Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Notices 50983 

Dated: August 22, 2008. 

Gladys Cotter, 

Associate Chief Biologist for Information. 

[FR Doc. E8–20023 Filed 8–28–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4311–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[ES–020–08–1610–DQ–028M] 

Notice of Availability of the Alabama 

and Mississippi Proposed Resource 

Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 and the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a Proposed Resource Management Plan/ 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(PRMP/FEIS) for Alabama and 

Mississippi. 

DATES: The BLM planning regulations 

(43 CFR 1610.5–2) state that any person 

who meets the conditions as described 

in the regulations may protest the BLM’s 

Proposed RMP. A person who meets the 

conditions and files a protest must file 

the protest within 30 days of the date 

that the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes its notice in the 

Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Alabama and 

Mississippi PRMP/FEIS have been sent 

to affected Federal, State, and local 

government agencies and to interested 

parties. Copies of the Proposed RMP/ 

FEIS are available for public inspection 

at the BLM–ES Jackson Field Office, 411 

Briarwood Drive, Suite 404, Jackson, 

Mississippi 39206. Interested persons 

may also review the Proposed RMP/ 

FEIS on the Internet at http:// 

www.es.blm.gov/AL_MS_RMP. All 

protests must be in writing and must be 

mailed to: 

Regular Mail: Director (210), Attention: 

Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 66538, 

Washington, DC 20035. 

Overnight Mail: Director (210), 

Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L 

Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, 

DC 20036. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Gary Taylor, Planning and 

Environmental Coordinator, Bureau of 

Land Management-Eastern States, 

Jackson Field Office, 411 Briarwood 

Drive, Jackson, Mississippi 39206. Mr. 

Taylor may also be contacted by 

telephone: (601) 977–5413. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

PRMP/FEIS covers all the public land 

resources administered by the BLM in 

the States of Alabama and Mississippi. 

The issues addressed in the PRMP/FEIS 

are mineral leasing and ownership 

adjustment of the scattered surface 

tracts. Within the two States combined, 

the BLM administers approximately 333 

acres of public land surface and mineral 

estate and 621,090 acres of Federal 

minerals where the surface estate is in 

non-Federal ownership. The BLM also 

has responsibility for 2,081,880 acres of 

mineral estate where the surface is 

managed by other Federal agencies, 

including 1,871,550 acres of National 

Forest lands. On these lands, leasing of 

Federal minerals is subject to 

management as directed by the surface 

managing agency, and the decisions of 

this RMP will pertain only to the BLM’s 

role in administering the minerals. The 

RMP will not make decisions on oil and 

gas leasing of National Forest acreage, 

because by regulation the U.S. Forest 

Service (USFS) is responsible for land 

use planning decisions on oil and gas 

leasing. Within the two States, there are 

also 9,788 acres of lands with uncertain 

title. These are public domain lands 

according to General Land Office 

records, but may have private claims of 

ownership. The RMP will not make 

management decisions on these lands 

per se; however, these lands will be 

available for disposal to qualified 

applicants under the Color-of-Title Act. 

Public participation was solicited 

during the formation of the Draft RMP/ 

EIS through public meetings in Gulf 

Shore, AL; Birmingham, AL; and 

Jackson, MS. 

Comments on the Draft RMP/EIS 

received from the public and internal 

BLM review were incorporated into the 

proposed plan. Public comments 

resulted in the addition of clarifying 

text, but did not significantly change 

proposed land use decisions. 

Instructions for filing a protest with 

the Director of the BLM regarding the 

PRMP/FEIS may be found in the Dear 

Reader Letter of the Alabama and 

Mississippi PRMP/FEIS and at 43 CFR 

1610.5. E-mail and faxed protests will 

not be accepted as valid protests unless 

the protesting party also provides the 

original letter by either regular or 

overnight mail postmarked by the close 

of the protest period. Under these 

conditions, the BLM will consider the email or faxed protest as an advance copy 

and it will receive full consideration. If 

you wish to provide the BLM with such 

advance notification, please direct faxed 

protests to the attention of the BLM 

protest coordinator at 202–452–5112, 

and e-mails to Brenda_HudgensWilliams@blm.gov. All protests, 

including the follow-up letter (if emailing or faxing) must be in writing 

and mailed to the address(es) set forth 

in the ADDRESSES section, above. 

Before including your phone number, 

e-mail address, or other personal 

identifying information in your protest, 

you should be aware that your entire 

protest—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your protest to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Dated: March 25, 2008. 

Juan Palma, 

State Director, Eastern States. 

Editorial Note: This document was 

received at the Office of the Federal Register 

on August 25, 2008. 

[FR Doc. E8–19951 Filed 8–28–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–GJ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[UT–070–1610–011J] 

Notice of Availability of the Price Field 

Office Proposed Resource 

Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 

(PRMP/FEIS) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 and the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) has prepared 

a Proposed Resource Management Plan/ 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(PRMP/FEIS) for the Price Field Office. 

DATES: The BLM planning regulations 

(43 CFR 1610.5–2) state that any person 

who meets the conditions as described 

in the regulations may protest the BLM’s 

PRMP/FEIS. A person who meets the 

conditions and files a protest must file 

the protest within 30 days of the date 

that the Environmental Protection 

Agency publishes this notice in the 

Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Price Field 

Office PRMP/FEIS were sent to affected 

Federal, state, and local government 

agencies and to interested parties. 

Copies of the PRMP/FEIS are available 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

50984 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Notices 

for public inspection at: Price Field 

Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 

84501. Utah State Office, 440 West 200 

South, Salt Lake City, UT 84145. 

Interested persons may also review 

the PRMP/FEIS on the Internet at 

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/price/ 

planning.html. All protests must be in 

writing and mailed to the following 

addresses: 

Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), 

Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 

P.O. Box 66538, Washington, DC 

20035. 

Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), 

Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 

1620 L Street, NW., Suite 1075, 

Washington, DC 20036. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Floyd Johnson, Price Field Office, 125 

South 600 West, Price, UT 84501; 

phone: (435)636–3600; or e-mail at: 

Floyd_Johnson@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Price 

RMP planning area is located in central 

Utah. The BLM administers 

approximately 2.5 million acres of 

surface estate and 2.8 million acres of 

Federal mineral estate within the 

planning area. 

The Price RMP will provide future 

broad-scale management direction for 

land use allocations and allowable uses 

on public lands within the planning 

area. Implementation of the decisions of 

the PRMP/FEIS would apply only to 

BLM-administered public lands and 

Federal mineral estate. In the Draft 

RMP/EIS (DRMP/DEIS), which was 

released for public review and comment 

in July 2004, five alternatives were 

analyzed, including a No Action 

alternative. These alternatives were 

developed through issue identification 

during the scoping process. Public 

involvement and collaboration began 

with scoping to identify issues, 

concerns, and opportunities to be 

resolved in the planning process. Input 

on planning issues was gathered from 

the public during a comment period and 

associated open houses. The major 

issues addressed in the PRMP/DEIS 

include: oil and gas leasing and 

development; management of recreation 

opportunities in Special Recreation 

Management Areas (SRMAs), 

designation of routes for off-highway 

vehicle (OHV) travel, livestock grazing, 

management of Areas of Critical 

Environmental Concern (ACECs), and 

recommendations for Wild and Scenic 

Rivers (WSR) designations. In 

September 2007 a Supplemental DEIS 

was released for public review and 

comment which considered an 

additional alternative emphasizing the 

protection of non-WSA lands with 

wilderness characteristics. The PRMP/ 

FEIS would designate five new ACECs, 

and the continuation of eight existing 

ACECs, totaling 206,965 acres. Resource 

use limitations that apply to the 

proposed ACECs include a range of 

prescriptions as described in Table 1 

below. 

TABLE 1—EVALUATION OF AREAS OF CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN

Area name Values of concern Resource use limitations Acres 

Big Flat Tops .............................. Relict vegetation ....................... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ........................................................... 192 

Bowknot Bend ............................ Relict vegetation ....................... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ........................................................... 1,087 

Dry Lake Archaeological District Cultural ..................................... 11, 12, 13, 14 .............................................................................. 18,010 

Interstate 70 ............................... Scenic ....................................... 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14 .................................................................... 33,068 

Muddy Creek .............................. Cultural, Historic, Scenic .......... 2, 5, 7, 9, 12 (1 in WSA), 13, 14, 15 ........................................... 25,119 

Pictographs/Rock Art ................. Cultural ..................................... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (partial), 7, 8, 14 .................................................. 5,303 

San Rafael Canyon .................... Scenic ....................................... 5, 6 (partial), 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16 .................................................. 17,595 

San Rafael Reef ........................ Scenic, Vegetation .................... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 14 ............................................................... 73,170 

Seger’s Hole .............................. Scenic ....................................... 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14 .................................................................... 7,067 

Nine Mile Canyon ...................... Cultural ..................................... 14, 17, 18 ..................................................................................... 26,211 

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry.Paleontologic ............................ 2, 3, 19, 20, 21, 22, 1 (partial), 12 (partial) ................................. 766 

Heritage Sites ............................ Historic ...................................... 2, 3 (partial), 4, 7, 8, 12, 15, 23 .................................................. 1,095 

Uranium Mining Districts ............ Historic ...................................... 6, 12, 15, 24 ................................................................................ 2,201 

1. Closed to oil and gas leasing. 

2. Closed to mineral materials 

disposal. 

3. Proposed for withdrawal from 

locatable mineral entry. 

4. Excluded from ROW grants. 

5. Excluded from private or 

commercial use of woodland products. 

6. Excluded from livestock use. 

7. Excluded from land treatments. 

8. Excluded from range 

improvements. 

9. VRM Class I. 

10. Closed to OHV use. 

11. Block cultural surveys required. 

12. Oil and gas leasing subject to No 

Surface Occupancy. 

13. Avoidance area for ROW grants. 

14. OHV use limited to designated 

routes. 

15. Firewood collection not allowed. 

16. Oil and gas subject to minor 

constraints. 

17. Oil and gas leasing subject to No 

Surface Occupancy on federal surface, 

Controlled Surface Use on split estate. 

18. VRM Class II and III. 

19. Closed to public access without 

authorization (use fee). 

20. Camping not allowed. 

21. Fossil and mineral collection not 

allowed. 

22. Hiking on developed trails only. 

23. VRM Class II. 

24. No historic structures to be 

disturbed. 

Comments on the Price Field Office 

DRMP/DEIS received from the public 

and internal BLM review were 

considered and incorporated as 

appropriate into the PRMP/FEIS. Public 

comments resulted in the addition of 

clarifying text, but did not significantly 

change proposed land use plan 

decisions. 

Instructions for filing a protest with 

the Director of the BLM regarding the 

PRMP/FEIS may be found in the Dear 

Reader Letter of the PRMP/FEIS and at 

43 CFR 1610.5–2. E-mail and faxed 

protests will not be accepted as valid 

protests unless the protesting party also 

provides the original letter by either 

regular or overnight mail postmarked by 

the close of the protest period. 

Under these conditions, the BLM will 

consider the e-mail or faxed protest as 

an advance copy and it will receive full 

consideration. If you wish to provide 

the BLM with such advance 

notification, please direct faxed protests 

to the attention of the BLM protest 

coordinator at 202–452–5112, and emails to Brenda_HudgensWilliams@blm.gov. 

All protests, including the follow-up 

letter (if e-mailing or faxing) must be in 

writing and mailed to the appropriate 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Notices 50985 

address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES

section above. 

Before including your phone number, 

e-mail address, or other personal 

identifying information in your protest, 

you should be aware that your entire 

protest—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your protest to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 43 CFR 1610.2, 

43 CFR 1610.5–1. 

Dated: June 5, 2008. 

Selma Sierra, 

Utah State Director. 

[FR Doc. E8–19950 Filed 8–28–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Notice of Intent to Repatriate a Cultural 

Item: Denver Museum of Nature & 

Science, Denver, CO 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Notice is here given in accordance 

with the Native American Graves 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent 

to repatriate a cultural item in the 

possession of the Denver Museum of 

Nature & Science, Denver, CO, which 

meets the definitions of ‘‘sacred object’’

and ‘‘object of cultural patrimony’’

under 25 U.S.C. 3001. 

This notice is published as part of the 

National Park Service’s administrative 

responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 

U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). The determinations 

in this notice are the sole responsibility 

of the museum, institution, or Federal 

agency that has control of the cultural 

item. The National Park Service is not 

responsible for the determinations in 

this notice. 

The cultural item is a ‘‘piki stone’’

from the Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico 

(A661.1). The piki stone is a sandstone 

slab, measuring approximately 26 x 19 

x 2 inches, with the top surface 

blackened from baking. On November 

10, 1972, the museum purchased the 

stone for $150 from Mr. Juan Melchoir 

of Cochiti Pueblo. Museum accession 

notes indicate that the stone dates to 

about 1930 and ‘‘was used by his family 

for several generations for baking piki 

bread.’’ The stone has long been a part 

of the museum’s ‘‘Hopi House’’ exhibit 

in the Crane American Indian Cultures 

Hall. 

During a consultation in the early 

1990s, a group of council 

representatives from the Pueblo of 

Cochiti, New Mexico visited the 

museum and identified the stone as 

coming from the pueblo and determined 

that it was a sacred object and object of 

cultural patrimony; however, a formal 

claim was not officially submitted until 

2006. The claim states that the Pueblo 

of Cochiti believes the stone ‘‘was stored 

by Mr. Melchoir during remodeling 

phases of a traditional cooking building 

and sold to the individual who’’ sold it 

to the museum and could not have been 

alienated by Mr. Melchoir, and thus is 

an object of cultural patrimony. The 

formal claim also states that the stone 

‘‘was used, and if repatriated would 

continue to be used, in traditional 

cooking ceremonies, conducted 

throughout the year by appointed 

Cochiti women, during times of 

traditional society events. These events 

involve many culturally sensitive 

ceremonies in which cooking, and piki 

bread, are of major significance to 

conduct the ceremony.’’ Thus, the claim 

asserts that the stone is also a sacred 

object. 

‘‘Piki’’ is a borrowed Hopi term to 

describe the wafer bread, while some 

use the Tewa term guayave, or a 

variation thereof; and at Cochiti it is 

ma’tzin. At Cochiti, the ‘‘piki stone’’

itself is also referred to as a comal or 

yo’asha. The anthropology and 

documentary literature has little 

information about yo’asha at the Pueblo 

of Cochiti. The few references that could 

be found would suggest that such stones 

are ‘‘privately owned real property’’

which can be owned, exchanged, 

traded, purchased, and inherited. 

Although the tribe concurs that some 

stones are privately held, during 

consultation, the Pueblo of Cochiti 

offered compelling evidence that a few 

special ones are communally owned 

and are stored in communal piki 

houses. They are used by community 

members for specific ceremonies, thus 

making them objects of cultural 

patrimony and sacred objects. Because 

museum documentation states that the 

stone in this notice was sold by Mr. 

Melchoir, the Pueblo knows its history, 

and that it was used by the entire 

community for religious events. Mr. 

Melchoir was responsible for the piki 

house in which the stone was placed, 

but the tribe claims that the people 

knew it was a house for everyone. Each 

year, specific leaders are appointed to 

do things on behalf of the entire 

community. According to tribal 

consultation, currently there is one 

communal piki house with one stone, 

an example of a shared place for making 

ma’tzin for ceremonies. The stone in the 

museum’s possession came from a 

house of this type, and if returned, will 

go back into this particular house. 

Anthropology and documentary 

literature does confirm that piki bread is 

used by many pueblos during religious 

ceremonies. For the people of Cochiti, 

ma’tzin was a traditional everyday 

foodstuff, but it was also eaten on 

religious feast days and for celebrations. 

The Pueblo of Cochiti concurs that 

ma’tzin was an everyday food item, but 

also emphasizes that it could have deep 

religious meanings at particular times 

and events. The Publeo of Chociti 

NAGPRA representative, Mr. Lee Suina, 

explained, ‘‘You can go to a restaurant 

and have wine and bread, but when you 

go to church and eat wine and bread, it 

has more meaning. Since we know the 

piki was for this specific reason, then 

it’s special. It’s not an everyday form of 

bread, in this case.’’ Mr. Suina 

explained that prayers were likely 

offered when the stone was quarried, 

and prayers were offered when the stone 

was used to make ma’tzin for numerous 

ceremonies. 

Officials of the Denver Museum of 

Nature & Science have determined that, 

pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(C), the 

cultural item is a specific ceremonial 

object needed by traditional Native 

American religious leaders for the 

practice of traditional Native American 

religions by their present-day adherents. 

Officials of the Denver Museum of 

Nature & Science have also determined 

that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(D), 

the cultural item has ongoing historical, 

traditional, or cultural importance 

central to the Native American group or 

culture itself, rather than property 

owned by an individual. Lastly, officials 

of the Denver Museum of Nature & 

Science have determined that, pursuant 

to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a 

relationship of shared group identity 

which can be reasonably traced between 

the sacred object/object of cultural 

patrimony and the Pueblo of Cochiti, 

New Mexico. 

Representatives of any other Indian 

tribe that believes itself to be culturally 

affiliated with the sacred object/object 

of cultural patrimony should contact Dr. 

Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, Curator of 

Anthropology and NAGPRA Officer, 

Department of Anthropology, Denver 

Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 

Colorado Boulevard, Denver, CO 80205, 

telephone (303) 370–6378, before 

September 29, 2008. Repatriation of the 

sacred object/object of cultural 

patrimony to the Pueblo of Cochiti, New 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES