Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 1996 / Notices 3051

your application, purpose of the permit,

and, if known, permit number and name

of the permit biologist processing it.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is

operating under a temporary spending

authority. Should another Federal

shutdown occur, our capability to carry

out our responsibilities to the public to

process applications expeditiously will

be further delayed. Please be assured

that we will continue to do everything

we can to process applications as

quickly and effectively as possible.

Dated: January 25, 1996.

Caroline Anderson,

Acting Chief, Branch of Permits, Office of

Management Authority.

[FR Doc. 96–1732 Filed 1–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

Notice of Availability of ‘‘Black-footed

Ferret Survey Guidelines for Oil and

Gas Activities in Wyoming for

Compliance With the Endangered

Species Act’’ for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) announces the availability for

public review of draft ‘‘Black-footed

Ferret Survey Guidelines For Oil and

Gas Activities In Wyoming For

Compliance With The Endangered

Species Act’’. The draft guidelines offer

an alternative, only in Wyoming, to the

existing survey guidelines found in

‘‘Black-footed Ferret Survey Guidelines

For Compliance With The Endangered

Species Act’’, which were developed by

the Service in 1989. The Service solicits

review and comment from the public on

these draft guidelines.

DATES: Comments on the draft

guidelines must be received on or before

February 29, 1996, to ensure they

receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the draft guidelines may obtain a copy

by contacting the Field Supervisor,

Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 4000 Morrie Avenue,

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001. Written

comments and materials regarding the

draft guidelines should be sent to the

Field Supervisor at the Cheyenne

address given above. Comments and

materials received are available on

request for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chuck Davis (see ADDRESSES above), at

telephone 307/772–2374.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) proposes to implement the

newly developed ‘‘Black-footed Ferret

Survey Guidelines for Oil and Gas

Activities in Wyoming for Compliance

with the Endangered Species Act’’

(proposed guidelines) as an alternative

to the existing ferret survey guidelines

found in ‘‘Black-footed Ferret Survey

Guidelines for Compliance with the

Endangered Species Act’’ (1989

guidelines) which were developed by

the Service in April 1989. The failure of

ferret surveys to locate new populations,

coupled with the minimal impacts

arising from oil and gas activities, has

prompted the Service to develop the

proposed guidelines for use in

Wyoming. This alternative to the

existing survey recommendations as

outlined in the 1989 guidelines is

elective, not mandatory, and available

only in Wyoming. It deviates from the

1989 guidelines by eliminating the

black-ferret survey requirements in

white-tailed prairie dog towns/colonies/

complexes in Wyoming for all oil and

gas exploration, development, and

transmission activities except in certain

areas, which are identified in Appendix

A of the proposed guidelines. Wyoming

was selected to be the prototype area for

the proposed guidelines because of

intensive oil and gas development,

particularly in the southwestern part of

the State. If a project proponent opts not

to choose this alternative, the provisions

of the 1989 guidelines will continue to

apply.

The Service believes this alternative

approach will increase the potential for

black-footed ferret survival and recovery

by improving the manner in which

funds are used, particularly regarding

fruitless ferret survey efforts in whitetailed prairie dog towns as well as

repeated ferret surveys in black-tailed

prairie dog towns. Furthermore, the

Service believes this alternative to the

1989 guidelines will add to the

flexibility and options for the recovery

of this species. Instead of surveys, the

project proponent contributes to ferret

recovery through voluntary

participation in the Ferret Recovery

Enhancement Program (FREP), a

strategy the Service believes offers a

better black-footed ferret conservation

approach than the current strategy. The

money generated by FREP will fund

ferret recovery efforts that have a higher

potential for success than ferret surveys

in areas of limited habitat value and low

probability of impacts to ferrets from the

oil and gas activities.

Participation in the FREP requires the

project proponent to coordinate with the

Cheyenne Field Office of the Service,

provide documentation that the project

and project site qualify (including

identification of specific proposed oil

and gas activities, description of

anticipated disturbance, and a map of

the white-tailed prairie dog town

showing location of the disturbance),

and agree to provide to the FREP Fund

a one-time fee of $30/acre of prairie dog

town disturbance. Disturbance will be

defined to include all rights-of-way,

well sites, and other areas of ground

disturbance. Funds generated by the

contributions into FREP will be used for

actions that benefit the recovery of the

black-footed ferret. Such actions might

include, but would not be limited to:

activities such as development of

improved survey methodologies;

identification, mapping, digitizing of

maps; conducting ferret surveys of

prairie dog complexes greater than 5,000

acres or areas where physical evidence

has been found; and, identification of

potential reintroduction sites.

Applicability of the proposed

guidelines to black-tailed prairie dog

towns will be addressed on a case-bycase basis by the Cheyenne Field Office

of the Service. The determination will

be based on the size of the town/colony/

complex, quality of habitat, extent and

results of previous black-footed ferret

surveys in the vicinity, historical

presence of ferrets, and the importance

of the complex to the overall recovery

and survival of the black-footed ferret.

Other values of maintaining the

biological integrity of the prairie dog

ecosystem are still important and

should not be overlooked. The prairie

dog, as a keystone species, plays an

important role in maintaining specific

habitat conditions or providing forage

for many species, including several

candidate and sensitive species such as

the mountain plover, ferruginous hawk,

and burrowing owl. Severe impacts to or

loss of prairie dog colonies threaten all

species associated with that community.

This document addresses only

requirements for surveys and for

potential impacts to black-footed ferrets.

Other listed and candidate species

potentially impacted by proposed

actions must be addressed separately to

ensure compliance with applicable laws

and regulations.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the draft guidelines described above.

All comments received by the date

specified in the DATES section above

will be considered prior to approval of

the guidelines.
3052 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 20 / Tuesday, January 30, 1996 / Notices

Authority: The authority for this action is

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: January 24, 1996.

Terry T. Terrell,

Deputy Regional Director, Denver, CO.

[FR Doc. 96–1666 Filed 1–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

Geological Survey

Federal Geographic Data Committee

(FGDC); Public Meeting of the FGDC

Facilities Working Group

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice is to invite public

participation in a meeting of the FGDC

Facilities Working Group. The major

topic for this meeting is the

development of a Facility/Installation ID

standard.

TIME AND PLACE: 14 February 1996, from

1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The meeting

will be held at Headquarters U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers, in Room 8222D of

the Pulaski Building, 20 Massachusetts

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. The

Pulaski building is located just a few

blocks west of Union Station.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Fox, FGDC Secretariat, U.S.

Geological Survey, 590 National Center,

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston,

Virginia 22092; telephone (703) 648–

5514; facsimile (703) 648–5755; Internet

‘‘gdc@usgs.gov’’.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FGDC

is a committee of Federal Agencies

engaged in geospatial activities. The

FGDC Facilities Working Group

specifically focuses on geospatial data

issues related to facilities and facility

management. A facility is an entity with

location, deliberately established as a

site for designated activities. A facility

database might describe a factory, a

military base, a college, a hospital, a

power plant, a fishery, a national park,

an office building, a space command

center, or a prison. The database for a

complex facility may describe multiple

functions or missions, multiple

buildings, or even a county, town, or

city. The objectives of the Working

Group are to: promote standards of

accuracy and currentness in facilities

data that are financed in whole or in

part by Federal funds; exchange

information on technological

improvements for collecting facilities

data; encourage the Federal and nonFederal communities to identify and

adopt standards and specifications for

facilities data; and promote the sharing

of facilities data among Federal and

non-Federal organizations.

Dated: January 19, 1996.

Richard E. Witmer,

Acting Chief, National Mapping Division.

[FR Doc. 96–1635 Filed 1–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–31–M

Minerals Management Service

Outer Continental Shelf, Alaska

Region, Proposed Cook Inlet Lease

Sale 149

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the

Final Environmental Impact Statement.

The Minerals Management Service

(MMS) has prepared a final

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

relating to the proposed 1996 Outer

Continental Shelf oil and gas lease sale

of available unleased blocks in Cook

Inlet. The proposed Cook Inlet Sale 149

will offer for lease approximately 2.0

million acres. Single copies of the EIS

can be obtained from the Regional

Director, Minerals Management Service,

Alaska Region, 949 East 36th Avenue,

Anchorage, Alaska 99503–4302,

Attention: Public Information. Copies

can be requested by telephone, (907)

271–6070.

Copies of the final EIS will also be

available for inspection in the following

public libraries:

A. Holmes Johnson Memorial Library,

319 Lower Mill Bay Road, Kodiak, AK

99615

Alaska Pacific University, Academic

Support Center Library, 4101

University Drive, Room 310,

Anchorage, AK 99508–4672

Alaska Resources Library, U.S.

Department of the Interior,

Anchorage, AK

Alaska State Library, Government

Publications, PO Box 110571, Juneau,

AK 99811

Anchor Point Public Library, PO Box

129, Anchor Point, AK 99556

ARCO Alaska, Inc. Library, PO Box

100360, Anchorage, AK 99510–0360

Arctic Environmental Information and

Data Center, University of Alaska, 707

A Street, Anchorage, AK

BP Exploration, Information Resource

Center, PO Box 196612, Anchorage,

AK 99519

Chiniak Public Library, PO Box 5610,

Chiniak, AK 99615

Cordova Public Library, PO Box 1170,

Cordova, AK 99574

Dillingham Public Library, PO Box 870,

Dillingham, AK 99576

Fairbanks North Star Borough Public

Library (Noel Wien Library) 1215

Cowles Street, Fairbanks, AK

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Library,

1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK

99503

Halibut Cove Public Library, PO Box

6413, Halibut Cove, AK 99603

ENRI Information Services, 707 A

Street, Anchorage, AK 99501

Jesse Wakefield Memorial Library, PO

Box 49, Port Lions, AK 99550

Juneau Memorial Library, 114 4th

Street, Anchorage, AK

Juneau Public Library, 292 Marine Way,

Juneau, AK 99801

Kasilof Public Library, PO Box 176,

Kasilof, AK 99610

Kenai Community Library, 163 Main

Street Loop, Kenai, AK 99611

Kenai Peninsula College, 34820 College

Drive, Soldotna, AK 99669

Kenai Peninsula College, 533 E. Pioneer

Avenue, Homer, AK 99603

Ketchikan Public Library, 629 Dock

Street, Ketchikan, AK 99901

Kettleson Memorial Library, 320 Harbor

Road, Sitka, AK 99835

King Cove Community School Library,

PO Box 6, King Cove, AK 99612

Kodiak College, 117 Benny Benson

Drive, Kodiak, AK 99615

Martin Monson Library, PO Box 147,

Naknek, AK 99633–0147

Nanwalek Elementary/High School

Library, PO Box 8007, Nanwalek, AK

99603–6007

Northern Alaska Environmental Center

Library, 218 Driveway, Fairbanks, AK

Oil Spill Information Center, 645 G

Street, Anchorage, AK 99510–0600

Old Harbor Library, PO Box 109, Old

Harbor, AK 99643

Palmer Public Library, 655 Soputh

Valley Way, Palmer, AK 99645

Sand Point School Library, PO Box 269,

Sand Point, AK 99661

Seldovia Public Library, Drawer D,

Seldovia, AK 99663

Seward Community Library, PO Box

537, Seward, AK 99664

Soldotna Public Library, 235 Brinkley

Street, Soldotna, AK 99669

State of Alaska, DEC Library, 410

Willoughby Avenue, Juneau, AK

99801–1795

State of Alaska Department of Fish and

Game Library, 333 Rasberry Road,

Anchorage, AK 99518–1599

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Library,

PO Box 898, Anchorage, AK 99506–

0898

University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Elmer E.

Rasmuson Library, 310 Tanana Drive,

Fairbanks, AK 99775–1007

University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Institute

of Arctic Biology, 311 Irving Building,

Fairbanks, AK

University of Alaska-Anchorage,

Government Documents Library, 3211