Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 201 / Thursday, October 16, 2008 / Notices 61433 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Arthritis and 

Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; 

Notice of Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice 

is hereby given of the following 

meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Institute of 

Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin 

Diseases Special Emphasis Panel; Skin 

Diseases Research Core Centers (P30). 

Date: November 20–21, 2008. 

Time: 7 am to 5 pm. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Gaithersburg Marriott 

Washingtonian Center, 9751 Washingtonian 

Boulevard, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. 

Contact Person: Kan Ma, PHD, Scientific 

Review Officer, NIH/NIAMS, EP Review 

Branch, One Democracy Plaza Suite 800, 

Bethesda, MD 20892–4872, 301–594–4952, 

mak2@mail.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.846, Arthritis, 

Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research, 

National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: October 8, 2008. 

Jennifer Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. E8–24611 Filed 10–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

National Communications System 

[Docket No. DHS–2008–0098] 

President’s National Security 

Telecommunications Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: National Communications 

System, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of partially closed 

advisory committee meeting. 

SUMMARY: The President’s National 

Security Telecommunications Advisory 

Committee (NSTAC) will be meeting by 

teleconference; the meeting will be 

partially closed to the public. 

DATES: November 6, 2008, from 2 p.m. 

until 3 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place 

by teleconference. For access to the 

conference bridge and meeting 

materials, contact Ms. Sue Daage at 

(703) 235–5526 or by e-mail at 

sue.daage@dhs.gov by 5 p.m. October 

27, 2008. If you desire to submit 

comments regarding the November 6, 

2008 meeting they must be submitted by 

November 13, 2008. Comments must be 

identified by DHS–2008–0098 and may 

be submitted by one of the following 

methods: (1) Federal eRulemaking 

Portal: http://www.regulations.gov; (2) 

E-mail: NSTAC1@dhs.gov (Include 

docket number in the subject line of the 

message); (3) Fax: 1–866–466–5370; or 

(4) Mail: Office of the Manager, National 

Communications System (Customer 

Service Branch), Department of 

Homeland Security, Washington, DC 

20529. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the words ‘‘Department of 

Homeland Security’’ and DHS–2008– 

0098, the docket number for this action. 

Comments received will be posted 

without alteration at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received by the NSTAC, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Kiesha Gebreyes, Deputy Chief, 

Customer Service Branch at (703) 235– 

5525, e-mail: Kiesha.Gebreyes@dhs.gov 

or write the Deputy Manager, National 

Communications System, Department of 

Homeland Security, CS&C/NCS/CSB, 

245 Murray Lane, SW., Building 410, 

Washington, DC 20528. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NSTAC 

advises the President on issues and 

problems related to implementing 

national security and emergency 

preparedness telecommunications 

policy. Notice of this meeting is given 

under the Federal Advisory Committee 

Act (FACA), Public Law 92–463 (1972), 

as amended appearing in 5 U.S.C. App.1 

et seq. (1997). 

At the upcoming meeting, between 2 

p.m. and 2:30 p.m., the conference call 

will include government stakeholder 

feedback on NSTAC initiatives, an 

update on NSTAC outreach activities, 

and a discussion and vote on the 

national security/emergency 

preparedness internet protocol-based 

traffic report. This portion of the 

meeting will be open to the public. 

Between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., the 

NSTAC will discuss core network 

assurance, cyber collaboration and 

internet identity. This portion of the 

meeting will be closed to the public. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

special assistance should indicate this 

when arranging access to the 

teleconference and are encouraged to 

identify anticipated special needs as 

early as possible. 

Basis for Closure: During the portion 

of the meeting to be held from 2:30 p.m. 

to 3 p.m., the NSTAC will discuss core 

assurance and physical security of the 

cyber network, cybersecurity 

collaboration between the Federal 

Government and the private sector, and 

identity management. Such discussions 

will likely include internal agency 

personnel rules and practices, 

specifically, identification of 

vulnerabilities in the Federal 

Government’s cyber network, along with 

strategies for mitigating those 

vulnerabilities and other sensitive law 

enforcement or homeland security 

information of a predominantly internal 

nature which, if disclosed, would 

significantly risk circumvention of DHS 

regulations or statutes. NSTAC members 

will likely inform the discussion by 

contributing confidential and 

voluntarily-provided commercial 

information relating to private sector 

network vulnerabilities that they would 

not customarily release to the public. 

Disclosure of this information can be 

reasonably expected to frustrate DHS’s 

ongoing cybersecurity programs and 

initiatives and could be used to exploit 

vulnerabilities in the Federal 

Government’s cyber network. 

Accordingly, the relevant portion of this 

meeting will be closed to the public 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2), (4) and 

(9)(B). 

James Madon, 

Director, National Communications System. 

[FR Doc. E8–24613 Filed 10–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–ES–2008–N0225; 20124–1112– 

0000–F2] 

Regional Habitat Conservation Plan, 

Comal County, TX 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement; 
61434 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 201 / Thursday, October 16, 2008 / Notices 

announcement of public scoping 

meeting; request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: Under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

its implementing regulations, we, the 

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

advise the public that we intend to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement to evaluate the impacts of, 

and alternatives to, the issuance of an 

incidental take permit (ITP), under 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), 

to Comal County, Texas. Comal County 

proposes to apply for an ITP, through 

development and implementation of a 

Regional Habitat Conservation Plan 

(RHCP), as required by the Act. The 

RHCP will provide measures to 

minimize and mitigate for the impacts 

of the proposed taking of federally listed 

species (covered species) and the 

habitats upon which they depend. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, we 

must receive written comments on or 

before close of business (4:30 p.m. CST) 

December 15, 2008. We will also accept 

oral and written comments at a public 

hearing on December 4, 2008, from 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Comal County 

Commissioners Court, 199 Main Plaza, 

New Braunfels, TX 78130. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 10711 

Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 

78758. The public scoping meeting will 

take place at the Comal County 

Commissioners Court, 199 Main Plaza, 

New Braunfels, TX 78130. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: EIS 

Information: Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Field 

Supervisor, by U.S. mail at U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 10711 Burnet 

Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758; by 

phone at (512) 490–0057; or by fax at 

(512) 490–0974. 

Comal County RHCP Information: 

Tom Hornseth, County Engineer, by 

U.S. mail at 195 David Jonas Drive, New 

Braunfels, TX 78132, or by phone at 

(830) 608–2090. Additional information 

is available on the Internet at http:// 

www.co.comal.tx.us/comalrhcp. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We intend 

to prepare an EIS to evaluate the 

impacts of, and alternatives to, the 

proposed issuance of an ITP under the 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to Comal 

County. We also announce a public 

scoping meeting and public comment 

period. Comal County proposes to apply 

for an ITP supported by development 

and implementation of its RHCP. The 

RHCP will include measures necessary 

to minimize and mitigate for the 

impacts of the proposed taking of 

covered species to the maximum extent 

practicable. We furnish this notice, in 

compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 

et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508), in 

order to: (1) Advise other Federal and 

State agencies, affected tribes, and the 

public of our intent to prepare an EIS; 

(2) announce the initiation of a public 

scoping period; and (3) obtain 

suggestions and information on the 

scope of issues and alternatives we will 

consider in our EIS. We intend to gather 

the information necessary to determine 

impacts and alternatives for an EIS 

regarding our potential issuance of an 

ITP to Comal County, and the 

implementation of the RHCP. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments we receive become part 

of the public record. Requests for copies 

of comments will be handled in 

accordance with the Freedom of 

Information Act, NEPA, and Service and 

Department of the Interior policies and 

procedures. 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 to withhold your 

personal identifying information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee we 

will be able to do so. 

Background 

Section 9 of the Act and its 

implementing regulations prohibit the 

take of animal species listed under the 

Act as endangered or threatened. The 

definition of ‘‘take’’ under the Act 

includes the following activities: To 

harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, 

wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect 

listed animal species, or attempt to 

engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 

1538). Regulations define ‘‘harm’’ as 

significant habitat modification or 

degradation that results in actual death 

or injury to listed species by 

significantly impairing essential 

behavioral patterns, including breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). 

Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act requires 

us to issue incidental take permits to 

non-Federal entities for the take of 

endangered and threatened species, 

provided the following criteria are met: 

(1) The taking will be incidental; (2) the 

applicant will, to the maximum extent 

practicable, minimize and mitigate the 

impact of such taking; (3) the applicant 

will develop a habitat conservation plan 

and ensure that adequate funding for the 

plan will be provided; (4) the taking will 

not appreciably reduce the likelihood of 

the survival and recovery of the species 

in the wild; and (5) the applicant will 

carry out any other measures that we 

may require as being necessary or 

appropriate for the purposes of the 

habitat conservation plan. 

We anticipate that under the ITP, 

Comal County will request permit 

coverage for a period of 30 years from 

the date of the RHCP approval. 

Implementation of the RHCP would 

result in the establishment of preserves 

intended to provide for the conservation 

of the covered species occupying those 

preserves. Research, monitoring, and 

adaptive management would be used to 

facilitate accomplishment of these goals. 

Proposed Action 

Our proposed action is the issuance of 

an ITP for the covered species in Comal 

County. Comal County would develop 

and implement the RHCP, which must 

meet the requirements in Section 

10(a)(2)(A) of the Act by providing 

measures necessary to minimize and 

mitigate for the impacts of the proposed 

taking of covered species to the 

maximum extent practicable. 

Activities proposed for coverage 

under the ITP include otherwise lawful 

activities that would occur consistent 

with the RHCP and include, but are not 

limited to, construction and 

maintenance of public projects and 

infrastructure as well as residential, 

commercial, and industrial 

development. 

Species Comal County has 

recommended for inclusion as covered 

species in the RHCP include the goldencheeked warbler (Dendroica 

chrysoparia) and black-capped vireo 

(Vireo atricapilla). For these covered 

species, Comal County would seek 

incidental take authorization. The 

Comal County RHCP would also address 

19 ‘‘evaluation species’’ (18 terrestrial or 

aquatic karst species and the Cagle’s 

map turtle (Graptemys caglei)) and 4 

‘‘additional species’’ (listed aquatic 

species known from Comal County). 

Incidental take authorization for the 

evaluation species may become 

necessary during the lifetime of the ITP; 

however, these species would not 

initially be included as covered species. 

Evaluation species are currently 

unlisted, but may become listed in the 

foreseeable future. The RHCP may 

include conservation measures to 

benefit evaluation species, where 

practicable, and support research to 

help fill data gaps regarding the biology, 

habitat, distribution, and/or 

management of these species. The 

research supported by the RHCP may 

help preclude the need to list these 
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.