30-Day Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 17, 2009 / Notices

burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled
to expire on March 31, 2009. We may
Fish and Wildlife Service
not conduct or sponsor and a person is
not required to respond to a collection
[FWS-R7-SM-2009-N0035] [70101-1261-0000- of information unless it displays a
L6]
currently valid OMB control number.
However, under OMB regulations, we
Information Collection Sent to the
may continue to conduct or sponsor this
Office of Management and Budget
information collection while it is
(OMB) for Approval; OMB Control
pending at OMB.
Number 1018-0120; Federal
DATES: You must send comments on or
Subsistence Regional Advisory
before March 19, 2009.
Council Membership Application/
ADDRESSES: Send your comments and
Nomination and Interview Forms
suggestions on this ICR to the Desk
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,
Officer for the Department of the
Interior.
Interior at OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-6566
(fax) or [email protected]
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
(e-mail). Please provide a copy of your
SUMMARY: We (Fish and Wildlife
comments to Hope Grey, Information
Service) have sent an Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for
Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401
review and approval. The ICR, which is North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA
summarized below, describes the nature 22203 (mail) or [email protected] (eof the collection and the estimated
mail).
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Number of annual
respondents

Activity
FWS Form 3-2321 ...................................................................
FWS Form 3-2322 ...................................................................
FWS Form 3-2323 ...................................................................
Totals ................................................................................

Abstract: Title VIII of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation
Act (16 U.S.C. 3101) designates the
Departments of the Interior and
Agriculture as the key agencies
responsible for implementing the
subsistence priority on Federal public
lands for rural Alaska residents. These
responsibilities include the
establishment of Regional Councils with
members from each region who are
knowledgeable about the region and
subsistence uses of the public lands.
One-third of the seats on the Regional
Councils become vacant each year.
Additional vacancies may occur due to
resignations or deaths of sitting
members.
Each person desiring to serve on a
Regional Council must complete FWS
Form 3-2321 (Federal Subsistence
Regional Advisory Council Membership
Application/Nomination). Persons
nominating other individuals for
membership also complete this form.
Applicants must provide three
references and information on:
(1) Their knowledge of fish and
wildlife resources as well as subsistence
and other uses of the resources.
(2) Their service on working groups,
conservation committees, etc.
(3) How they would represent the
people in the region.

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19:45 Feb 13, 2009

Jkt 217001

Number of annual
responses

75
75
250
400

75
75
250
400

(4) Their willingness to travel and
attend meetings.
Federal staff use FWS Form 3-2322
(Regional Advisory Council Candidate
Interview) to conduct applicant
interviews by telephone. Respondents
do not see the printed form.
Interviewers ask applicants:
(1) About their willingness to serve on
the Regional Council, and
(2) To explain information provided
on FWS Form 3-2321.
Federal staff use FWS Form 3-2323
(Regional Advisory Council Reference/
Key Contact Interview) to conduct
interviews of references/key contacts for
prospective Regional Council members.
We conduct all interviews by telephone
and the respondents do not see the
printed form. Interviewers will ask
questions about the applicant’s:
(1) Knowledge of fish and wildlife
resources as well as subsistence
practices and commercial/sport
activities.
(2) Leadership ability.
(3) Ability to communicate.
The Federal Subsistence Board uses
this information to make
recommendations to the Secretary of the
Interior for appointment of members to
the Regional Councils. We restrict the
information collected to the Regional
Council member selection process and

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
request additional information about
this ICR, contact Hope Grey by mail or
e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by
telephone at (703) 358–2482.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 1018-0120.
Title: Federal Subsistence Regional
Advisory Council Membership
Application/Nomination and Interview
Forms.
Service Form Number(s): FWS Forms
3-2321, 3-2322, and 3-2323.
Type of Request: Extension of
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Alaska residents.
Respondent’s Obligation: For
applicants and persons nominating
someone for council membership,
response is required to obtain or retain
a benefit. For references and key
contacts, response is voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Completion time
per response
2 hours ............
30 minutes .......
15 minutes .......
.....................

Annual burden
hours
150
38
62
250

only to staff that the Federal Subsistence
Board deems necessary.
Comments: On December 10, 2008,
we published in the Federal Register
(73 FR 75124) a notice of our intent to
request that OMB renew this ICR. In that
notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on February 9, 2008. We
did not receive any comments in
response to that notice.
We again invite comments concerning
this information collection on:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary, including
whether or not the information will
have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on
respondents.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. 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

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 17, 2009 / Notices
368, Boise, ID 83709, facsimile (208)
378–5262, or Ken Troyer, NMFS, 10095
W. Emerald Street, Boise, ID 83704,
facsimile (208) 378–5699. Comments
may be submitted by e-mail to the
following address:
[email protected]. In the subject
line of the e-mail, include the document
identifier: Idaho Forestry Program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeri
Wood, FWS, telephone (208) 378–5289;
or Ken Troyer, NMFS, telephone (208)
378–5692.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

you can ask OMB in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that it will be done.
Dated: February 10, 2009
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
FR Doc. E9–3409 Filed 2–13–09; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4310–55–S

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Dates and Addresses of Scoping
Meetings

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XL01

Notice of Intent to Conduct Public
Scoping and to Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement
Related to the Environmental and
Social Effects of Implementing the
Idaho Forestry Program
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS), Interior; National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; scoping meetings.
SUMMARY: The FWS and NMFS
(collectively, the Services) intend to
conduct public scoping under the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) to gather information to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS), and to respond to a request from
the State of Idaho (State) to enter into a
Cooperative Agreement (Agreement)
under Section 6 of the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) with the Services.
Under the Agreement, the State would
implement the Idaho Forestry Program
with measures that would provide
conservation benefits for listed fish
species in the Salmon River Basin and
Clearwater River Basin, and the Services
would authorize incidental take of listed
species caused by forest management
activities to the extent that the effects of
these activities on listed species are
compliant with the requirements of
Section 7 of the ESA.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before April 3, 2009. See
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
for the dates and locations of the
scoping meetings.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning
the preparation of the EIS and the NEPA
process should be addressed to: Jeri
Wood, FWS, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Suite

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The dates and locations for the public
scoping workshops are:
1. February 23, 2009, 7 – 9 p.m., Best
Western, 1010 S Hwy 95, Riggins, ID
83549.
2. February 24, 2009, 7 – 9 p.m., Nez
Perce National Forest, Supervisor’s
Office, 104 Airport Road, Grangeville,
ID 83530.
3. February 25, 2009, 7 – 9 p.m.,
Clearwater National Forest, Supervisor’s
Office, 12730 Highway 12, Orofino, ID
83544.
4. February 26, 2009, 7 – 9 p.m., Idaho
Fish and Game, 3316 16th St., Lewiston,
ID 83501.
5. March 3, 2009, 7 – 9 p.m., Forest
Service’s Public Lands Center (Hwy 93
S), 1206 S. Challis St., Salmon, ID
83467.
Statutory Authority
Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538)
and implementing regulations prohibit
the taking of animal species listed as
endangered or threatened. The term
‘‘take’’ is defined under the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1532(19)) as harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to
engage in any such conduct. ‘‘Harm’’ is
further defined by FWS regulation to
include significant habitat modification
or degradation where it actually kills or
injures wildlife by significantly
impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, and
sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). NMFS’
definition of ‘‘harm’’ includes
significant habitat modification or
degradation where it actually kills or
injures fish or wildlife by significantly
impairing essential behavioral patterns,
including breeding, feeding, spawning,
migrating, rearing, and sheltering (50
CFR 222.102). Although Section 9
prohibits the taking of listed species, the
ESA provides opportunities for
authorized take if specified conditions
are met.

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7469

Background
The State of Idaho is seeking to enter
into an Agreement with the Services as
part of a settlement agreement resulting
from the Snake River Basin
Adjudication (SRBA). The Snake River
Water Rights Act of 2004 directs the
heads of Federal agencies to execute and
perform all actions necessary to carry
out the terms of the SRBA settlement
agreement, which are set forth in a
document entitled ‘‘Mediator’s Term
Sheet.’’ The Term Sheet includes a
provision for the negotiation of a
Cooperative Agreement under Section 6
of the ESA to address forest
management activities on State and
private lands in the Salmon and
Clearwater River basins that may affect
federally listed fish species. The Term
Sheet identifies specific forest
management prescriptions for inclusion
in the Cooperative Agreement and
directs that the Agreement ‘‘not vary
materially’’ from those prescriptions.
The Term Sheet prescriptions thus form
the basis for the State’s proposed forest
management program. However, the
Services must determine that the State’s
proposed program is consistent with the
standards and requirements contained
in the ESA prior to entering in the
Agreement. If the Services determine
that the State’s proposed program does
not meet the requirements of the ESA,
then the Services either will not sign the
Agreement or will work with the State
to modify the proposed program so that
it does meet the standards of the ESA.
The Term Sheet and the State’s Program
document can be viewed at http://
www.idl.idaho.gov/eis/eislindex.html.
The Services are considering entering
into an Agreement with the State of
Idaho for the purpose of implementing
a conservation program for salmon,
steelhead, and bull trout as part of the
Idaho Forestry Program. Under the
proposed Agreement, the State of Idaho
is seeking incidental take coverage for
five listed fish species: (1) the Snake
River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus
nerka); (2) Snake River spring/summer
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), (3)
Snake River fall Chinook salmon (O.
tshawytscha), (4) Snake River steelhead
(O. mykiss), and (5) the bull trout
(Salvelinus confluentus). The Snake
River sockeye salmon is currently listed
as endangered under the ESA, while the
other four fish species are listed as
threatened under the ESA.
The Agreement would apply to State
and private forest lands in the Salmon
River and Clearwater River basins. The
need for this action is: (1) to fulfill the
Services’ duties under the Snake River
Water Rights Act of 2004; (2) to provide

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