Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY:

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting of the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (Council).

DATES:

We will hold the meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8, 2007, (Alaska time) and Thursday, August 9, 2007. Members of the public wishing to participate in the meeting must notify Douglas Hobbs by close of business on Thursday, August 2, 2007, per instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. Submit written statements for this meeting no later than Monday, July 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center, 95 Sterling Highway, Suite 1, Homer, Alaska 99603; telephone (907) 235-6961.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Douglas Hobbs, Council Coordinator, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mailstop 3103-AEA, Arlington, Virginia 22203, (703) 358-2336 (phone), (703) 358-2548 (fax), or doug_hobbs@fws.gov (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., we give notice that the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council will hold the meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 (Alaska time) and Thursday, August 9, 2007.

Background

The Council was formed in January 1993 by the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to advise the Secretary, through the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about nationally significant recreational boating, fishing, and aquatic resource conservation issues. The Council represents the interests of the public and private sectors of the sport fishing and boating, and conservation communities and is organized to enhance partnerships among industry, constituency groups, and government. The 18-member Council, appointed by the Secretary, includes the Director of the Service and the president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, who both serve in ex officio capacities. Other Council members are Directors from State agencies responsible for managing recreational fish and wildlife resources and individuals who represent the interests of saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing, recreational boating, the recreational fishing and boating industries, recreational fisheries resource conservation, tribal resource management agencies, aquatic resource outreach and education, and tourism. Background information on the Council is available at http://www.fws.gov/sfbpc.

The Council will convene to discuss: (1) The Council's continuing role in providing input to the Fish and Wildlife Service on the Service's strategic plan for its Fisheries Program; (2) The Council's role in providing input into the Fish and Wildlife Service's Sport Fish Restoration Program; (3) The Council's work in addressing the issue of boating and fishing access; (4) The Council's work to assess the Clean Vessel Act Grant Program; (5) The Council's role in communicating with partners and stakeholders about the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund; (6) The Council's role in the continued implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan; (7) Future strategic issues that the Council will address through its activities; and (8) The Council's role in providing the Secretary with information about the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the National Outreach and Communications Program, authorized by the 1998 Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act, that is now being implemented by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization. The final agenda will be posted on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/sfbpc.

Procedures for Public Input

We are reserving time at 1:30 p.m. (Alaska time) on Thursday, August 9, 2007, for oral public comments, and will assign speaking times on a first-come, first-served basis. Questions from the public will not be considered during this comment period, which is intended to allow interested members of the public to submit relevant written or oral information for the Council to consider in the course of its business. We are limiting each individual or group's oral presentation during the oral public comment period to 3 minutes per speaker, with no more than a total of one-half hour for all speakers. Speakers wishing to submit a full statement should do so at the meeting. We invite those speakers unable to be placed on the agenda, or to attend in person, to submit written statements.

To be placed on our public speaker list for this meeting, contact Douglas Hobbs, Council Coordinator, in writing (preferably via e-mail), by July 30, 2007, at the contact information under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. We must receive all written statements by July 30, 2007, so that the information may be made available to the Council for their consideration prior to this teleconference. Submit your written statements to the Council Coordinator in the following formats: One hard copy with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).

To ensure that ample seating is available, we recommend that anyone wishing to attend this meeting register by close of business August 2, 2007. Please submit your name, time of arrival, e-mail address, and phone number to Douglas Hobbs, and he will provide you with instructions for admittance. Mr. Hobbs' e-mail address is doug_hobbs@fws.gov, and his phone number is (703) 358-2336.

Summary minutes of the conference will be maintained by the Council Coordinator at 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS-3101-AEA, Arlington, VA 22203, and will be available for public inspection during regular business hours. You may purchase personal copies for the cost of duplication.