Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits; Draft Supplement to Environmental Impact Statement, Amendment to Habitat Conservation Plan for Forest Management in Montana, and Application for Amended Incidental Take Permit, 41047-41049 [2017-18418]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 29, 2017 / Notices
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[FR Doc. 2017–18228 Filed 8–28–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2017–0044;
FF06E11000–167–FXES11120600000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Permits; Draft Supplement
to Environmental Impact Statement,
Amendment to Habitat Conservation
Plan for Forest Management in
Montana, and Application for Amended
Incidental Take Permit
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Montana Department of
Natural Resources and Conservation
(DNRC) is amending its Forested Trust
Lands Habitat Conservation Plan (2010
HCP) to incorporate the terms of a
settlement agreement and add lands that
it acquired since the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) issued an
incidental take permit (permit) to DNRC
in December 2011. The Service is
proposing to amend the associated
permit under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) to authorize additional take of
all but one of the species covered in the
2010 HCP resulting from addition of the
acquired lands. We announce the
availability of the following documents
for review and comment by the public
and Federal, Tribal, State, and local
governments: Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (Draft
SEIS) for amending the 2010 HCP and
permit; Proposed Amended HCP
Commitments for Additional Lands and
Terms of the Settlement Agreement
(Attachment A of the Draft SEIS); and
Draft DNRC Assessment of Incidental
Take for the Proposed Amended HCP
(Attachment C of the Draft SEIS).
DATES: Submitting Comments: Written
comments must be submitted by
October 13, 2017.
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41047
Document Availability: The
Draft SEIS, Proposed Amended HCP
Commitments for Additional Lands and
Terms of the Settlement Agreement
(Attachment A of the Draft SEIS), and
Draft DNRC Assessment of Incidental
Take for the Proposed Amended HCP
(Attachment C of the Draft SEIS) are
available at:
• Internet: The Federal eRulemaking
Portal (www.regulations.gov) in Docket
No. FWS–R6–ES–2017–0044.
Information regarding the Draft SEIS
and accompanying documents is
available in alternative formats upon
request (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
• In-Person Review or Pick-Up:
Documents will also be available for
public inspection by appointment
during normal business hours at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 780
Creston Hatchery Road, Kalispell, MT
59901 (telephone, 406–758–6882); U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 585 Shepard
Way, Suite 1, Helena, MT 59601
(telephone, 406–449–5225); Montana
DNRC Forest Management Bureau, 2705
Spurgin Rd, Missoula, MT 59804
(telephone, 406–542–4328).
Submitting Comments: To request
further information or send written
comments, please use one of the
following methods, and note that your
information requests or comments are in
reference to the proposed amended
DNRC HCP. Please specify which
documents your comment addresses:
Draft SEIS, proposed amended HCP
commitments, or proposed amendments
to authorized take.
• Internet: Submit comments at
https://www.regulations.gov in Docket
No. FWS–R6–ES–2017–0044, or via the
Montana DNRC Web site at https://
dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/trust/forestmanagement/hcp/hcp-announcements.
• U.S. Mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R6–
ES–2017–0044; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Headquarters, MS: BPHC; 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben
Conard, Assistant Field Supervisor,
Kalispell Field Office, via email at Ben_
Conard@fws.gov or via telephone at
406–758–6882; or Gary Frank, Deputy
Chief, Forest Management Bureau,
Montana DNRC, via email at gfrank@
mt.gov, or via telephone at 406–542–
4328. Information on this proposed
action is also available at the DNRC’s
Web site at https://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/
trust/forest-management/hcp. If you use
a telecommunications device for the
deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech
disabled, please call the Federal Relay
Service at 800–877–8337.
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\29AUN1.SGM
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41048
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 29, 2017 / Notices
We
received an application from Montana
DNRC for an amended incidental take
permit to authorize additional
incidental take of the grizzly bear,
Canada lynx, bull trout, and westslope
cutthroat trout. No changes in
authorized take of the Columbia
redband trout, covered by the original
permit, is necessary because it does not
occur on the lands proposed to be added
to the HCP. The additional take would
result from implementing the DNRC
forest management program on the
81,416 acres proposed to be added to
the HCP. The DNRC is also proposing to
amend the HCP to incorporate the terms
of a settlement agreement to add
conservation measures and remove
others. As part of its application, the
DNRC prepared a draft amendment to
the HCP detailing specific changes to
the 2010 HCP commitments to
incorporate the terms of the settlement
agreement.
In the Draft SEIS, we analyze
potential effects to the covered species
and other factors of the human
environment from implementing the
proposed amended HCP with issuance
of an amended permit and from
implementing the no-action alternative.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits take of
fish and wildlife species listed as
endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538). Under
section 3 of the ESA, the term ‘‘take’’
means to ‘‘harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or attempt to engage in any such
conduct’’ (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term
‘‘harm’’ is defined in title 50 of the Code
of Federal Regulations as ‘‘an act which
actually kills or injures wildlife. Such
acts may include significant habitat
modification or degradation where it
actually kills or injures wildlife by
significantly impairing essential
behavioral patterns, including breeding,
feeding, or sheltering’’ (50 CFR 17.3).
The term ‘‘harass’’ is defined in the
regulations as ‘‘an intentional or
negligent act or omission which creates
the likelihood of injury to wildlife by
annoying it to such an extent as to
significantly disrupt normal behavioral
patterns which include, but are not
limited to, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering’’ (50 CFR 17.3).
Under section 4(d) of the ESA, the
Service may issue regulations pertaining
to threatened species that are necessary
for their conservation, and under
section 10(a) of the ESA, the Service
may issue permits to authorize
incidental take of listed fish and
wildlife species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ is
defined by the ESA as take that is
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18:45 Aug 28, 2017
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incidental to, and not the purpose of,
carrying out an otherwise lawful
activity. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA
contains provisions for issuing
incidental take permits to non-Federal
entities for the incidental take of
endangered and threatened species,
provided the following criteria are met:
• The taking will be incidental.
• The applicant will minimize and
mitigate, to the maximum extent
practicable, the impact of such taking.
• The applicant will develop an HCP
and ensure that adequate funding for the
plan will be provided.
• The taking will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival
and recovery of the species in the wild.
• The applicant will carry out any
other measures that the Secretary of the
Interior may require as being necessary
or appropriate for the purposes of the
HCP.
Regulations governing activities
involving endangered species are at 50
CFR part 17, subpart C, and regulations
governing activities involving
threatened species are at 50 CFR part 17,
subpart D.
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
requires that Federal agencies conduct
an environmental analysis of their
proposed actions to determine whether
the actions may significantly affect the
human environment. Under NEPA and
its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1500 et seq.), Federal agencies must also
compare effects of a reasonable range of
alternatives to the proposed action. In
these analyses, the Federal agency will
identify potentially significant direct,
indirect, and cumulative effects, as well
as possible mitigation for any significant
effects, on biological resources, land
use, air quality, water resources,
socioeconomics, environmental justice,
cultural resources, and other
environmental resources that could
occur with the implementation of the
proposed action and alternatives.
In April 2009, the DNRC applied for
a permit for take of the grizzly bear,
Canada lynx, bull trout, westslope
cutthroat trout, and Columbia redband
trout incidental to forest management
activities. The grizzly bear, lynx, and
bull trout are federally listed as
threatened, while the westslope and
Columbia redband trout are not listed
under the ESA. Before deciding whether
to issue the permit, we analyzed the
potential effects of implementing the
HCP and alternatives in a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS).
In 2009, we provided comment periods
totaling 105 days for the public to
review DNRC’s permit application
package, which included the draft HCP
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and draft EIS (74 FR 30617). After
considering the public comments and
determining that all requirements under
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA were met,
the Service issued the permit to DNRC
on December 14, 2011.
The original permit covers
approximately 548,500 acres of forested
State trust lands in western Montana.
However, the HCP addressed the
process and contingencies for DNRC to
transfer, exchange, or add lands for their
forest management activities in the
future. Thus, the Service previously
considered in the EIS the potential
effects of amending the HCP and permit
to cover such actions.
In April, 2013, Friends of the Wild
Swan, Montana Environmental
Information Center, and Natural
Resources Defense Council challenged
the issuance of the permit in a Federal
District Court in Montana. The Court
ruled in the Service’s favor on all but
one count. DNRC and the plaintiffs
subsequently entered a settlement
agreement for the remaining count in
September, 2015. The future addition of
lands to the HCP and permit were not
part of the complaint or the settlement
agreement.
Proposed Action
The Service proposes to issue an
amended permit that authorizes
additional incidental take of the covered
species resulting from adding 81,416
acres to the area covered in the HCP.
DNRC is amending its HCP so that its
relevant conservation commitments to
avoid, minimize, and mitigate the
impacts of incidental take will be
implemented on the new lands. The
DNRC is also amending the HCP to
incorporate the terms of the settlement
agreement, which would not result in
any changes to the permit.
The lands proposed to be added to the
HCP are in the Swan, Chamberlain,
Potomac, Lolo Land Exchange, Upper
Blackfoot, and Southern Bitterroot
acquisition areas. The draft amendment
to the HCP adds (1) the Swan
acquisition lands to the Swan
Transportation Plan, (2) the Swan
acquisition area to the Swan Lynx
Management Area, and (3) portions of
the Chamberlain and Potomac
acquisition areas to the Garnet Lynx
Management Area. It also revises the
acres of lynx critical habitat addressed
in the HCP.
The terms of the settlement agreement
focus primarily on adjusting
management of DNRC’s Class A lands
under the Stillwater Block
Transportation Plan in the HCP, which
entailed a strategy of a cycle of 4 years
of active forest management, followed
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 29, 2017 / Notices
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
by 8 years of rest. The settlement
agreement identifies 7 distinct grizzly
bear security zones almost entirely on
the original 19,400 acres of Class A
lands in the Stillwater Block in the HCP,
but also adds 2,300 acres in a new area
in Coal Creek State Forest. The amended
HCP would replace the 4-year active/8year rest rotation with specific measures
for restricting forest management
activities to the denning season in these
grizzly bear security zones. All
motorized activities below 6,300 feet in
elevation within the grizzly security
zones would be allowed during the
grizzly denning season and prohibited
all year round above that elevation. The
current HCP prohibits new permanent
road construction on the original 19,400
acres of Class A lands. This measure
would remain essentially the same
under an amendment, but to incorporate
the terms of the settlement agreement, it
would be specifically applied to the
seven grizzly security zones, including
the additional 2,300 acres in the Coal
Creek State Forest. Several other
measures in the HCP for Class A lands
would remain the same but be extended
to the grizzly security zones. Other
amendments specifically spell out
measures that DNRC had committed to
implement in the original HCP but were
previously incorporated by reference
from DNRC’s Forest Management
Administrative Rules of Montana.
The original HCP requires the DNRC
to complete corrective actions at sites
identified with high risk of sediment
delivery in bull trout watersheds in the
HCP plan area by 2027. As directed by
the settlement agreement, the HCP
would be amended to prioritize and
complete such corrective actions in
federally designated bull trout critical
habitat in the Stillwater Block by 2024.
Lastly, over the past 5 years of HCP
implementation, the Service and DNRC
identified some commitment and
procedural clarifications that would be
incorporated into the HCP. These
amendments would serve to help DNRC
understand how to implement certain
measures and would not entail any
changes to the nature of the measures or
how they affect the covered species.
Alternatives Analyzed in the Draft SEIS
The Draft SEIS considers the direct,
indirect, and cumulative effects of the
proposed action, including the proposed
amended HCP’s measures intended to
avoid, minimize, and mitigate such
impacts, and no-action alternatives. The
proposed action entails issuing DNRC
an amended permit authorizing
additional take based on amendments to
the HCP to add covered lands and
incorporate terms of the settlement
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18:45 Aug 28, 2017
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41049
agreement. The no-action alternative
would include amending the HCP to
incorporate the terms of the settlement
agreement, which is legally required,
but would not include adding lands or
issuing an amended permit authorizing
additional take.
The Service invites comments and
suggestions from interested parties on
the content of the Draft SEIS. In
particular, information and comments
regarding the following topics are
requested:
1. The direct, indirect, or cumulative
effects that implementation of either
action alternative could have on the
natural and human environment.
2. Whether or not the impact on
various aspects of the natural and
human environment have been
adequately analyzed.
3. Any other information pertinent to
evaluating the effects of the proposed
action on the natural and human
environment.
do so. We will not consider anonymous
comments. 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.
Role of the Environmental Protection
Agency in the EIS Process
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is charged under section
309 of the Clean Air Act to review all
Federal agencies’ environmental impact
statements (EISs) and to comment on
the adequacy and acceptability of the
environmental impacts of proposed
actions in the EISs.
EPA also administers the database for
EISs prepared by Federal agencies and
provides notice of their availability in
the Federal Register. The EIS database
provides information about EISs
prepared by Federal agencies, as well as
EPA’s comments concerning the EISs.
All EISs are filed with EPA, which
publishes a notice of availability each
Friday in the Federal Register.
For more information, see https://
www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/
eisdata.html. You may search for EPA
comments on EISs, along with EISs
themselves, at https://
cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/
action/eis/search.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Public Comments
Written comments received become
part of the public record associated with
this action. Before including your
address, phone number, email address,
or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you may request in your comment that
we withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
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Authority
We provide this notice under section
10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and its implementing regulations for
incidental take permits (50 CFR 17.22)
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and
its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Michael G. Thabault,
Assistant Regional Director–Ecological
Services, Mountain-Prairie Region, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2017–18418 Filed 8–28–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
Bureau of Reclamation
[RR02800000, 17XR0680A3,
RX178689471000000]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Shasta Dam Fish Passage
Evaluation, California; Reopening of
Comment Period
Bureau of Reclamation,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice to reopen comment
period.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) is reopening the public
comment period on the scope of the
draft environmental impact statement
(EIS) for the Shasta Dam Fish Passage
Evaluation.
DATES: The comment period for the
scope of the draft EIS published June 15,
2017 (82 FR 27522), is reopened.
Comments should be received on or
before September 28, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments to
Ms. Carolyn Bragg, Natural Resources
Specialist, Bureau of Reclamation, BayDelta Office, 801 I Street, Suite 140,
Sacramento, CA 95814–2536; or by
email to cbragg@usbr.gov; or via
facsimile to (916) 414–2439.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carolyn Bragg, (916) 414–2433, or email
at cbragg@usbr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June
15, 2017, Reclamation published a
notice in the Federal Register
announcing its intent to prepare a draft
EIS. Since then, Reclamation has
received a formal request from the
E:\FR\FM\29AUN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41047-41049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18418]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2017-0044; FF06E11000-167-FXES11120600000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits; Draft
Supplement to Environmental Impact Statement, Amendment to Habitat
Conservation Plan for Forest Management in Montana, and Application for
Amended Incidental Take Permit
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
(DNRC) is amending its Forested Trust Lands Habitat Conservation Plan
(2010 HCP) to incorporate the terms of a settlement agreement and add
lands that it acquired since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) issued an incidental take permit (permit) to DNRC in December
2011. The Service is proposing to amend the associated permit under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) to authorize additional take of all but
one of the species covered in the 2010 HCP resulting from addition of
the acquired lands. We announce the availability of the following
documents for review and comment by the public and Federal, Tribal,
State, and local governments: Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (Draft SEIS) for amending the 2010 HCP and permit; Proposed
Amended HCP Commitments for Additional Lands and Terms of the
Settlement Agreement (Attachment A of the Draft SEIS); and Draft DNRC
Assessment of Incidental Take for the Proposed Amended HCP (Attachment
C of the Draft SEIS).
DATES: Submitting Comments: Written comments must be submitted by
October 13, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: The Draft SEIS, Proposed Amended HCP
Commitments for Additional Lands and Terms of the Settlement Agreement
(Attachment A of the Draft SEIS), and Draft DNRC Assessment of
Incidental Take for the Proposed Amended HCP (Attachment C of the Draft
SEIS) are available at:
Internet: The Federal eRulemaking Portal
(www.regulations.gov) in Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2017-0044. Information
regarding the Draft SEIS and accompanying documents is available in
alternative formats upon request (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
In-Person Review or Pick-Up: Documents will also be
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business
hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 780 Creston Hatchery Road,
Kalispell, MT 59901 (telephone, 406-758-6882); U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 585 Shepard Way, Suite 1, Helena, MT 59601 (telephone, 406-
449-5225); Montana DNRC Forest Management Bureau, 2705 Spurgin Rd,
Missoula, MT 59804 (telephone, 406-542-4328).
Submitting Comments: To request further information or send written
comments, please use one of the following methods, and note that your
information requests or comments are in reference to the proposed
amended DNRC HCP. Please specify which documents your comment
addresses: Draft SEIS, proposed amended HCP commitments, or proposed
amendments to authorized take.
Internet: Submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov in
Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2017-0044, or via the Montana DNRC Web site at
https://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/trust/forest-management/hcp/hcp-announcements.
U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R6-ES-2017-0044; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Conard, Assistant Field
Supervisor, Kalispell Field Office, via email at Ben_Conard@fws.gov or
via telephone at 406-758-6882; or Gary Frank, Deputy Chief, Forest
Management Bureau, Montana DNRC, via email at gfrank@mt.gov, or via
telephone at 406-542-4328. Information on this proposed action is also
available at the DNRC's Web site at https://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/trust/forest-management/hcp. If you use a telecommunications device for the
deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech disabled, please call the Federal
Relay Service at 800-877-8337.
[[Page 41048]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We received an application from Montana DNRC
for an amended incidental take permit to authorize additional
incidental take of the grizzly bear, Canada lynx, bull trout, and
westslope cutthroat trout. No changes in authorized take of the
Columbia redband trout, covered by the original permit, is necessary
because it does not occur on the lands proposed to be added to the HCP.
The additional take would result from implementing the DNRC forest
management program on the 81,416 acres proposed to be added to the HCP.
The DNRC is also proposing to amend the HCP to incorporate the terms of
a settlement agreement to add conservation measures and remove others.
As part of its application, the DNRC prepared a draft amendment to the
HCP detailing specific changes to the 2010 HCP commitments to
incorporate the terms of the settlement agreement.
In the Draft SEIS, we analyze potential effects to the covered
species and other factors of the human environment from implementing
the proposed amended HCP with issuance of an amended permit and from
implementing the no-action alternative.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits take of fish and wildlife species
listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538). Under section 3 of the ESA, the
term ``take'' means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound,
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm'' is defined in title
50 of the Code of Federal Regulations as ``an act which actually kills
or injures wildlife. Such acts may include significant habitat
modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife
by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3). The term ``harass''
is defined in the regulations as ``an intentional or negligent act or
omission which creates the likelihood of injury to wildlife by annoying
it to such an extent as to significantly disrupt normal behavioral
patterns which include, but are not limited to, breeding, feeding, or
sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3).
Under section 4(d) of the ESA, the Service may issue regulations
pertaining to threatened species that are necessary for their
conservation, and under section 10(a) of the ESA, the Service may issue
permits to authorize incidental take of listed fish and wildlife
species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as take that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful
activity. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for
issuing incidental take permits to non-Federal entities for the
incidental take of endangered and threatened species, provided the
following criteria are met:
The taking will be incidental.
The applicant will minimize and mitigate, to the maximum
extent practicable, the impact of such taking.
The applicant will develop an HCP and ensure that adequate
funding for the plan will be provided.
The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
the survival and recovery of the species in the wild.
The applicant will carry out any other measures that the
Secretary of the Interior may require as being necessary or appropriate
for the purposes of the HCP.
Regulations governing activities involving endangered species are
at 50 CFR part 17, subpart C, and regulations governing activities
involving threatened species are at 50 CFR part 17, subpart D.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) requires that Federal agencies conduct an environmental analysis
of their proposed actions to determine whether the actions may
significantly affect the human environment. Under NEPA and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500 et seq.), Federal agencies must
also compare effects of a reasonable range of alternatives to the
proposed action. In these analyses, the Federal agency will identify
potentially significant direct, indirect, and cumulative effects, as
well as possible mitigation for any significant effects, on biological
resources, land use, air quality, water resources, socioeconomics,
environmental justice, cultural resources, and other environmental
resources that could occur with the implementation of the proposed
action and alternatives.
In April 2009, the DNRC applied for a permit for take of the
grizzly bear, Canada lynx, bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, and
Columbia redband trout incidental to forest management activities. The
grizzly bear, lynx, and bull trout are federally listed as threatened,
while the westslope and Columbia redband trout are not listed under the
ESA. Before deciding whether to issue the permit, we analyzed the
potential effects of implementing the HCP and alternatives in a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS). In 2009, we provided comment
periods totaling 105 days for the public to review DNRC's permit
application package, which included the draft HCP and draft EIS (74 FR
30617). After considering the public comments and determining that all
requirements under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA were met, the Service
issued the permit to DNRC on December 14, 2011.
The original permit covers approximately 548,500 acres of forested
State trust lands in western Montana. However, the HCP addressed the
process and contingencies for DNRC to transfer, exchange, or add lands
for their forest management activities in the future. Thus, the Service
previously considered in the EIS the potential effects of amending the
HCP and permit to cover such actions.
In April, 2013, Friends of the Wild Swan, Montana Environmental
Information Center, and Natural Resources Defense Council challenged
the issuance of the permit in a Federal District Court in Montana. The
Court ruled in the Service's favor on all but one count. DNRC and the
plaintiffs subsequently entered a settlement agreement for the
remaining count in September, 2015. The future addition of lands to the
HCP and permit were not part of the complaint or the settlement
agreement.
Proposed Action
The Service proposes to issue an amended permit that authorizes
additional incidental take of the covered species resulting from adding
81,416 acres to the area covered in the HCP. DNRC is amending its HCP
so that its relevant conservation commitments to avoid, minimize, and
mitigate the impacts of incidental take will be implemented on the new
lands. The DNRC is also amending the HCP to incorporate the terms of
the settlement agreement, which would not result in any changes to the
permit.
The lands proposed to be added to the HCP are in the Swan,
Chamberlain, Potomac, Lolo Land Exchange, Upper Blackfoot, and Southern
Bitterroot acquisition areas. The draft amendment to the HCP adds (1)
the Swan acquisition lands to the Swan Transportation Plan, (2) the
Swan acquisition area to the Swan Lynx Management Area, and (3)
portions of the Chamberlain and Potomac acquisition areas to the Garnet
Lynx Management Area. It also revises the acres of lynx critical
habitat addressed in the HCP.
The terms of the settlement agreement focus primarily on adjusting
management of DNRC's Class A lands under the Stillwater Block
Transportation Plan in the HCP, which entailed a strategy of a cycle of
4 years of active forest management, followed
[[Page 41049]]
by 8 years of rest. The settlement agreement identifies 7 distinct
grizzly bear security zones almost entirely on the original 19,400
acres of Class A lands in the Stillwater Block in the HCP, but also
adds 2,300 acres in a new area in Coal Creek State Forest. The amended
HCP would replace the 4-year active/8-year rest rotation with specific
measures for restricting forest management activities to the denning
season in these grizzly bear security zones. All motorized activities
below 6,300 feet in elevation within the grizzly security zones would
be allowed during the grizzly denning season and prohibited all year
round above that elevation. The current HCP prohibits new permanent
road construction on the original 19,400 acres of Class A lands. This
measure would remain essentially the same under an amendment, but to
incorporate the terms of the settlement agreement, it would be
specifically applied to the seven grizzly security zones, including the
additional 2,300 acres in the Coal Creek State Forest. Several other
measures in the HCP for Class A lands would remain the same but be
extended to the grizzly security zones. Other amendments specifically
spell out measures that DNRC had committed to implement in the original
HCP but were previously incorporated by reference from DNRC's Forest
Management Administrative Rules of Montana.
The original HCP requires the DNRC to complete corrective actions
at sites identified with high risk of sediment delivery in bull trout
watersheds in the HCP plan area by 2027. As directed by the settlement
agreement, the HCP would be amended to prioritize and complete such
corrective actions in federally designated bull trout critical habitat
in the Stillwater Block by 2024.
Lastly, over the past 5 years of HCP implementation, the Service
and DNRC identified some commitment and procedural clarifications that
would be incorporated into the HCP. These amendments would serve to
help DNRC understand how to implement certain measures and would not
entail any changes to the nature of the measures or how they affect the
covered species.
Alternatives Analyzed in the Draft SEIS
The Draft SEIS considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative
effects of the proposed action, including the proposed amended HCP's
measures intended to avoid, minimize, and mitigate such impacts, and
no-action alternatives. The proposed action entails issuing DNRC an
amended permit authorizing additional take based on amendments to the
HCP to add covered lands and incorporate terms of the settlement
agreement. The no-action alternative would include amending the HCP to
incorporate the terms of the settlement agreement, which is legally
required, but would not include adding lands or issuing an amended
permit authorizing additional take.
The Service invites comments and suggestions from interested
parties on the content of the Draft SEIS. In particular, information
and comments regarding the following topics are requested:
1. The direct, indirect, or cumulative effects that implementation
of either action alternative could have on the natural and human
environment.
2. Whether or not the impact on various aspects of the natural and
human environment have been adequately analyzed.
3. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the natural and human environment.
Role of the Environmental Protection Agency in the EIS Process
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged under
section 309 of the Clean Air Act to review all Federal agencies'
environmental impact statements (EISs) and to comment on the adequacy
and acceptability of the environmental impacts of proposed actions in
the EISs.
EPA also administers the database for EISs prepared by Federal
agencies and provides notice of their availability in the Federal
Register. The EIS database provides information about EISs prepared by
Federal agencies, as well as EPA's comments concerning the EISs. All
EISs are filed with EPA, which publishes a notice of availability each
Friday in the Federal Register.
For more information, see https://www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa/eisdata.html. You may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs
themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.
Public Comments
Written comments received become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you may request in your comment that we withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will not consider anonymous
comments. All submissions from organizations or businesses and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses will be made available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations for incidental take
permits (50 CFR 17.22) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Michael G. Thabault,
Assistant Regional Director-Ecological Services, Mountain-Prairie
Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2017-18418 Filed 8-28-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
