[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 181 (Monday, September 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64192-64193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22455]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2016-N128]; [FVES59420300000F2 14X FF03E00000]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Indiana Department of
Natural Resources Habitat Conservation Plan
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement;
notice of scoping meeting; and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA), we are advising the public that we intend to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposed Endangered Species
Act (ESA) incidental take permit (ITP) application from the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Division of Forestry (DoF) for
the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). We are also
announcing the initiation of a public scoping process to engage
Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments; special interest groups;
and the public in the identification of issues and concerns, potential
impacts, and possible alternatives to the proposed action.
DATES: Public scoping will begin with the publication of this NOI in
the Federal Register and will continue through October 19, 2016. We
will consider all comments on the scope of the EIS analysis that are
received or postmarked by this date. Comments received or postmarked
after this date will be considered to the extent practicable. We will
conduct a public scoping meeting during the scoping period. The scoping
meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions,
discuss issues with Service staff regarding the EIS, and provide
written comments.
September 30th, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Forestry Training
Center on Morgan-Monroe State Forest. Directions: from the Forest
Office at 6220 Forest Road, Martinsville, IN (see Google Maps), go 0.2
miles north on Forest Road and take the first road to the left (West),
go 0.4 miles and park at 2nd building on the right. The Forestry
Training Center is located approx. 6 miles south of Martinsville, IN.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments via U.S. mail to the Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bloomington Field Office, 620 South
Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403-2121; by facsimile to 812-334-
4273; or by electronic mail to commentbfo@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew King, by telephone at 812-334-
4261, extension 1216, or email at andrew_king@fws.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf, please call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
Indiana bats were listed as an endangered species under the ESA in
1967. The decline of this species has historically been attributed to
loss and degradation of winter hibernation habitat and summer roosting
habitat, human disturbance during hibernation, and possibly pesticides.
A recent new threat to Indiana bats is white-nose syndrome (WNS), a
disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. WNS has
caused significant population declines throughout much of the Indiana
bat's range, particularly in the Northeast and Appalachian regions.
The DoF conducts management activities on 13 State Forests and 2
State Recreation Areas covering approximately 158,000 acres of state-
owned forest land in Indiana. These activities include maintenance of
recreation trails, timber harvest, tree plantings, prescribed burning,
and the use of specific chemicals such as herbicides and fertilizers.
Management activities on these lands are designed for long-term
sustainability and to enhance forest health and diversity, create
wildlife habitat, provide recreational opportunities and to generate
revenue from timber harvests that contribute to local and state
economies. While many forest management activities benefit the
conservation and recovery of the Indiana bat, some activities may
adversely impact this species and their habitat during certain life
stages.
The net effect of forest management on Indiana bats may vary
depending on the type, scale, and timing of various practices. Unlike
forest conversion where habitat is permanently removed, the DoF's
forest management practices are designed to promote and sustain
suitable forested bat habitat on the landscape, and adverse impacts
typically are temporary in nature. The primary potential benefit of
forest management to the species is perpetuating forests on the
landscape that provide suitable roosting and foraging habitat. Impacts
from timber harvest, which can range from the selective removal of
individual trees to small clearcuts, can range from positive (e.g.,
maintaining or increasing suitable roosting and foraging habitat within
Indiana bat home ranges) to neutral (e.g., minor amounts of timber
harvest, areas outside Indiana bats summer home ranges, away from
hibernacula) to negative (e.g., death of adult female bats and/or pups
resulting from accidental felling of occupied maternity roost trees).
Therefore, the DoF is developing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in
support of an ITP that would authorize the incidental take of Indiana
bats from certain forest management activities on State Forest lands
within the State of Indiana.
The HCP will incorporate avoidance, minimization, mitigation,
monitoring, and reporting measures aimed at addressing the impact of
take caused by certain forest and property management activities
occurring on approximately 158,000 acres of state-owned land managed by
the DoF. The forest and property management activities included in the
DoF HCP are timber harvesting, prescribed burning, timber stand
improvement, and the construction and maintenance of roads, trails, and
recreation and operational facilities. Potential measures to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate impacts to Indiana bats may include, but are not
limited to, retention of potential roost trees, sustained supply of
future roost trees, protection of known roost trees, leave-tree
designation near perennial streams, seasonal tree-felling restrictions
around known hibernacula, and set-back distances for the protection of
hibernacula entrances. The requested term of the ITP is 20 years.
[[Page 64193]]
Habitat Conservation Plans and Incidental Take Permits
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538, and 1533,
respectively). The ESA implementing regulations extend, under certain
circumstances, the prohibition of take to threatened species (50 CFR
17.31). Under section 3 of the ESA, the term ``take'' means to harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or
attempt to engage in any such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)).
Under section 10 of the ESA, the Service may issue permits to
authorize incidental take of federally listed fish and wildlife
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.'' To obtain an ITP, an applicant must submit an HCP to the
Service that specifies (1) the impact that will likely result from the
taking; (2) what steps the applicant will take to monitor, minimize and
mitigate the impacts, the funding that will be available to implement
such steps and the procedures to be used to deal with changed
circumstances; (3) what alternative actions to the taking the applicant
considered and the reasons why the alternatives are not being utilized;
and (4) how the applicant will carry out any other measures that we may
require as being necessary or appropriate for purposes of the HCP. 50
CFR 17.22(b)(1)(iii); 50 CFR 17.32(b)(1)(iii)(C). If we find, after
opportunity for public comment, with respect to the permit application
and the related HCP that (1) the taking will be incidental; (2) the
applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize and
mitigate the impacts of such taking; (3) the applicant will ensure that
adequate funding for the HCP will be provided, as well as procedures to
deal with unforeseen circumstances; (4) the taking will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in
the wild; and (5) the measures, if any, required by us will be carried
out; and we have received assurances that the plan will be implemented,
then we will issue the DoF its requested permit. 50 CFR 17.22,
17.32(b)(2)(i).
The purpose of an HCP and subsequent issuance of an ITP is to
authorize the incidental take of threatened or endangered species, not
to authorize the underlying activities that result in take. This
process ensures that the effects of the authorized incidental take will
be adequately minimized and mitigated to the maximum extent practicable
(Final Handbook for Habitat Conservation Planning and Incidental Take
Permitting Process (61 FR 63854, December 2, 1996)).
Environmental Impact Statement
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires that Federal agencies
conduct an environmental analysis of their proposed actions to
determine if the actions may significantly affect the human
environment. Based on 40 CFR 1508.27 and 40 CFR 1508.2, we have
determined that issuance of an ITP to the DoF, including implementation
of its proposed HCP (i.e., proposed action), may have significant
impacts on the human environment. Therefore, before deciding whether to
issue an ITP to the IDNR, we will prepare an EIS to analyze the
environmental impacts associated with that action. The EIS will also
include an analysis of a reasonable range of alternatives to the
proposed action. Alternatives considered in the EIS may include, but
are not limited to, variations in the permit term or permit structure;
the level of take allowed; the level, location, or type of
conservation, monitoring, or mitigation provided in the HCP; the scope
of covered activities; or a combination of these factors. Additionally,
a ``no-action'' alternative will be included that assesses the
anticipated effects of not issuing an ITP for the DoF's management
activities.
Request for Information
We request data, comments, information, and suggestions from the
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, Tribes, industry, and any other interested party on this
notice. We will consider all comments we receive with respect to
complying with the requirements of NEPA and the development of the HCP
and ITP. We seek comments particularly related to:
(1) Information concerning the range, distribution, population
size, and population trends of Indiana bats and other federally listed
species in Indiana;
(2) Additional biological information concerning Indiana bats and
other federally listed species that occur in Indiana that could be
affected by activities on State-owned forest land;
(3) Relevant data and information concerning timber management
practices and bat interactions;
(4) Current or planned forest management activities and their
possible impacts on Indiana bats and other federally listed species in
Indiana;
(5) The presence of facilities within the project planning area
that are eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, or whether other historical, archeological, or traditional
cultural properties may be present; and
(6) Any other environmental issues that we should consider with
regard to the HCP coverage area and potential ITP issuance.
Next Steps
We are seeking information to assist us in the development of the
EIS and the associated HCP. We will develop a draft EIS based on a
complete ITP application, draft HCP, and public comments received
through this early scoping effort. We may solicit additional public,
agency, and Tribal input to identify the nature and scope of the
potentially significant environmental issues that should be addressed
in the EIS. We will publish a notice of availability for the draft EIS
and draft HCP, and seek additional public comments, before completing
our final analysis to determine whether to issue an ITP to the DoF.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments received, including names and addresses, will become
part of the administrative record and will be available to the public.
Before including your address, phone number, electronic mail address,
or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should
be aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--will be publicly available. If you submit a hardcopy
comment 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.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and per NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1501.7, 1506.5, and 1508.22).
Dated: August 22, 2016.
Lori H. Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-22455 Filed 9-16-16; 8:45 am]
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