Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Notices 57143 

processing of your address change on 

your TPS application, you may call the 

USCIS National Customer Service 

Center at 1–800–375–5283 (TTY 1–800– 

767–1833) to request that your address 

be updated on your application. Please 

note that calling the USCIS National 

Customer Service Center does not 

relieve you of your burden to properly 

file a Form AR–11 with USCIS. 

Will my current EAD which is set to 

expire on January 5, 2009, automatically 

be extended for six months? 

No. This Notice does not 

automatically extend previously issued 

EADs. DHS is announcing the extension 

of the TPS designation of Nicaragua and 

establishing the re-registration period at 

an early date to allow sufficient time for 

DHS to process EAD requests prior to 

the current January 5, 2009 EAD 

expiration date. You must file both your 

Form I–821 and Form I–765 during the 

60-day re-registration period. Failure to 

apply during the re-registration period 

without good cause will result in a 

withdrawal of your TPS benefits. DHS 

strongly encourages you to file as early 

as possible within the re-registration 

period. 

May I request an interim EAD at my 

local District Office? 

No. USCIS will not issue interim 

EADs to TPS applicants and reregistrants at District Offices. Interim 

EADs may only be issued by the 

Vermont Service Center. 

What documents may I show to my 

employer as proof of employment 

authorization and identity when 

completing Form I–9? 

After January 5, 2009, a TPS 

beneficiary under TPS for Nicaragua 

who has timely re-registered with 

USCIS as directed under this Notice and 

obtained a new EAD may present his or 

her new valid EAD to his or her 

employer as proof of employment 

authorization and identity. Employers 

may not accept previously issued EADs 

that are no longer valid. Individuals also 

may present any other legally acceptable 

document or combination of documents 

listed on the Form I–9 as proof of 

identity and employment eligibility. 

Note to Employers: Employers are 

reminded that the laws requiring 

employment eligibility verification and 

prohibiting unfair immigration-related 

employment practices remain in full force. 

This Notice does not supersede or in any way 

limit applicable employment verification 

rules and policy guidance, including those 

rules setting forth re-verification 

requirements. For questions, employers may 

call the USCIS Customer Assistance Office at 

1–800–357–2099. Also, employers may call 

the U.S. Department of Justice Office of 

Special Counsel for Immigration Related 

Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) 

Employer Hotline at 1–800–255–8155. 

Additional information is available on the 

OSC Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ 

osc/index.html. 

[FR Doc. E8–22978 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–R–2008–N0221; 70133–1265– 

0000–S3] 

Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, 

Kotzebue, AK 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to revise the 

comprehensive conservation plan and 

prepare an environmental assessment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), intend to 

prepare a revised Comprehensive 

Conservation Plan (CCP) and 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

Selawik National Wildlife Refuge 

(Selawik Refuge, Refuge). We furnish 

this notice in compliance with our CCP 

policy to advise other agencies, Tribes, 

and the public of our intentions, and to 

obtain suggestions and information on 

the scope of issues to consider in the 

planning process. We will use local 

announcements, special mailings, 

newspaper articles, the Internet, and 

other media announcements to inform 

people of opportunities to provide input 

throughout the planning process. We 

will hold public meetings in 

communities within and near Selawik 

Refuge during preparation of the revised 

plan. 

DATES: Please provide written comments 

on the scope of the CCP revision and 

planning process by January 15, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Address comments, 

questions, and requests for further 

information to: 

Agency Web Site: For more 

information visit http://alaska.fws.gov/ 

nwr/planning/spol.htm. 

E-mail: Selawik_planning@fws.gov. 

Please include ‘‘Selawik Refuge Revised 

CCP’’ in the subject line of the message. 

Mail: Jeffrey Brooks, Planning Team 

Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

1011 E. Tudor Road, MS 231, 

Anchorage, AK 99503–6199. 

Fax: Comments may be faxed to (907) 

786–3965. 

In-Person: Call (907) 786–3357 to 

make an appointment during regular 

business hours at the USFWS Regional 

Office, 1011 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, 

AK 99503 or call (907) 442–3799 to 

make an appointment during regular 

business hours at Selawik Refuge 

Headquarters, Kotzebue, AK 99752. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Brooks, Planning Team Leader, 

(907) 786–3839 or 

Selawik_planning@fws.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this 

notice, we initiate our process for 

developing a revised CCP for the 

Selawik Refuge, Alaska. We furnish this 

notice in compliance with our policy to 

(1) advise other Federal and State 

agencies, Tribes, and the public of our 

intention to conduct detailed planning 

on this refuge and (2) obtain suggestions 

and information on the scope of issues 

to be considered in the EA and during 

the development of the CCP. 

Background 

We are required to develop a CCP for 

each national wildlife refuge in Alaska 

according to direction provided in the 

Alaska National Interest Lands 

Conservation Act (ANILCA) (94 Stat. 

2371) and the National Wildlife Refuge 

System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 

U.S.C. 668dd–668ee), which amended 

the National Wildlife Refuge System 

Administration Act of 1966. The 

purpose in developing a CCP is to 

provide refuge managers with long-term 

guidance for achieving refuge purposes 

and contributing to the mission of the 

National Wildlife Refuge System. CCPs 

are prepared in a manner consistent 

with sound principles of fish and 

wildlife management and conservation, 

visitor management principles, legal 

mandates, and Service policies. CCPs 

outline broad management direction for 

conservation of wildlife habitats, 

subsistence activities, and identification 

and management of wildlife-oriented 

recreation opportunities including, 

hunting, fishing, wildlife observation 

and photography, and environmental 

education and interpretation. We will 

review and update the CCP at least 

every 15 years in accordance with the 

Refuge Improvement Act and the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

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

Each unit of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System was established for 

specific purposes. These purposes guide 

us as we develop and prioritize 

management goals and objectives within 

the National Wildlife Refuge System 

mission, and as we decide which types 

of visitor services and public uses will 

occur on refuges. The planning process 

used to develop CCPs allows the Service 

and the public to evaluate management 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
57144 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Notices 

goals and objectives for the refuges. The 

planning process for refuges is designed 

to prioritize conservation of important 

wildlife habitats, while providing for 

wildlife-oriented recreation 

opportunities that are compatible with 

the establishing purposes of each refuge 

and the mission of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System. 

We will conduct a comprehensive 

conservation planning process that will 

provide opportunities for Tribal, State, 

and local government agencies; 

organizations; and the public to 

participate in identifying planning 

issues through public involvement 

activities. We request input in the form 

of issues, concerns, ideas, and 

suggestions for future management of 

Selawik Refuge. 

We will prepare an EA in accordance 

with the requirements of the NEPA, as 

amended; NEPA regulations (40 CFR 

parts 1500–1508); other appropriate 

Federal laws and regulations; and 

Service policies that comply with those 

laws and regulations. 

Refuge Overview 

Selawik Refuge straddles the Arctic 

Circle in northwestern Alaska, 

encompassing an area approximately 

the size of Connecticut. The Refuge was 

established by ANILCA in 1980. When 

land conveyances under the Alaska 

Native Claims Settlement Act 

(approximately 800,000 acres) are 

completed, 2.1 million acres are 

expected to remain under federal 

ownership and management. The 

Refuge staff manages Selawik Refuge 

from a headquarters office in Kotzebue, 

Alaska. 

ANILCA requires us to designate areas 

in refuges according to their respective 

resources and values and to specify 

programs and uses within the areas 

designated. To meet this requirement, 

the Alaska Region established categories 

for refuges including Wilderness, 

Minimal, Moderate, Intensive, and Wild 

River management. For each 

management category, we identified 

appropriate activities, public uses, 

commercial uses, and facilities. Only 

the Minimal, Wilderness, and Wild 

River management categories are 

applied to Selawik Refuge. The Selawik 

River and corridor is a designated Wild 

River. About 11 percent of the Refuge is 

designated Wilderness. The remainder, 

and majority of the Refuge’s acreage, is 

managed in the Minimal category. 

The Selawik River meanders through 

the heart of the Refuge, creating a rich 

succession of habitats, including vast 

wetlands. The names of both the river 

and the Refuge originated from the 

Inupiaq word ‘‘siilivik,’’ which means 

‘‘place of sheefish.’’ The sheefish, or 

innconnu, is a member of the whitefish 

family that provides an important, and 

highly desired, food resource for Native 

subsistence harvesters in this arctic 

region of Alaska. 

Extensive tundra wetlands containing 

grass and sedge meadows dominate the 

Refuge landscape, while boreal spruce 

forests, alder, and willow thickets trace 

stream and river drainages. Multitudes 

of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds 

breed on 24,000 lakes and ponds within 

the Refuge. Neo-tropical songbirds nest 

in forests and willow thickets. Moose, 

wolves, lynx, bears, muskoxen, arctic 

and red fox, beavers, and muskrats are 

year-round residents. The Western 

Arctic caribou herd migrates across 

Selawik Refuge. In mild winters, small 

bands of caribou remain on the Refuge 

to forage in the lichen-covered foothills. 

Many rivers, sloughs, and lakes support 

both freshwater and anadromous 

fisheries, and provide spawning 

grounds for northern pike, arctic 

grayling, and various types of whitefish. 

Access to the Refuge is possible only 

by boat, float-or ski-equipped airplane, 

snowmobile, or dog sled team. 

Snowmobile trails provide vital links 

among the Native villages of the region 

in winter and are usually passable to 

travelers through the end of April. 

Several Native Alaskan villages are 

located within or near the Refuge 

boundaries including Noorvik, Selawik, 

Kiana, and Ambler. 

The purposes of the Selawik Refuge 

set forth by ANILCA in 1980 are (i) to 

conserve fish and wildlife populations 

and habitats in their natural diversity, 

including but not limited to, the 

Western Arctic caribou herd (including 

participation in scientific studies to 

better manage caribou), waterfowl, 

shorebirds and other migratory birds, 

and salmon and sheefish; (ii) to fulfill 

the international treaty obligations of 

the United States with respect to fish 

and wildlife and their habitats; (iii) to 

provide, in a manner consistent with the 

purposes set forth in subparagraphs (i) 

and (ii), the opportunity for continued 

subsistence uses by local residents; and 

(iv) to ensure, to the maximum extent 

practicable and in a manner consistent 

with the purposes set forth in paragraph 

(i), water quality and necessary water 

quantity within the Refuge. 

Preliminary Issues, Concerns, and 

Opportunities: We have identified 

preliminary issues, concerns, and 

opportunities that may be addressed in 

the CCP. These are (1) management of 

legal access such as easements and 

rights-of-way; (2) management of access 

for community residents and the 

visiting public; (3) management of 

hunting and fishing, both subsistence 

and commercial; (4) concerns about 

degradation of cultural resources; (5) 

impacts of off-refuge activities to Refuge 

resources; and (6) concerns about how 

managers can proactively address 

uncertainties such as climate change 

and related large-scale habitat changes. 

These and other issues will be explored 

during the public scoping process. The 

Refuge planning team, including 

representatives from State of Alaska and 

Tribal governments, will determine 

which key issues will be addressed in 

the revised CCP. 

Public Meetings: We will involve the 

public in the planning process through 

open houses, meetings, and multiple 

requests for comments. We will mail 

planning updates to individuals, 

agencies, and organizations on the 

Selawik Refuge mailing list to keep the 

public aware of the status of the revised 

CCP. We will inform the public as to 

how we use their comments and other 

input in each stage of the planning 

process. Scoping meetings are planned 

to be held in October and November 

2008 in Kotzebue and in several local 

communities within or near the Refuge 

boundaries. Details of public 

involvement and participation activities 

will be announced locally. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your name, address, 

phone number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information with 

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 may 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. 

Gary Edwards, 

Regional Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife 

Service, Anchorage, Alaska. 

[FR Doc. E8–23118 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[9000; CA–690–08–1020–EE] 

Notice of Intent To Amend the 

California Desert Conservation Area 

Plan, California 

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES