for these permits are found at 50 

CFR 17.22 for endangered wildlife 

species, 50 CFR 17.32 for threatened 

wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.62 for 

endangered plant species, and 50 CFR 

17.72 for threatened plant species. 

Applications Available for Review and 

Comment 

We invite local, State, and Federal 

agencies, and the public to comment on 

the following applications. Please refer 

to the appropriate permit number for the 

application when submitting comments. 

Documents and other information 

submitted with these applications are 

available for review by request from the 

Endangered Species Program Manager at 

the address listed in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice, subject to the 

requirements of the Privacy Act (5 

U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). 

Permit Number: TE–64043A 

Applicant: David Bainbridge, DVM, 

Verona, Illinois 

The applicant requests an interstate 

commerce permit to purchase nene 

geese (Branta sandvicensis) in 

conjunction with captive propagation 

for the purpose of enhancing their 

survival. This notification covers 

activities conducted by the applicant 

over the next 5 years. 

Permit Number: TE–66384A 

Applicant: Idaho Department of Fish 

and Game, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 

The applicant requests a permit to 

take (collect eggs, net and tag juveniles 

and adults) the Kootenai River white 

sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in 

conjunction with spawning, 

recruitment, monitoring, and population 

studies in Boundary County, Idaho, for 

the purpose of enhancing the species’ 

survival. 

Permit Number: TE–012136 

Applicant: Oregon Department of 

Environmental Quality, Hillsboro, 

Oregon 

The permittee requests a permit 

amendment to take (harass by 

electrofishing, capture, and release) the 

Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps) in 

conjunction with monitoring studies in 

Lake County, Oregon, for the purpose of 

enhancing the species’ survival. The 

permit currently covers take of Oregon 

chub (Oregonichthys crameri), Lost 

River sucker (Deltistes luxatus), and 

shortnose sucker (Chasmistes 

brevirostris), for which notices were 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 2, 1999 (64 FR 36032) and June 20, 

2000 (65 FR 38297). 

Permit Number: TE–66612A 

Applicant: Wildwood Wildlife Park, 

Minocqua, Wisconsin 

The applicant requests an interstate 

commerce permit to purchase nene 

geese (Branta sandvicensis) in 

conjunction with captive propagation 

for the purpose of enhancing their 

survival. This notification covers 

activities conducted by the applicant 

over the next 5 years. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments and materials we 

receive in response to this request will 

be available for public inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should 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 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
16058 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 53 / Monday, March 19, 2012 / Notices 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: March 9, 2012. 

Richard Hannan, 

Acting Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6533 Filed 3–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R1–R–2011–N180; 1265–0000–10137– 

S3] 

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, 

Pacific County, WA; Record of 

Decision for Final Environmental 

Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the 

availability of the Willapa National 

Wildlife Refuge final comprehensive 

conservation plan (CCP) and record of 

decision (ROD). We completed a 

thorough analysis of the environmental, 

social, and economic considerations and 

presented it in our Final CCP and 

environmental impact statement (EIS), 

which we released to the public on 

August 12, 2011. The ROD documents 

our decision to implement Alternative 

2, as it is described in the Final CCP/ 

EIS. 

DATES: The Regional Director, Pacific 

Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

signed the ROD on September 29, 2011. 

We plan to begin implementation of the 

CCP immediately. 

ADDRESSES: You may view or request a 

copy of the CCP/ROD by the following 

methods: 

Agency Web Site: Download the 

document at: http://www.fws.gov/ 

willapa/CCP/. 

Email: 

FW1PlanningComments@fws.gov. 

Include ‘‘Willapa NWR CCP/ROD’’ in 

the subject line of the message. 

Mail: Willapa National Wildlife 

Refuge, 3888 SR 101, Ilwaco, WA 98624. 

In person viewing: Willapa National 

Wildlife Refuge Complex, 3888 SR 101, 

Ilwaco, WA 98624. 

Local Libraries: See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Charlie Stenvall, Project Leader, (360) 

484–3482 (phone). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

With this notice, we finalize the CCP 

process for the Refuge. We started this 

process through a notice of intent in the 

Federal Register on April 9, 2008 (73 FR 

19238). We announced the availability 

of our draft and final documents in the 

Federal Register as well. Our Draft CCP/ 

EIS was released on January 21, 2011 

(76 FR 3922), and our Final CCP/EIS 

was released on August 12, 2011 (76 FR 

50247). 

The Refuge was established in 1937 to 

protect migrating and wintering 

populations of brant, waterfowl, 

shorebirds, and other migratory birds, 

and for conservation purposes. It 

encompasses over 16,000 acres of 

tidelands, temperate rainforest, ocean 

beaches, sand dunes, rivers, and small 

streams. Remnants of old growth coastal 

cedar forest and habitats for spawning 

wild salmon, migrating shorebirds, and 

threatened and endangered species, 

such as the western snowy plover and 

marbled murrelet, are preserved on the 

Refuge. 

We evaluated three alternatives for 

managing the Refuge’s resources in the 

Final CCP/EIS, identified Alternative 2 

as our preferred alternative, and 

completed a thorough analysis of 

environmental, social, and economic 

considerations. The ROD documents our 

selection of Alternative 2 for 

implementation. Alternative 2 is the 

foundation of our CCP. The CCP will 

guide our management and 

administration of the Refuge for the next 

15 years. In accordance with National 

Environmental Policy Act and its 

implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1506.6(b)), this notice announces the 

availability of our CCP/ROD. 

Background 

The National Wildlife Refuge System 

Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 

668dd–668ee) (Refuge Administration 

Act), as amended by the National 

Wildlife Refuge System Improvement 

Act of 1997, requires us to develop a 

CCP for each national wildlife refuge. 

The purpose for developing a CCP is to 

provide refuge managers with a 15-year 

plan for achieving refuge purposes and 

contributing toward the mission of the 

National Wildlife Refuge System, 

consistent with sound principles of fish 

and wildlife management, conservation, 

legal mandates, and our policies. We 

will review and update the CCP at least 

every 15 years in accordance with the 

Refuge Administration Act. 

CCP Alternatives and Selected 

Alternative 

We identified management issues in 

our Draft and Final CCP/EIS. To address 

these issues, we developed and 

evaluated three alternatives. Alternative 

1 is our no-action alternative; under it, 

current Refuge management programs 

would continue. Under Alternative 2, 

our preferred alternative, current 

management would continue and a 

number of compatible improvements to 

our wildlife, habitat, biodiversity, and 

visitor services management activities 

would be implemented. Under 

Alternative 3, we would continue 

current Refuge management programs, 

and some improvements to wildlife, 

habitat, and visitor services 

management would occur, but to a 

lesser degree than under Alternative 2. 

After considering public comments, 

we selected Alternative 2, as it is 

described in the Final CCP/EIS, for 

implementation. Alternative 2 will best 

achieve Refuge purposes, and contribute 

toward the mission of the National 

Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with 

the sound principles of fish and wildlife 

science and conservation, legal 

mandates, and Service policies. Current 

wildlife and habitat management will 

continue under Alternative 2, including 

maintaining freshwater wetlands on the 

Tarlatt Unit and implementing our 

forest management plan. The following 

improvements will be implemented 

over time. 

• The Refuge’s intensively managed 

pastures and impoundments will be 

restored to historic estuarine conditions, 

increasing open water, intertidal flats, 

and salt marsh habitats by 621 acres. 

• Avian and mammalian predators on 

the Leadbetter Point Unit will be 

controlled as necessary, to help meet 

western snowy plover population 

recovery goals. 

• We will manage 93 acres of shortgrass fields as foraging habitat for 

Canada geese, elk, and other wildlife, on 

the Riekkola Unit. Grassland restoration 

will include establishing the early-blue 

violet host plant on 33 acres, which will 

serve the future reintroduction of the 

endangered Oregon silverspot butterfly. 

• We will expand the approved 

Refuge acquisition boundary by 6,809 

acres in the Nemah, Naselle, South Bay, 

and East Hills areas, and divest the 

Shoalwater and Wheaton Units (941 

acres) from the Refuge. 

• We will develop an interpretive 

trail and observation deck along the 

South Bay that will tie into our 

proposed Tarlatt Unit visitor/ 

administrative facility. 

• After the proposed estuarine 

restoration is completed, we will 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES