[Federal Register: August 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 164)]
[Notices]
[Page 49647-49648]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22au08-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XI26
Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and
Habitat Conservation Plan, and Receipt of Applications for Incidental
Take Permits
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Marine Fisheries
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce
ACTION: Notice of availability, receipt of applications.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Oregon Department of
Forestry (ODF), has submitted applications to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
for incidental take permits (Permit(s)) pursuant to the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As required by the ESA, ODF has
also prepared a Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) designed to minimize
and mitigate any such take of endangered or threatened species. The
Permit applications are related to forest management and timber harvest
activities on the Elliott State Forest in Coos and Douglas Counties,
Oregon. The FWS and NMFS (together, the Services) are co-lead agencies
in this effort.
The Permit applications include the proposed Plan and a draft
Implementation Agreement (IA). The Services also announce the
availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the
proposed action.
The Services are requesting comments from the public on the Permit
applications, the Plan, the IA, and DEIS, all of which are available
for review. The Services are furnishing this notice to allow other
agencies and the public an opportunity to review and comment on these
documents. All comments received will become part of the public record
and will be available for review pursuant to the ESA. For locations to
review the documents, please see the \SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION\
section below. A 90-day comment period, rather then a standard 60-day
comment period, is being provided to allow the public sufficient time
to comment on the draft documents.
DATES: All comments must be received no later than November 20, 2008.
ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to: Lee Folliard,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE 98\th\ Avenue, Suite 100,
Portland, OR 97266, facsimile: (503) 231-6195; or Chuck Wheeler,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 2900 NW Stewart Parkway, Roseburg,
OR 97470-1274, facsimile: (541) 957-3386. Comments may also be
submitted by e-mail to ElliottHCP@fws.gov or
ElliottStateForest.nwr@noaa.gov. In the subject line of the email
include the identifier Elliott State Forest HCP EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to receive
copies of the documents on CD ROM, please contact Lee Folliard at (503)
231-6179; or Chuck Wheeler, (541) 957-3379.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Copies of the draft documents are available for public inspection
and review, by appointment, at the above addresses during normal
business hours or by requesting copies on CD ROM by contacting the
Services (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section above). The documents are
also available on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/
ToolsForLandowners/HabitatConservationPlans/ or at the following
offices or libraries:
Oregon Department of Forestry, 2600 State Street, Building C,
Salem, OR 97310
Oregon Department of Forestry, 63612 Fifth Road, Coos Bay, OR 97420
Oregon State Library, 250 Winter Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-3950
Coos Bay Public Library, 525 Anderson Avenue, Coos Bay, OR 97420
North Bend Public Library, 1800 Sherman Avenue, North Bend, OR
97459
Douglas County Library, 1409 NE Diamond Lake Boulevard, Roseburg,
OR 97470.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations prohibits the taking
of a species listed as endangered or threatened. The term take is
defined under the ESA to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound,
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct. Harm is defined 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.
Section 10(a) of the ESA and its implementing regulations specify
the requirements for issuance of permits to non-Federal parties for the
take of listed species. Any proposed take must be incidental to, and
not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities, must not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in
the wild, and must minimize and mitigate the impact of such take to the
maximum extent practicable. FWS regulations governing permits for
threatened and endangered species are promulgated in 50 CFR 13.21. NMFS
regulations governing permits for threatened and endangered species are
promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.
The Elliott State Forest encompasses approximately 93,000 acres of
state-owned forestlands in Coos and Douglas Counties in Oregon's Coast
Range. ODF manages the Elliott State Forest out of its Coos District
Office, located in Coos Bay. The action area for this proposal focuses
on a mostly contiguous block of land approximately 18 miles long from
north to south, and about 16 miles wide from west to east. An
additional 4,000 acres, scattered tracts in Coos, Douglas, and Curry
Counties, were originally included as part of the action area, but have
been removed from the proposal by the applicant.
The Elliott State Forest is managed in accordance with the 1994
Elliott State Forest Management Plan (FMP). ODF currently holds a
section 10(a)(1)(B) Permit for potential incidental take of the
northern spotted owl on the Elliott State Forest; the Permit and
associated Plan went into effect in 1995. ODF is proposing to manage
the forest according to a revised FMP that would go into effect
concurrently with the proposed Plan. Some of the proposed forest
management activities have the potential to affect the northern spotted
owl, as well as other species subject to protection under the ESA,
including the
[[Page 49648]]
marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) and Oregon Coast coho
salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). As a result, ODF prepared a new, 50-year
Plan, based on the revised FMP that would address incidental take of
all these listed species, as well as 15 unlisted species (covered
species). This new Plan forms the basis of ODF's current Permit
applications, and is the proposed action in the Services' DEIS.
The Permit application ODF submitted to the FWS addresses the
potential take of northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet, which are
listed as threatened under the ESA. Unlisted species under FWS's
jurisdiction included in ODF's application, and which would receive
incidental take allowance should they be listed during the term of the
Plan, are the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), northern goshawk
(Accipiter gentilis), olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus borealis),
western bluebird (Sialia mexicana), coastal cutthroat trout
(Oncorhynchus clarki clarki), Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentatus),
river lamprey (Lampetra ayresi), brook lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni),
fisher (Martes pennanti), southern torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton
variegates), red-legged frog (Rana aurora), and coastal tailed frog
(Ascaphus truei). The fisher is currently a candidate for listing under
the ESA.
The Permit application ODF submitted to the NMFS addresses the
potential take of Oregon Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch),
which is listed as threatened under the ESA. Unlisted species under
NMFS's jurisdiction included in ODF's application, and which would
receive incidental take allowance should they be listed during the term
of the Plan, are Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), chum salmon
(Oncorhynchus keta), and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
Activities that ODF is proposing for Permit coverage include:
1. Mechanized timber harvest;
2. Forest product transportation;
3. Road and landing construction, use, maintenance, and
abandonment;
4. Site preparation and tree planting (excluding use of
herbicides);
5. Site Fertilization;
6. Silvicultural practices;
7. Fire suppression;
8. Aquatic habitat restoration;
9. Rock pit development; and
10. Other management activities, including vertebrate control and
harvesting of minor forest products, and
11. Research and monitoring.
The Services formally initiated an environmental review of the
project through publication of a Notice of Intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register on May 9, 2005
(70 FR 24450). That notice also announced a public scoping period
during which interested parties were invited to provide written
comments expressing their issues or concerns relating to the proposal,
and to attend public scoping meetings held in Roseburg, North Bend, and
Salem, Oregon.
Based on public scoping comments, the Services prepared a DEIS to
analyze the effects of alternatives on the human environment.
Alternative 2 in the DEIS is described as implementation of ODF's Plan,
FWS issuance of a Permit for northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet,
and other unlisted species, and NMFS issuance of a Permit for Oregon
Coast coho salmon, and other unlisted species, should they become
listed during the term of the Plan. Two other alternatives are analyzed
in the DEIS: Alternative 1, No-Action, under which ODF would continue
operating under the existing FMP and incidental take permit for
northern spotted owls only; and, Alternative 3, Increased Stream
Buffers and Intensive Forestry, under which ODF would manage
approximately one-half of the action area on a short rotation (40-50
years), and the remainder of the lands would be designated conservation
areas around core areas and riparian buffer areas.
Note that at the time the Notice of Intent was published for this
project (70 FR 24450), Oregon Coast coho salmon was proposed for ESA
listing as a threatened species. The Notice of Intent indicated that
ODF was expected to submit a Permit application to NMFS for incidental
take of Oregon Coast coho salmon, and three unlisted fish species under
NMFS' jurisdiction, should they become listed in the future. NMFS has
since determined that the Oregon Coast coho salmon does warrant listing
as a threatened species (73 FR 7816).
This notice is provided pursuant to ESA and the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. The Services will
evaluate the applications, associated documents, and comments submitted
thereon to determine whether the applications meet the requirements of
the ESA and National Environmental Policy Act. The Services are
particularly interested in comments pertaining to the application
requirements under 50 CFR 17.22(b)(1). These include whether the Plan:
provides complete descriptions of the activities under which the
incidental taking of covered species is likely to occur; describes the
impacts to covered species individuals that will likely result from the
incidental taking; outlines the steps ODF will take to monitor,
minimize, and mitigate such impacts for each covered species and the
available funding to implement such steps over the term of the Permits;
and, describes alternative actions to such taking and the reasons why
such alternatives are not proposed to be utilized. As part of
evaluating whether the permit issuance criteria are met, the Services
specifically seek comment on whether the minimization and mitigation
measures are being undertaken to the maximum extent practicable. In
addition, the FWS is seeking comment on the assumptions regarding how
suitable habitat is being defined for all the covered species, as well
as assumptions about the development of those species habitat over
time.
The Services will revise the DEIS in a Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS). The Services decision of whether to issue Permits
will be made upon completion of the FEIS and the associated Record of
Decision.
Dated: June 26, 2008.
David Patte,
Acting Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1,
Portland, Oregon.
Dated: August 13, 2008.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-19575 Filed 8-21-08; 8:45 am]