[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45838-45840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18548]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-ES-2014-0020; 50120-1112-0000]
Availability of a Revised Environmental Assessment and Incidental
Take Plan for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's
Trapping Program
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: On November 9, 2011, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), published a notice of availability of a draft environmental
assessment (DEA) and receipt of an application for an incidental take
permit (permit) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA), submitted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries
and Wildlife (MDIFW), for the Maine Trapping Program Incidental Take
Plan (ITP). MDIFW is requesting a permit
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under the ESA to authorize take of the federally threatened Canada lynx
incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with MDIFW's
statewide furbearer trapping program. The permit would be in effect for
15 years.
During the 60-day comment period, the Service received numerous
comments on the DEA and the ITP. MDIFW revised the draft ITP to address
public and Service comments and submitted a revised ITP to the Service
in July 2013. The Service then revised its DEA. This notice announces
the availability for a 30-day supplemental public comment period of
both the revised DEA and the revised ITP for MDIFW's incidental take
permit application.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
by September 5, 2014. Comments submitted electronically using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES section, below) must be
received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted electronically via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, or in hard
copy, via U.S. mail, to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R5-ES-
2014-0020; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: BPHC; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laury Zicari, by U.S. mail at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Field Office, 17 Godfrey Drive, Suite
2, Orono, ME 04473; or by phone at 207-866-3344.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 9, 2011 (76 FR 69758), the Service published a notice
of availability of a draft environmental assessment (DEA) and receipt
of an application for an incidental take permit (permit), pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for the Maine
Trapping Program Incidental Take Plan (ITP). The Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) is requesting a permit under the
ESA to authorize take of the federally threatened Canada lynx (Lynx
canadensis) incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with
MDIFW's statewide furbearer trapping programs (i.e., fur trapping,
animal damage, and predator management control). The permit would be in
effect for 15 years.
During the 60-day comment period, which ran through January 9,
2012, the Service received numerous comments on the DEA and the draft
ITP. The MDIFW revised the draft ITP to address public and Service
comments and submitted a revised ITP to the Service on July 29, 2013.
The Service then revised its DEA. This notice announces the
availability for a 30-day supplemental public comment period of the
both the revised DEA and the revised ITP for MDIFW's incidental take
permit application.
How Incidental Take Permits Work
Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations prohibit the ``take'' of animal species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take is defined under the ESA as to ``harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect
listed animal species, or to attempt to engage in such conduct'' (16
U.S.C. 1538). However, under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, we may
issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed species.
``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as take that is incidental
to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and
endangered species, respectively, are found in the Code of Federal
Regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32).
If an incidental take permit is granted to MDIFW, the State and
licensed trappers conducting otherwise legal trapping activities would
be authorized to incidentally take Canada lynx according to limitations
prescribed in the revised ITP, along with any additional conditions the
Service determines are necessary and appropriate for issuance of an
incidental take permit.
Applicant's Revised Incidental Take Permit Application
On July 29, 2013, the Service received a revised ITP from MDIFW
that incorporates changes responding to comments from the public and
the Service. The revised ITP includes important changes and
clarifications from MDIFW's previous draft ITP, which was submitted to
the Service in 2008 and released for comment in 2011 (76 FR 69758).
Under the covered activities of the revised ITP, MDIFW includes
predator management and animal damage control programs, in addition to
recreational fur trapping. Several new methods of trapping and new
trapping regulations would be implemented, including lifting the size
restrictions on foothold traps. Measures to avoid and minimize take
have been updated to include increased veterinary oversight, protocols
for responding to orphan kittens, increased trapper outreach, and
increased compliance monitoring. Further, the revised ITP incorporates
additional contingencies to address a number of potential changed
circumstances. The requested incidental take over the 15-year duration
of the permit is increased to 195 incidentally trapped lynx, of which 9
may experience major injury and 3 may die. The other incidentally
trapped lynx would be released with no or minor injuries. Finally,
MDIFW has clarified the mitigation strategy and seeks to address the
impact of lynx mortalities. Mitigation consists of maintaining and
enhancing at least 4,785 acres of lynx habitat on a 10,411-acre area on
the Maine Division of Parks and Public Lands Seboomook Unit in northern
Maine.
Service's Revised Draft Environmental Assessment
The Service has revised its DEA to reflect MDIFW's revised ITP. The
changes to the DEA include: (1) A revised purpose and need for a
permit; (2) new alternatives to the proposed action; (3) a description
of the aspects of the human environment that would be affected by
MDIFW's trapping programs; and (4) an evaluation of the environmental
consequences of the proposed project and the mitigation measures.
The DEA considers four alternatives:
(1) Status quo: No action, no incidental take permit is issued, and
trapping continues in its current form consistent with the requirements
of the 2007 Consent Decree. The Consent Decree is a settlement
agreement stemming from an earlier lawsuit, Animal Protection Institute
v. Roland D. Martin, which imposes a number of restrictions on trapping
activities in lynx wildlife management districts. Fur trapping,
predator management, and animal damage control continue statewide in
this alternative.
(2) No action: No incidental take permit is issued, and, to avoid
take of lynx, MDIFW discontinues all trapping programs in lynx wildlife
management districts.
(3) Proposed action: An incidental take permit is issued to MDIFW,
and measures in the 2013 revised ITP are implemented.
(4) An incidental take permit is issued to MDIFW for statewide fur
trapping, but the predator management and animal damage control
programs in lynx wildlife management districts are discontinued. Fur
trapping measures in the 2013 revised ITP are implemented.
For alternatives 2 to 4, we presume that the described programs
would
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replace the requirements of the 2007 Consent Decree, which would
ultimately be rescinded. A number of issues that were raised during the
initial public comment period on the DEA are still relevant to the
revised proposed action. Therefore, the Service's DEA also has included
a response to comments to explain how those issues are handled in
MDIFW's revised ITP and the Service's revised DEA.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the revised ITP and comments we receive on the
Service's revised DEA to determine whether the permit application meets
the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
We will also evaluate whether issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit
would comply with section 7 of the ESA by conducting an intra-Service
section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to
determine whether to issue a permit. If the requirements are met, we
will issue the permit to the applicant.
Authority
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA and
the National Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: July 22, 2014.
Paul R. Phifer,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-18548 Filed 8-5-14; 8:45 am]
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