Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 59 / Thursday, March 27, 1997 / Notices 14697

International organizations (which must

have offices in more than one country)

may request approval directly from the

Secretariat. After granting of that

approval, a national non-governmental

organization is eligible to register with

the CITES Secretariat and must register

with the Secretariat prior to the COP in

order to participate in the COP as an

observer. All registrations must be

received by the Secretariat no later than

30 days prior to the meeting of the COP,

and preferably much sooner.

Individuals that are not affiliated with

an approved organization may not

register as observers. Requests for such

approval should include evidence of

technical qualification in protection,

conservation, or management of wild

fauna and/or flora, on the part of both

the organization and the individual

representative(s). Organizations

previously approved by the Service (for

prior meetings of the COP) must submit

a request but do not need to provide as

detailed information concerning their

qualifications as those seeking approval

for the first time. Organizations seeking

approval for the first time should detail

their experience in the protection,

conservation, or management of wild

fauna and/or flora, as well as their

purposes for wishing to participate in

the COP as an observer. Such requests

should be sent to the Office of

Management Authority (OMA: see

ADDRESSES, above) or submitted to OMA

electronically via E-mail to:

R9OMAlCITES@MAIL.FWS.GOV,

prior to the close of business on April

1, 1997. That deadline will assure

approval in time to submit registration

materials to the Secretariat in time.

Organizations are encouraged to submit

requests for approval as soon as

possible, however. Upon approval by

OMA, an organization will receive

instructions for registration with the

CITES Secretariat in Switzerland,

including relevant travel and hotel

information. Any organization

requesting approval for observer status

at COP10 will be added to the Service’s

CITES Mailing List if it is not already

included, and will receive copies of all

future Federal Register notices and

other information pertaining to COP10.

A list of organizations approved for

observer status at COP10 will be

available from OMA just prior to the

start of COP10.

Future Actions

COP10 is scheduled for June 9–20,

1997, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Through a

series of additional notices in advance

of COP10, the Service will inform the

public about preliminary and final

negotiating positions on resolutions and

amendments to the Appendices

proposed by other Parties for

consideration at COP10. The Service

will also publish an announcement of a

public meeting to be held in April 1997

to receive public input on its proposed

negotiating positions for COP10.

AUTHORS: This notice was prepared by

Dr. Susan S. Lieberman, Chief,

Operations Branch, Office of

Management Authority, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (703–358–2095).

Dated: March 19, 1997.

John G. Rogers,

Acting Director.

[FR Doc. 97–7725 Filed 3–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

Bureau of Land Management

[AK–962–1410–00–P]

Alaska; Notice for Publication, AA–

6703–A2; Alaska Native Claims

Selection

In accordance with Departmental

regulation 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is

hereby given that a decision to issue

conveyance under the provisions of Sec.

14(a) of the Alaska Native Claims

Settlement Act of December 18, 1971, 43

U.S.C. 1601, 1613(a), will be issued to

The Tatitlek Corporation for

approximately 1,850 acres. The lands

involved are in the vicinity of Tatitlek,

Alaska.

Copper River Meridian, Alaska

T. 13 S., R. 7 W.,

Secs. 25 and 27;

Secs. 34, 35 and 36.

T. 14 S., R. 7 W.,

Secs. 2 and 3.

A notice of the decision will be

published once a week, for four (4)

consecutive weeks, in the ANCHORAGE

DAILY NEWS. Copies of the decision

may be obtained by contacting the

Alaska State Office of the Bureau of

Land Management, 222 West Seventh

Avenue, #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513–

7599 ((907) 271–5960).

Any party claiming a property interest

which is adversely affected by the

decision, an agency of the Federal

government or regional corporation,

shall have until April 28, 1997 to file an

appeal. However, parties receiving

service by certified mail shall have 30

days from the date of receipt to file an

appeal. Appeals must be filed in the

Bureau of Land Management at the

address identified above, where the

requirements for filing an appeal may be

obtained. Parties who do not file an

appeal in accordance with the

requirements of 43 CFR Part 4, Subpart

E, shall be deemed to have waived their

rights.

Patricia K. Underwood,

Land Law Examiner, ANCSA Team Branch

of 962 Adjudication.

[FR Doc. 97–7771 Filed 3–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P

[CA–060–07–1990–00]

Notice of Extension of Public

Comment Period for the Proposed Fort

Irwin Expansion

AGENCY: Notice is hereby given, in

accordance with Public Laws 92–463

and 94–579, that the Bureau of Land

Management (BLM), U.S. Department of

the Interior, is extending the public

comment period on the draft

environmental impact statement (DEIS)

for the Army’s proposed expansion of

the National Training Center (NTC) at

Fort Irwin to June 3, 1997.

The DEIS analyzes the environmental

impacts of the proposed expansion of

the NTC, which includes the

withdrawal and transfer of

approximately 310,296 acres of public

land managed by the BLM to the U.S.

Army, and an amendment to the

California Desert Conservation Area

Plan. The NTC is located approximately

35 miles northeast of Barstow in northcentral San Bernardino County. The

DEIS was released for public comment

on January 3, 1997 (61 FR 68289,

December 27, 1996).

BLM has not identified an agency

preferred alternative in the DEIS.

Following analysis of the comments

received from all the public, agencies,

and organizations on the DEIS, BLM

will select a preferred alternative in the

Final EIS.

Copies of the DEIS, executive

summary, and technical appendices are

available for review at most libraries,

and BLM’s Barstow Resource Area

Office, 150 Coolwater Lane, Barstow,

California 92311, California Desert

District Office, 6221 Box Springs

Boulevard, Riverside, California 92507,

and California State Office, 2135 Butano

Drive, Sacramento, California 95825.

DATES: Comments on the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for the

Army’s proposed expansion of the NTC

must be postmarked no later than

Tuesday, June 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to the Bureau of Land

Management, Barstow Resource Area

Office, Attention: Mike Dekeyrel, Project

Manager, 150 Coolwater Lane, Barstow,

California 92311.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mike Dekeyrel at (619) 255–8730.
14698 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 59 / Thursday, March 27, 1997 / Notices

Dated: March 18, 1997.

Jo Simpson,

Assistant District Manager, External Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–7534 Filed 3–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–M

[CO–934–97–5700–00; COC56821]

Colorado; Proposed Reinstatement of

Terminated Oil and Gas Lease

Under the provisions of Public Law

97–451, a petition for reinstatement of

oil and gas lease COC56821, Huerfano

County, Colorado, was timely fined and

was accompanied by all required rentals

and royalties accruing from September

1, 1996, the date of termination.

No valid lease has been issued

affecting the lands. The lessee has

agreed to new lease terms or rental and

royalties at rates of $10 per acre and

162⁄3 percent, respectively. The lessee

has paid the required $500

administrative fee for the lease and has

reimbursed the Bureau of Land

Management for the cost of this Federal

Register 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, as amended, (30

U.S.C. 188 (d) and (e)), the Bureau of

Land Management is proposing to

reinstate the lease effective September 1,

1996, subject to the original terms and

conditions of the lease and the

increased rental and royalty rates cited

above.

Questions concerning this notice may

be directed to Patti Gillard of the

Colorado State Office (303) 239–3777.

Dated: March 18, 1997.

Patti Gillard,

Land Law Examiner, Oil and Gas

Management Team.

[FR Doc. 97–7801 Filed 3–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–JB–M

[MT–923–07–1020–04–WEED]

Notice of Proposed Supplementary

Rules To Require the Use of Certified

Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage or

Pelletized Feed on U.S. Forest Service

and Bureau of Land Managementadministered Lands in Montana

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Montana State Director of

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

is proposing a requirement that BLM

visitors in Montana use certified

noxious weed seed free hay, grain,

straw, mulch, cubes and pelletized feed

when visiting BLM-administered lands

in Montana. This requirement will affect

visitors who use hay, grain, cubes, straw

or pelletized feed on the BLMadministered lands in Montana such as:

recreationists using pack and saddle

stock, ranchers with grazing permits,

outfitters, and contractors who use

straw or other mulch for reseeding or

erosion control purposes. These

individuals or groups would be required

to purchase certified noxious weed seed

free forage products, for use while on

BLM-administered lands in Montana.

DATES: The comment period ends on

April 28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to:

Director (923), USDI Bureau of Land

Management, 222 North 32nd Street,

P.O. Box 36800, Billings, Montana

59107–6800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Noxious weeds are a serious problem in

the western United States. Species like

leafy spurge, spotted knapweed, Russian

knapweed, musk thistle, Dalmatian

toadflax, purple loosestrife, and many

others are alien to the United States and

have no natural enemies to keep their

populations in balance. Consequently,

these undesirable weeds invade healthy

ecosystems, displace native vegetation,

reduce species diversity, and destroy

wildlife habitat. Widespread

infestations lead to soil erosion and

stream sedimentation. Furthermore,

noxious weed invasions weaken

reforestation efforts, reduce forage for

domestic and wild ungulates

occasionally irritate public land users

by aggravating allergies and other

ailments, and threaten federally

protected plants and animals.

To curb the spread of noxious weeds,

a growing number of western states have

jointly developed noxious weed-free

forage certification standards and, in

cooperation with various federal, state,

and county agencies, passed weed

management laws. Because hay and

other forage products containing

noxious weed seed are part of the

infestation problem, Montana has

developed a state forage inspectioncertification-identification process;

participates in a regional inspectioncertification-identification process; and

encourages forage producers to grow

noxious weed seed free products.

In cooperation with the State of

Montana, and the Forest Service as

published elsewhere in this issue of the

Federal Register, the BLM is

proposing—for all BLM-administered

lands within Montana—a ban on hay,

straw, mulch, cubes or pellets that have

not been certified. This proposal

includes a public information plan to

ensure that: (1) this ban (a.d.a. closure

order) is well publicized and

understood; and (2) BLM visitors will

know where they can purchase statecertified hay or other products.

These supplementary rules will not

appear in the Code of Federal

Regulations.

The principal author of these

proposed supplementary rules is Hank

McNeel, Weed Management Specialist,

BLM Montana State Office.

For the reasons stated above, under

the authority of 43 CFR 8365.1–6, the

BLM Montana State Office, proposes

supplementary rules to read as follows:

Supplementary Rules to Require the Use

of Certified Noxious Weed Seed Free

Forage on BLM-Administered Lands in

Montana:

(a)(1) To prevent the spread of weeds

on BLM-administered lands in Montana,

effective May 20, 1997, all BLM lands

within the State of Montana, at all times

of the year, shall be closed to possessing

or storing hay, straw, or mulch that has

not been certified as free of noxious

weed seed.

(2) Certification must be by an

authorized State Department of

Agriculture official or designated county

official.

(3) The following persons are exempt

from this order: anyone with a permit

signed by BLM’s authorized officer at

the BLM Resource Area Office

specifically authorizing the prohibited

act or omission within that area.

(b) Any person who knowingly and

willfully violates the provisions of these

supplemental rules regarding the use of

noncertified noxious weed seed free

hay, straw, mulch, cubes or pellets

when visiting BLM-administered lands

in Montana without authorization

required, may be commanded to appear

before a designated United States

magistrate and may be subject to a fine

of not more than $1,000 or

imprisonment of not more than 12

months, or both, as defined in 43 U.S.C.

1733(a).

Dated: March 14, 1997.

Thomas P. Lonnie,

Deputy State Director, Division of Resources.

[FR Doc. 97–7753 Filed 3–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–DN–M

Minerals Management Service

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Policy

Committee of the Minerals

Management Advisory Board; Notice

and Agenda for Meeting

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service,

Interior.