71330 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / Notices

billy_brooks@fws.gov or by calling

(904)232–2580, extension 104 or at

Jacksonville Field Office, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint

Drive, South, Suite 310, Jacksonville,

Florida, 32216. If you wish to comment,

you may submit your comments by any

one of several methods:

1. You may submit written comments

and information to the Field Supervisor,

at the above address.

2. You may hand-deliver written

comments to our Jacksonville Field

Office, at the above address, or fax your

comments to (904)232–2404.

3. You may send comments by e-mail

to billylbrooks@fws.gov. For directions

on how to submit electronic filing of

comments, see the ‘‘Public Comments

Solicited’’ section.

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: Bill

Brooks (see ADDRESSES section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The West Indian manatee, Trichechus

manatus, is currently listed as

endangered throughout its range for

both the Florida and Antillean

subspecies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service 1967). The Florida manatee

lives in freshwater, brackish, and

marine habitats. Submerged, emergent,

and floating vegetation are their

preferred food. During the winter, cold

temperatures keep the population

concentrated in peninsular Florida and

many manatees rely on the warm water

from natural springs and power plant

outfalls. During the late spring and

summer, they expand their range and

are seen on infrequent occasions as far

north as Rhode Island on the Atlantic

Coast and as far west as Texas on the

Gulf Coast.

The most significant problem

presently faced by manatees in Florida

is death and serious injury from boat

strikes. The availability of warm-water

refuges for manatees is uncertain as

deregulation of the power industry in

Florida occurs, and if minimum flows

and levels are not established and

maintained for the natural springs on

which many manatees depend.

Consequences of a burgeoning human

population and intensive coastal

development are long-term threats to the

Florida manatee. Their survival will

depend on maintaining the integrity of

ecosystems and habitat sufficient to

support a viable manatee population.

Restoring an endangered or

threatened animal or plant to the point

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

primary goal of the endangered species

program. To help guide the recovery

effort, we are preparing 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 downlisting or delisting

them, and estimate time and cost for

implementing the recovery measures

needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973,

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

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. We will consider all

information presented during a public

comment period prior to approval of

each new or revised recovery plan. We

and other Federal agencies will take

these comments into account in the

course of implementing approved

recovery plans.

We developed the initial recovery

plan for West Indian manatee in 1980.

This plan focused primarily on

manatees in Florida, but included

Antillean manatees in Puerto Rico and

the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1986, we

adopted a separate recovery plan for

manatees in Puerto Rico. To reflect new

information and planning needs for

manatees in Florida, we revised the

original plan in 1989 and focused

exclusively on the Florida manatee.

This first revision covered a 5-year

planning period ending in 1994. We

revised and updated the plan again in

1996, which again covered a 5-year

planning period ending in 2000. In

1999, we initiated the process to revise

the plan for a third time. We established

an 18-member recovery team made up

of the public, agencies, and groups that

have an interest in manatee recovery

and/or could be affected by proposed

recovery actions, to draft this revision.

In the 20 years since approval of the

original recovery plan, a tremendous

amount of knowledge of manatee

biology and ecology has been achieved

and significant protection programs

have been implemented, through the

guidance provided by the recovery

planning process. This Technical/

Agency Draft of the Florida Manatee

Recovery Plan, Third Revision reflects

many of those accomplishments,

addresses new threats and needs, and

specifically addresses the planning

requirements of the Act through 2006.

This draft plan is based on discussions

and information provided by the Florida

Manatee Recovery Team.

Public Comments Solicited

We solicit written comments on the

recovery plan described. We will

consider all comments received by the

date specified above prior to approval of

the plan.

Please submit electronic comments as

an ASCII file format and avoid the use

of special characters and encryption.

Please also include ‘‘Attn: [RIN

number]’’ and your name and return

address in your e-mail message. If you

do not receive a confirmation from the

system that we have received your email message, contact us directly by

calling our Jacksonville Field Office (see

ADDRESSES section).

Our practice is to make all comments,

including names and home addresses of

respondents, available for public review

during regular business hours.

Individual respondents may request that

we withhold their home address from

the rulemaking record, which we will

honor to the extent allowable by law. In

some circumstances, we would

withhold also from the rulemaking

record a respondent’s identity, as

allowable by law. If you wish for us to

withhold your name and/or address,

you must state this prominently at the

beginning of your comments. However,

we will not consider anonymous

comments. We will make all

submissions from organizations or

businesses, and from individuals

identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available

for public inspection in their entirety.

Authority: The authority for this action is

section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act,

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

Dated: November 22, 2000.

David L. Hankla,

Field Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 00–30516 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WO–250–1231–EB–01–24 1A]

Extension of Approved Information

Collection, OMB Number 1004–0119

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / Notices 71331

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

announces its intention to request

renewal of an existing approval to

collect certain information from

recreation visitors to areas of the public

lands, and related waters, where special

recreation permits are required. This

information allows BLM to authorize

requested use, determine appropriate

fees, and will also be used to tabulate

recreation use data for the annual

Federal Recreation Fee Report as

required by the Land and Water

Conservation Act.

DATES: You must submit your comments

to BLM at the appropriate address below

on or before January 29, 2001. BLM will

not necessarily consider any comments

received after the above date.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed

to: Regulatory Affairs Group (630),

Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C

Street, NW., Room 401LS, Washington,

DC 20240.

Comments may be sent via Internet to:

WOComment@blm.gov. Please include

‘‘ATTN: 1004–0119’’ and your name

and return address in your Internet

message.

You may hand-deliver comments to

the Bureau of Land Management,

Administrative Record, Room 401, 1620

L Street, NW., Washington, D.C.

BLM will make comments available

for public review at the L Street address

during regular business hours (7:45 a.m.

to 4:15 p.m.), Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee

Larson, (202) 452–5168.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

accordance with 5 CFR 1320.12(a), BLM

is required to provide 60-day notice in

the Federal Register concerning a

collection of information contained in

BLM Form 8370–1 to solicit comments

on (a) whether the proposed collection

of information is necessary for the

proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the proposed collection

of information, including the validity of

the methodology and assumptions used;

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. BLM will receive and

analyze any comments sent in response

to this notice and include them with its

request for approval from the OMB

under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Respondents supply identifying

information and data on proposed

commercial, competitive, or individual

recreation use, respectively, when

required, to determine eligibility for a

permit. This information allows the

BLM to authorize requested use,

determine appropriate fees, and will

also be used to tabulate recreation use

data for the annual Federal Recreation

Fee Report as required by the Land and

Water Conservation Act.

Based on BLM’s experience

administering the activities described

above, the public reporting burden for

the information collected is estimated to

average about 30 minutes per response.

The respondents are recreation visitors

to areas of the public lands, and related

waters, where special recreation permits

are required. The frequency of response

is on occasion. The number of responses

per year is estimated to total 31,000. The

estimated total annual burden is 15,500

hours. BLM is specifically requesting

your comments on its estimate of the

amount of time that it takes to prepare

a response.

BLM will summarize all responses to

this notice and include them in the

request for Office of Management and

Budget approval. All comments will

also become a matter of public record.

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Michael Schwartz,

BLM Information Collection Clearance

Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–30491 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WO–250–1220–EA–01–24 1A]

Extension of Approved Information

Collection, OMB Number 1004–0133

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

announces its intention to request

renewal of an existing approval to

collect certain information from

individuals desiring to use

campgrounds. This information allows

BLM to determine if all users have paid

the required fee, the number of users,

and their State of origin.

DATES: You must submit your comments

to BLM at the appropriate address below

on or before January 29, 2000. BLM will

not necessarily consider any comments

received after the above date.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed

to: Regulatory Affairs Group (630),

Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C

Street, NW., Room 401LS, Washington,

DC 20240.

Comments may be sent via Internet to:

WOComment@blm.gov. Please include

‘‘ATTN: 104–0133’’ and your name and

return address in your Internet message.

You may hand-deliver comments to

the Bureau of Land Management,

Administrative Record, Room 401, 1620

L Street, NW., Washington, DC

BLM will make comments available

for public review at the L Street address

during regular business hours (7:45 a.m.

to 4:15 p.m.), Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee

Larson, (202) 452–5168.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

accordance with 5 CFR 1320.12(a), BLM

is required to provide 60-day notice in

the Federal Register concerning a

collection of information contained in

BLM Form 8370–1 to solicit comments

on (a) whether the proposed collection

of information is necessary for the

proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the proposed collection

of information, including the validity of

the methodology and assumptions used;

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. BLM will receive and

analyze any comments sent in response

to this notice and include them with its

request for approval from the OMB

under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Respondents supply identifying

information and data on the campsite

number, date camping, number in party,

zip code, fee paid, vehicle license

number, and primary purpose of visit.

This information allows the BLM to

determine if all users have paid the

required fee, the number of users, and

their State of origin.

Based on BLM’s experience

administering the activities described

above, the public reporting burden for

the information collected is estimated to

average about three minutes per

response. The respondents are

individuals desiring to use the

campground. The frequency of response

is occasionally. The number of