[Federal Register: February 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 36)]
[Notices]
[Page 9776-9777]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22fe08-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine
Fisheries Service
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
RIN 0648-XE42
Notice of Public Scoping and Intent to Prepare a Joint
Environmental Impact Statement for Fruit Growers Supply Company's
Multispecies Habitat Conservation Plan, Siskiyou County, California
AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce; and Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) (together the Services) intend to gather
information necessary for the preparation of a joint Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will consider applications from the
Fruit Growers Supply Company (FGS) for Incidental Take Permits (ITPs)
for take of endangered and threatened species in accordance with the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). FGS's applications
will include a multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), as
required under the ESA. The HCP will address forest management and
timber operations on FGS lands in Siskiyou County, California. The
proposed 50 year HCP will encompass approximately 154,000 acres of
lands owned by FGS on and after the granting date of the ITPs. The HCP
will outline conservation programs for various aquatic species under
the jurisdiction of NMFS and terrestrial species under the jurisdiction
of FWS. For purposes of the issuance of the ITPs, NMFS and FWS are co-
lead agencies under National Environmental Policy Act.
We provide this notice to describe the proposed action and possible
alternatives; advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes,
and the public of our intent to prepare an EIS; announce the initiation
of a public scoping period; and obtain suggestions and information on
the scope of issues and possible alternatives to be included in the
EIS.
DATES: Submit written comments on or before April 7, 2008. The Services
will conduct two public scoping meetings where oral and written
comments can be submitted. These meetings are scheduled for Tuesday,
March 11, 2008, in Yreka, CA, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Wednesday,
March 12, 2008, in Happy Camp, CA, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Should winter
conditions prevent conducting the Yreka meeting, it will occur one week
later on March 18, 2008, in Yreka from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Should winter
conditions prevent conducting the Happy Camp meeting, it will occur one
week later on March 19, 2008, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the scope of the EIS and requests for
additional information should be addressed to Lisa Roberts, NMFS 1655
Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521. Written comments may also be sent by
facsimile to (707) 825-4840 or by e-mail to FGS-Scoping.SWR@noaa.gov.
Public scoping meetings will be held at the Best Western Miners Inn
Convention Center, 122 East Minor Street, Yreka, CA 96097 and the Karuk
Tribe Housing Authority-Headway Building, 64101 Second Avenue, Happy
Camp, CA 96039. Comments received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours (Monday
through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA
95521. All comments received, including names and addresses, will
become part of the official administrative record and may be available
to the public.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Roberts, NMFS, 1655 Heindon Road,
Arcata, CA 95521, (707) 825-5178.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Reasonable Accommodation
Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and
participate in the public meeting should contact Lisa Roberts, NMFS, at
(707) 825-5178, as soon as possible. In order to allow sufficient time
to process requests, please call no later than one week before the
public meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is available
in alternative formats upon request.
Background Information
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the ''take'' of wildlife species
listed as endangered or threatened by either the FWS or NMFS (16 USC
1538). The ESA defines the term ''take'' as: harass, harm, pursue,
hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect listed species, or
attempt to engage in such conduct. Pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the ESA, FWS and NMFS may issue ITPs to take listed species if such
taking is incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful
activities.
Take of listed plant species is not prohibited under the Act, and
cannot be authorized under a section 10 permit. However, FGS proposes
to include Yreka phlox (Phlox hirsute) in the HCP to extend the plan's
conservation benefits to this species. All species included on an ITP
would receive assurances under the Services' ``No Surprises''
regulations found in 50 CFR 17.22(b)(5), 17.32(b)(5), and 222.307(g).
To receive an ITP under the ESA, an applicant must prepare an HCP
that specifies the following: (1) the impact of the taking, (2) steps
the applicant will take to minimize and mitigate the impact; (3)
funding available to implement the steps; (4) what alternative actions
to the taking the applicant considered and the reasons why they were
not taken; and (5) any other measures NMFS or FWS may require as being
necessary or appropriate for the purpose of the plan (16 USC 1539). To
issue a permit, NMFS and FWS must find that: (1) the taking will be
incidental, (2) the applicant will minimize and mitigate impacts of the
take to the maximum extent possible; (3) the applicant will ensure
adequate funding for the HCP; (4) the taking will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species; and
the applicant has met other measures required by FWS and NMFS.
Regulations governing issuance of FWS permits for endangered and
threatened species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, and at 50 CFR 222.301
through 307 for NMFS-issued permits.
FGS is developing a multi-species HCP in anticipation of applying
for ITPs under the ESA. The HCP will apply to approximately 154,000
acres of commercial timberland owned by FGS in Siskiyou County,
California. The ownership consists of three management units as defined
by FGS:
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Klamath River, Scott Valley, and Grass Lake, covering about 65,000,
39,000, and 50,000 acres, respectively. FGS's Klamath River and Scott
Valley management units are located west of Interstate 5 and are
adjacent to and intermixed with Klamath National Forest (KNF) lands.
FGS's Grass Lake management unit (also adjacent to the KNF) lies east
of Interstate 5 and predominantly north of State Highway 97. For the
purposes of this HCP, all land owned by FGS in their Klamath River,
Scott Valley, and Grass Lake Management Units as described above are
referred to as the HCP Area.
FGS intends to request coverage from FWS for northern spotted owl
(Strix occidentalis caurina) and Yreka phlox (Phlox hirsute).
Separately, FGS intends to request coverage from NMFS for the Southern
Oregon/Northern California Coasts (SONCC) coho salmon (Oncorhynchus
kisutch) Evolutionally Significant Unit (ESU). FGS also intends to
request coverage under the ITP for the unlisted California Coastal
Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) ESU and the Klamath Mountains Province
steelhead (O. mykiss) ESU. Should these unlisted covered species become
listed under the ESA during the term of the permit, take authorization
for those species would become effective upon listing.
Activities that FGS may propose to cover under the ITPs include
mechanized timber harvest; forest product transportation; road and
landing construction, use, maintenance, and abandonment; site
preparation; tree planting; certain types of vegetation management;
silvicultural thinning and other silvicultural activities; fire
suppression; rock quarry and borrow pit operations; aquatic habitat
restoration and other forest management activities, miscellaneous and
minor forest product collecting. The HCP is also expected to cover
certain monitoring activities and scientific work in the HCP area.
FWS and NMFS expect FGS's proposed HCP to address each of the
activities, species, and area described above, as required by the ESA.
The goal of this HCP will be to: (1) protect and improve habitats
required by species covered by the HCP and (2) establish appropriate
guidelines for continuing timber harvests and other forest management
activities.
During the preparation of the EIS, FWS and NMFS will consider a
range of alternatives to the proposed HCP, including a No Action
alternative and other project alternatives recommended during this
scoping process. Alternatives may include HCPs with modified lists of
covered species, land coverage areas, and permit terms. Different
strategies for minimizing and mitigating the impacts of incidental take
may also be considered. We invite comments and suggestions from all
interested parties to ensure that a reasonable range of alternatives
and issues related to them are addressed and that all significant
issues are identified.
Environmental review of the HCP will be conducted in accordance
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other applicable
laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act, and FWS and NMFS
procedures for compliance with those regulations.
The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) intends to use
this EIS as a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) equivalent document in its consideration and
approval of a FGS master streambed alteration agreement. FGS will
incorporate best management practices into the HCP that have been
developed in cooperation with, and approved by, CDFG.
Request for Comments
This notice is being furnished in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 and
1508.22 to obtain suggestions and information from other agencies and
the public on the scope of issues and alternatives that will be
addressed in the EIS. The primary purpose of the scoping process is to
identify important issues raised by the public related to the issuance
of ITPs for the HCP. Interested persons are encouraged to attend the
public scoping meeting and to identify and discuss issues and
alternatives that should be addressed in the joint EIS. We invite
written comments from interested parties to ensure that the full range
of issues related to the development of the HCP and issuance of the
ITPs are identified.
To ensure all comments are fully considered, comments must be
received no later than 45 days after the date of this notice. Comments
provided during the scoping process, other than those received orally
during the public meetings, will only be accepted in written form. All
comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of
the official administrative record and may be made available to the
public. To facilitate comments are reviewed by the appropriate co-lead
agency, NFMS and FWS encourage the public to specify which species
their comments are addressing. Comments that do not identify a specific
species will be reviewed by the co-lead agencies, and assigned for
consideration by FWS, NFMS, or both.
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 you may
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.
Dated: February 19, 2008.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service
Dated: February 19, 2008.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Regional Director, California and Nevada Region, Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-3365 Filed 2-21-08; 8:45 am]