Notices. Notice of receipt and intent: request for comments

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BILLING CODE 4310-DQ-M DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Receipt of Endangered Species Recovery Permit Application and Environmental Analysis on This Permit Application AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of receipt and intent: request for comments. SUMMARY: The State of Oregon has applied for an enhancement of propagation or survival permit to conduct certain activities with gray wolves ( *Canis lupus* ) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In addition, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this notice advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “we” or “Service”) intends to conduct an environmental analysis (environmental assessment or environmental impact statement) for Oregon's permit application. We solicit comments from the public and from local, State, and Federal agencies on both the permit request and the environmental analysis. DATES: We must receive your comments on this permit application and environmental analysis on or before September 11, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written data or comments should be submitted to the Chief, Endangered Species, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181 (fax: 503-231-6243). Please refer to the permit number or “Oregon Wolf Permit Analysis” when submitting comments. All comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of the official administrative record and may be made available to the public. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Documents and other information submitted with this application or associated with this analysis are available for review, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, by any party who submits a written request for a copy of such documents to the address above (telephone: 503-231-2063). Please refer to the application's permit number or “Oregon Wolf Permit Analysis” when requesting copies of documents. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Permit No. TE-122636 *Applicant:* Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

(ODFW)The applicant has submitted an application for an ESA 10(a)(1)(A) recovery permit authorizing harassment, relocation, and lethal take of gray wolves in Oregon for the purpose of enhancing their recovery, pursuant to the State of Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan (December 2005) developed in consultation with the Service. This plan provides guidelines for a coordinated and effective response to anticipated situations that may arise as gray wolves migrate into Oregon from adjacent States. ODFW proposes to implement proactive strategies and conduct non-lethal control actions to reduce and/or resolve wolf-livestock conflicts and human safety concerns. If non-lethal efforts are unsuccessful and livestock depredations continue, ODFW requests authorization for employees to conduct lethal control of wolves. Under the ODFW proposal, young-of-the-year (juveniles) captured before October 1, and any lactating females, would be released or relocated rather than killed. No lethal take by private landowners would be authorized by this permit. Currently, the ODFW is authorized through their section 6 Cooperative Agreement under the ESA to conduct non-lethal gray wolf management actions in Oregon for this species, which is Federally listed as endangered. These actions include trapping, collaring, taking blood and hair samples, harassing, and other forms of take that are not reasonably expected to result in the death or permanent disabling of a wolf. A practical, responsive management program is essential to enhancing survival of the wolf in the wild (Service 1987; Service 1994; Service 1999). The program must respond to wolf-livestock conflicts, while promoting wolf recovery objectives. If issued, Oregon's permit would provide standards for:

(a)Determining problem wolf status (including investigative procedures and criteria),

(b)conducting wolf control actions, and

(c)disposition of problem wolves. In addition to evaluation under the ESA, we are analyzing issuance of this permit under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 *et seq.* ). Some environmental impacts of wolf management were analyzed in our 1988 Environmental Action Memorandum on the Interim Wolf Control Plan for the Northern Rocky Mountains and the 1999 Evaluation and Recommended Modifications to it. Our environmental analysis for ODFW's permit application will include changes in the gray wolf's population status since 1999 and other issues specific to Oregon. Under NEPA, a reasonable range of alternatives to a proposed project must be developed and considered in our environmental review, along with a no-action alternative. Our NEPA evaluation will evaluate the potential impacts of alternatives for wolf conservation actions in Oregon. Management actions would be developed to conserve wolf populations and to protect livestock and pets. An alternative will be selected and a permit decision made after completion of all required analyses and consideration of all comments received in response to this Notice. Any wolves existing in Oregon would likely be due to range expansion of the northern Rocky Mountains wolf population. However, the State of Oregon has established its own wolf population objectives. These population objectives are documented in the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, which can be found at: *http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/.* The ODFW permit application can be found at: *http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/default.htm. * Additional information about wolf recovery and conservation in the northwestern United States, including control of problem wolves, can be found in various reports at: *http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov/. * Public Comments Solicited We solicit public review and comment on this ESA recovery permit application and related NEPA environmental review. Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, to the extent allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment, but you should be aware that we may be required to disclose your name and address pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Moreover, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety. Comments and materials received will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above address. Authority This document is published under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ). Dated: June 19, 2006. David J. Wesley, Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [FR Doc. E6-13132 Filed 8-10-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Notice of Proposed Information Collection for 1029-0094, 1029-0098 and 1029-0119 AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

(OSM)is announcing its intention to request approval to continue the collections of information for 30 CFR part 700—general provisions, 30 CFR part 769—the petition process for the designation of Federal lands as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations and for termination of previous designations, and 30 CFR 874.16—contractor eligibility requirements for general reclamation and its Abandoned Mine Land Contractor Information form. These information collection activities were previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and assigned clearance numbers 1029-0094, 1029-0098, and 1029-0119, respectively. DATES: Comments on the proposed information collection must be received by October 10, 2006, to be assured of consideration. ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to John A. Trelease, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1951 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 202—SIB, Washington, DC 20240. Comments may also be submitted electronically to *jtrelease@osmre.gov* . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information collection requests, explanatory information and related forms, contact John A. Trelease, at

(202)208-2783. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implementing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), require that interested members of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping activities [see 5 CFR 1320.8 (d)]. This notice identifies information collections that OSM will be submitting to OMB for approval. These collections are contained in

(1)30 CFR 700, General (1029-0094);

(2)30 CFR part 769, Petition process for designation of Federal lands as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations and for termination of previous designations; and

(3)30 CFR 874.16 and the Abandoned Mine Land Contractor Information form. OSM will request a 3-year term of approval for each information collection activity. Comments are invited on:

(1)The need for the collection of information for the performance of the functions of the agency;

(2)the accuracy of the agency's burden estimates;

(3)ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and

(4)ways to minimize the information collection burden on respondents, such as use of automated means of collection of the information. A summary of the public comments will accompany OSM's submission of the information collection requests to OMB. The following information is provided for the information collection:

(1)Title of the information collection;

(2)OMB control number;

(3)summary of the information collection activity; and

(4)frequency of collection, description of the respondents, estimated total annual responses, and the total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden for the collection of information. *Title:* General, 30 CFR part 700. *OMB Control Number:* 1029-0094. *Summary:* This Part establishes procedures and requirements for terminating jurisdiction of surface coal mining and reclamation operations, petitions for rulemaking, and citizen suits filed under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. *Bureau Form Number:* None. *Frequency of Collection:* Once. *Description of Respondents:* State and tribal regulatory authorities, private citizens and citizen groups, and surface coal mining companies. *Total Annual Responses:* 6. *Total Annual Burden Hours:* 84. *Title:* Petition process for designation of Federal lands as unsuitable for all or certain types of surface coal mining operations and for termination of previous designations, 30 CFR part 769. *OMB Control Number:* 1029-0098. *Summary:* This part establishes the minimum procedures and standards for designating Federal lands unsuitable for certain types of surface mining operations and for terminating designations pursuant to a petition. The information requested will aid the regulatory authority in the decision making process to approve or disapprove a request. *Bureau Form Number:* None. *Frequency of Collection:* Once. *Description of Respondents:* People who may be adversely affected by surface mining on Federal lands. *Total Annual Responses:* 1. *Total Annual Burden Hours:* 1,067. *Title:* Contractor eligibility requirements for general reclamation, 30 CFR 874.16 and the AML Contractor Information Form. *OMB Control Number:* 1029-0119. *Summary:* 30 CFR 874.16 requires that every successful bidder for an AML contract must be eligible under 30 CFR 773.15(b)(1) at the time of contract award to receive a permit or conditional permit to conduct surface coal mining operations. Further, the regulation requires the eligibility to be confirmed by OSM's automated AVS and the contractor must be eligible under the regulations implementing Section 510(c) of the Surface Mining Act to receive permits to conduct mining operations. The AML Contractor Information form provides a tool for OSM and the States/Indian tribes to help them prevent persons with outstanding violations from conducting further mining of AML reclamation activities in the State. *Bureau Form Number:* None. *Frequency of Collection:* Once per contract. *Description of Respondents:* AML contract applicants and State and tribal regulatory authorities. *Total Annual Responses:* 420 bidders and 8 State responses. *Total Annual Burden Hours:* 161. Dated: August 7, 2006. John R. Craynon, Chief, Division of Regulatory Support. [FR Doc. 06-6855 Filed 8-10-06; 8:45 am]

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