[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51172-51173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20903]
[[Page 51172]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2019-N109; FXES11140100000-190-FF01E00000]
Final Environmental Impact Statement for Amending the 1997
Washington State Trust Lands Habitat Conservation Plan To Include a
Marbled Murrelet Long-Term Conservation Strategy
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and the
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) have jointly
developed a final environmental impact statement (FEIS), which analyzes
the WDNR's proposal to amend the 1997 State Trust Lands Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) to include a long-term conservation strategy
(LTCS) for the federally listed marbled murrelet. This FEIS is intended
to satisfy both the National Environmental Policy Act and the State
Environmental Policy Act. The WDNR has requested an amendment to its
existing incidental take permit (ITP) under section 10 of the
Endangered Species Act. The proposed ITP amendment would allow the WDNR
to implement a LTCS, and would replace the interim conservation
strategy for the marbled murrelet, which is currently being implemented
under the HCP. If approved, the LTCS is expected to be in place for the
remainder of the ITP term, which is approximately 50 years.
DATES: The Service's ITP decision will occur no sooner than 30 days
after publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
notice of availability of the FEIS in the Federal Register, and will be
documented in a record of decision (ROD).
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the documents by any of the
following methods:
Internet: https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/ or www.dnr.wa.gov/non-project-actions.
Upon Request: You may call Tim Romanski, at 360-753-5823,
or Heidi Tate, WDNR, 360-902-1662 to request alternative formats of the
documents, or to make an appointment to inspect the documents during
normal business hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington
Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Dr. SE, Suite 102, Lacey, WA
98503 or Washington Department of Natural Resources, SEPA Center, 1111
Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504-7015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Romanski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES);
telephone: 360-753-5823; email: Tim_Romanski@fws.gov. Hearing or speech
impaired individuals may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339
for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the availability of a final environmental impact
statement (FEIS) addressing the Washington Department of Natural
Resources' (the applicant's) proposed amendments to their Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP). The applicant is seeking an amendment to their
incidental take permit (ITP) authorizing take of marbled murrelet
(Brachyramphus marmoratus), listed as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If issued, the ITP would
authorize take of the marbled murrelet that may occur incidental to
forest management activities on 1.38 million acres of Washington State
trust lands managed by WDNR within the range of the marbled murrelet.
The original ITP also authorized take of several other species,
including the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) and the
bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus); no changes to the take
authorization for these species have been requested.
The proposed HCP amendment describes the anticipated amount of take
of the marbled murrelet, and the steps the applicant will implement to
minimize and mitigate the impacts of that taking. The HCP amendment
also describes the life history and ecology of the marbled murrelet,
the impact of the anticipated taking on affected murrelet populations,
adaptive management procedures, and take monitoring procedures.
The Service prepared the FEIS in response to an ITP application
from WDNR. The Service considered comments received on the draft
environmental impact statement (DEIS), and a revised draft
environmental impact statement (RDEIS), in accordance with the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Background
The marbled murrelet, a seabird, was listed as threatened in 1992
under the ESA. In 1996, the WDNR released its draft HCP addressing the
conservation of multiple fish and wildlife species, including the
marbled murrelet, and forest management activities on 1.6 million acres
of forested State Trust lands within the range of the northern spotted
owl in Washington.
A DEIS, dated March 1996, was jointly developed by the Service, the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the WDNR to address the
issuance of two proposed ITPs (one by the Service and one by NMFS) for
the HCP, and was announced in the Federal Register on April 5, 1996 (61
FR 15297). The 1996 DEIS analyzed a reasonable range of alternatives,
including the HCP, for forest management activities on forested State
Trust lands that would be covered by the ITPs. A notice of availability
for the FEIS was published in the Federal Register on November 1, 1996
(61 FR 56563). On January 30, 1997, the Service issued its ITP (Permit
No. 812521) for the WDNR HCP. The Service's ITP decision and the
availability of related decision documents were announced in the
Federal Register on February 27, 1997 (62 FR 8980).
The WDNR HCP commits the WDNR to developing a long-term
conservation strategy (LTCS). At the time the HCP was being developed,
the Service and WDNR determined that producing an LTCS was not yet
possible because of the lack of scientific information about the
marbled murrelet and its relationship to State Trust lands. For this
reason, the WDNR developed an interim conservation strategy for the
marbled murrelet, which is currently being implemented. Briefly,
pursuant to the interim marbled murrelet conservation strategy: (1)
Suitable murrelet habitat blocks were identified and deferred from
harvest; (2) a habitat relationship study was conducted using marbled
murrelet occupancy surveys to determine the relative importance and
quality of occupied habitats; (3) the lowest quality habitat blocks
were made available for timber harvest (these were expected to contain
about 5 percent of the marbled murrelet occupied sites on covered
lands); (4) the higher quality habitat blocks were surveyed for marbled
murrelet occupancy, and occupied (along with some unoccupied) habitats
were protected; and (5) the WDNR developed an LTCS for WDNR lands. The
HCP and ITP amendment process is the final step in considering and
potentially approving implementation of a LTCS.
If approved, the LTCS is expected to be in place for the remainder
of the permit term, until January 2067. Additionally, the term of the
ITP may be extended up to three times. Each extension would be for an
additional 10-year term.
[[Page 51173]]
Endangered Species Act
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit
``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered. 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. 1538). Under section 10(a) of the ESA,
the Service may issue permits to authorize incidental take of 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. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains
provisions for issuing ITPs to non-Federal entities for the take of
endangered and threatened species, provided the following criteria are
met:
1. The taking will be incidental;
2. The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
4. The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
5. The applicant will carry out any other measures that the Service
may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the
HCP.
National Environmental Policy Act
The proposed amendment of the WDNR ITP and the 1997 WDNR HCP to
cover a marbled murrelet LTCS is a Federal action that triggers the
need for compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The Service and
WDNR have jointly developed the FEIS for the purpose of analyzing the
impacts of the LTCS on the human environment for the different
alternatives. The FEIS analyzes the Service's and WDNR's preferred
alternative, six additional alternatives, and a no action alternative.
WDNR manages approximately 1.38 million acres within 55 miles of
marine waters, which is the known inland limit of the nesting range for
the marbled murrelet. The alternatives in the FEIS would all occur
within this area. The alternatives represent a reasonable range of
approaches to long-term marbled murrelet habitat conservation on WDNR
lands. The alternatives differ in the amount and location of WDNR-
managed forest land designated for long-term conservation of the
murrelet, and also include a variety of conservation measures proposed
to protect marbled murrelet habitat. The alternatives also differ in
the amount and quality of marbled murrelet habitat that will be removed
through timber harvest. The alternatives are discussed in detail in the
FEIS.
Public Involvement
A Federal Register notice of intent (77 FR 23743) to conduct public
scoping meetings and to prepare an EIS for WDNR's LTCS was published on
April 20, 2012. Four public information meetings were held in Olympia,
Sedro-Wooly, Cathlamet, and Forks, Washington.
A Federal Register notice of availability (81 FR 89135) for the
DEIS was published with a 90-day comment period on December 9, 2016.
The 2016 DEIS did not specify a preferred alternative. Four public
information meetings were held on the DEIS in Sedro-Wolley, Seattle,
Port Angeles, and Cathlamet, Washington.
In 2017, the WDNR selected a preferred alternative based on
direction from the Washington Board of Natural Resources and public
comments received on the DEIS. This action necessitated the development
of a revised DEIS (RDEIS). A Federal Register notice of availability
(83 FR 45458) for the RDEIS for the LTCS was published for a 60-day
comment period on September 7, 2018. Four public information meetings
were held in Ballard, Burlington, Cathlamet, and Forks, Washington. A
Federal Register notice (83 FR 55394) was published on November 5,
2018, notifying the public the Service was extending the comment period
on the RDEIS for 30 additional days.
EPA's Role in the EIS Process
The EPA is charged with reviewing all Federal agencies' EISs and
commenting on the adequacy and acceptability of the environmental
impacts of proposed actions in EISs. Therefore, EPA is publishing a
notice in the Federal Register announcing this EIS, as required under
section 309 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401). EPA's notices are
published on Fridays. EPA serves as the repository (EIS database) for
EISs prepared by Federal agencies. All EISs must be filed with EPA. You
may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs themselves, at
https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit amendment application,
associated documents, and public comments in reaching a final decision
on whether the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of
the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We will evaluate whether the proposed
permit action 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 or not to issue an ITP amendment. If ESA
section 10 ITP issuance criteria are met, we will issue the ITP
amendment to the applicant. We will issue a ROD and issue or deny the
ITP no sooner than 30 days after publication of the EPA's notice of
availability of the FEIS in the Federal Register.
Public Review
We are not requesting public comments on the FEIS and HCP
amendment, but any written comments received will become part of the
public record associated with this action. Before including your
address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
publicly available at any time. While you can request in your comment
that we withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 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.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22
and 17.32) and NEPA and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Robyn Thorson,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-20903 Filed 9-26-19; 8:45 am]
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