Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; Draft Environmental Impact Statement Availability and Public Meetings

This notice advises the public that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), on behalf of the State of Montana, has submitted an incidental take permit (ITP) application to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, US) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As the ESA requires, DNRC has also prepared a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) designed to minimize and mitigate any such take of endangered or threatened species. The ITP application includes the proposed HCP and draft Implementation Agreement (IA). We also announce the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (draft EIS) for the proposed action. The ITP application addresses forest management and timber harvest activities on approximately 221,970 hectares (548,500 acres) of forested State trust lands in western Montana. We request comments from the public on the ITP application, proposed HCP, IA, and draft EIS.