50982 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 169 / Friday, August 29, 2008 / Notices 

Background 

The CCP Process 

The National Wildlife Refuge System 

Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 

668dd–668ee) (Improvement Act), 

which amended the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Administration Act of 

1966, requires us to develop a CCP for 

each national wildlife refuge. The 

purpose in developing a CCP is to 

provide refuge managers with a 15-year 

strategy for achieving refuge purposes 

and contributing to the mission of the 

National Wildlife Refuge System, 

consistent with sound principles of fish 

and wildlife management, conservation, 

legal mandates, and our policies. In 

addition to outlining broad management 

direction on conserving wildlife and 

their habitats, CCPs identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities 

available to the public, including 

opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation, wildlife 

photography, and environmental 

education and interpretation. We will 

review and update the CCP at least 

every 15 years in accordance with the 

Improvement Act. 

Each unit of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System is established for specific 

purposes. We use these purposes as the 

foundation for developing and 

prioritizing the management goals and 

objectives for each refuge within the 

National Wildlife Refuge System 

mission, and to determine how the 

public can use each refuge. The 

planning process is a way for us and the 

public to evaluate management goals 

and objectives for the best possible 

conservation approach to this important 

wildlife habitat, while providing for 

wildlife-dependent recreation 

opportunities that are compatible with 

the refuge’s establishing purposes and 

the mission of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System. 

Our CCP process provides 

participation opportunities for Tribal, 

State, and local governments; agencies; 

organizations; and the public. At this 

time we encourage input in the form of 

issues, concerns, ideas, and suggestions 

for the future management of Clarks 

River National Wildlife Refuge. Special 

mailings, newspaper articles, and other 

media outlets will be used to announce 

opportunities for input throughout the 

planning process. 

We will conduct the environmental 

assessment in accordance with the 

requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.); NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508); other appropriate Federal 

laws and regulations; and our policies 

and procedures for compliance with 

those laws and regulations. 

On June 19, 1997, the Clarks River 

National Wildlife Refuge was 

established under the ‘‘Emergency 

Wetland Resources Act of 1986 (100 

Stat. 3582–91.)’’ The purposes are 

‘‘* * * the conservation of the wetlands 

of the Nation in order to maintain the 

public benefits they provide and to help 

fulfill international obligations 

contained in various migratory bird 

treaties and conventions * * *’’ 16 

U.S.C. 3901(b), 100 Stat. 3583. 

The refuge was first identified as a 

high priority site for protection in 1978 

by the Service’s bottomland hardwood 

conservation program. In 1991, the 

Kentucky Department of Fish and 

Wildlife Resources asked the Service to 

consider the site for protection as a unit 

of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

The refuge currently consists of 

approximately 8,500 acres, with an 

approved acquisition boundary of 

approximately 18,000 acres that extends 

along the East Fork of the Clarks River 

from just south of Benton, Kentucky, 

northwest to within five miles of the 

city of Paducah, Kentucky. The office/ 

visitor center and maintenance facilities 

are located on the refuge in Benton, 

Kentucky. The most common public use 

activities on the refuge consist of 

hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, 

wildlife photography, and hiking. 

Environmental education is also a 

significant use on the refuge. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment, including your 

personal identifying information, may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority: This notice is published under 

the authority of the National Wildlife Refuge 

System Improvement Act of 1997, Public 

Law 105–57. 

Dated: July 1, 2008. 

Cynthia K. Dohner, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. E8–20086 Filed 8–28–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Interim Steering Committee for the 

National Climate Change and Wildlife 

Science Center 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey. 

ACTION: Notice of open public meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Public Law 106–

503, the Interim Steering Committee for 

the National Climate Change and 

Wildlife Science Center will hold a 

meeting to discuss priority wildlife 

climate change research needs of land 

management and natural resources 

agencies. Agenda topics will be 

provided under the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

Meetings of the Interim Steering 

Committee for the National Climate 

Change and Wildlife Science Center are 

open to the public. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting location is 

Main Interior Building, Department of 

the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20240, Room B253. 

DATES: September 23, 2008, 

commencing at 9:15 a.m. and 

adjourning at 12 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robin Schrock, U.S. Geological Survey, 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS301, 

Reston, Virginia 20192, 703–648–4066, 

Robin_Schrock@usgs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Climate Change and Wildlife 

Science Center Interim Steering 

Committee is comprised of members 

from Federal and State government. The 

Interim Steering Committee shall advise 

the Director of the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) on matters relating to the 

development of the National Climate 

Change and Wildlife Science Center. 

Matters To Be Considered: The 

meeting will begin with Federal, State 

and non-governmental organizations 

provided an opportunity to discuss the 

agenda for the planned December 

Workshop on climate change and 

wildlife research needs. The committee 

will use common themes and unique 

needs identified in previous meetings, 

including modeling, forecasting, and 

technology transfer, to build a workshop 

program that will explore additional 

needs and address the current state of 

knowledge and management and policy 

implications. The meeting will conclude 

with identification of potential 

workshop speakers and invitees. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

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