Oregon Department of Forestry; Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for the Northern Spotted Owl and Draft Environmental Assessment, 15116-15119 [2016-06276]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15116-15119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06276]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2016-N023; FXES11120100000-167-FF01E00000]


Oregon Department of Forestry; Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for 
the Northern Spotted Owl and Draft Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from the Oregon Department of Forestry for an 
Endangered Species Act (ESA) Enhancement of Survival Permit (Permit) 
for take of the federally threatened northern spotted owl. The Permit 
application includes a draft Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) addressing 
Service access to Oregon Department of Forestry lands for the survey 
and removal of barred owls as part of the Service's Barred Owl Removal 
Experiment (Experiment) in Lane County, Oregon. In response to the 
permit application, the Service has prepared a draft Environmental

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Assessment (EA) addressing the permit action. We are making the Permit 
application, including the draft SHA and the draft EA, available for 
public review and comment.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received from 
interested parties by April 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments, 
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information 
request or comments are in reference to the Oregon Department of 
Forestry draft SHA and draft EA.
     Internet: Documents may be viewed and downloaded on the 
Internet at https://www.fws.gov/ofwo/.
     Email: barredowlsha@fws.gov. Include ``Oregon Department 
of Forestry SHA'' in the subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: Betsy Glenn; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office; 2600 SE. 98th Ave., Suite 100; 
Portland, OR 97266.
     Fax: 503-231-6195.
     In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call 503-231-6970 
to make an appointment (necessary for viewing or pickup only) during 
regular business hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Oregon 
Fish and Wildlife Office; 2600 SE. 98th Ave., Suite 100; Portland, OR 
97266. Written comments can be dropped off during regular business 
hours at the above address on or before the closing date of the public 
comment period (see DATES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betsy Glenn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (see ADDRESSES), telephone 503-231-6970. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Oregon Department of Forestry has 
applied to the Service for a Permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 
ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Permit application includes a draft 
SHA. The Service has drafted an EA addressing the effects of the 
proposed Permit action on the human environment.
    The SHA covers approximately 20,000 acres of forest lands 
administered by the Oregon Department of Forestry where timber 
management activities will occur within the treatment portion of the 
Oregon Coast Ranges Study Area of the Experiment in Lane County, 
Oregon. The SHA addresses timber management activities only in the 
treatment portion of the study area on Oregon Department of Forestry 
lands. Impacts to spotted owl associated with the Experiment in non-
treatment portions of the Study Area are addressed in the environmental 
review for the Experiment (USFWS 2015). The proposed term of the permit 
and the SHA is 13 years. In return for permission to access their lands 
for barred owl surveys and removal in support of the Experiment, the 
Permit would authorize take of the threatened northern spotted owl 
(Strix occidentalis caurina) during the term of the Permit caused by 
forest management activities at sites managed by the Department that 
may be re-occupied by spotted owls as a result of barred owl removal.

Background

    Under a SHA, participating landowners undertake activities on their 
property to benefit species listed under the ESA. SHAs and their 
associated permits are intended to encourage private and other non-
Federal property owners to implement conservation actions for federally 
listed species by assuring the landowners that they will not be 
subjected to increased property use restrictions as a result of their 
conservation efforts. SHAs must provide a net conservation benefit for 
the covered species.
    The assurances provided under a SHA and its associated permit allow 
the property owner to alter or modify the enrolled property to agreed-
upon baseline conditions, even if such alteration or modification 
results in the incidental take of a listed species. The baseline 
conditions represent the existing levels of use of the property by the 
species covered in the SHA. The SHA assurances are contingent on the 
property owner complying with obligations in the SHA and the terms and 
conditions of the Permit. The SHA's net conservation benefits must be 
sufficient to contribute, either directly or indirectly, to the 
recovery of the covered listed species.
    Permit application requirements and issuance criteria for SHAs are 
found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(c). The 
Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717, June 17, 1999) and the Safe 
Harbor Regulations (68 FR 53320, September 10, 2003; and 69 FR 24084, 
May 3, 2004) are available at https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/regulations-and-policies.html.

Oregon Department of Forestry Safe Harbor Agreement

    The proposed Oregon Department of Forestry SHA addresses Service 
access to lands administered by the Department in support of 
implementing the Experiment (USFWS 2013a) in the Oregon Coast Ranges 
Study Area in Lane County, Oregon.
    The SHA covers about 20,000 acres of Oregon Department of Forestry 
lands where timber management activities will occur within the 
treatment portion of the Oregon Coast Ranges Study Area. The treatment 
area covers lands owned by many different landowners. The treatment 
area includes 57 percent Federal lands, 12 percent State lands, and 31 
percent private lands. If barred owl removal leads to the re-occupancy 
of currently unoccupied sites by spotted owls on non-Federal lands 
administered by the Department that are subject to forest management 
activities, in the absence of the proposed SHA and Permit, some 
restrictions or limitations on forest management activities on these 
lands could occur.
    Activities covered under the SHA in the treatment portion of the 
Study Area are routine forest management activities: Timber harvest, 
road maintenance and construction activities, and rock pit development.
    The mission of the Oregon Department of Forestry is to serve the 
people of Oregon by protecting, managing, and promoting stewardship of 
Oregon's forests to enhance environmental, economic, and community 
sustainability. In alignment with this mission, management of State 
Forest lands is specifically aimed to provide the ``Greatest Permanent 
Value'' to the citizens of the State of Oregon as provided for in 
Chapter 530 of the Oregon Revised Statues and further defined in Oregon 
Administrative Rule 629-035-0020. The definition of Greatest Permanent 
Value includes the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of habitat 
for native wildlife. The Oregon Department of Forestry is anticipating 
significant changes and fluctuations in spotted owl occupancy status of 
well surveyed sites and areas on or near their lands in the treatment 
area after barred owl removal occurs and potential short-term 
regulatory impacts to operation plans after barred owl removal in the 
treatment area occurs.
    The purpose of ODF participation in the SHA is to cooperate with 
USFWS regarding this recovery action while maintaining a reasonable 
level of certainty regarding regulatory requirements impacting forest 
operations and management during and after the experiment period. To 
support the Experiment, under the SHA, the Oregon Department of 
Forestry will provide the researchers access to Oregon Department of 
Forestry lands to survey for and to remove barred owls located on 
Oregon Department of Forestry lands within the treatment portion of the 
Study Area. In addition, Oregon

[[Page 15118]]

Department of Forestry will maintain habitat to support actively 
nesting spotted owls on any reoccupied sites on covered lands during 
the nesting season.

The Service's Proposed Action

    The Service proposes to enter into the SHA and to issue a Permit to 
the Oregon Department of Forestry for take of the northern spotted owl 
caused by covered activities, if Permit issuance criteria are met. The 
Permit would have a total term of 13 years. The permit would start on 
the date of issuance and would be in effect through August 31, 2025, 
except that for covered activities related to the harvest of timber 
sales in non-baseline areas that are auctioned, sold and with a 
contract signed by the Oregon Department of Forestry prior to August 
31, 2025, permit coverage would extend to August 31, 2028. Harvest of 
potentially suitable spotted owl habitat (nesting, roosting, foraging 
habitat) on the non-baseline areas will not exceed 3,500 acres during 
the term of the Permit.
    Monitoring of spotted owls on Oregon Department of Forestry lands 
as part of the ongoing spotted owl surveys conducted under the 
Northwest Forest Plan Monitoring program has yielded a good dataset 
that may be included in the SHA to establish a baseline for the 
estimated current occupancy status of each spotted owl site within the 
covered area. Any spotted owl sites with a response from at least one 
resident spotted owl between 2011 and present are considered in the 
baseline of the SHA. Based on this approach, there are 20 baseline 
(i.e., currently occupied) and 18 non-baseline (i.e., currently 
unoccupied) spotted owl sites in the treatment portion of the Oregon 
Coast Ranges Study Area where the Oregon Department of Forestry manages 
land.
    The conservation benefits for the northern spotted owl under the 
SHA arise from the Oregon Department of Forestry's contribution to our 
assessment under the Experiment of the efficacy of barred owl removal 
to recovery of the spotted owl. That contribution would be provided 
under the SHA by their allowing Service access to their roads and lands 
for barred owl surveys and, within the treatment area, barred owl 
removal. In the Study Area landscape of multiple landowners, access to 
interspersed non-Federal road and lands for barred owl surveys and, 
within the treatment area, barred owl removal is important to the 
efficient and effective completion of the Experiment.
    The impact of the increase in non-native barred owl populations as 
they expand in the range of the spotted owls has been identified as one 
of the primary threats to the continued existence of the spotted owl. 
The Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl includes Recovery Action 
29--``Design and implement large-scale control experiments to assess 
the effects of barred owl removal on spotted owl site occupancy, 
reproduction, and survival'' (USFWS 2011, p. III-65). The Service 
developed the Barred Owl Removal Experiment to implement this Recovery 
Action, completing the EIS and ROD in 2013 (USFWS 2013a and b). The 
Service selected a study conducted on four study areas, including the 
Oregon Coast Ranges Study Area. Timely results from this experiment are 
crucial for informing development of a long-term barred owl management 
strategy that is essential to the conservation of the northern spotted 
owl.
    While the Experiment can be conducted without access to non-Federal 
lands, failure to remove barred owls from portions of the treatment 
area could reduce the efficiency and weaken the results of the 
Experiment regarding any changes in spotted owl population dynamics 
resulting from the removal of barred owls and potentially warrant 
extending the duration of the Experiment to offset these implications. 
The Service has repeatedly indicated the need to gather this 
information in a timely manner.
    Take of spotted owls under this SHA would likely be in the form of 
harm from forest operation activities that result in habitat 
degradation, or harassment from forest management activities that cause 
disturbance to spotted owls. Incidental take in the form of harassment 
by disturbance is most likely to occur near previously occupied spotted 
owl nest sites if they become reoccupied. Harm and harassment could 
occur during timber operations and management that will continue during 
the Permit term. Covered activities are routine timber harvest and road 
maintenance and construction activities, including rock pit development 
that may disturb spotted owls.

Net Conservation Benefits to the Northern Spotted Owl

    As discussed above, Service access to Oregon Department of Forestry 
lands provided for under the SHA is important to the efficient and 
effective completion of the Experiment within a reasonable timeframe. 
Under the SHA, all of the currently occupied spotted owl sites on these 
lands are within the baseline for the SHA and no take of these sites is 
authorized under the proposed Permit. Under the Permit, if barred owl 
removal does allow spotted owls to reoccupy sites that are not 
currently occupied (non-baseline), the Oregon Department of Forestry 
will be allowed to incidentally take these spotted owls during the term 
of the Permit. It is highly unlikely that these sites would ever be 
reoccupied by spotted owls without the removal of barred owls.
    The removal of barred owls on the Oregon Coast Ranges Study Area 
will end within 10 years. The Service anticipates that, once released 
from the removal pressure, barred owl populations will rebound to pre-
treatment levels within 3 to 5 years. This is likely to result in the 
loss of the newly reoccupied sites. Therefore, any occupancy of these 
sites is likely to be temporary and short-term.
    The proposed SHA and Permit allow for the incidental take of 
spotted owls at 18 non-baseline (i.e., currently unoccupied) sites in 
the treatment portion of the Oregon Coast Ranges Study Area if these 
sites become reoccupied during the barred owl removal study. Incidental 
take spotted owls on non-baseline owl sites that may be reoccupied can 
result from disturbance (e.g., noise) from forest management activities 
or habitat loss. Disturbance with no habitat loss is a temporary effect 
and is not anticipated to disrupt the spotted owl sites to a level that 
would affect the results of the experiment. Ten of the 48 historic 
spotted owl site centers in the treatment area occur on Oregon 
Department of Forestry lands, and three additional sites are close 
enough that forest management activities on Oregon Department of 
Forestry lands could result in some disturbance of the sites if these 
site centers were reoccupied. Take resulting from disturbance is 
temporary, short-term, and only likely to occur if activities occur 
very close to nesting spotted owls. The Oregon Department of Forestry 
is a minor owner on 6 of the 18 sites, with less than 10 percent of the 
land ownership and less than 10 percent of the remaining spotted owl 
nesting/roosting habitat. Federal lands contain the majority of the 
remaining spotted owl nesting/roosting habitat at these six sites. 
Thus, assuming these six non-baseline spotted owl sites are re-occupied 
by spotted owls, and Oregon Department of Forestry removed all habitat 
remaining on their lands within these sites under their Permit, these 
sites are likely to remain viable as a result of habitat remaining on 
other ownerships, including the Federal agencies. On the remaining 12 
sites, Oregon Department of Forestry manages 15 to 79 percent of the 
land and 17 to

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84 percent of remaining spotted owl nesting/roosting habitat. Habitat 
removal within these nesting and roosting sites could result in loss of 
habitat suitability leading to take of spotted owls. To avoid or 
minimize the take resulting from disturbance and habitat loss 
associated with timber management activities on their lands, the Oregon 
Department of Forestry will maintain at least a 70-acre habitat core 
for nesting spotted owls that may reoccupy non-baseline sites during 
the nesting and rearing season (March 1 to September 30 of the year). 
This allows the owl pairs to produce young and contribute to the future 
spotted owl population.
    The primary conservation value of the Experiment is the information 
it provides on the efficacy of removal as a tool to manage barred owl 
populations for the conservation of the spotted owl at the range-wide 
scale. In the landscape of multiple landowners that exist within the 
Oregon Coast Ranges Study Area, access to interspersed non-Federal 
lands is important to the efficient and effective completion of the 
Experiment within a reasonable time frame under the Oregon Department 
of Forestry SHA; thus, researchers will need access to roads and lands 
for barred owl surveys and removal. Thus, the take of spotted owls on 
the temporarily reoccupied sites is potentially greatly offset by the 
value of the information gained from the experiment and its potential 
contribution to the range-wide recovery of the spotted owl by the 
timely development of a long-term barred owl management strategy. For 
this reason, the Service believes this SHA would advance the recovery 
of the spotted owl.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The Service's entering into the proposed SHA and issuance of a 
Permit is a Federal action that triggers the need for compliance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) (NEPA). We have prepared a draft EA to analyze the 
impacts of this proposed action on the human environment in comparison 
to the no-action alternative.

Public Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods 
listed in the ADDRESSES section. We request data, new information, or 
suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, 
Tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested 
party on our proposed Federal action. In particular, we request 
information and comments regarding the following issues:
    1. The direct, indirect, and cumulative effects that implementation 
of the SHA could have on endangered and threatened species;
    2. Other reasonable alternatives consistent with the purpose of the 
proposed SHA as described above, and their associated effects;
    3. Measures that would minimize and mitigate potentially adverse 
effects of the proposed action;
    4. Identification of any impacts on the human environment that 
should have been analyzed in the draft EA pursuant to NEPA;
    5. Other plans or projects that might be relevant to this action;
    6. The proposed term of the Permit and whether the proposed SHA 
would provide a net conservation benefit to the spotted owl; and
    7. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the 
proposed action on the human environment.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments and materials we receive become part of the public 
record associated with this action. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire 
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personally identifiable 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. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the draft EA, will be available for 
public inspection by appointment, during normal business hours, at our 
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the draft SHA, associated documents, and any 
public comments we receive to determine whether the Permit application 
and the EA meet the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA, NEPA, and 
their respective implementing regulations. We will also evaluate 
whether issuance of a Permit would comply with section 7(a)(2) of the 
ESA by conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation on the 
proposed Permit action. If we determine that all requirements are met, 
we will sign the proposed SHA and issue a Permit under section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA to the Oregon Department of Forestry, for take 
of the northern spotted owl caused by covered activities in accordance 
with the terms of the Permit and the SHA. We will not make our final 
decision until after the end of the 30-day public comment period, and 
we will fully consider all comments and information we receive during 
the public comment period.

Authority

    We provide this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA, its 
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22), and NEPA and its implementing 
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

Theresa Rabot,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2016-06276 Filed 3-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P