Environmental Impact Statement for a Bison Management Plan, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 18929-18930 [2014-07349]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 65 / Friday, April 4, 2014 / Notices
office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone
number, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—might be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the permit
application, including the HCP, and
comments we receive to determine
whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act.
If the requirements are met, we will
issue a permit to the applicant for the
incidental take of the California redlegged frog from the implementation of
the covered activities described in the
Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan
for California Red-legged Frog, Level 1
New Vineyard, 24129 Turkey Road,
Sonoma County, California. We will
make the final permit decision no
sooner than 30 days after publication of
this notice in the Federal Register.
Authority
We publish this notice under the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347
et seq.; NEPA), and its implementing
regulations in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1500–1508,
as well as in compliance with section
10(c) of the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1531–1544 et seq.; Act).
Dated: March 31, 2014.
Jennifer M. Norris,
Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and
Wildlife Office, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 2014–07521 Filed 4–3–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
[NPS–IMR–GRCA–0014472; PPWONRADE2,
PMP00EI05.YP0000, 13XP103905]
Environmental Impact Statement for a
Bison Management Plan, Grand
Canyon National Park, Arizona
National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
AGENCY:
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17:37 Apr 03, 2014
Jkt 232001
Pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park
Service (NPS) is preparing an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for a plan to address the impacts of the
current abundance, distribution, and
movement of bison on the natural and
cultural resources of the North Rim of
Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA).
DATES: Interested individuals,
organizations, and agencies are
encouraged to provide written
comments regarding the scope of issues
to be addressed in the EIS. To be most
helpful to the planning process, the NPS
requests comments be submitted by
June 3, 2014. The NPS intends to hold
public scoping meetings on the Bison
Management Plan EIS during this period
and has tentatively identified the
following locations for the meetings:
Kanab, Utah; Flagstaff, Arizona, and
Phoenix, Arizona. Specific dates, times,
and locations will be made available via
a press release to local media, a public
scoping newsletter to be mailed or
emailed to interested parties, and on the
NPS’s Planning, Environment and
Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_
bison_eis. The NPS will provide
additional opportunities for the public
to offer written comments upon
publication of the draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: Information will be
available for public review online at
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_
bison_eis; in the NPS and USFS offices
at 1824 Thompson Street, Flagstaff,
Arizona 86001; the USFS North Kaibab
Ranger District offices at 430 South
Main Street, Fredonia, Arizona 86022;
and in the Arizona Game and Fish
Department offices at 3500 South Lake
Mary Road, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A herd of
bison was brought to the Grand Canyon
region in the early 1900’s as part of a
private bison-cattle breeding
experiment. The herd was eventually
sold to the state of Arizona in 1925 and
subsequently came under the
jurisdiction of the Arizona Game and
Fish Department (AGFD). In 1950, the
AGFD (through an agreement with the
U.S. Forest Service ((USFS)) established
the House Rock Wildlife Area (HRWA)
near GRCA as a place for the bison to
reside. The AGFD managed the herd at
a stable level (around 100 animals)
through annual roundups and culling
until the early 1970s, when they
transitioned to public hunting as the
sole means of managing the bison
population.
Between the late 1990’s and 2000,
fires in the area created opportunities
SUMMARY:
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Frm 00053
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18929
for the bison herd to move out of the
HRWA, onto the Kaibab Plateau of the
Kaibab National Forest, and into the
park. Initially, bison would return to the
HRWA to calve; however, over the past
eight years, very few have returned to
HRWA and most now spend a majority
of their time inside GRCA, with many
not leaving the park at all. In the last
few years, the abundance, distribution,
and movement of bison in and near the
park have affected the NPS’s ability to
conserve the natural and cultural
resources on the North Rim of GRCA. In
addition, the current situation limits the
ability of the AGFD and USFS to meet
their goal for managing a huntable, freeranging bison herd on the Kaibab
National Forest. Since 2008, a
workgroup consisting of staff from NPS
(GRCA), AGFD, and USFS, has
identified research needs and
administrative and operational
challenges of long-term cooperative
management. As the lead agency in this
planning and EIS process, the NPS has
invited the AGFD and the USFS to be
cooperating agencies. Ultimately, the
NPS selected action will provide the
basis for GRCA’s participation in a longterm, interagency approach to manage
the current and future impacts of bison
in the park, while supporting AGFD and
USFS goals for a free-ranging bison
population on the Kaibab National
Forest.
If you wish to comment during the
scoping process, you may use any one
of several methods. The preferred
method for submitting comments is on
the NPS PEPC Web site at https://
parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis.
You may also mail or hand-deliver your
comments to the Superintendent, Grand
Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129,
Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023.
Comments will also be accepted during
public meetings; however, comments in
any format (hard copy or electronic)
submitted on behalf of others will not be
accepted. 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 ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Martha Hahn, Grand Canyon National
Park Chief of Science and Resource
Management, P.O. Box 129, Grand
E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM
04APN1
18930
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 65 / Friday, April 4, 2014 / Notices
Canyon, AZ 86023, or by telephone at
(928) 638–7759.
Authority: The authority for publishing
this notice is contained in 40 CFR 1506.6.
The responsible official for this Notice
of Intent is the Regional Director,
Intermountain Region, NPS, 12795 West
Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado
80228.
Dated: February 4, 2014.
Sue E. Masica,
Regional Director, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 2014–07349 Filed 4–3–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–CB–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[MMAA104000]
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Gulf of
Mexico (GOM), Oil and Gas Lease
Sales, Western Planning Area (WPA)
Lease Sales 246 and 248
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare
a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and an Announcement
of Scoping Meetings and Comment
Period for Proposed Gulf of Mexico OCS
Oil and Gas Western Planning Area
Lease Sales 246 and 248.
AGENCY:
Consistent with the
regulations implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act, as amended
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA), BOEM
is announcing its intent to prepare a
Supplemental EIS for proposed Western
Planning Area (WPA) Lease Sales 246
and 248 in the Gulf of Mexico (WPA
246/248 Supplemental EIS). The WPA
246/248 Supplemental EIS will update
the environmental and socioeconomic
analyses in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil
and Gas Lease Sales: 2012–2017;
Western Planning Area Lease Sales 229,
233, 238, 246, and 248; Central
Planning Area Lease Sales 227, 231,
235, 241, and 247, Final Environmental
Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM
2012–019) (2012–2017 WPA/CPA
Multisale EIS), Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil
and Gas Lease Sales: 2013–2014;
Western Planning Area Lease Sale 233;
Central Planning Area Lease Sale 231,
Final Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM
2013–0118) (WPA 233/CPA 231
Supplemental EIS), and Gulf of Mexico
OCS Oil and Gas Lease Sales: 2014–
2016; Western Planning Area Lease
Sales 238, 246, and 248, Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (OCS EIS/EA BOEM 2014–
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SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:37 Apr 03, 2014
Jkt 232001
009) (WPA 238/246/248 Supplemental
EIS). The 2012–2017 WPA/CPA
Multisale EIS was completed in July
2012. The WPA 233/CPA 231
Supplemental EIS was completed in
April 2013. The WPA 238/246/248
Supplemental EIS was completed in
March 2014.
The WPA 246/248 Supplemental EIS
will supplement the NEPA documents
cited above for WPA lease sales in order
to consider new circumstances and
information arising from, among other
things, the Deepwater Horizon
explosion, oil spill, and response. The
WPA 246/248 Supplemental EIS
analysis will focus on updating the
baseline conditions and potential
environmental effects of oil and natural
gas leasing, exploration, development,
and production in the WPA.
The WPA 246/248 Supplemental EIS
analysis will also focus on the potential
environmental effects of oil and natural
gas leasing, exploration, development,
and production in the WPA identified
through the Area Identification
procedure as the proposed lease sale
area. In addition to the no action
alternative (i.e., canceling a proposed
lease sale), other alternatives may be
considered for the proposed WPA lease
sales, such as deferring certain areas
from the proposed lease sale area.
DATES: Comments should be submitted
by May 5, 2014 to the address specified
in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on the WPA 246/248
Supplemental EIS, the submission of
comments, or BOEM’s policies
associated with this notice, please
contact Mr. Gary D. Goeke, Chief,
Environmental Assessment Section,
Office of Environment (GM 623E),
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201
Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans,
LA 70123–2394, telephone (504) 736–
3233.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August
27, 2012, the Secretary of the Interior
approved the OCS Oil & Gas Leasing
Program: 2012–2017 (2012–2017 FiveYear Program). This Supplemental EIS
will consider the two remaining WPA
sales for this 2012–2017 Five-Year
Program. Proposed WPA Lease Sales
246 and 248 are tentatively scheduled to
be held in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
The proposed WPA lease sale area
encompasses virtually all of the WPA’s
28.58 million acres, with the exception
of whole and partial blocks within the
boundary of the Flower Garden Banks
National Marine Sanctuary.
This Federal Register notice is not an
announcement to hold a proposed lease
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
sale, but it is a continuation of
information gathering and is published
early in the environmental review
process, in furtherance of the goals of
NEPA. The comments received during
the scoping comment period will help
form the content of the WPA 246/248
Supplemental EIS and will be
summarized in presale documentation
prepared during the decision making
process for proposed WPA Lease Sale
246. If, after completion of the WPA
246/248 Supplemental EIS, the
Secretary of the Interior decides to hold
a lease sale, then the lease sale area
identified in the final Notice of Sale
may exclude or defer certain lease
blocks from the area offered. However,
for purposes of the WPA 246/248
Supplemental EIS and to adequately
assess the potential impacts of an
areawide lease sale, BOEM is assuming
that all unleased blocks may be offered
in proposed WPA Lease Sales 246 and
248.
In order to ensure a greater level of
transparency during the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)
stages and tiered NEPA processes of the
Five-Year Program, BOEM established
an alternative and mitigation tracking
table, which is designed to track the
receipt and treatment of alternative and
mitigation suggestions. Section 4.3.2 of
the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas
Leasing Program: 2012–2017; Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (the Five-Year Program EIS)
(https://www.boem.gov/5-Year/20122017/PEIS.aspx) presented a list of
deferral and alternative requests that
were received during the development
of the Five-Year Program EIS, but were
determined to be more appropriately
considered at subsequent OCSLA and
NEPA stages. The 2012–2017 WPA/CPA
Multisale EIS addressed these deferral
and alternative requests, but they were
ultimately deemed inappropriate for
further analysis as separate alternatives
or deferrals from those already included
and considered in the 2012–2017 WPA/
CPA Multisale EIS. In this and future
NEPA analyses, BOEM will continue to
evaluate whether these or other deferral
or alternative requests warrant
additional consideration as appropriate.
(Please refer to Chapter 2.2.1.2 of the
2012–2017 WPA/CPA Multisale EIS for
a complete discussion; https://
www.boem.gov/EnvironmentalStewardship/EnvironmentalAssessment/NEPA/BOEM-2012-019_
v1.aspx.) A key principle at each stage
in the NEPA process is to identify how
the recommendations for deferral and
mitigation requests are being addressed
and whether new information or
E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18929-18930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07349]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-IMR-GRCA-0014472; PPWONRADE2, PMP00EI05.YP0000, 13XP103905]
Environmental Impact Statement for a Bison Management Plan, Grand
Canyon National Park, Arizona
AGENCY: National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C), the National Park Service (NPS) is preparing an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a plan to address the impacts
of the current abundance, distribution, and movement of bison on the
natural and cultural resources of the North Rim of Grand Canyon
National Park (GRCA).
DATES: Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are
encouraged to provide written comments regarding the scope of issues to
be addressed in the EIS. To be most helpful to the planning process,
the NPS requests comments be submitted by June 3, 2014. The NPS intends
to hold public scoping meetings on the Bison Management Plan EIS during
this period and has tentatively identified the following locations for
the meetings: Kanab, Utah; Flagstaff, Arizona, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Specific dates, times, and locations will be made available via a press
release to local media, a public scoping newsletter to be mailed or
emailed to interested parties, and on the NPS's Planning, Environment
and Public Comment (PEPC) Web site at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis. The NPS will provide additional opportunities for the
public to offer written comments upon publication of the draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review online at
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis; in the NPS and USFS
offices at 1824 Thompson Street, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001; the USFS
North Kaibab Ranger District offices at 430 South Main Street,
Fredonia, Arizona 86022; and in the Arizona Game and Fish Department
offices at 3500 South Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A herd of bison was brought to the Grand
Canyon region in the early 1900's as part of a private bison-cattle
breeding experiment. The herd was eventually sold to the state of
Arizona in 1925 and subsequently came under the jurisdiction of the
Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD). In 1950, the AGFD (through an
agreement with the U.S. Forest Service ((USFS)) established the House
Rock Wildlife Area (HRWA) near GRCA as a place for the bison to reside.
The AGFD managed the herd at a stable level (around 100 animals)
through annual roundups and culling until the early 1970s, when they
transitioned to public hunting as the sole means of managing the bison
population.
Between the late 1990's and 2000, fires in the area created
opportunities for the bison herd to move out of the HRWA, onto the
Kaibab Plateau of the Kaibab National Forest, and into the park.
Initially, bison would return to the HRWA to calve; however, over the
past eight years, very few have returned to HRWA and most now spend a
majority of their time inside GRCA, with many not leaving the park at
all. In the last few years, the abundance, distribution, and movement
of bison in and near the park have affected the NPS's ability to
conserve the natural and cultural resources on the North Rim of GRCA.
In addition, the current situation limits the ability of the AGFD and
USFS to meet their goal for managing a huntable, free-ranging bison
herd on the Kaibab National Forest. Since 2008, a workgroup consisting
of staff from NPS (GRCA), AGFD, and USFS, has identified research needs
and administrative and operational challenges of long-term cooperative
management. As the lead agency in this planning and EIS process, the
NPS has invited the AGFD and the USFS to be cooperating agencies.
Ultimately, the NPS selected action will provide the basis for GRCA's
participation in a long-term, interagency approach to manage the
current and future impacts of bison in the park, while supporting AGFD
and USFS goals for a free-ranging bison population on the Kaibab
National Forest.
If you wish to comment during the scoping process, you may use any
one of several methods. The preferred method for submitting comments is
on the NPS PEPC Web site at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/grca_bison_eis. You may also mail or hand-deliver your comments to the
Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon,
Arizona 86023. Comments will also be accepted during public meetings;
however, comments in any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on
behalf of others will not be accepted. 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 ask us in your comment to withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Hahn, Grand Canyon National
Park Chief of Science and Resource Management, P.O. Box 129, Grand
[[Page 18930]]
Canyon, AZ 86023, or by telephone at (928) 638-7759.
Authority: The authority for publishing this notice is contained
in 40 CFR 1506.6.
The responsible official for this Notice of Intent is the Regional
Director, Intermountain Region, NPS, 12795 West Alameda Parkway,
Lakewood, Colorado 80228.
Dated: February 4, 2014.
Sue E. Masica,
Regional Director, Intermountain Region.
[FR Doc. 2014-07349 Filed 4-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-CB-P