30588 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 117 / Monday, June 17, 1996 / Proposed Rules

date, and it is recommended that

interested persons continue to examine

the docket for new material.

Those persons desiring to be notified

upon receipt of their comments in the

rule’s docket should enclose a selfaddressed, stamped postcard in the

envelope with their comments. Upon

receiving the comments, the docket

supervisor will return the postcard by

mail.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115,

30117, and 30166; delegation of authority at

49 CFR 1.50.

Issued on: June 12, 1996.

Barry Felrice,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 96–15325 Filed 6–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AD20

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Proposed Special Rule for

the Conservation of the Northern

Spotted Owl on Non-Federal Lands

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Extension of public comment

period.

SUMMARY: The Service issued a Draft

Environmental Alternatives Analysis

(EAA) (February 23, 1996, 61 FR 6964)

for the proposed special rule for the

conservation of the northern spotted

owl on non-Federal lands in California

and Washington, which is currently out

for public comment. The proposed

special rule was published in the

Federal Register on February 17, 1995

(60 FR 9484). The comment period for

both documents was scheduled to end

on June 3, 1996. The intent of this

document is to extend the comment

period to June 27, 1996.

The Service is briefly extending the

comment period in order to accept the

comments of The Resources Agency of

California, and invites other interested

parties who have not yet submitted

comments to do so.

DATES: The comment period for written

comments is extended until June 27,

1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments and materials

concerning this Draft Environmental

Alternatives Analysis and the proposed

rule should be sent to Mr. Michael J.

Spear, Regional Director, Region 1, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 NE. 11th

Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232–4181.

The complete file for this proposed rule

will be available for public inspection,

by appointment during normal business

hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Office of Technical Support for

Forest Resources, 333 SW. 1st Avenue,

4th Floor, Portland, Oregon 97204, (503/

326–6218).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Curt Smitch, Assistant Regional

Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 3704 Griffin Lane SE.,

Suite 102, Olympia, Washington 98501,

(206/534–9330); or Ron Crete, Office of

Technical Support for Forest Resources,

333 SW. 1st Avenue, Portland, Oregon

97232–4181, (503/326–6218).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Service has prepared a draft document

called an Environmental Alternatives

Analysis (EAA) that describes and

analyzes the potential environmental

effects of the proposed special rule and

six alternatives for the conservation of

the northern spotted owl on non-Federal

lands in Washington and California.

Each alternative would revise to varying

degrees the Federal prohibitions and

exceptions regarding the incidental take

of spotted owls on non-Federal lands in

California and Washington. The

proposed rule, analyzed in the Draft

EAA as Alternative 3, was published in

the Federal Register on February 17,

1995 (60 FR, No. 33, Page 9484).

The Service’s Draft EAA, including all

maps, tables, charts, and graphs,

remains available on the Internet’s

World Wide Web at http://

www.r1.fws.gov/4deaa/welcome.html.

Dated: June 10, 1996.

H. Dale Hall,

Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 96–15123 Filed 6–14–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 217 and 227

[Docket No.950830222–6103–02; I.D.

011696D]

RIN 0648–AH89

Sea Turtle Conservation; Revisions to

Sea Turtle Conservation

Requirements; Restrictions to Shrimp

Trawling Activities; Reopening of

Comment Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of

comment period; notice of availability.

SUMMARY: On April 24, 1996, NMFS

published a proposed rule to amend the

regulations protecting sea turtles to

enhance their effectiveness in reducing

sea turtle mortality resulting from

shrimp trawling in the Atlantic and Gulf

Areas in the southeastern United States.

In response to several requests for an

extension of the comment period, NMFS

is reopening the comment period

through July 15 to provide further

opportunity to submit comments on the

proposed rule and to review additional

analyses, including the preliminary

report scheduled to be submitted to

NMFS by June 28, 1996, by the sea

turtle expert working group.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be submitted on or before July 15,

1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed

rule and requests for a copy of the sea

turtle expert working group report

should be addressed to the Chief,

Endangered Species Division, Office of

Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, MD

20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles A. Oravetz, 813–570–5312, or

Therese A. Conant, 301–713–1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April

24, 1996, NMFS published a proposed

rule (61 FR 18102) to amend the

regulations at 50 CFR 227.72(e)

protecting sea turtles to enhance their

effectiveness in reducing sea turtle

mortality resulting from shrimp trawling

in the Atlantic and Gulf Areas in the

southeastern United States. The

background and rationale for the

proposed amendments were contained

in the preamble of the proposed rule

and are not repeated here. The comment

period for the proposed rule closed on

June 10, 1996. However, NMFS is

reopening the comment period through

July 15 to provide further opportunity to

submit comments on the proposed rule

and to review additional analyses,

including the preliminary report

scheduled to be submitted to NMFS by

June 28, 1996, by the sea turtle expert

working group. The formation of this

group of scientists to analyze existing

databases to determine sea turtle

population abundance, population

trends, and sustainable take levels was

a requirement of the November 14,

1994, biological opinion. The report will

be made available for public review and

distributed upon request when it is

submitted to NMFS (see ADDRESSES).