Draft Environmental Assessment for the Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for Fishers in the Klamath, Cascade, and Sierra Nevada Mountains, 10885-10887 [2016-04550]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2016 / Notices
and explain the basis for your
comments. Include sufficient
information with your comments to
allow us to authenticate any scientific or
commercial data you include.
The comments and recommendations
that will be most useful and likely to
influence agency decisions are: (1)
Those supported by quantitative
information or studies; and (2) Those
that include citations to, and analyses
of, the applicable laws and regulations.
We will not consider or include in our
administrative record comments we
receive after the close of the comment
period (see DATES) or comments
delivered to an address other than those
listed above (see ADDRESSES).
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
B. May I review comments submitted by
others?
Comments, including names and
street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the street
address listed under ADDRESSES. The
public may review documents and other
information applicants have sent in
support of the application unless our
allowing viewing would violate the
Privacy Act or Freedom of Information
Act. 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.
II. Background
To help us carry out our conservation
responsibilities for affected species, and
in consideration of section 10(a)(1)(A) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and
the Marine Mammal Protection Act of
1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et
seq.), along with Executive Order 13576,
‘‘Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and
Accountable Government,’’ and the
President’s Memorandum for the Heads
of Executive Departments and Agencies
of January 21, 2009—Transparency and
Open Government (74 FR 4685; January
26, 2009), which call on all Federal
agencies to promote openness and
transparency in Government by
disclosing information to the public, we
invite public comment on these permit
applications before final action is taken.
Under the MMPA, you may request a
hearing on any MMPA application
received. If you request a hearing, give
specific reasons why a hearing would be
appropriate. The holding of such a
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hearing is at the discretion of the
Service Director.
III. Permit Applications
A. Endangered Species
Applicant: Tonya Bryson, Winston, GA;
PRT–42334B
The applicant requests a captive-bred
wildlife registration under 50 CFR
17.21(g) for the following species to
enhance species propagation or
survival: Galapagos giant tortoise
(Chelonoidis nigra), Aquatic box turtle
(Terrapene coahuila), Bolson tortoise
(Gopherus flavomarginatus), and
spotted pond turtle (Geoclemys
hamiltonii). This notification covers
activities to be conducted by the
applicant over a 5-year period.
Applicant: Juliann Sweet, Scottsdale,
AZ; PRT–80172B
The applicant requests a captive-bred
wildlife registration under 50 CFR
17.21(g) for the following species to
enhance species propagation or
survival: Exuma Island iguana (Cyclura
cychlura figginsi). This notification
covers activities to be conducted by the
applicant over a 5-year period.
Applicant: The Austin Savanna,
Creedmoor, TX; PRT–10982A
The applicant requests an amendment
and renewal of their captive-bred
wildlife registration under 50 CFR
17.21(g) for the following species to
enhance species propagation or
survival: Galapagos giant tortoise
(Chelonoidis nigra), radiated tortoise,
(Astrochelys radiata), salmon-crested
cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), white
cockatoo (Cacatua alba), yellow-crested
cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea), bluethroated macaw (Ara glaucogularis),
ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), black
and white ruffed lemur (Varecia
variegata), red-ruffed lemur (Varecia
rubra), cottontop tamarin (Saguinus
oedipus), lar gibbon (Hylobates lar),
Southern white rhinoceros
(Ceratotherium simum simum), black
rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), Indian
rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis),
Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi),
Hartmann’s zebra (Equus zebra
hartmannae), Przewalski’s horse (Equus
przewalskii), Barasingha (Rucervus
duvaucelii), Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii),
bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus
pygargus), red lechwe (Kobus leche),
and slender-horned gazelle (Gazella
leptoceros). This notification covers
activities to be conducted by the
applicant over a 5-year period.
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10885
Applicant: Kenneth Morrill, Escalon,
CA; PRT–86976b
The applicant requests a permit to
import a sport-hunted trophy of one
male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus
pygargus) culled from a captive herd
maintained under the management
program of the Republic of South Africa,
for the purpose of enhancement of the
survival of the species.
B. Endangered Marine Mammals and
Marine Mammals
Applicant: Anthony Pagano, USGS/
Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK;
PRT–77245B
The applicant requests a permit to
take two captive-born polar bears (Ursus
maritimus) at Oregon Zoo by biological
sampling and fitting and removal of GPS
collars for the purpose of scientific
research on polar bears’ diet and
energetics. This notification covers
activities to be conducted by the
applicant for up to a 5-year period.
Concurrent with publishing this
notice in the Federal Register, we are
forwarding copies of the above
applications to the Marine Mammal
Commission and the Committee of
Scientific Advisors for their review.
Brenda Tapia,
Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch
of Permits, Division of Management
Authority.
[FR Doc. 2016–04565 Filed 3–1–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R8–2016–N019; FF08ESMF00–
FXES11120800000F2–167]
Draft Environmental Assessment for
the Candidate Conservation
Agreement With Assurances for
Fishers in the Klamath, Cascade, and
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and
request for comment; permit
application, draft environmental
assessment, and proposed candidate
conservation plan with assurances.
AGENCY:
We, the Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service), announce receipt of
an application from Sierra Pacific
Industries (SPI), a California forest
management and lumber manufacturing
company (applicant), for an
enhancement of survival permit (permit)
associated with a Candidate
Conservation Agreement with
SUMMARY:
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02MRN1
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10886
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2016 / Notices
Assurances (CCAA) covering the fisher
(Pekania pennanti). The Service has
prepared a draft Environmental
Assessment (EA) per the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for
the applicant’s permit application and
the proposed CCAA. If approved, the
permit would authorize incidental take
for the Federal candidate fisher within
the West Coast Distinct Population
Segment (DPS), during forestry
operations including commercial timber
harvesting on SPI’s property in 16
counties in California, if the fisher is
listed under the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended. We are requesting
comment on the permit application,
draft environmental assessment, and
proposed candidate conservation plan
with assurances.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please
send your written comments on or
before April 1, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You
may request a copy of the proposed
CCAA and draft EA by email, telephone,
fax, or U.S. mail (see below). These
documents are also available for public
inspection by appointment during
normal business hours at the office
below. Please send your requests or
comments by any one of the following
methods, and specify ‘‘SPI CCAA for
fishers’’ in your request or comment.
Submitting Comments: You may
submit comments or requests for copies
or more information by one of the
following methods:
• Email: yreka@fws.gov. Include ‘‘SPI
CCAA for fishers’’ in the subject line of
the message.
• Telephone: Robert Carey, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, (530) 841–3103.
• Fax: Robert Carey, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, (530) 842–4517, Attn:
SPI CCAA for fishers.
• U.S. mail: Robert Carey, Attn: SPI
CCAA for fishers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1829 S. Oregon Street, Yreka,
CA 96097.
• In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or
Pickup: Call (530) 841–3103 to make an
appointment during regular business
hours at the above address to view and
comment on the documents.
• Online: Documents will be posted
online at: https://www.fws.gov/yreka/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Carey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, (530) 841–3103 (telephone). If
you use a telecommunications device
for the deaf, please call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 800–877–
8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We
announce receipt of an application from
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), a forest
management and lumber manufacturing
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19:10 Mar 01, 2016
Jkt 238001
company (applicant), for an
enhancement of survival permit (permit)
associated with a Candidate
Conservation Agreement with
Assurances (CCAA) covering the fisher
(Pekania pennanti) for a period of 10
years. The Service has prepared a draft
Environmental Assessment (EA) per the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) for the applicant’s permit
application and the proposed CCAA. If
approved, the permit would authorize
incidental take for the Federal candidate
fisher within the West Coast Distinct
Population Segment (DPS) if the fisher
is listed under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), during forestry operations,
including commercial timber
harvesting, on SPI’s property in 16
California counties: Amador, Shasta, El
Dorado, Tehama, Nevada, Plumas,
Calaveras, Siskiyou, Modoc, Tuolumne,
Butte, Sierra, Lassen, Trinity, Placer,
and Yuba.
Introduction
We announce the availability of our
draft EA for the proposed SPI CCAA for
fishers in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.;
NEPA), and NEPA implementing
regulations in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1506.6, as
well as the availability of the applicant’s
section 10(a)(1)(A) permit application in
compliance with section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973,
as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
which requires notice of applications for
permits. The draft EA considers the
environmental effects associated with
issuing the applicant’s requested
enhancement of survival permit and
implementation of the proposed CCAA,
including impacts to the candidate
fisher (Pekani pennanti) within the
West Coast Distinct Population Segment
(DPS). Take of fishers would be
incidental to the applicant’s forestry
operations (29 CFR 780.215) and
support activities in 16 counties in
California.
Background
A Candidate Conservation Agreement
with Assurances is an agreement with
the Service in which private and other
non-Federal landowners voluntarily
agree to undertake management
activities and conservation efforts on
their properties to enhance, restore, or
maintain habitat to benefit species that
are proposed for listing under the Act,
that are candidates for listing, or that
may become candidates. These permits
encourage non-Federal property owners
to implement conservation measures for
species that are, or are likely to become,
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
candidates for Federal listing as
endangered or threatened by assuring
property owners they will not be
subjected to increased property use
restrictions if the covered species
becomes listed in the future.
Application requirements and issuance
criteria for permits for enhancement of
survival through CCAAs are in the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
17.22(d) and 17.32(d). See also our
policy on CCAAs (64 FR 32726; June 17,
1999).
Applicant’s Proposal
The applicant requests a 10-year
enhancement of survival permit under
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act, which is
accompanied by their CCAA. If we
approve the permit application, the
applicant anticipates taking fishers as a
result of forestry operations and support
activities primarily involving harvesting
and transporting timber periodically on
1,570,963 acres of land where fishers are
either known to occur or could
reasonably be expected to occur in the
future. Some forests owned by SPI are
used by fishers for breeding, feeding,
and sheltering. The take would be
incidental to the applicant’s routine
forestry operations and support
activities. The property is located in
portions of 16 counties in California,
generally occurring in rural regions but
with some residential development
intermingled with other privately
owned lands and publically owned
forests. Fishers use large home ranges
and are difficult to detect during
surveys. Without using telemetry or
other methods of marking and recording
fisher locations, home ranges are
impossible to delineate precisely. Where
fishers are known to occur within
proximity (3 miles) of SPI’s property,
the Service has determined that SPI’s
timber activities may incidentally take
fishers. Other federally listed species
that are known to occur on or near SPI
lands include northern spotted owls,
gray wolves, several amphibians, and
three anadromous salmonid runs
(Central Valley Steelhead, S. OregonNorthern California coho, and springrun Chinook salmon).
To enhance the survival of fishers on
the enrolled lands, the applicant
proposes to implement conservation
actions that limit the removal or
degradation of currently suitable fisher
habitat, maintain and recruit habitat
elements important to fishers, limit the
timing of operations to avoid activities
during the critical denning period,
remove or reduce threats associated
with the illegal use of toxic substances
by trespassers cultivating marijuana,
and reduce the risk of fishers drowning
E:\FR\FM\02MRN1.SGM
02MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 41 / Wednesday, March 2, 2016 / Notices
in water tanks. During the 10-year term
of the CCAA and ESP, the applicant
proposes to maintain on its property the
functional characteristic of fisher habitat
on roughly 80 percent of the 10,000 acre
polygons identified by the Service as
having the highest likelihood of
supporting a reproductive female fisher
and her offspring. The implementation
of the CCAA will be funded by SPI’s
general revenue.
The applicant proposes to continue
with their normal forestry operations,
which have been ongoing for several
decades and are guided by a long-term
management plan approved by the
California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection under the California
Forest Practice Rules (FPRs) at 14 CCR
913.1(a), 933.1(a), 953.1(a) (Option A
plan). This demonstration of Maximum
Sustained Production (MSP) of highquality timber products per the FPRs
specifies the amount of timber harvest
that will occur over a 100-year planning
horizon after accounting for constraints
associated with protecting non-timber
resources such as watershed, wildlife,
fisheries quality, and aesthetic values.
One of the conservation measures
proposed in the CCAA is to maintain
the harvest rate specified in the Option
A plan. Under that rate of harvest SPI
will keep approximately 50 percent (at
least 700,000 acres) of their enrolled
property in a mixed age condition.
Harvest scheduling will also be
constrained where necessary such that
43 of the 54 originally identified high
quality fisher areas maintain the
functional characteristics of fisher
habitat at the landscape scale over the
10-year CCAA. In each timber
harvesting unit, habitat elements such
as large old trees, defective trees, snags,
and hardwoods will be specifically
retained and recruited as detailed in the
CCAA. The implementation of these
conservation measures will be
monitored, and over time the
effectiveness of these measures for
providing functional fisher habitat will
be evaluated in adaptive manner
allowing for changes, if necessary to
achieve the conservation goals.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
We provide this notice under section
10(c) of the Act and Service regulations
for implementing NEPA. We have
prepared a draft EA for the proposed
action and have made it and the
applicant’s proposed CCAA available
for public inspection (see ADDRESSES).
NEPA requires that a range of
reasonable alternatives, including the
proposed action, be described. The draft
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EA analyzes three alternatives,
described below.
Proposed Action (Preferred Alternative)
We propose issuing an enhancement
of survival permit to the applicant, who
would implement the CCAA, described
above. If we approve the permit,
incidental take of fishers would be
authorized during the applicant’s
forestry operations and support
activities should the fisher become
listed. With this alternative, incidental
take would be reduced from the No
Action and Stirling Management area
alternative because under the CCAA SPI
would be required to reduce the
disturbance during the fisher breeding
season, maintain large blocks of mixed
age class forest, maintain functional
landscapes for fishers, retain and recruit
habitat elements that are important to
fishers, and monitor the implementation
and effectiveness of these measures for
conserving fishers throughout their
property, including the Stirling
Management Area.
No Action Alternative
The draft EA includes a No Action
alternative; the Service and SPI would
not enter into the CCAA and the
conservation measures would not be
implemented. Under the No Action
alternative, impacts to fishers would
likely continue at the current rate.
Under this alternative, SPI would
continue with their ongoing operations
guided by the California Forest Practice
Rules, other local, State and Federal
regulatory frameworks including the
ESA.
Excluding the SPI Stirling Management
Area From the CCAA Alternative
Under this alternative, SPI’s 159,966acre Stirling Management Area (SMA)
would be excluded from the CCAA. In
2005, in response to concerns over the
absence of fishers in portions of their
historical occupied range, the Service
and the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife (CDFW) began considering
translocation of fishers to reestablish
fishers in historically occupied areas.
The Service and SPI entered into a
CCAA and the Service issued an ESP
that would authorize SPI’s take of
fishers in the event the translocation
was successful and if the fisher is listed.
Between 2009 and 2011, 40 fishers were
translocated to the SMA. The Stirling
CCAA requires fewer conservation
measures than the proposed CCAA and
will expire on April 14, 2028. Under
Alternative 3 (excluding the SMA from
the proposed CCAA), the environmental
impacts from SPI’s forestry operations
and support activities would be
PO 00000
Frm 00061
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
10887
identical to those under the Proposed
Action; however, the SMA would be
managed under the previous CCAA
rather than the proposed CCAA.
Public Review
The Service invites the public to
comment on the permit application,
including the proposed CCAA and draft
EA, during the public comment period
(see DATES). If you wish to comment,
you may submit your comments via one
of the means listed in ADDRESSES. 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 may 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
Issuance of an enhancement of
survival permit is a Federal action
subject to compliance with NEPA. We
will evaluate the application, associated
documents, and any public comments
we receive 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 a
permit to the applicant for the
incidental take of fishers that becomes
effective if fishers are listed. We will not
make our final decision until after the
30-day public comment period ends.
Alexandra Pitts,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest
Region, Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 2016–04550 Filed 3–1–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[167A2100DD/AAKC001030/
A0A501010.999900 253G]
Indian Child Welfare Act; Designated
Tribal Agents for Service of Notice
Bureau of Indians Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The regulations implementing
the Indian Child Welfare Act provide
that Indian Tribes may designate an
agent other than the Tribal chairman for
service of notice of proceedings under
the Act. This notice includes the current
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\02MRN1.SGM
02MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10885-10887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04550]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-2016-N019; FF08ESMF00-FXES11120800000F2-167]
Draft Environmental Assessment for the Candidate Conservation
Agreement With Assurances for Fishers in the Klamath, Cascade, and
Sierra Nevada Mountains
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment; permit
application, draft environmental assessment, and proposed candidate
conservation plan with assurances.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), a California
forest management and lumber manufacturing company (applicant), for an
enhancement of survival permit (permit) associated with a Candidate
Conservation Agreement with
[[Page 10886]]
Assurances (CCAA) covering the fisher (Pekania pennanti). The Service
has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) per the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the applicant's permit application
and the proposed CCAA. If approved, the permit would authorize
incidental take for the Federal candidate fisher within the West Coast
Distinct Population Segment (DPS), during forestry operations including
commercial timber harvesting on SPI's property in 16 counties in
California, if the fisher is listed under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended. We are requesting comment on the permit application,
draft environmental assessment, and proposed candidate conservation
plan with assurances.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments on or
before April 1, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may request a copy of the proposed
CCAA and draft EA by email, telephone, fax, or U.S. mail (see below).
These documents are also available for public inspection by appointment
during normal business hours at the office below. Please send your
requests or comments by any one of the following methods, and specify
``SPI CCAA for fishers'' in your request or comment.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments or requests for copies
or more information by one of the following methods:
Email: yreka@fws.gov. Include ``SPI CCAA for fishers'' in
the subject line of the message.
Telephone: Robert Carey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
(530) 841-3103.
Fax: Robert Carey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (530)
842-4517, Attn: SPI CCAA for fishers.
U.S. mail: Robert Carey, Attn: SPI CCAA for fishers, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1829 S. Oregon Street, Yreka, CA 96097.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call (530) 841-
3103 to make an appointment during regular business hours at the above
address to view and comment on the documents.
Online: Documents will be posted online at: https://www.fws.gov/yreka/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Carey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, (530) 841-3103 (telephone). If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf, please call the Federal Information Relay Service
at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce receipt of an application from
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), a forest management and lumber
manufacturing company (applicant), for an enhancement of survival
permit (permit) associated with a Candidate Conservation Agreement with
Assurances (CCAA) covering the fisher (Pekania pennanti) for a period
of 10 years. The Service has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment
(EA) per the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the
applicant's permit application and the proposed CCAA. If approved, the
permit would authorize incidental take for the Federal candidate fisher
within the West Coast Distinct Population Segment (DPS) if the fisher
is listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), during forestry
operations, including commercial timber harvesting, on SPI's property
in 16 California counties: Amador, Shasta, El Dorado, Tehama, Nevada,
Plumas, Calaveras, Siskiyou, Modoc, Tuolumne, Butte, Sierra, Lassen,
Trinity, Placer, and Yuba.
Introduction
We announce the availability of our draft EA for the proposed SPI
CCAA for fishers in accordance with the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; NEPA), and NEPA
implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40
CFR 1506.6, as well as the availability of the applicant's section
10(a)(1)(A) permit application in compliance with section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), which requires notice of applications for permits. The draft EA
considers the environmental effects associated with issuing the
applicant's requested enhancement of survival permit and implementation
of the proposed CCAA, including impacts to the candidate fisher (Pekani
pennanti) within the West Coast Distinct Population Segment (DPS). Take
of fishers would be incidental to the applicant's forestry operations
(29 CFR 780.215) and support activities in 16 counties in California.
Background
A Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances is an agreement
with the Service in which private and other non-Federal landowners
voluntarily agree to undertake management activities and conservation
efforts on their properties to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat to
benefit species that are proposed for listing under the Act, that are
candidates for listing, or that may become candidates. These permits
encourage non-Federal property owners to implement conservation
measures for species that are, or are likely to become, candidates for
Federal listing as endangered or threatened by assuring property owners
they will not be subjected to increased property use restrictions if
the covered species becomes listed in the future. Application
requirements and issuance criteria for permits for enhancement of
survival through CCAAs are in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at
50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d). See also our policy on CCAAs (64 FR
32726; June 17, 1999).
Applicant's Proposal
The applicant requests a 10-year enhancement of survival permit
under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act, which is accompanied by their
CCAA. If we approve the permit application, the applicant anticipates
taking fishers as a result of forestry operations and support
activities primarily involving harvesting and transporting timber
periodically on 1,570,963 acres of land where fishers are either known
to occur or could reasonably be expected to occur in the future. Some
forests owned by SPI are used by fishers for breeding, feeding, and
sheltering. The take would be incidental to the applicant's routine
forestry operations and support activities. The property is located in
portions of 16 counties in California, generally occurring in rural
regions but with some residential development intermingled with other
privately owned lands and publically owned forests. Fishers use large
home ranges and are difficult to detect during surveys. Without using
telemetry or other methods of marking and recording fisher locations,
home ranges are impossible to delineate precisely. Where fishers are
known to occur within proximity (3 miles) of SPI's property, the
Service has determined that SPI's timber activities may incidentally
take fishers. Other federally listed species that are known to occur on
or near SPI lands include northern spotted owls, gray wolves, several
amphibians, and three anadromous salmonid runs (Central Valley
Steelhead, S. Oregon-Northern California coho, and spring-run Chinook
salmon).
To enhance the survival of fishers on the enrolled lands, the
applicant proposes to implement conservation actions that limit the
removal or degradation of currently suitable fisher habitat, maintain
and recruit habitat elements important to fishers, limit the timing of
operations to avoid activities during the critical denning period,
remove or reduce threats associated with the illegal use of toxic
substances by trespassers cultivating marijuana, and reduce the risk of
fishers drowning
[[Page 10887]]
in water tanks. During the 10-year term of the CCAA and ESP, the
applicant proposes to maintain on its property the functional
characteristic of fisher habitat on roughly 80 percent of the 10,000
acre polygons identified by the Service as having the highest
likelihood of supporting a reproductive female fisher and her
offspring. The implementation of the CCAA will be funded by SPI's
general revenue.
The applicant proposes to continue with their normal forestry
operations, which have been ongoing for several decades and are guided
by a long-term management plan approved by the California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection under the California Forest Practice Rules
(FPRs) at 14 CCR 913.1(a), 933.1(a), 953.1(a) (Option A plan). This
demonstration of Maximum Sustained Production (MSP) of high-quality
timber products per the FPRs specifies the amount of timber harvest
that will occur over a 100-year planning horizon after accounting for
constraints associated with protecting non-timber resources such as
watershed, wildlife, fisheries quality, and aesthetic values. One of
the conservation measures proposed in the CCAA is to maintain the
harvest rate specified in the Option A plan. Under that rate of harvest
SPI will keep approximately 50 percent (at least 700,000 acres) of
their enrolled property in a mixed age condition. Harvest scheduling
will also be constrained where necessary such that 43 of the 54
originally identified high quality fisher areas maintain the functional
characteristics of fisher habitat at the landscape scale over the 10-
year CCAA. In each timber harvesting unit, habitat elements such as
large old trees, defective trees, snags, and hardwoods will be
specifically retained and recruited as detailed in the CCAA. The
implementation of these conservation measures will be monitored, and
over time the effectiveness of these measures for providing functional
fisher habitat will be evaluated in adaptive manner allowing for
changes, if necessary to achieve the conservation goals.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and Service
regulations for implementing NEPA. We have prepared a draft EA for the
proposed action and have made it and the applicant's proposed CCAA
available for public inspection (see ADDRESSES). NEPA requires that a
range of reasonable alternatives, including the proposed action, be
described. The draft EA analyzes three alternatives, described below.
Proposed Action (Preferred Alternative)
We propose issuing an enhancement of survival permit to the
applicant, who would implement the CCAA, described above. If we approve
the permit, incidental take of fishers would be authorized during the
applicant's forestry operations and support activities should the
fisher become listed. With this alternative, incidental take would be
reduced from the No Action and Stirling Management area alternative
because under the CCAA SPI would be required to reduce the disturbance
during the fisher breeding season, maintain large blocks of mixed age
class forest, maintain functional landscapes for fishers, retain and
recruit habitat elements that are important to fishers, and monitor the
implementation and effectiveness of these measures for conserving
fishers throughout their property, including the Stirling Management
Area.
No Action Alternative
The draft EA includes a No Action alternative; the Service and SPI
would not enter into the CCAA and the conservation measures would not
be implemented. Under the No Action alternative, impacts to fishers
would likely continue at the current rate. Under this alternative, SPI
would continue with their ongoing operations guided by the California
Forest Practice Rules, other local, State and Federal regulatory
frameworks including the ESA.
Excluding the SPI Stirling Management Area From the CCAA Alternative
Under this alternative, SPI's 159,966-acre Stirling Management Area
(SMA) would be excluded from the CCAA. In 2005, in response to concerns
over the absence of fishers in portions of their historical occupied
range, the Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
(CDFW) began considering translocation of fishers to reestablish
fishers in historically occupied areas. The Service and SPI entered
into a CCAA and the Service issued an ESP that would authorize SPI's
take of fishers in the event the translocation was successful and if
the fisher is listed. Between 2009 and 2011, 40 fishers were
translocated to the SMA. The Stirling CCAA requires fewer conservation
measures than the proposed CCAA and will expire on April 14, 2028.
Under Alternative 3 (excluding the SMA from the proposed CCAA), the
environmental impacts from SPI's forestry operations and support
activities would be identical to those under the Proposed Action;
however, the SMA would be managed under the previous CCAA rather than
the proposed CCAA.
Public Review
The Service invites the public to comment on the permit
application, including the proposed CCAA and draft EA, during the
public comment period (see DATES). If you wish to comment, you may
submit your comments via one of the means listed in ADDRESSES. 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 may 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
Issuance of an enhancement of survival permit is a Federal action
subject to compliance with NEPA. We will evaluate the application,
associated documents, and any public comments we receive 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 a permit to the applicant for the incidental take of
fishers that becomes effective if fishers are listed. We will not make
our final decision until after the 30-day public comment period ends.
Alexandra Pitts,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 2016-04550 Filed 3-1-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
