[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8894-8895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03504]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
National Park Service
[NPS-ANRSS-17182; PPWONRADE2, PMP00EI05.YP0000]
North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan/
Environmental Impact Statement, Washington
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) and the Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) are jointly preparing a North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly
Bear Restoration Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Plan/EIS) to
determine how to restore the grizzly bear to the North Cascades
ecosystem (NCE), a portion of its historical range.
DATES: The FWS and NPS request that comments be submitted by March 23,
2015, or 15 days after the last public open house, whichever is later.
Open houses will be announced in local media. For more information on
submitting public comments, see How To Provide Comments, under Public
Comment in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review online at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG; in the Office of the Superintendent,
810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 (360-854-7200, telephone);
and in the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Dr. SE.,
Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503 (360-753-9440).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Shultz, Public Information
Officer, North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 810 State Route
20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 (360-854-7302, telephone), or Brent
Lawrence, Public Affairs Specialist, FWS Pacific Regional Office, 911
NE 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97232 (503-231-6211).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) (NEPA), the National Park
Service (NPS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are jointly
preparing a North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan and
Environmental Impact Statement (Plan/EIS) to determine how to restore
the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) to the North Cascades
ecosystem (NCE), a portion of its historical range.
Background
Situated in the core of the North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE), the
North Cascades National Park Complex is surrounded by more than 2.6
million contiguous acres of federally designated wilderness, including
protected lands and de facto wilderness in British Columbia, Canada.
The United States portion of the NCE is contiguous with habitat north
of the international border in British Columbia, Canada, but isolated
from other grizzly bear populations in both the United States and
Canada.
Research indicates that this wilderness landscape is capable of
supporting a self-sustaining grizzly bear population. However, there
has only been one observation of a solitary bear during the past 10
years. Given the low number of grizzly bears, very slow reproductive
rate, and other recovery constraints, grizzly bears in the NCE are
[[Page 8895]]
the most at-risk grizzly bear population in the United States today.
The FWS recently reaffirmed (78 FR 70104, November 22, 2013) that
the NCE grizzly bear warrants uplisting from threatened to endangered
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
However, a change in listing status remains precluded by lack of
funding and the Service's need to make listing determinations for other
species not yet protected under the ESA. The main threat to grizzly
bears in this recovery zone is a small population size, with resulting
demographic and genetic risks. Natural recovery in the NCE is
challenged by the absence of verified reproduction, as well as
isolation from any contiguous population in British Columbia, Canada,
and the United States.
A nationwide Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan was finalized by the FWS in
1982, and updated in 1993. The NCE recovery plan chapter was finalized
in 1997. Current recovery efforts in the United States are focused on
limiting human-caused mortality, protecting habitat by emphasizing no
net loss of core habitat, providing information and education efforts
regarding grizzly bears and their habitat, and enhancing sanitation by
enforcing proper garbage and food storage in bear habitat. Education
programs continue to inform people about grizzly bear biology and
techniques to avoid conflicts when living or recreating in bear
habitat.
Restoration Plan and Environmental Impact Statement Draft Purpose,
Need, and Objectives
The NCE recovery plan chapter identifies four priority actions: (1)
Develop a strategy for implementation of the NCE chapter; (2) develop
an intensive ongoing educational program to provide information about
grizzly bears and grizzly bear recovery to the public; (3) initiate the
NEPA process; and (4) conduct an intensive research and monitoring
effort to determine grizzly bear population size and distribution,
habitat use, and home ranges in the NCE. In accordance with the NCE
recovery plan chapter, the NPS and the FWS are initiating a NEPA
planning process as joint lead agencies for grizzly bear restoration in
the U.S. portion of the NCE. The Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service will
serve as cooperating agencies. The following are the draft purpose,
need, and objectives for the NCE Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan/EIS:
Purpose
The purpose of this Plan/EIS is to determine how to restore the
grizzly bear to the North Cascades ecosystem (NCE), a portion of its
historical range.
Need
Since the NCE grizzly bears are at risk of local extinction, action
is needed at this time to:
Avoid the permanent loss of grizzly bears in the NCE;
Contribute to the restoration of biodiversity of the
ecosystem for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future
generations of people;
Enhance the probability of long-term survival and
conservation of grizzly bears within the lower 48 States and thereby
contribute to overall grizzly bear recovery; and
Support the eventual removal of the grizzly bear from the
Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.
Objectives
The objectives of this Plan/EIS are to:
Restore a grizzly bear population as part of the natural
and cultural heritage of the North Cascades.
Provide Pacific Northwest residents and visitors with the
opportunity to again experience grizzly bears in their native habitat.
Seek to support Tribal cultural and spiritual values, as
well as environmental and natural resource objectives related to the
grizzly bear.
Expand outreach efforts to inform and involve the public
and build understanding about grizzly bear recovery.
Environmental Impact Statement Alternatives and Their Impacts
As part of the planning and EIS process, the NPS and FWS will
evaluate various approaches for the restoration of a grizzly bear
population to the NCE. Preliminary alternatives to be considered in the
Plan/EIS include the no action alternative (passive restoration) as
well as active restoration alternatives, including moving grizzly bears
from other U.S. and/or Canadian populations into the NCE as either
threatened or experimental 10(j) populations under the ESA.
The Plan/EIS will evaluate the effects of a range of alternatives,
including potential impacts to: Rare or unusual vegetation, wildlife
and habitat, soundscapes, wilderness (including a minimum requirements
analysis), visitor use and experience, socioeconomics, human safety,
and other resources.
Public Comment
How To Provide Comments
During the scoping period, public open houses will be held on both
the east and west sides of the North Cascades Ecosystem to provide an
opportunity for the public to share their comments and learn more about
grizzly bear restoration. Details regarding the exact times and
locations of these meetings will be announced on the project Web site
(http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG) and through local and regional
media. The meetings will also be announced through email notification
to individuals and organizations on the initial distribution list.
Those wishing to be added to the project information distribution list
should send an email request to NCE_grizzly@nps.gov.
If you wish to comment on the purpose, need, objectives, potential
alternatives, or on any other issues associated with development of the
draft Plan/EIS, you may submit your comments by any one of several
methods. You may comment online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG.
You may also mail or hand deliver comments to the Superintendent, North
Cascades National Park Service Complex, 810 State Route 20, Sedro-
Woolley, WA 98284. Written comments will also be accepted at the public
open houses. Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or by any
method other than those specified above. Bulk comments in any format
(hard copy or electronic) submitted on behalf of others will not be
accepted.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email 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 can
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 6, 2015.
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, Pacific Region, Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dated: February 5, 2015.
Christine S. Lehnertz,
Regional Director, Pacific West Region, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-03504 Filed 2-18-15; 8:45 am]
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