Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 224 / Tuesday, November 22, 2005 / Notices 70633 

The method for calculating 

population size using females with cubs 

sightings (Keating et al. 2002) and the 

method for calculating the unknown 

and unreported mortalities (Cherry et al. 

2002) have been published in peerreviewed scientific journals. We are 

seeking comments only on the 

document Reassessing Methods to 

Estimate Population Size and 

Sustainable Mortality Limits for the 

Yellowstone Grizzly Bear, which 

applies these peer-reviewed methods to 

the Yellowstone grizzly bear population. 

Based on the comments received, the 

Service will finalize this methodology 

for calculating total population size and 

establishing sustainable mortality limits 

for the Yellowstone grizzly bear 

population and append it to the Grizzly 

Bear Recovery Plan prior to publishing 

a final rule to designate the Greater 

Yellowstone Ecosystem population of 

grizzly bears as a distinct population 

segment and to remove the Yellowstone 

distinct population segment of grizzly 

bears from the Federal list of 

endangered and threatened wildlife. 

Public Comments Solicited 

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species 

Act, as amended in 1988, requires that 

public notice and an opportunity for 

public review and comment be provided 

during recovery plan development. We 

consider all information presented 

during a public comment period prior to 

approval of each new or revised 

recovery plan. We and other Federal 

management agencies also will take 

these comments into account in the 

course of implementing approved 

recovery plans. We now seek public 

comment on the draft document 

Reassessing Methods to Estimate 

Population Size and Sustainable 

Mortality Limits for the Yellowstone 

Grizzly Bear to address both Task Y11 

in the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan and 

the Court Opinion (Fund for Animals v. 

Babbitt, 903 F. Supp. 96 (D. D.C. 1995); 

967 F. Supp. 6 (D. D.C. 1997)). All 

comments received by the date specified 

in the DATES section above will be 

considered prior to finalization of the 

information. Appropriate portions of the 

information will be appended to, and 

become part of, the 1993 Grizzly Bear 

Recovery Plan and the Final 

Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly 

Bear in the Greater Yellowstone Area. 

Literature Cited 

Cherry, S., M.A. Haroldson, J. Robison-Cox, 

and C.C. Schwartz. 2002. Estimating total 

human-caused mortality from reported 

mortality using data from radioinstrumented grizzly bears. Ursus 

13:175–184. 

Keating, K.A., C.C. Schwartz, M.A. 

Haroldson, and D. Moody. 2002. 

Estimating numbers of females with 

cubs-of-the-year in the Yellowstone 

grizzly bear population. Ursus 13:161–

174. 

Authority: The authority for this Notice is 

under section 4(f) of the Endangered Species 

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

Dated: July 11, 2005. 

Ralph O. Morgenweck, 

Regional Director, Denver, Colorado. 

[FR Doc. 05–23057 Filed 11–21–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Minerals Management Service 

Preparation of an Environmental 

Assessment for Proposed Outer 

Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease 

Sale 200 in the Western Gulf of Mexico 

(2006) 

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Preparation of an environmental 

assessment. 

SUMMARY: The Minerals Management 

Service (MMS) is issuing this notice to 

advise the public, pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq., that MMS intends to 

prepare an environmental assessment 

(EA) for proposed Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS) oil and gas Lease Sale 200 

in the Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) 

(Lease Sale 200) scheduled for August 

2006. The MMS is issuing this notice to 

facilitate public involvement. The 

preparation of this EA is an important 

step in the decision process for Lease 

Sale 200. The proposal and alternatives 

for Lease Sale 200 were identified by the 

MMS Director in January 2002 following 

the Call for Information and 

Nominations/Notice of Intent to Prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) and were analyzed in the Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 

2003–2007; Central Planning Area Sales 

185, 190, 194, 198, and 201; Western 

Planning Area Sales 187, 192, 196, and 

200—Final Environmental Impact 

Statement; Volumes I and II (Multisale 

EIS, OCS EIS/EA MMS 2002–052). This 

EA will reexamine the potential 

environmental effects of the proposed 

action (the offering of all available 

unleased acreage in the Western 

Planning Area (WPA)) and its 

alternatives (the proposed action 

excluding the unleased blocks near 

biologically sensitive topographic 

features; and no action) based on any 

new information regarding potential 

impacts and issues that were not 

available at the time the Multisale EIS 

was prepared. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Dennis Chew, Minerals Management 

Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, MS 

5410, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–

2394. You may also contact Mr. Chew 

by telephone at (504) 736–2793. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

November 2002, MMS prepared a 

Multisale EIS that addressed nine 

proposed Federal actions that offer for 

lease areas on the GOM OCS that may 

contain economically recoverable oil 

and gas resources. Federal regulations 

allow for several related or similar 

proposals to be analyzed in one EIS (40 

CFR 1502.4). Since each proposed lease 

sale and its projected activities are very 

similar each year for each planning area, 

a single EIS was prepared for the nine 

Central Planning Area (CPA) and WPA 

lease sales scheduled in the OCS Oil 

and Gas Leasing Program: 2002–2007 (5- 

Year Program, OCS EIS/EA MMS 2002–

006). Under the current 5-Year Program, 

five annual areawide lease sales were 

scheduled for the CPA (Lease Sales 185, 

190, 194, 198, and 201) and five annual 

areawide lease sales were scheduled for 

the WPA (Lease Sales 184, 187, 192, 

196, and 200). Lease Sale 184 was not 

addressed in the Multisale EIS; a 

separate EA was prepared for that 

proposal. The Multisale EIS addressed 

CPA Lease Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 

201 scheduled for 2003, 2004, 2005, 

2006, and 2007, respectively, and WPA 

Lease Sales 187, 192, 196, and 200 

scheduled for 2003, 2004, 2005, and 

2006, respectively. Although the 

Multisale EIS addresses nine proposed 

lease sales, decisions were made only 

for proposed CPA Lease Sale 185 and 

proposed WPA Lease Sale 187 based on 

the EIS. For the subsequent sales, an 

additional NEPA review (an EA) will be 

conducted the year prior to each 

proposed lease sale, to address any new 

information relevant to that proposed 

action. After completion of the EA, 

MMS will determine whether to prepare 

a Finding of No New Significant Impact 

(FONNSI) or a Supplemental EIS. The 

MMS will then prepare and send 

Consistency Determinations (CD’s) to 

the affected States to determine whether 

the lease sale is consistent with their 

federally-approved State coastal zone 

management programs. Finally, MMS 

will solicit comments via the Proposed 

Notice of Sale (PNOS) from the 

governors of the affected States on the 

size, timing, and location of the lease 

sale. The tentative schedule for the 

prelease decision process for Lease Sale 

70634 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 224 / Tuesday, November 22, 2005 / Notices 

200 is as follows: EA/FONNSI or 

Supplemental EIS decision, March 

2006; CD’s sent to affected States, March 

2006; PNOS sent to governors of the 

affected States, March 2006; Final 

Notice of Sale published in the Federal 

Register, July 2006; and Lease Sale 200, 

August 2006. 

Public Comments 

Interested parties are requested to 

send within 30 days of this Notice’s 

publication comments regarding any 

new information or issues that should 

be addressed in the EA. Comments may 

be submitted in one of the following 

three ways: 

1. Electronically using MMS’s new 

Public Connect on-line commenting 

system at https://ocsconnect.mms.gov. 

This is the preferred method for 

commenting. From the Public Connect 

‘‘Welcome’’ screen, search for ‘‘WPA 

Lease Sale 200 EA’’ or select it from the 

‘‘Projects Open for Comment’’ menu. 

2. In written form enclosed in an 

envelope labeled ‘‘Comments on WPA 

Lease Sale 200 EA’’ and mailed (or hand 

carried) to the Regional Supervisor, 

Leasing and Environment (MS 5410), 

Minerals Management Service, Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood 

Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 

70123–2394. 

3. Electronically to the MMS e-mail 

address: environment@mms.gov. 

To obtain single copies of the 

Multisale EIS, you may contact the 

Minerals Management Service, Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Region, Attention: Public 

Information Office (MS 5034), 1201 

Elmwood Park Boulevard, Room 114, 

New Orleans, Louisiana 70123–2394 (1–

800–200–GULF). You may also view the 

Multisale EIS or check the list of 

libraries that have copies of the 

Multisale EIS on the MMS Web site at 

http://www.gomr.mms.gov. 

Dated: October 24, 2005. 

Chris C. Oynes, 

Regional Director, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. 

[FR Doc. 05–23073 Filed 11–21–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Minerals Management Service 

Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf 

(OCS), Central Planning Area, Oil and 

Gas Lease Sale 198 (2006) 

Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of an 

Environmental Assessment. 

SUMMARY: The MMS is issuing this 

notice to advise the public, pursuant to 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq., that MMS has prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

proposed OCS oil and gas Lease Sale 

198 in the Central Gulf of Mexico 

(GOM) (Lease Sale 198) scheduled for 

March 2006. Proposed Lease Sale 198 is 

the fourth Central Planning Area (CPA) 

lease sale scheduled in the Outer 

Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing 

Program: 2002–2007 (5-Year Program, 

OCS EIS/EA MMS 2002–006). The 

preparation of this EA is an important 

step in the decisionmaking process for 

Lease Sale 198. The proposal for Lease 

Sale 198 (the offering of all available 

unleased acreage in the CPA) and its 

alternatives (the proposed action 

excluding the unleased blocks near 

biologically sensitive topographic 

features, the proposed action excluding 

the unleased blocks within 15 miles of 

the Baldwin County, Alabama, Coast, 

and no action) were identified by the 

MMS Director in January 2002 following 

the Call for Information and 

Nominations/Notice of Intent to Prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) and were analyzed in the Gulf of 

Mexico OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 

2003–2007; Central Planning Area Sales 

185, 190, 194, 198, and 201; Western 

Planning Area Sales 187, 192, 196, and 

200—Final Environmental Impact 

Statement; Volumes I and II (Multisale 

EIS, OCS EIS/EA MMS 2002–052). The 

Multisale EIS analyzed the effects of a 

typical CPA lease sale by presenting a 

set of ranges for resource estimates, 

projected exploration and development 

activities, and impact-producing factors 

for any of the proposed CPA lease sales. 

The level of activities projected for 

proposed Lease Sale 198 falls within 

these ranges. In this EA, which tiers 

from the Multisale EIS and incorporates 

that document by reference, MMS 

reexamined the potential environmental 

effects of the proposed action and its 

alternatives based on any new 

information regarding potential impacts 

and issues that were not available at the 

time the Multisale EIS was prepared. No 

new significant impacts were identified 

for proposed Lease Sale 198 that were 

not already assessed in the Multisale 

EIS. As a result, MMS determined that 

a supplemental EIS is not required and 

prepared a Finding of No New 

Significant Impact (FONNSI). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

James F. Bennett, Minerals Management 

Service, Minerals Management Service, 

Headquarters Office, Attention: 

Environmental Division, Environmental 

Assessment Branch (MS 4042), Parkway 

Atrium Building, 381 Elden Street, 

Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817. You 

may also contact Mr. Bennett by 

telephone at (703) 787–1660. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

November 2002, MMS prepared a 

Multisale EIS that addressed nine 

proposed Federal actions that offer for 

lease areas on the GOM OCS that may 

contain economically recoverable oil 

and gas resources. Federal regulations 

allow for several related or similar 

proposals to be analyzed in one EIS (40 

CFR 1502.4). Since each proposed lease 

sale and its projected activities are very 

similar each year for each planning area, 

a single EIS was prepared for 9 of the 

10 CPA and Western Planning Area 

(WPA) lease sales scheduled in the 5- 

Year Program. Under the 5-Year 

Program, five annual areawide lease 

sales are scheduled for the CPA (Lease 

Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 201) and 

five annual areawide lease sales are 

scheduled for the WPA (Lease Sales 

184, 187, 192, 196, and 200). Lease Sale 

184 was not addressed in the Multisale 

EIS; a separate EA was prepared for that 

proposal. The Multisale EIS addressed 

CPA Lease Sales 185, 190, 194, 198, and 

201 scheduled for 2003, 2004, 2005, 

2006, and 2007, respectively, and WPA 

Lease Sales 187, 192, 196, and 200 

scheduled for 2003, 2004, 2005, and 

2006, respectively. Although the 

Multisale EIS addresses nine proposed 

lease sales, at the completion of the EIS 

process, decisions were made only for 

proposed CPA Lease Sale 185 and 

proposed WPA Lease Sale 187. In the 

year prior to each subsequent proposed 

lease sale, an additional NEPA review 

(an EA) will be conducted to address 

any new information relevant to that 

proposed action. After completion of the 

EA, MMS will determine whether to 

prepare a FONNSI or a Supplemental 

EIS. The MMS will then prepare and 

send Consistency Determinations (CD’s) 

to the affected States to determine 

whether the proposed lease sale is 

consistent with their federally-approved 

State coastal zone management 

programs. Finally, MMS will solicit 

comments via the proposed Notice of 

Sale (NOS) from the governors of the 

affected States on the size, timing, and 

location of the proposed lease sale. The 

tentative schedule for the prelease 

decision process for Lease Sale 198 is as 

follows: CD’s sent to affected States, 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register of the NOA; proposed NOS 

sent to governors of the affected States, 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register of the NOA; Final Notice of 

Sale published in the Federal Register,