Proposed Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC

Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 5-year incidental take permit for one covered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) associated with reconductoring a 4.07-mile segment of electric power transmission line within this right-of-way segment running from east-central Muskegon County into the southwest corner of Newaygo County, Michigan. A conservation program to mitigate for the project activities would be implemented as described in the proposed Cobb to Brickyard Reconductoring Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan (proposed Plan), which would be implemented by the Applicant. We are requesting comments on the permit application and on the preliminary determination that the proposed Plan qualifies as a ``Low-Effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended.