[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50168-50170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16378]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R6-NWRS-2023-0062; FF06R0ZS00-FXRS12610600000-223]
Intent To Prepare an Updated Bison and Elk Management Plan for
the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming; Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; announcement of public meetings; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), U.S. Department
of the Interior, intends to prepare an updated Bison and Elk Management
Plan (BEMP) and environmental impact statement (EIS) for the National
Elk Refuge (NER). The BEMP describes the Service's proposal for the
management of the Jackson bison and elk populations within their
respective jurisdictions with the goal of ensuring sustainable and
healthy herds; an EIS will be prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to evaluate the potential
environmental impacts of the BEMP. We invite input from other Federal
and State agencies, Tribes, nongovernmental organizations, private
sector businesses, and members of the public on the scope of the EIS,
alternatives to our proposed approaches for the management of bison and
elk on the NER, and the pertinent issues that we should address in the
EIS.
DATES:
Comment submission: To ensure consideration of written comments,
they must be received on or before August 31, 2023. Comments submitted
online at https://www.regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES) must be received
by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing date.
Public meetings: We will hold public scoping meetings on August 21
and 22, 2023 in Jackson, Wyoming, and Pinedale, Wyoming, respectively.
In addition, we will present a public webinar on August 23, 2023.
Additional information regarding these scoping sessions, including the
times and venues, and other scoping materials will be available on our
website at https://www.fws.gov/project/upcoming-bison-elk-management-plan. Persons wishing to participate in the public scoping meetings who
need special accommodations should contact Alice Lee at [email protected] by August 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one
of the following methods. Please do not submit comments by both
methods.
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R6-NWRS-2023-
0062.
United States mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-
R6-NWRS-2023-0062; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. Please note in your
submission that your comments are regarding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Bison and Elk Management Plan.
We will post all information received on https://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see Availability of Comments below
for more information).
Public meetings: We will hold public scoping meetings on August 21
and 22, 2023, in Jackson, Wyoming, and Pinedale, Wyoming, respectively.
Additional information regarding these scoping sessions, including the
times and venues, and other scoping materials will be available on our
website at https://www.fws.gov/project/upcoming-bison-elk-management-plan. In addition, we will present a public webinar on August 23, 2023.
Information regarding registration for the webinar can be found at
https://www.fws.gov/project/upcoming-bison-elk-management-plan.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alice Lee, Conservation Planner, by
phone at 720-601-1821 or via email at [email protected].
Individuals in the United States who are
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deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Elk Refuge (NER) is located north of Jackson, Wyoming
and is part of the southern portion of the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem. The NER comprises approximately 24,700 acres. The Jackson
bison and elk herds make up one of the largest concentrations of free-
ranging ungulates in North America. Currently, these herds number about
450 bison and 10,600 elk. The herds migrate across several
jurisdictional boundaries, including NER, Grand Teton National Park,
southern Yellowstone National Park, Bridger-Teton National Forest,
Bureau of Land Management resource areas, and State and private lands,
before they winter primarily on the NER. Given the wide range of
authorities and interests, the Service has used, and will continue to
use, a cooperative approach to management planning involving all
associated Federal agencies and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
(WGFD).
In order to manage the Jackson bison and elk herds on NER, the
Service worked closely with representatives from the National Park
Service, U.S. Forest Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the WGFD to develop a BEMP.
The BEMP was finalized in April 2007 after a 9-year public process
(June 6, 2007, 72 FR 31339). The 2007 BEMP outlined the desired future
conditions, management goals, objectives, and strategies for managing
the Jackson bison and elk herds on the NER and Grand Teton National
Park for 15 years. The BEMP called for reducing the number of elk
wintering on the NER to 5,000 and reducing the number of bison to 500.
One of the goals was a sustainable population of elk and bison that are
healthy and able to adapt to changing conditions in the environment and
that are at reduced risk from the adverse effect of non-endemic
disease.
Following the BEMP, a Step-down Plan was finalized by the Service
in December 2019 consistent with the 2007 BEMP. This Step-down Plan
provides guidance to adaptively manage bison and elk herds to meet the
goals and objectives outlined in the BEMP, specifically to reduce the
number of elk wintering on NER and subsequently reduce reliance on
supplemental feeding. Reducing feed season length has been the
principal method of choice to achieve this goal.
Purpose and Need for Agency Action
More than 15 years have elapsed since the 2007 BEMP was finalized.
In addition, the 2019 Step-down Plan reducing supplemental feeding on
the NER ends in December 2024. The purpose and need of the updated BEMP
will be to address changed conditions and newly available scientific
information for bison and elk management, including supplemental winter
feeding, hunting, disease management, and habitat conservation. The
BEMP will set updated desired conditions, management goals, objectives,
and strategies to guide the management of bison and elk on the NER and
work towards a goal of a healthy sustainable population of bison and
elk on NER.
NEPA Analysis of Agency Actions
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347)
requires Federal agencies to undertake an assessment of the
environmental effects of any proposed action prior to making a final
decision and implementing the decision. NEPA also established the
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which issued regulations
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508). The Service has regulatory authority under the National Wildlife
Refuge System Administration Act to manage the NER. Establishing a BEMP
is a Federal action requiring review under NEPA.
Consistent with CEQ guidance for implementing NEPA, we intend to
complete an EIS to consider approaches to manage bison and elk on the
NER. The EIS will address the potential environmental impacts of a
range of reasonable alternatives. The potential environmental impacts
assessed in the EIS would include the effects on bison and elk from
management measures; effects on other environmental resources such as
federally listed species; cultural and Tribal resources; potential
socioeconomic effects, including impacts on economic activities such as
tourism, agriculture, and hunting; and effects on a range of other
resources identified through internal and external scoping. We will
address our compliance with other applicable authorities in our NEPA
review.
Responsibilities to Tribes
The Service has unique responsibilities to Tribes, including under
the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); the
American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996); Native American
Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001); Religious
Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.); Joint
Secretarial Order 3403, Fulfilling the Trust Responsibility to Indian
Tribes in the Stewardship of Federal Lands and Waters (November 15,
2021); Secretarial Order 3206, American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-
Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and the ESA (June 5, 1997); Executive
Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites (61 FR 26771, May 29, 1996); and the
agency's Native American Policies. We apply the term ``Tribal'' or
``Tribe(s)'' generally to federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native
Tribal entities.
The Service will consult and collaborate with Tribes on the
proposals set forth in this document. We will also ensure that those
Tribes wishing to engage directly in the NEPA process will have the
opportunity to do so. As part of this process, we will protect the
confidential nature of any consultations and other communications we
have with Tribes, to the extent permitted by the Freedom of Information
Act and other laws.
Potential Alternatives
We will be considering a range of reasonable alternatives for
management of bison and elk on the NER that potentially include
management measures such as winter feeding, hunting, disease
management, and habitat conservation. These approaches may be
considered separately or in any combination in the EIS.
Under the no-action alternative, the Service would continue to
manage bison and elk on the NER based on the 2007 BEMP.
Scoping Process
In accordance with NEPA, we are conducting a public scoping process
to invite input on the range of alternatives and issues to be addressed
during the preparation of the EIS. Scoping is an early and open process
for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and identifying
issues that should be considered in selecting an alternative for
implementation. To that end, during the scoping process, we are
inviting input from other interested government agencies, Native
American Tribes, the scientific community, industry, nongovernmental
organizations,
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members of the public, and other interested parties. We solicit input
on the following issues:
1. The alternatives considered for managing bison and elk on the
NER.
2. Other alternatives, or combinations of alternatives, that should
be considered with respect to managing bison and elk on the NER.
3. Specific requirements for NEPA analyses related to the proposed
action and alternatives.
4. Considerations for evaluating the significance of impacts on
bison and other affected resources, such as other listed or sensitive
wildlife and plant species, cultural resources, and socioeconomic
resources or activities.
5. Information and analyses regarding other resources that may be
affected by the proposed action.
6. Considerations for evaluating the interactions between affected
natural resources.
7. Considerations for evaluating the impacts on species, locations,
or other resources of religious or cultural significance for Tribes and
impacts on cultural values from the actions being considered.
8. Considerations for evaluating climate change effects on bison,
elk, and other affected resources.
9. Integrating the management of bison and elk with existing
guidance and plans, such as the NER's Comprehensive Conservation Plan.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
After the scoping period is completed, the Service will develop a
draft EIS. The Service currently expects to issue the Notice of
Availability for the draft EIS in August 2024 to begin a 45-day public
comment period. After the public comment period ends, the Service will
review and respond to comments received and will develop the final EIS.
The Service currently expects to make the final EIS available to the
public in July 2025. A ROD will be completed no sooner than 30 days
after the final EIS is released, in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.11.
Availability of Comments
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the website. If your submission is made via a hardcopy
that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We
will post all hardcopy submissions on https://www.regulations.gov. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
Matthew J. Hogan,
Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2023-16378 Filed 7-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P