Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 142 / Friday, July 24, 1998 / Notices 39885

public open houses and/or submit

written comments on the preliminary

management alternatives. Comments

already received are on record and need

not be resubmitted.

Two public open houses will be held

as follows:

July 29, 4pm–8pm, Colville High

School, 154 Highway 20 East, Colville,

Washington. (Presentation on

alternatives at 6:30 pm)

July 30, 4pm–8pm, Inland NW

Wildlife Council Building, 616 North

Market St., Spokane, Washington.

(Presentation on alternatives at 6:30 pm)

All comments received from

individuals on Environmental

Assessments and Environmental Impact

Statements become part of the official

public record. Requests for such

comments will be handled in

accordance with the Freedom of

Information Act, the Council on

Environmental Quality’s NEPA

regulations [40 CFR 1506.6(f)], and other

Service and Departmental policy and

procedures. When requested, the

Service generally will provide comment

letters with the names and addresses of

the individuals who wrote the

comments. However, the telephone

number of the commenting individual

will not be provided in response to such

requests to the extent permissible by

law. Additionally, public comment

letters are not required to contain the

commentator’s name, address, or other

identifying information. Such comments

may be submitted anonymously to the

Service.

The environmental review of this

project will be conducted in accordance

with the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as

amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NEPA

Regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508), other

appropriate Federal laws and

regulations, the National Wildlife

Refuge System Improvement Act of

1997, and Service policies and

procedures for compliance with those

regulations.

We estimate that the draft CCP /

Environmental Impact Statement will be

available in November, 1998.

Dated: July 10, 1998.

Don Weathers,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland,

Oregon.

[FR Doc. 98–19727 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AK–962–1410–00–P]

Alaska Native Claims Selection

In accordance with Departmental

regulation 43 CFR 2650.7(d), notice is

hereby given that a decision approving

lands for conveyance under the

provisions of Sec. 14(h)(8) of the Alaska

Native Claims Settlement Act of

December 18, 1971, 43 U.S.C. 1601,

1613(h)(8), will be issued to the Bering

Straits Native Corporation for 3,840

acres. The lands involved are in the

vicinity of Marys Igloo, Alaska, and are

within T. 5 S., R. 30 W., Kateel River

Meridian, Alaska.

A notice of the decision will be

published once a week, for four (4)

consecutive weeks, in the Nome Nugget.

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 August 24, 1998, 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.

Heather A. Coats,

Land Law Examiner, ANCSA Team, Branch

of 962 Adjudication.

[FR Doc. 98–19782 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–$$–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO–030–08–1010–00–1784]

Southwest Resource Advisory Council

Meeting.

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior

ACTION: Notice; Resource Advisory

Council Meeting

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

USC), notice is hereby given that the

Southwest Resource Advisory Council

(Southwest RAC) will meet in

Gunnison, Colorado.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Thursday, August 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: For additional information,

contact Roger Alexander, Bureau of

Land Management (BLM), Montrose

District Office, 2465 South Townsend

Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 81401;

telephone 970–240–5335; TDD 970–

240–5366; e-mail r2alexan@co.blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

August 13, 1998, meeting will begin at

9:00 a.m. in the Aspinall-Wilson Center,

South Room, 909 Escalante Drive,

Gunnison, Colorado. The agenda will

include discussions on the Montrose

District’s Fiscal Year 1999 Annual Work

Plan priorities and updates on

implementation of the Gunnison Sage

Grouse Plan, the recreation guidelines,

and on-going exchange efforts in the

Montrose District. Time will be

provided for public comments at 9:30

a.m.

All Resource Advisory Council

meetings are open to the public.

Interested persons may make oral

statements to the Council, or written

statements may be submitted for the

Council’s consideration. If necessary, a

per-person time limit may be

established by the Montrose District

Manager.

Summary minutes for Council

meetings are maintained in the

Montrose District Office and on the

World Wide Web at http://

www.co.blm.gov/mdo/

mdolswlrac.htm and are available for

public inspection and reproduction

within thirty (30) days following each

meeting.

Dated: July 20, 1998.

Roger Alexander,

Public Affairs Specialist.

[FR Doc. 98–19776 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–JB–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ–020–08–A155; AZA–29932]

Notice of Realty Action

Noncompetitive Sale of Public Lands

in Maricopa County, Arizona

AGENCY: City of Glendale, BLM, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Realty Action,

Noncompetitive Sale.

SUMMARY: The following public lands

have been found suitable for direct sale

under Section 203 of the Federal Land

Policy and Management Act of 1976 (90

Stat. 2750; 43 U.S.C. 1713), at not less
39886 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 142 / Friday, July 24, 1998 / Notices

than the estimated fair market value to

be established by appraisal. The City of

Glendale proposes to use the lands for

an expansion to the already existing

landfill operation. The land will not be

offered for sale for at least 60 days after

the date of this notice in the Federal

Register.

Gila and Salt River Meridian, Arizona

T. 2 N., R. 1 W.,

Sec. 1, E1⁄2SE1⁄4.

The area described contains 80 acres in

Maricopa County.

The land described above is hereby

segregated from appropriation under the

public land laws including the mining

laws, pending disposition of this action

or 270 days from the date of publication

of this notice, whichever occurs first. It

has been determined that there are no

known mineral values, therefore the

mineral interests shall be determined

suitable for sale under Section 209 of

the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 2727;

43 U.S.C. 1719) and may be conveyed

simultaneously.

The conveyance document, when

issued, will contain certain reservations

to the United States and will be subject

to any existing rights-of-way and any

other valid existing rights. Detailed

information concerning this sale is

available for review at the Phoenix Field

Office, Bureau of Land Management,

2015 West Deer Valley Road, Phoenix,

Arizona 85027.

For a period of 45 days from the date

of publication of this notice in the

Federal Register, interested parties may

submit comments to the Field Office

Manager, Phoenix Field Office, at the

above address.

In the absence of timely objections,

this proposal shall become the final

determination of the Department of the

Interior.

Dated: July 14, 1998.

Sandra R. Nelson,

Acting Assistant Field Manager, Support

Services.

[FR Doc. 98–19732 Filed 7–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–32–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[AZ–010–98–1150–00]

Arizona: Amend the Arizona Strip

Resource Management Plan, Arizona

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice to amend.

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management has proposed to amend the

Arizona Strip Resource Management

Plan (RMP–1992), to modify RMP

decisions to comply with the

Endangered Species Act and to achieve

the goals and objectives of the recovery

plan for the Mojave population of desert

tortoises, listed by the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service as threatened. Since the

signing of the Record of Decision for the

RMP, critical habitat has been

designated, and the Desert Tortoise

Recovery Plan (1994) has been approved

by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

(USFWS).

This amendment also addresses

conservation and recovery of three other

species federally listed as endangered:

southwestern willow flycatcher, Virgin

River chub, and woundfin minnows.

Management of Virgin River chub and

woundfin were addressed in the 1992

RMP. The RMP did not address

southwestern willow flycatchers

because the listing of southwestern

willow flycatchers as endangered did

not occur until 1995, after the RMP was

finalized. Critical habitat for

southwestern willow flycatchers was

designated in 1997.

The proposed Decision Record

documents approval of an amendment

to the Arizona Strip Resource

Management Plan. This amendment

supercedes decisions in the RMP.

Decisions contained in the amendment

apply only to areas that are: within

desert tortoise habitat as categorized by

the Bureau in the RMP; within critical

habitat as designated by USFWS; within

any one of the four Areas of Critical

Environmental Concern (ACECs); or

within pastures of livestock grazing

allotments containing tortoise habitat

(including portions of Nevada and Lake

Mead NRA that are administered by the

Arizona Strip BLM).

The proposed decision is to

implement the Proposed Action as

described in Environmental Assessment

AZ–010–95–01, with additional terms

and conditions from USFWS biological

opinion 2–21–96–F–132. The Proposed

Action is designed to address tortoise

recovery goals and objectives while

reducing impacts on local communities

and human activities that occur in the

Mojave Desert.

BLM is proposing to designate three

ACECs encompassing 169,300 acres

(264.5 sq. miles) to be managed

primarily for recovery of desert

tortoises, and modify the prescriptions

for the Virgin River ACEC (8,100 acres).

Beaver Dam Slope ACEC: This would

expand the existing ACEC to include

tortoise habitat on public lands in

Arizona north of I–15 and the Virgin

River but outside the Beaver Dam

Wilderness Area, as categorized in the

RMP. This area would complement

management in Nevada and Utah and

contain approximately 51,400 acres

(80.3 sq. miles) in Arizona.

Virgin Slope ACEC: This area would

include most tortoise habitat on public

lands in Arizona between the Virgin

River (or I–15) and the Virgin

Mountains, as categorized in the RMP.

A small portion of the Mesquite

Community Allotment in Nevada would

be managed consistent with the ACEC.

This ACEC would contain

approximately 41,375 acres (64.6 sq.

miles) in Arizona.

Pakoon ACEC: This would include

tortoise habitat on public lands in the

Pakoon Basin. This area would contain

approximately 76,525 acres (119.6 sq.

miles). Activities administered by the

Arizona Strip on Lake Mead NRA and

on public lands in Nevada would be

managed in accordance with ACEC

prescriptions. This ACEC would be

closed to livestock grazing.

Virgin River ACEC: There would be

no change in the boundary of this ACEC

(8,100 ac), although prescriptions would

be modified to be consistent with the

tortoise ACECs. BLM proposes to

manage the following resources to

reduce impacts on listed species and

their habitats: mineral exploration and

development, fire suppression, livestock

grazing, vegetation harvest, lands and

realty, transportation and access, offhighway vehicles, recreation, wild, freeroaming burros, wildlife management,

and other surface-disturbing activities

(such as military maneuvers and

airports). Outside of the four ACECs

there would be no change to decisions

in the RMP, except that grazing would

be managed in accordance with the

grazing decisions issued August 11,

1995.

Management of the ACECs would be

consistent with the recommendations

found in the Desert Tortoise Recovery

Plan. Land use prescriptions within

ACECs would affect livestock grazing,

lands and realty actions, wild burros,

recreation, and other activities.

DATES: BLM proposes to implement the

proposed action on August 31, 1998.

Closure of the Pakoon ACEC to grazing

would occur following a two-year

notification period.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Protest

procedures described in 43 CFR 1610.5–

2 give the public an opportunity to seek

administrative review of perceived

oversights or inadequacies in a

proposed plan. Any proposed decision

in the resource management plan

amendment may be protested. The