Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an Application for Amendment to an Incidental Take Permit for the Green Diamond Resource Company Habitat Conservation Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl, Del Norte and Humboldt Counties, CA, 8393-8394 [E7-3176]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Notices
Health, Building 45, Room 2AS25, 45
Center Drive, MSC 6200, Bethesda,
Maryland 20892–6200; 301–594–0943;
greenbej@nigms.nih.gov.
Dated: February 16, 2007.
Jeremy M. Berg,
Director, National Institute of General
Medical Sciences, National Institutes of
Health.
[FR Doc. E7–3152 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am]
Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata,
California 95521. You also may send
comments by facsimile to 707–822–
8411.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Gary Falxa, [see ADDRESSES] or call 707–
822–7201.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and
receipt of application.
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of these
documents for review by contacting the
above office. Documents also will be
available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business
hours at the Arcata Fish and Wildlife
Office [see ADDRESSES] and at each of
the following libraries:
(1) Eureka Main Library, 1313 3rd
Street, Eureka, CA; telephone: 707–269–
1900.
(2) Fortuna Branch, Humboldt County
Library, 775 14th Street, Fortuna, CA;
telephone: 707–725–3460.
(3) Arcata Branch, Humboldt County
Library, 500 7th Street, Arcata, CA;
telephone: 707–822–5924.
(4) Del Norte County Library, 190
Price Mall, Crescent City, CA;
telephone: 707–464–9793.
SUMMARY: Green Diamond Resource
Company (Green Diamond) (previously
Simpson Timber Company) has applied
to the Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) to amend its existing
incidental take permit (ITP) for the
federally threatened northern spotted
owl (Strix occidentalis caurina; ‘‘NSO’’).
The existing ITP was issued in 1992, in
association with a Habitat Conservation
Plan (Plan) and Implementation
Agreement (IA), pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species
Act (Act) of 1973, as amended.
The proposed ITP amendment would
authorize the take of eight additional
owl pairs on Green Diamond’s
ownership in Humboldt and Del Norte
counties, California. These additional
takes would be authorized during the
existing permit term expiring in 2022,
and would provide Green Diamond
operational flexibility while they and
the Service further consider and
evaluate the findings of a 10-year,
comprehensive Plan review.
The application for permit
amendment includes proposed
amendments to the existing IA and Plan,
which describe the proposed action and
the measures that Green Diamond will
undertake to minimize and mitigate take
of the NSO.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before April 27, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Ms. Amedee Brickey, ES Program
Background
Section 9 of the Act and Federal
regulations prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of fish
and wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take of
federally listed fish and wildlife is
defined under the Act to include
‘‘harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or
to attempt to engage in any such
conduct.’’ The Service may, under
limited circumstances, issue permits to
authorize incidental take (i.e., take that
is incidental to, and not the purpose of,
the carrying out of an otherwise lawful
activity). Regulations governing
incidental take permits for threatened
and endangered species are found in 50
CFR 17.32 and 17.22.
On September 17, 1992, the Service
issued an ITP to the Applicant
authorizing take of up to 50 NSO pairs
in accordance with conditions set forth
in the Plan and an IA. The ITP was
issued in response to a permit
application with an associated Habitat
Conservation Plan for timber harvesting
on the firm’s properties in Del Norte,
Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity
counties, California. The effects of the
proposed ITP were analyzed and
described in an Environmental
Assessment (EA) prepared and issued
by the Service (Notice of Availability,
Federal Register, May 27, 1992).
Green Diamond is proposing to
amend its ITP to authorize take of up to
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of an
Environmental Assessment and
Receipt of an Application for
Amendment to an Incidental Take
Permit for the Green Diamond
Resource Company Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Northern
Spotted Owl, Del Norte and Humboldt
Counties, CA
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AGENCY:
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8393
eight additional NSO pairs on that part
of its ownership, currently about
416,533 acres, on the west slopes of the
Klamath Mountains and the Coast Range
in Humboldt and Del Norte counties,
California. The Applicant anticipates
that these takes would be in the form of
displacement of NSO pairs, incidental
to timber harvest activities in or near
NSO nest sites or activity centers.
To mitigate take of eight additional
owl pairs, Green Diamond proposes, in
addition to measures in the existing
Plan, to conduct new research on the
habitat overlap and interaction between
the NSO and barred owl (Strix varia),
and to re-establish, through year 2012,
a special management area of about
20,310 acres on its ownership, within
which Green Diamond would not take
owls.
The Service’s EA considers the
environmental consequences of three
alternatives, including: (1) The
Proposed Project Alternative, which
consists of issuance of an amended ITP
and implementation of the additional
Plan measures; (2) an alternative that
provides for the take of eight additional
owl pairs (similar to the Proposed
Action), plus release for harvest entry of
three set-aside areas that are otherwise
not available for timber harvest during
the term of the ITP; and (3) the No
Action Alternative, which provides for
continued implementation of measures
contained in the existing Plan and
associated IA, and the level of
incidental take authorized in the
existing 1992 ITP.
National Environmental Policy Act
Proposed permit issuance triggers the
need for compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Accordingly, as the NEPA lead agency,
the Service is providing this notice of
the availability and is making the EA
available for public review.
Public Review
The Service invites the public to
review the EA and amendments to the
Plan and IA during a 60-day public
comment period [see DATES]. Written
comments from interested parties are
welcome to ensure that the issues of
public concern related to the proposed
action are identified. Comments and
materials received will be available for
public inspection, by appointment,
during normal business hours at the
office listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice. All materials received will
become part of the administrative
record. Our practice is to make
comments, including names, home
addresses, home phone numbers, and
email addresses of respondents,
E:\FR\FM\26FEN1.SGM
26FEN1
8394
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Notices
available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we
withhold their names and/or homes
addresses, etc., but if you wish us to
consider withholding this information
you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comments. In
addition, you must present a rationale
for withholding this information. This
rationale must demonstrate that
disclosure would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of privacy.
Unsupported assertions will not meet
this burden. In the absence of
exceptional, documentable
circumstances, this information will be
released. We will always make
submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives of or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
This notice is provided pursuant to
section 10(a) of the Act and the
regulations for implementing NEPA, as
amended (40 CFR 1506.6). We will
evaluate the application, associated
documents, and comments submitted
thereon to determine whether the
application meets the requirements of
NEPA regulations and section 10(a) of
the Act. If we determine that those
requirements are met, we will issue an
amended permit to the Green Diamond.
We will make our final permit decision
no sooner than 60 days from the date of
this notice.
Dated: February 20, 2007.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada
Operations Office, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. E7–3176 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Multistate Conservation Grant
Program; Priority List for Conservation
Projects
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Department of the Interior.
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AGENCY:
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Jkt 211001
ACTION:
Notice of receipt of priority list.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the
FY 2007 priority list of wildlife and
sport fish conservation projects from the
Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies (AFWA). As required by the
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration
Programs Improvement Act of 2000,
each year AFWA submits a list of
projects to us for consideration of
funding by the Multistate Conservation
Grant Program. We then review and
award grants from this list.
ADDRESSES: John C. Stremple, Multistate
Conservation Grants Program
Coordinator, Division of Federal
Assistance, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mail
Stop MBSP–4020, Arlington, Virginia
22203.
John
C. Stremple, (703) 358–2156 (phone) or
John_Stremple@fws.gov (e-mail).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration
Programs Improvement Act of 2000
(Improvement Act, Pub. L. 106–408)
amended the Pittman-Robertson
Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669
et seq.) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport
Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et
seq.) and established the Multistate
Conservation Grant Program. The
Improvement Act authorizes us to
award grants of up to $3 million
annually from funds available under
each of the Restoration Acts, for a total
of up to $6 million annually. We may
award grants from a list of priority
projects recommended to us by AFWA.
The FWS Director, exercising the
authority of the Secretary of the Interior,
need not fund all AFWA-recommended
projects, but may fund recommended
projects on the list only.
Grantees under this program may use
funds for sport fisheries and wildlife
management and research projects,
boating access development, hunter
safety and education, aquatic education,
fish and wildlife habitat improvements
and other purposes consistent with the
enabling legislation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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To be eligible for funding, a project
must benefit fish and/or wildlife
conservation in at least 26 States, or in
a majority of the States in any one FWS
region, or it must benefit a regional
association of State fish and wildlife
agencies. We may award grants to a
State, a group of States, or one or more
nongovernmental organizations. For the
purpose of carrying out the National
Survey of Fishing, Hunting and
Wildlife-Associated Recreation, we may
award grants to the FWS, if requested by
AFWA, or to a State or a group of States.
Also, AFWA requires all project
proposals to address its National
Conservation Needs, which are
announced annually by AFWA at the
same time as its request for proposals.
Further, applicants must provide
certification that no activities conducted
under a Multistate Conservation Grant
will promote or encourage opposition to
the regulated hunting or trapping of
wildlife or to the regulated angling for
or taking of fish.
Eligible project proposals are
reviewed and ranked by AFWA
Committees and interested
nongovernmental organizations that
represent conservation organizations,
sportsmen’s organizations, and
industries that support or promote
fishing, hunting, trapping, recreational
shooting, bow hunting, or archery.
AFWA’s Committee on National Grants
recommends a final list of priority
projects to the directors of State fish and
wildlife agencies for their approval by
majority vote. By statute, AFWA then
must transmit the final, approved list to
the FWS for funding under the
Multistate Conservation Grant Program
by October 1.
This year, we received a list of 11
recommended projects. They are
recommended for funding in 2007,
contingent on the Multistate
Conservation Grant Program receiving
additional funds as specified in the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and
Efficient Transportation Equity Act of
2005 (Pub. L. 109–059) passed in
August 2005. AFWA’s recommended
list follows:
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 37 (Monday, February 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8393-8394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3176]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt
of an Application for Amendment to an Incidental Take Permit for the
Green Diamond Resource Company Habitat Conservation Plan for the
Northern Spotted Owl, Del Norte and Humboldt Counties, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Green Diamond Resource Company (Green Diamond) (previously
Simpson Timber Company) has applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) to amend its existing incidental take permit (ITP) for the
federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina;
``NSO''). The existing ITP was issued in 1992, in association with a
Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) and Implementation Agreement (IA),
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of
1973, as amended.
The proposed ITP amendment would authorize the take of eight
additional owl pairs on Green Diamond's ownership in Humboldt and Del
Norte counties, California. These additional takes would be authorized
during the existing permit term expiring in 2022, and would provide
Green Diamond operational flexibility while they and the Service
further consider and evaluate the findings of a 10-year, comprehensive
Plan review.
The application for permit amendment includes proposed amendments
to the existing IA and Plan, which describe the proposed action and the
measures that Green Diamond will undertake to minimize and mitigate
take of the NSO.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 27, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Ms. Amedee Brickey, ES Program
Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata,
California 95521. You also may send comments by facsimile to 707-822-
8411.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gary Falxa, [see ADDRESSES] or
call 707-822-7201.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of these documents for review by contacting
the above office. Documents also will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the Arcata
Fish and Wildlife Office [see ADDRESSES] and at each of the following
libraries:
(1) Eureka Main Library, 1313 3rd Street, Eureka, CA; telephone:
707-269-1900.
(2) Fortuna Branch, Humboldt County Library, 775 14th Street,
Fortuna, CA; telephone: 707-725-3460.
(3) Arcata Branch, Humboldt County Library, 500 7th Street, Arcata,
CA; telephone: 707-822-5924.
(4) Del Norte County Library, 190 Price Mall, Crescent City, CA;
telephone: 707-464-9793.
Background
Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take''
of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. Take
of federally listed fish and wildlife is defined under the Act to
include ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.'' The
Service may, under limited circumstances, issue permits to authorize
incidental take (i.e., take that is incidental to, and not the purpose
of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity). Regulations
governing incidental take permits for threatened and endangered species
are found in 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22.
On September 17, 1992, the Service issued an ITP to the Applicant
authorizing take of up to 50 NSO pairs in accordance with conditions
set forth in the Plan and an IA. The ITP was issued in response to a
permit application with an associated Habitat Conservation Plan for
timber harvesting on the firm's properties in Del Norte, Humboldt,
Mendocino, and Trinity counties, California. The effects of the
proposed ITP were analyzed and described in an Environmental Assessment
(EA) prepared and issued by the Service (Notice of Availability,
Federal Register, May 27, 1992).
Green Diamond is proposing to amend its ITP to authorize take of up
to eight additional NSO pairs on that part of its ownership, currently
about 416,533 acres, on the west slopes of the Klamath Mountains and
the Coast Range in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, California. The
Applicant anticipates that these takes would be in the form of
displacement of NSO pairs, incidental to timber harvest activities in
or near NSO nest sites or activity centers.
To mitigate take of eight additional owl pairs, Green Diamond
proposes, in addition to measures in the existing Plan, to conduct new
research on the habitat overlap and interaction between the NSO and
barred owl (Strix varia), and to re-establish, through year 2012, a
special management area of about 20,310 acres on its ownership, within
which Green Diamond would not take owls.
The Service's EA considers the environmental consequences of three
alternatives, including: (1) The Proposed Project Alternative, which
consists of issuance of an amended ITP and implementation of the
additional Plan measures; (2) an alternative that provides for the take
of eight additional owl pairs (similar to the Proposed Action), plus
release for harvest entry of three set-aside areas that are otherwise
not available for timber harvest during the term of the ITP; and (3)
the No Action Alternative, which provides for continued implementation
of measures contained in the existing Plan and associated IA, and the
level of incidental take authorized in the existing 1992 ITP.
National Environmental Policy Act
Proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Accordingly, as the NEPA lead
agency, the Service is providing this notice of the availability and is
making the EA available for public review.
Public Review
The Service invites the public to review the EA and amendments to
the Plan and IA during a 60-day public comment period [see DATES].
Written comments from interested parties are welcome to ensure that the
issues of public concern related to the proposed action are identified.
Comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the office
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. All materials received
will become part of the administrative record. Our practice is to make
comments, including names, home addresses, home phone numbers, and
email addresses of respondents,
[[Page 8394]]
available for public review. Individual respondents may request that we
withhold their names and/or homes addresses, etc., but if you wish us
to consider withholding this information you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your comments. In addition, you must
present a rationale for withholding this information. This rationale
must demonstrate that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of privacy. Unsupported assertions will not meet this burden.
In the absence of exceptional, documentable circumstances, this
information will be released. We will always make submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives of or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the Act and
the regulations for implementing NEPA, as amended (40 CFR 1506.6). We
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of NEPA regulations and section 10(a) of the Act. If we
determine that those requirements are met, we will issue an amended
permit to the Green Diamond. We will make our final permit decision no
sooner than 60 days from the date of this notice.
Dated: February 20, 2007.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. E7-3176 Filed 2-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
