Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Notices 57145 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), Needles Field 

Office intends to prepare an amendment 

to the California Desert Conservation 

Area (CDCA) Plan with an associated 

environmental assessment (EA). This 

notice initiates the public participation 

and scoping processes for the CDCA 

Plan amendment and environmental 

assessment. 

DATES: Public comments will be 

accepted throughout the plan 

amendment and EA process, but to be 

most beneficial comments on issues and 

potential impacts should be submitted 

in writing to the address listed below 

within 30 days following the 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. 

ADDRESSES: Comments and other 

correspondence regarding issues and 

planning criteria should be sent to the 

BLM, Needles Field Office, attention 

George R. Meckfessel, Planning and 

Environmental Coordinator, Needles 

Field Office, Bureau of Land 

Management, 1303 South US Highway 

95, Needles, California 92363. 

Documents pertinent to this notice, 

including comments of respondents, 

will be available for public review at the 

Needles Field Office, California during 

regular business hours (7:30 a.m. to 4 

p.m.) Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information or to have your 

name added to the project mailing list, 

contact George R. Meckfessel, (760) 

326–7008, or e-mail 

George_Meckfessel@ca.blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document provides notice that the BLM, 

Needles Field Office intends to prepare 

an amendment to the CDCA Plan with 

an associated environmental assessment 

that would make all or a portion of the 

Valley Wells Allotment unavailable for 

grazing. The allotment consists of 

223,000 acres and is located in 

northeastern San Bernardino County, 

California. The allotment includes 

portions of the North Mesquite 

Mountains Wilderness, Mesquite 

Wilderness, Kingston Range Wilderness, 

and the Hollow Hills Wilderness areas. 

The proposal to make a portion or all 

of the allotment unavailable for grazing 

livestock does not conform to the CDCA 

Plan and, therefore, requires the 

development of a plan amendment. 

Approximately half of the allotment is 

within a Desert Wildlife Management 

Area (DWMA), designated by the BLM 

through the Northern and Eastern 

Mojave Plan amendment (2002) to the 

CDCA Plan. Most, but not all, of the 

DWMA contains critical habitat for the 

threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus 

agassizii), designated by the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Making 

all or a portion of the allotment 

unavailable for grazing would 

complement and enhance 

implementation of the USFWS Desert 

Tortoise (Mojave Population) Recovery 

Plan (1994). Comparable desert tortoise 

habitat within the allotment is 

contained in, and outside, the DWMA. 

Additional benefits to non-listed 

species and habitats, such as the BLM 

sensitive Rusby’s desert mallow 

(Sphaeralcea rusbyi ssp. eremicola) and 

the Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma 

scoparia), would also be realized by 

removal of cattle grazing from all or 

portions of the allotment. 

Preliminary issues identified include: 

air quality; areas of critical 

environmental concern; cultural 

resources; environmental justice; 

livestock grazing; Native American 

religious concerns; socioeconomics; 

soils, water quality; wetlands/riparian 

zones; wilderness; wildlife, including 

threatened or endangered species; and 

vegetation, including invasive species. 

Preliminary planning criteria include: 

1. Developing the plan amendment in 

compliance with Federal Land Policy 

and Management Act, all other 

applicable laws, regulations, executive 

orders, and BLM supplemental program 

guidance; 2. developing an EA in the 

planning process that will comply with 

National Environmental Policy Act 

standards; 3. initiating government to 

government consultation, including 

tribal interests; 4. incorporating by 

reference the Standards for Rangeland 

Health and Guidelines for Livestock 

Grazing Management into the plan 

amendment/EA; 5. complying with 

Appendix C of BLM’s Planning 

Handbook (H 1601–1) in making 

resource specific determinations; 6. 

assuring that the plan amendment is 

compatible, to the extent possible, with 

existing plans and policies of adjacent 

local, State, Tribal, and Federal 

agencies; and, 7. consider the extent to 

which the plan amendment achieves the 

recovery goals outlined in the Desert 

Tortoise (Mojave Population) Recovery 

Plan and the Northern and Eastern 

Mojave Plan amendment to the CDCA 

Plan. 

You may submit comments on issues 

and planning criteria in writing to the 

BLM using one of the methods listed in 

the ‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section above. To be 

most helpful, you should submit 

comments within 30 days after the date 

of publication of this notice. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email 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. 

The BLM will place issues identified 

during scoping into one of three 

categories: 

1. Issues to be resolved in the plan 

amendment; 

2. Issues to be resolved through policy 

or administrative action; or 

3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan 

amendment. 

The BLM will provide an explanation 

in the plan as to why an issue was 

placed in category two or three. The 

public is also encouraged to help 

identify any management questions and 

concerns that should be addressed in 

the plan amendment. The BLM will 

work collaboratively with interested 

parties to identify the management 

decisions that are best suited to local, 

regional, and national needs and 

concerns. 

The BLM will use an interdisciplinary 

approach to develop the plan 

amendment in order to consider the 

variety of resource issues and concerns 

identified. Specialists with expertise in 

the following disciplines that will be 

involved in the planning process 

include but are not limited to rangeland 

management, wilderness, sensitive 

species (plants and animals,) cultural 

resources, and recreation. 

Dated: September 16, 2008. 

Rodney Mouton, 

Acting Field Manager. 

[FR Doc. E8–22766 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[NV912–1640–PH–006F; 08–08807; TAS: 

14X1109] 

Notice of Public Meeting: Sierra FrontNorthwestern Great Basin Resource 

Advisory Council, Northeastern Great 

Basin Resource Advisory Council, and 

Mojave-Southern Great Basin 

Resource Advisory Council, Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Combined Resource Advisory 

Council Meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
57146 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Notices 

Act and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) Nevada’s 

three Resource Advisory Council will 

hold a joint meeting. 

DATES: Thursday, November 13, 2008, 

from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, 

November 14, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 12 

p.m., at the Gold Coast Hotel-Casino, 

4000 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, 

Nevada. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rochelle Ocava (775) 861–6588 or 

Rochelle_Ocava@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The three 

15-member Nevada Councils advise the 

Secretary of the Interior, through the 

BLM Nevada State Director, on a variety 

of planning and management issues 

associated with public land 

management in Nevada. Agenda topics 

include a presentation and discussion of 

accomplishments during 2008 and the 

outlook for 2009 for the BLM in Nevada; 

opening remarks and closeout reports of 

the three Resource Advisory Councils 

(RACs); breakout meetings of each group 

category; breakout meetings of the three 

RACs; discussion of a recreation 

subgroup of the existing RACs; and 

setting of schedules for meetings of the 

individual RACs for the coming year. 

An agenda will be available 30 days 

prior to the meeting at http:// 

www.blm.gov/nv. All meetings are open 

to the public. The public may present 

written comments to the three RAC 

groups or the individual RACs. The 

public comment period for the Council 

meeting will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 

November 13. Individuals who plan to 

attend and need further information 

about the meeting or need special 

assistance such as sign language 

interpretation or other reasonable 

accommodations should contact 

Rochelle Ocava. 

Dated: September 23, 2008. 

Ron Wenker, 

State Director, Nevada. 

[FR Doc. E8–23126 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[NM–920–1310–08; TXNM 107307, TXNM 

107313] 

Notice of Proposed Reinstatement of 

Terminated Oil and Gas Leases TXNM 

107307 and TXNM 107313 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Reinstatement of 

Terminated Oil and Gas Lease. 

SUMMARY: Under the Class II provisions 

of Title IV, Public Law 97–451, The 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

received a petition for reinstatement of 

oil and gas leases TXNM 107307 and 

TXNM 107313 from the lessee, Southern 

Bay Energy, LLC for lands in Burleson 

County, Texas. The petition was filed on 

time and was accompanied by all the 

rentals due since the date the lease 

terminated under the law. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Margie Dupre, BLM, New Mexico State 

Office, at (505) 438–7520. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: No valid 

lease has been issued that affect the 

lands. The lessee agrees to new lease 

terms for rentals and royalties of $10.00 

per acre or fraction thereof, per year, 

and 16 2/3 percent, respectively. The 

lessee paid the required $500.00 

administrative fee for the reinstatement 

of the lease and $166.00 cost for 

publishing this Notice in the Federal 

Register. The lessee met all the 

requirements for reinstatement of the 

lease as set out in Section 31(d) and (e) 

of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 

U.S.C. 188). We are proposing to 

reinstate leases TXNM 107307 and 

TXNM 107313, effective the date of 

termination, December 1, 2007, under 

the original terms and conditions of the 

lease and the increased rental and 

royalty rates cited above. 

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. 

Dated: September 25, 2008. 

Margie Dupre, 

Land Law Examiner, Fluids Adjudication 

Team. 

[FR Doc. E8–23104 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[NV–056–5853–ES; N–84739; 8–08807; 

TAS:14X5232] 

Notice of Realty Action: Lease/ 

Conveyance for Recreation and Public 

Purposes of Public Lands in Clark 

County, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) has received a 

request for lease and subsequent 

conveyance of approximately 19.375 

acres of public land in the City of Las 

Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, under the 

Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) 

Act. The Regional Transportation 

Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) 

proposes to use the land for a public 

Park and Ride bus facility. 

DATES: Interested parties may submit 

written comments regarding the 

proposed lease/conveyance of the lands 

until November 17, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to 

the BLM Field Manager, Las Vegas Field 

Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las 

Vegas, NV 89130–2301. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kimber Liebhauser, (702) 515–5088. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following described land in Clark 

County, Nevada, has been examined and 

found suitable for lease and subsequent 

conveyance under the provisions of the 

R&PP Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 869 et 

seq.). The parcel of land is located north 

of Elkhorn Road, between North 

Durango Drive and the U.S. Highway 95 

and is legally described as: 

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada 

T. 19 S., R. 60 E., 

Sec. 17, a portion of Government Lot 19 

(NE1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4, E1⁄2SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4, 

SE1⁄4NE1⁄4NW1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4, 

E1⁄2SE1⁄4NW1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4, 

N1⁄2NW1⁄4NW1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4, 

N1⁄2NE1⁄4NW1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4). 

The area described contains 19.375 acres, 

more or less. 

This description will be replaced by 

additional lot designation on final 

approval of the official plat of survey. 

In accordance with the R&PP Act, the 

RTC has filed an application to develop 

the described land as a public Park and 

Ride facility with related facilities to 

meet the growing travel demands 

between the northwest part of the Las 

Vegas valley and the resort corridor. 

Related facilities include a terminal 

building with a waiting area, restrooms 


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