Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices 3583

Comment: landlocked

GSA Number: 4–D–PA–784

[FR Doc. 98–1522 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–29–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

[WO–220–1060–00–24 1A]

Notice of Reestablishment of the Wild

Horse and Burro Advisory Board

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Reestablishment of the Wild

Horse and Burro Advisory Board.

SUMMARY: This notice is published in

accordance with Section 9(a)(2) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act of

1972 (5 U.S.C. App.). Pursuant to

Section 7 of the Wild Free-Roaming

Horse and Burro Act (Pub. L. 92–195),

notice is hereby given that the Secretary

of the Interior and the Secretary of

Agriculture are reestablishing the Wild

Horse and Burro Advisory Board to

provide advice concerning management,

protection, and control of wild freeroaming horses and burros on the public

lands administered by the Department

of the Interior, through the Bureau of

Land Management, and the Department

of Agriculture, through the Forest

Service.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bud

C. Cribley, Wild Horse and Burro

Program Specialist, Department of the

Interior, Bureau of Land Management,

Room 314, 1620 L Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20006, (202) 452–

5073.

Certification

I hereby certify that the

reestablishment of the Wild Horse and

Burro Advisory Board is necessary and

in the public interest in connection with

the Secretary of the Interior’s statutory

responsibilities to manage the lands and

resources administered by the Bureau of

Land Management.

Dated: December 23, 1997.

Bruce Babbitt,

Secretary of the Interior.

[FR Doc. 98–1550 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–84–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Intent To Revise the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service Manual and

Establish Regulations as They Relate

to the National Wildlife Refuge System

Improvement Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105–

57)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The National Wildlife Refuge

System Improvement Act of 1997

(Refuge Improvement Act) was signed

by President Clinton on October 9, 1997.

The Refuge Improvement Act amends

and builds upon the National Wildlife

Refuge System Administration Act of

1966 (NWRSAA), (16 U.S.C. 668dd et

seq.). This notice advises the public that

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) will be developing new or

revised policies pursuant to the Refuge

Improvement Act. The key policy areas

to be addressed are listed later in

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. This

notice also identifies opportunities for

public review and comment.

Interested persons contacting the

Service as described in ADDRESSES

below, will be provided draft Service

Manual chapters as they are prepared

and will be notified of due dates for

written comments. Final chapters will

be issued following review of public

comments. Proposed regulations will be

developed through the rule making

process.

ADDRESSES: Requests to receive copies

of the specific draft Service Manual

chapters as they are prepared should be

sent via mail to: Refuge Improvement

Act Project, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Division of Refuges, 4401 N.

Fairfax Dr., Rm. 670, Arlington, VA

22203, Fax (703) 358–2248, or email to:

RefugelImprovementlAct@FWS.gov.

Each request should include a

complete mailing address to which the

draft chapters will be sent.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The nearly

93 million acre National Wildlife Refuge

System (Refuge System) has been

administered, since its inception, under

a collection of Presidential

proclamations, Executive Orders,

administrative orders, and laws. Until

1966, and enactment of the National

Wildlife Refuge System Administration

Act (NWRSAA), there was no single

Federal law that governed

administration of the Refuge System.

The NWRSAA provided guidance for

refuge management; but in the 32 years

since its passage, Refuge System acreage

has grown more than threefold, wildlife

management issues have increased in

complexity and controversy, and the

demands for recreational and economic

uses of refuges have increased

substantially.

The Refuge Improvement Act amends

and builds upon the NWRSAA in a

manner that provides an ‘‘Organic Act’’

for the Refuge System similar to those

laws which exist for other Federal

Lands. The Refuge Improvement Act

will serve to ensure that the Refuge

System is effectively managed as a

national system of lands, waters, and

interests for the protection and

conservation of our nation’s wildlife

resources.

The Refuge Improvement Act’s

principal focus is to establish clearly the

wildlife conservation mission of the

Refuge System, provide guidance to the

Secretary of the Interior for management

of the Refuge System, provide a

mechanism for unit-specific planning,

and give managers clear direction and

procedures for making determinations

regarding wildlife conservation and

public uses of units of the Refuge

System.

The Service will be implementing the

Refuge Improvement Act by developing

new or revised Service Manual chapters

for the Refuge System. All units within

the Refuge System will be managed with

regard to these chapters which will

guide management strategies for

achieving individual unit purposes and

the Refuge System mission.

Key issues to be addressed in specific

Service Manual chapters include:

• Biological integrity of the Refuge

System;

• Appropriate general public uses for

the System;

• Implementation of the compatibility

test; and

• Comprehensive conservation

planning.

Public input into the development of

these key Service Manual chapters is

essential. The Service will provide these

draft chapters to interested agencies and

individuals as described above in

ADDRESSES. These draft chapters will

also be available on the National

Wildlife Refuge System web site: (http:/

/refuges.fws.gov) during the prerulemaking public review and comment

period. Any resulting proposed

regulations will be available for public

review and comment through the rule

making process.

Due to the varying levels of

complexity of issues, some chapters will

require more time for development than

others. Therefore, specific draft chapters

will be made available to the public as

they are prepared. The Refuge