Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 42359 

proposed project area prior to ground 

disturbing activities; (5) collecting seed 

of the Ben Lomond spineflower within 

the project area prior to the initiation of 

ground disturbing activities, so that the 

seeds can be used in the postconstruction restoration of temporarilydisturbed areas; and (6) permanently 

protect habitat for the Mount Hermon 

June beetle, Zayante band-winged 

grasshopper, Ben Lomond spineflower, 

and Ben Lomond wallflower to mitigate 

for habitat impacts through the 

permanent protection of 0.995-ac of 

high quality habitat within the proposed 

6.7-ac conservation easement; or, the 

purchase of 0.813-ac of conservation 

credits at the Zayante Sandhills 

Conservation Bank. The applicant will 

fund up to $346,064 to ensure 

implementation of all minimization 

measures, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements identified in the HCP. 

In the proposed HCP, the applicant 

considers two alternatives to the 

proposed action: ‘‘No Action’’ and 

‘‘Redesign Project.’’ Under the ‘‘No 

Action’’ alternative, an ITP for the water 

tank replacement project would not be 

issued. The proposed conservation 

strategy and subsequent habitat 

conservation would not occur, or, 

alternatively, the purchase of 

conservation credits would not be 

provided to effect recovery actions for 

the impacted species. The ‘‘No Action’’ 

alternative would not result in 

necessary improvements to the existing 

water tank and would not result in a net 

benefit for the covered species; 

therefore, the ‘‘No Action’’ alternative 

has been rejected. Under the ‘‘Redesign 

Project’’ alternative, the existing tank 

would be replaced with a new smaller 

tank that would fit within the existing 

footprint, with temporary impacts 

occurring within an approximately 0.12- 

ac area. Under this alternative the new 

tank would not provide enough water 

storage for fire and/or other emergencies 

in addition to meeting existing water 

demand. Under this alternative the 

District would permanently protect and 

manage a smaller area within the 

conservation easement, or purchase 

fewer credits at the Zayante Sandhills 

Conservation Bank. This alternative 

would present a significant burden to 

the District without significantly 

reducing potential impacts to the 

impacted species; therefore, the 

‘‘Redesign Project’’ alternative has also 

been rejected. 

Our Preliminary Determination 

We are requesting comments on our 

preliminary determination that the 

applicant’s proposal will have a minor 

or negligible effect on the Mount 

Hermon June beetle, Zayante bandwinged grasshopper, Ben Lomond 

spineflower, and Ben Lomond 

wallflower, and that the plan qualifies 

as a low-effect HCP as defined by our 

Habitat Conservation Planning 

Handbook. We base our determinations 

on three criteria: (1) Implementation of 

the proposed project as described in the 

HCP would result in minor or negligible 

effects on federally listed, proposed, 

and/or candidate species and their 

habitats; (2) implementation of the HCP 

would result in minor or negligible 

effects on other environmental values or 

resources; and (3) HCP impacts, 

considered together with those of other 

past, present, and reasonably 

foreseeable future projects, would not 

result in cumulatively significant 

effects. In our analysis of these criteria, 

we have made a preliminary 

determination that the approval of the 

HCP and issuance of an ITP qualify for 

categorical exclusion under NEPA (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by the 

Department of the Interior 

implementing regulations in part 46 of 

title 43 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 

46.215). However, based upon our 

review of public comments that we 

receive in response to this notice, this 

preliminary determination may be 

revised. 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the permit 

application, including the plan and 

comments we receive, to determine 

whether the application meets the 

requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the Act. We will also evaluate whether 

issuance of the ITP would comply with 

section 7(a)(2) of the Act by conducting 

an intra-Service Section 7 consultation. 

Public Review 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the Act and the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA), and NEPA’s public 

involvement regulations (40 CFR 

1500.1(b), 1500.2(d), and 1506.6). We 

are requesting comments on our 

determination that the applicants’ 

proposal will have a minor or neglible 

effect on the Mount Hermon June beetle, 

Zayante band-winged grasshopper, Ben 

Lomond spineflower, and Ben Lomond 

wallflower, and that the plan qualifies 

as a low-effect HCP as defined by our 

Habitat Conservation Planning 

Handbook. We will evaluate the permit 

application, including the plan and 

comments we receive, to determine 

whether the application meets the 

requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the Act. We will use the results of our 

internal Service consultation, in 

combination with the above findings, in 

our final analysis to determine whether 

to issue the permits. If the requirements 

are met, we will issue an ITP to the 

applicant for the incidental take of 

Mount Hermon June beetle and Zayante 

band-winged grasshopper. We will 

make the final permit decision no 

sooner than 30 days after the date of this 

notice. 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

applications, plans, and associated 

documents, you may submit comments 

by any one of the methods in 

ADDRESSES. 

Public Availability of Comments 

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 view, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: August 31, 2017. 

Stephen P. Henry, 

Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Ventura, California. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18970 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R5–FR–2017–N106; FF05F24400– 

167–FXFR13350500000; OMB Control 

Number 1018–0127] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Horseshoe Crab and 

Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) are proposing to renew an 

information collection with revisions. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before 

November 6, 2017. 

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42360 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the 

information collection request (ICR) by 

mail to the Service Information 

Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803 (mail); or by email to Info_Coll@

fws.gov. Please reference OMB Control 

Number 1018–0127 in the subject line of 

your comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

request additional information about 

this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, 

Service Information Collection 

Clearance Officer, by email at Info_

Coll@fws.gov, or by telephone at (703) 

358–2503. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies with an opportunity to 

comment on new, proposed, revised, 

and continuing collections of 

information. This helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. It also helps the 

public understand our information 

collection requirements and provide the 

requested data in the desired format. 

We are soliciting comments on the 

proposed ICR that is described below. 

We are especially interested in public 

comment addressing the following 

issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to 

the proper functions of the Service; (2) 

will this information be processed and 

used in a timely manner; (3) is the 

estimate of burden accurate; (4) how 

might the Service enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (5) how might the 

Service minimize the burden of this 

collection on the respondents, including 

through the use of information 

technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. 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. 

Abstract: The Maryland Fish & 

Wildlife Conservation Office 

(MDFWCO) will collect information on 

fishes captured by the public. Tag 

information provided by the public will 

be used to estimate recreational and 

commercial harvest rates, estimate 

natural mortality rates, and evaluate 

migratory patterns, length and age 

frequencies, and effectiveness of current 

regulations. 

Horseshoe crabs play a vital role 

commercially, biomedically, and 

ecologically along the Atlantic coast. 

Horseshoe crabs are commercially 

harvested and used as bait in eel and 

conch fisheries. Biomedical companies 

along the coast also collect and bleed 

horseshoe crabs at their facilities. 

Limulus amebocyte lysate, derived from 

crab blood, is used by pharmaceutical 

companies to test sterility of products. 

Finally, migratory shorebirds also 

depend on the eggs of horseshoe crabs 

to refuel on their migrations from South 

America to the Arctic. One bird in 

particular, the rufa red knot (Calidris 

canutus rufa), feeds primarily on 

horseshoe crab eggs during its stopover. 

Effective January 12, 2015, the rufa red 

knot was listed as threatened under the 

Endangered Species Act (79 FR 73706; 

December 11, 2014). 

In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a 

management organization with 

representatives from each State on the 

Atlantic Coast, developed a horseshoe 

crab management plan. The ASMFC 

plan and its subsequent addenda 

established mandatory State-by-State 

harvest quotas, and created the 1,500- 

square-mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr., 

Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth 

of Delaware Bay. 

Restrictive measures have been taken 

in recent years, but populations are 

increasing slowly. Because horseshoe 

crabs do not breed until they are 9 years 

or older, it may take some time before 

the population measurably increases. 

Federal and State agencies, universities, 

and biomedical companies participate 

in a Horseshoe Crab Cooperative 

Tagging Program. The Service’s 

MDFWCO maintains the information 

collected under this program and uses it 

to evaluate migratory patterns, survival, 

and abundance of horseshoe crabs. 

Agencies that tag and release the crabs 

complete FWS Form 3–2311 (Horseshoe 

Crab Tagging) and provide the Service 

with: 

• Organization name. 

• Contact person name. 

• Tag number. 

• Sex of crab. 

• Prosomal width. 

• Capture site, latitude, longitude, 

waterbody, State, and date. 

Members of the public who recover 

tagged crabs provide the following 

information using FWS Form 3–2310 

(Horseshoe Crab Recapture Report): 

• Tag number. 

• Whether or not tag was removed. 

• Whether the tag was circular or 

square. 

• Condition of crab. 

• Date captured/found. 

• Crab fate. 

• Finder type. 

• Capture method. 

• Capture location. 

• Reporter information. 

• Comments. 

At the request of the public 

participant reporting the tagged crab, we 

send data pertaining to the tagging 

program and tag and release information 

on the horseshoe crab that was found or 

captured. 

We propose a revision to this existing 

collection of information to include four 

forms currently in use which are used 

by the Service: 

• Form 3–2493, ‘‘American Shad 

Recapture Report’’; 

• Form 3–2494, ‘‘Snakehead 

Recapture Report’’; 

• Form 3–2495, ‘‘Striped Bass 

Recapture Report’’; and, 

• Form 3–2496, ‘‘Sturgeon Recapture 

Report.’’ 

Fish will be tagged with an external 

tag containing a toll-free number that is 

housed at MDFWCO. Members of the 

public reporting a tag will be asked a 

series of questions pertaining to the fish 

that they are referencing. This data will 

be used by fisheries managers 

throughout the east coast and midAtlantic region, depending on species. 

Currently the species that are tagged 

are Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis), 

Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and 

Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser 

brevirostrum), Northern Snakehead 

(Channa argus), and American Shad 

(Alosa sapidissima). Striped Bass are 

cooperatively managed by federal and 

state agencies through the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission 

(ASMFC). The ASMFC uses fish tag 

return data to conduct stock 

assessments for Striped Bass. The 

database and collection is housed 

within MDFWCO, while the tagging is 

conducted by state agencies 

participating in Striped Bass 

management. Without this data 

collection Striped Bass management 

would likely suffer from a lack of 

quality data. 

Sturgeon are tagged by federal, state, 

and university biologists, and NGO’s 

along the U.S. east coast and into 

Canada, and throughout the U.S. and 

Canada. Local populations of Atlantic 

sturgeon have been listed as either 

threatened or endangered since 2012 

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 42361 

and shortnose populations since 1973. 

The information collected provides data 

on tag retention and sturgeon movement 

along the east coast. The data is also 

used to address some of the 

management and research needs 

identified by the ASMFC Amendment 1 

to the Atlantic Sturgeon Fishery 

Management Plan. 

Northern Snakehead is an invasive 

species found in many watersheds 

throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It 

has been firmly established in the 

Potomac River since at least 2004. 

Federal and state biologists within the 

Potomac River watershed have been 

tasked with managing the impacts of 

Northern Snakehead. Tagging of 

Northern Snakehead is used to learn 

more about the species so that control 

efforts can be better informed. Tagging 

is also used to estimate population sizes 

to monitor fluctuations in population 

size. Recreational and commercial 

fishers reporting tags provide 

information on catch rates and 

migration patterns as well. 

American Shad are tagged by the NY 

Department of Environmental 

Conservation (NYDEC) and they retain 

all fish tagging information. The public 

reports tags to MDFWCO, who provides 

information on tag returns to NYDEC. 

Tag return data are used to monitor 

migration and abundance of shad along 

the Atlantic Coast. 

Data collected across these tagging 

programs is similar in nature, including: 

Tag number, date of capture, waterbody 

of capture, capture method, fish length, 

fish weight, fish fate (whether released 

or killed), fisher type (i.e., commercial, 

recreational, etc.). In addition, if the tag 

reporter desires more information on 

their tagged fish or wants the modest 

reward that comes with reporting a tag, 

we ask their address so that we can mail 

them the information. 

Title of Collection: Horseshoe Crab 

and Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs. 

OMB Control Number: 1018–0127. 

Form Number: FWS Forms 3–2310, 3– 

2311, and 3–2493 through 3–2496. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Respondents include Federal and State 

agencies, universities, and biomedical 

companies who conduct tagging and 

members of the general public provide 

recapture information. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 1,987. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 3,656. 

Estimated Completion Time per 

Response: Varies from 5 minutes to 95 

hours, depending on activity. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 2,682 (rounded). 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Frequency of Collection: Respondents 

will provide information on occasion, 

upon tagging or upon encounter with a 

tagged crab or fish. 

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour 

Burden Cost: None. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. 

The authority for this action is the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Dated: August 31, 2017. 

Madonna L. Baucum, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18934 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLES961000 L14400000 BK0000 17X] 

Notice of Filing of Plats Survey; 

Eastern States 

AGENCY: Notice of official filing. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) Eastern States 

Office is publishing this notice to 

inform the public of the intent to 

officially file the survey plat listed 

below, and afford a proper period of 

time to protest this action prior to the 

plat filing. During this time, the plat 

will be available for review in the BLM 

Eastern States Office. The surveys, 

which were executed at the request of 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 

BLM, are necessary for the management 

of these lands. 

DATES: Unless there are protests of this 

action, the filing of the plat described in 

this notice will be filed on October 10, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: BLM Eastern States Office, 

20 M Street SE., Suite 950, Washington 

DC, 20003. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Leon Chmura, Acting Chief Cadastral 

Surveyor for Eastern States; (202) 912– 

7760. Bureau of Land Management, 

Eastern States Office, 20 M Street SE., 

Suite 950, Washington DC, 20003. Attn: 

Cadastral Survey. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 to 

contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. The FRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A person 

or party who wishes to protest a survey 

must file a notice that they wish to 

protest with the Chief, Branch of 

Cadastral Survey. A statement of 

reasons for a protest may be filed with 

the notice of protest and must be filed 

with the Chief, Branch of Cadastral 

Survey within 30 days after the protest 

is filed. If a protest against the survey is 

received prior to the date of official 

filing, the filing will be stayed pending 

consideration of the protest. A plat will 

not be officially filed until the day after 

all protests have been dismissed or 

otherwise resolved. 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 Bureau of Indian Affairs 

requested this survey in Township 7 

North, Range 10 East, Choctaw 

Meridian, Mississippi for the 

management of trust lands. 

The plat of survey represents the 

dependent resurvey of a portion of the 

subdivisional lines; the survey of the 

subdivision of sections 14 and 23; and 

the metes and bounds survey of parcels 

held in trust for the Mississippi Band of 

Choctaw in sections 14 and 23 of 

Township 7 North, Range 10 East, of the 

Choctaw Meridian, in the state of 

Mississippi, and was accepted 

September 30th, 2016. A copy of the 

described plat will be placed in the 

open files, and available to the public as 

a matter of information. 

Leon Chmura, 

Acting Chief Cadastral Surveyor. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18959 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–GJ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

[NPS–WASO–NRNHL–24008; 

PPWOCRADI0, PCU00RP14.R50000] 

National Register of Historic Places; 

Notification of Pending Nominations 

and Related Actions 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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