Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 11, 2005 / Notices 59079 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 and its implementing 

regulations. 

The National Wildlife Refuge System 

Administration Act of 1966, as amended 

by the National Wildlife Refuge System 

Improvement Act of 1997, requires the 

Service to develop a comprehensive 

conservation plan for each national 

wildlife refuge. The purpose in 

developing a comprehensive 

conservation plan is to provide refuge 

managers with a 15-year strategy 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 Service policies. In 

addition to outlining broad management 

direction on conserving wildlife and 

their habitats, plans identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities 

available to the public, including 

opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, wildlife 

photography, and environmental 

education and interpretation. 

The purpose of this notice is to 

achieve the following: 

(1) Advise other agencies and the 

public of our intentions, and 

(2) Obtain suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues to 

include in the environmental document. 

DATES: An open house style meeting 

will be held during the scoping phase 

and public draft phase of the 

comprehensive conservation plan 

development process. Special mailings, 

newspaper articles, and other media 

announcements will be used to inform 

the public and state and local 

government agencies of the dates and 

opportunities for input throughout the 

planning process. The planning process 

for the Louisiana Wetland Management 

District and Handy Brake National 

Wildlife Refuge will be conducted in 

conjunction with each other. 

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for 

more information regarding the 

Louisiana Wetland Management District 

planning process should be sent to 

Lindy Garner, Planning Biologist, North 

Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge 

Complex, 11372 Highway 143, 

Farmerville, Louisiana 71241; 

Telephone: (318) 726–4222 x5; Fax: 

(318) 726–4667; Electronic-mail: 

northlarefuges@fws.gov. To ensure 

consideration, written comments must 

be received no later than November 25, 

2005.Our practice is to make comments, 

including names and addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home addresses from 

the record, which we will honor to the 

extent allowable by law. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Louisiana Wetland Management District 

was established in September 1990 

‘‘* * * for conservation purposes 

***’’ 7 U.S.C. 2002 (Consolidated 

Farm and Rural Development Act). Most 

of the 37 Farm Service Agency 

easements, 10 fee title tracts, and 4 

leases are concentrated in northeastern 

Louisiana. In 1988, the first fee title 

transfer of a Farm Service Agency tract 

in the Southeast Region resulted in the 

establishment of Handy Brake National 

Wildlife Refuge. The wetland 

management district currently oversees 

Fish and Wildlife Service interests on 

about 10,000 acres. This refuge is 

combined with D’Arbonne, Upper 

Ouachita, Black Bayou Lake, and Red 

River National Wildlife Refuges to form 

the North Louisiana National Wildlife 

Refuge Complex. The wetland 

management district encompasses 

several parishes in the northern half of 

Louisiana: Natchitoches, Grant, 

Richland, Morehouse, West Carroll, and 

East Carroll. 

Habitat management within the 

wetland management district focuses 

primarily on reforestation of marginal 

agricultural areas and development and 

maintenance of moist-soil units. 

Mowing, discing, burning, and/or 

spraying is periodically required to 

maintain early successional stages. 

The varied habitat on lands within the 

wetland management district provide 

for a diverse array of wildlife. Bald 

eagles and peregrine falcons are known 

to occur on the district. Both are usually 

associated with large waterfowl 

concentrations. Small concentrations 

(<1,000) of waterfowl are seen on the 

easement tracts and on Handy Brake 

Refuge, depending upon the availability 

of water. Migratory songbirds also use 

several of the tracts and Handy Brake 

Refuge. Resident furbearers include fox, 

gray squirrels, rabbits, deer, beaver, and 

raccoon. 

There are limited wildlife observation 

opportunities at Handy Brake Refuge 

and other fee title tracts within the 

Louisiana Wetland Management 

District. The observation tower at Handy 

Brake Refuge had approximately 3,200 

visitors during 2002. 

A few potential issues to be reviewed 

during the planning process include 

water manipulation, beaver control 

throughout the district, and control of 

undesirable plant species, such as 

willow, cocklebur, and Sesbania. 

Control methods in the past included 

mechanical means, water level 

manipulation, and spraying. 

The Service will conduct a 

comprehensive conservation planning 

process that will provide opportunity 

for State and local governments, 

agencies, organizations, and the public 

to participate in issue scoping and 

public comment. Comments received by 

the planning team will be used as part 

of the planning process. 

Authority: This notice is published under 

the authority of the National Wildlife Refuge 

System Improvement Act of 1997, Public 

Law 105–57. 

Dated: September 7, 2005. 

Cynthia K. Dohner, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. 05–20318 Filed 10–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance 

Species (ANS) Task Force. The meeting 

is open to the public. The meeting 

topics are identified in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

DATES: The ANS Task Force will meet 

from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on 

Wednesday, October 19, 2005, and 

Thursday, October 20, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The ANS Task Force 

meeting will be held at the Hyatt Dulles, 

2300 Dulles Corner Blvd., Herndon, VA, 

20171; (703) 713–1234. Minutes of the 

meeting will be maintained in the office 

of Chief, Division of Environmental 

Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Suite 322, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 

Arlington, Virginia 22203, and will be 

made available for public inspection 

during regular business hours, Monday 

through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott Newsham, ANS Task Force 

Executive Secretary, at (703) 358–1796. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

App.), this notice announces meetings 

of the ANS Task Force. The ANS Task 

Force was established by the 

Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

Prevention and Control Act of 1990. 

Topics to be covered during the ANS 

Task Force meeting include: Federal 

member, Committee, and Regional Panel 

reports; revision of the Strategic Plan; 

59080 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 11, 2005 / Notices 

regional priorities; 100th Meridian 

Initiative activities; Caulerpa 

eradication activities in California; 

Caulerpa national management plan; 

development of a national database of 

taxonomic experts; invasive species 

forecasting; and risk analysis. 

Dated: September 26, 2005. 

Everett Wilson, 

Acting Co-Chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species 

Task Force, Assistant Director—Fisheries & 

Habitat Conservation. 

[FR Doc. 05–20313 Filed 10–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[OR–010–1020–PK; HAG 06–001] 

Joint Meeting for the Southeast 

Oregon, John Day-Snake, and Eastern 

Washington Resource Advisory 

Councils (TRI RAC) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM), Lakeview District. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The TRI RAC will hold a joint 

meeting for all members on Monday 

November 7, 2005 from 8 a.m. Pacific 

Standard Time (PT) to 5 p.m. Tuesday 

November 8, 2005. The meeting will 

begin at 7:30 a.m. and end about noon. 

The meeting is being held at the 

Running Y Ranch Resort, Conference 

Room, 5500 Running Y Road, Klamath 

Falls, Oregon 97601. Meeting sessions 

are open to the public. A comment 

period is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. (PT) 

on Monday November 7, 2005. The 

meeting topics to be discussed include: 

New member orientation and video, a 

BLM and Forest Service update by the 

State Director and Regional Forester, 

Congressional updates, and a panel 

discussion on RAC involvement. 

Grazing regulations, the wild horse and 

burro program, and planning and 

implementation updates will follow. 

There will be a panel discussion on 

volunteerism and outside funding, 

stewardship contracting, proactive 

strategies and a RAC restructuring 

proposal. There may also be other issues 

that may come before the Councils. 

The Southeast Oregon Resource 

Advisory Council will hold a brief 

meeting Sunday November 6, 2005, at 

the Running Y Ranch Resort at 3 p.m. 

(PT) in the Board Room. The John DaySnake Resource Advisory Council will 

hold a brief meeting on Tuesday 

November 8, 2005 following the close of 

the TRI RAC meeting. These additional 

meetings will be to discuss the same 

issues and concerns that are scheduled 

for the TRI RAC meeting. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Additional information concerning the 

TRI RAC meeting may be obtained from 

Pam Talbott, contact representative, 

Lakeview Interagency Office, 1301 

South G Street, Lakeview, Oregon 97630 

(541) 947–6107, or ptalbott@or.blm.gov. 

Dated: October 4, 2005. 

Shirley Gammon, 

Lakeview District Manager. 

[FR Doc. 05–20321 Filed 10–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–33–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[WO–260–09–1060–00–24 1A] 

Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board; 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Announcement of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) announces that the 

Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board 

will conduct a meeting on matters 

pertaining to management and 

protection of wild, free-roaming horses 

and burros on the Nation’s public lands. 

DATES: The Advisory Board will meet 

Monday, November 7, 2005, from 8 

a.m., to 5 p.m., local time. This will be 

a one day meeting. 

ADDRESSES: The Advisory Board will 

meet at the Hotel Washington, 515 

Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, 

20004. The Hotel Washington’s phone 

numbers are (202) 638–5900 or (800) 

424–9540. Written comments pertaining 

to the Advisory Board meeting should 

be sent to: Bureau of Land Management, 

National Wild Horse and Burro 

Program, WO–260, Attention: Ramona 

DeLorme, 1340 Financial Boulevard, 

Reno, Nevada, 89502–7147. Submit 

written comments pertaining to the 

Advisory Board meeting no later than 

close of business, November 2, 2005. 

See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

for electronic access and filing address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ramona DeLorme, Wild Horse and 

Burro Administrative Assistant, (775) 

861-6583. Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may reach Ms. DeLorme at any 

time by calling the Federal Information 

Relay Service at 1–(800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Meeting 

Under the authority of 43 CFR part 

1784, the Wild Horse and Burro 

Advisory Board advises the Secretary of 

the Interior, the Director of the BLM, the 

Secretary of Agriculture, and the Chief 

of the Forest Service, on matters 

pertaining to management and 

protection of wild, free-roaming horses 

and burros on the Nation’s public lands. 

The tentative agenda for the meeting is: 

Monday, November 7, 2005 (8:00 a.m.–

5:00 p.m.) 

8 a.m. Call to Order & Introductions: 

8:15 a.m. Old Business: 

Approval of August 2005 Minutes. 

Update Pending Litigation. 

8:45 a.m. Program Updates: 

Gathers. 

Adoptions. 

Facilities. 

Forest Service Update. 

Break (9:30 a.m.–9:45 a.m.) 

9:45 a.m. Program Updates 

(continued): 

Adoption Strategy. 

Program Accomplishments. 

Lunch (11:45 a.m.–1:00 p.m.) 

1 p.m. New Business: 

Break (2:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.) 

2:45 p.m. Board Recommendations. 

4 p.m. Public Comments. 

4:45 p.m. Recap/Summary/Next 

Meeting/Date/Site. 

5–6 p.m. Adjourn: Roundtable 

Discussion to Follow. 

The meeting site is accessible to 

individuals with disabilities. An 

individual with a disability needing an 

auxiliary aid or service to participate in 

the meeting, such as an interpreting 

service, assistive listening device, or 

materials in an alternate format, must 

notify the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT two 

weeks before the scheduled meeting 

date. Although the BLM will attempt to 

meet a request received after that date, 

the requested auxiliary aid or service 

may not be available because of 

insufficient time to arrange it. 

The Federal Advisory Committee 

Management Regulations [41 CFR 101–

6.1015(b),] require BLM to publish in 

the Federal Register notice of a meeting 

15 days prior to the meeting date. 

II. Public Comment Procedures 

Members of the public may make oral 

statements to the Advisory Board on 

November 7, 2005, at the appropriate 

point in the agenda. This opportunity is 

anticipated to occur at 4 p.m., local 

time. Persons wishing to make 

statements should register with the BLM 

by noon on November 7, 2005, at the 

meeting location. Depending on the