Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 201 / Thursday, October 16, 2008 / Notices 61435 

species or facilitate obtaining incidental 

take coverage if these species become 

listed in the future. Comal County 

would not seek incidental take 

authorization for the four ‘‘additional 

species,’’ because these species are not 

likely to experience take from covered 

activities. 

Alternatives: The proposed action and 

alternatives that will be developed in 

the EIS will be assessed against the No 

Action/No Project Alternative, which 

assumes that some or all of the current 

and future take of covered species in 

Comal County would be implemented 

individually, one at a time, and be in 

compliance with the Act. The No 

Action/No Project Alternative implies 

that the impacts from these potential 

activities on the covered species would 

be evaluated and mitigated on a projectby-project basis, as is currently the case. 

For any activities involving take of 

listed species due to non-Federal 

actions, individual Section 10(a)(1)(B) 

permits would be required. Without a 

coordinated, comprehensive 

conservation approach for the County, 

listed species may not be adequately 

addressed by individual project-specific 

mitigation requirements, and mitigation 

would be piecemeal and less cost 

effective in helping Federal and nonFederal agencies work toward recovery 

of listed species. In addition to the No 

Action/No Project Alternative, a 

reasonable range of alternatives will also 

be considered, along with the associated 

impacts of the various alternatives. 

Scoping Meeting 

The primary purpose of this meeting 

and public comment period is to receive 

suggestions and information on the 

scope of issues and alternatives to 

consider when drafting the EIS. We will 

accept oral and written comments at 

this meeting. You may also submit your 

comments by mail (see ADDRESSES

above). Once the draft EIS and draft 

RHCP are completed, additional 

opportunity for public comment on the 

content of these documents and an 

additional public meeting will be 

provided. 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations in order to attend and 

participate in the public scoping 

meeting should contact the Service (see 

ADDRESSES above) no later than 1 week 

prior to the public scoping meeting. 

Information regarding this proposed 

action is available in alternative formats 

upon request. 

A primary purpose of the scoping 

process is to identify, rather than 

debate, significant issues related to the 

proposed action. In order to ensure that 

we identify a range of issues and 

alternatives related to the proposed 

action, we invite comments and 

suggestions from all interested parties. 

We will conduct a review of this project 

according to the requirements of NEPA, 

other appropriate Federal laws, 

regulations, policies, and guidance, and 

Service procedures for compliance with 

those regulations. 

Environmental Review 

The EIS will be prepared in 

accordance with the requirements of 

NEPA, other applicable regulations, and 

the Service’s procedures for compliance 

with those regulations. The EIS will 

analyze the proposed action, as well as 

a range of reasonable alternatives and 

the associated impacts of each. The EIS 

will be the basis for our evaluation of 

impacts to the human environment and 

the range of alternatives to be addressed. 

We expect the EIS to provide biological 

descriptions of the affected species and 

habitats, as well as the effects of the 

proposed action and alternatives on 

resources such as: Vegetation, wetlands, 

wildlife, threatened or endangered 

species and rare species, geology and 

soils, air quality, water resources, flood 

control, water quality, cultural resources 

(prehistoric, historic, and traditional 

cultural properties), land use, 

recreation, water use, local economy, 

and environmental justice. 

After a draft EIS is prepared, we will 

publish a Notice of Availability along 

with a request for comment on the draft 

EIS and Comal County’s permit 

application, which will include the 

draft RHCP. 

The draft EIS and draft RHCP are 

expected to be completed and available 

to the public by January 2010. 

Thomas L. Bauer, 

Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, 

Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

[FR Doc. E8–24570 Filed 10–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[F–19154–18, F–19154–24, F–19154–30; AK– 

964–1410–KC–P] 

Alaska Native Claims Selection 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of decision approving 

lands for conveyance. 

SUMMARY: As required by 43 CFR 

2650.7(d), notice is hereby given that an 

appealable decision approving the 

surface and subsurface estates in certain 

lands for conveyance pursuant to the 

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

will be issued to NANA Regional 

Corporation, Inc. The lands are in the 

vicinity of Kivalina and Noatak, Alaska, 

and are located in: 

Kateel River Meridian, Alaska 

T. 23 N., R. 19 W., 

Secs. 1 to 36, inclusive. 

Containing approximately 19,050 acres. 

T. 27 N., R. 19 W., 

Secs. 2 to 11, inclusive; 

Secs. 15 to 22, inclusive; 

Secs. 27 to 34, inclusive. 

Containing approximately 16,430 acres. 

T. 29 N., R. 27 W., 

Secs. 1 to 36, inclusive. 

Containing approximately 21,629 acres. 

Aggregating approximately 57,108 acres. 

Notice of the decision will also be 

published four times in the Arctic 

Sounder. 

DATES: The time limits for filing an 

appeal are: 

1. Any party claiming a property 

interest which is adversely affected by 

the decision shall have until November 

17, 2008 to file an appeal. 

2. Parties receiving service of the 

decision by certified mail shall have 30 

days from the date of receipt to file an 

appeal. 

Parties who do not file an appeal in 

accordance with the requirements of 43 

CFR Part 4, Subpart E, shall be deemed 

to have waived their rights. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the decision may 

be obtained from: 

Bureau of Land Management, Alaska 

State Office, 222 West Seventh Avenue, 

#13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513–7504. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

Bureau of Land Management by phone 

at 907–271–5960, or by e-mail at 

ak.blm.conveyance@ak.blm.gov. Persons 

who use a telecommunication device 

(TTD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877– 

8330, 24 hours a day, seven days a 

week, to contact the Bureau of Land 

Management. 

Hillary Woods, 

Land Law Examiner, Land Transfer 

Adjudication I. 

[FR Doc. E8–24633 Filed 10–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–JA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[F–14874–K; AK–964–1410–KC–P] 

Alaska Native Claims Selection 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of decision approving 

lands for conveyance.