Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Lake County, OR; Notice of Intent To Prepare a Bighorn Sheep Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, 27430-27431 [2020-09255]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 90 (Friday, May 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27430-27431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09255]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-NWRS-2020-N035; FXRS126101HMBHS-201-FF01RSHM00]


Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Lake County, OR; Notice 
of Intent To Prepare a Bighorn Sheep Management Plan and Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to 
prepare a management plan (plan) for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) 
for Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (refuge). We will also 
prepare an environmental impact statement to develop alternatives for 
management actions in the plan and evaluate the environmental effects 
of those actions. We provide this notice in compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act to advise the public, other Federal 
and State agencies, and Tribes of our intentions, and to obtain public 
comments and suggestions on the scope of the issues to consider in the 
planning process.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received or 
postmarked on or before June 8, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Information concerning the refuge and the bighorn sheep 
population is available on our website, at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hart_Mountain/What_We_Do/Resource_Management/Bighorn_Sheep_Plan.html.
    Send your questions or comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Hart Mountain 
Bighorn Sheep Plan'' in the subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: Project Leader, Sheldon-Hart Mountain National 
Wildlife Refuge Complex, P.O. Box 111, Lakeview, OR 97630.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Fujii-Doe, Refuge Manager, by 
email at [email protected] or by phone at 541-947-2731. Individuals 
who are hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service 
at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction

    We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare 
a management plan (plan) for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) for Hart 
Mountain National Antelope Refuge (refuge). We will also prepare an 
environmental impact statement to develop alternatives for management 
actions in the plan and evaluate the environmental effects of those 
actions. We provide this notice in compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to advise the 
public, other Federal and State agencies, and Tribes of our intentions, 
and to obtain public comments and suggestions on the scope of the 
issues to consider in the planning process.

Background

    Located in a remote area of south central Oregon, Hart Mountain 
National Antelope Refuge, managed by the Service, encompasses 278,000 
acres of sagebrush-steppe habitat within the Great Basin and includes 
the 19,267-acre proposed Poker Jim Wilderness Area. Originally 
established in 1936 for the conservation and protection of the once-
imperiled pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), the refuge also conserves 
habitat for many native, rare, and imperiled species of fish, wildlife, 
and plants that depend upon the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem.
    Bighorn sheep are an iconic species native to Oregon and the 
refuge. Originally extirpated in Oregon by 1912, sheep were 
successfully reintroduced to the State in 1954, when 20 sheep were 
translocated to Hart Mountain. Since that time, refuge and Oregon 
Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff have conducted annual 
surveys to track population variables, including number of sheep, lamb 
production and recruitment, and ram size/age class. The number of sheep 
counted on the refuge increased yearly from 1954, reaching a high of 
350 to 415 sheep during the period 1982-1992. However, beginning in the 
1990s, the number steadily declined to approximately 150 animals, and 
then remained relatively stable during the period 2009-2017. The last 
three annual surveys represent the most significant declines in 
population variables to date. The number of sheep counted dropped from 
149 in 2017, to 100 in 2018, to 68 in 2019. Lamb production declined by 
approximately half from 54.4 lambs per 100 ewes in 2017, to 21.5 and 
22.7 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In addition, recruitment reached a 
low level in 2019, with no 1-year-old class I rams and only two oldest 
age class IV rams seen.
    Sheep habitat encompasses approximately 34,000 acres on the western 
escarpment of the refuge (Hart Mountain and Poker Jim Ridge), including 
the proposed Poker Jim Wilderness Area. However, ecological trends over 
the last several decades, such as juniper encroachment and the spread 
of invasive herbaceous plants, may be resulting in the decline in the 
quality of sheep habitat.
    In January 2019, ODFW, in cooperation with refuge staff, captured 
21 sheep on the refuge. Nineteen were fitted with GPS collars to 
monitor movements and track adult survival. In addition, health-
screening samples were obtained on all 21 sheep. The ODFW Wildlife 
Heath and Population Laboratory analyzed the health screening samples 
and submitted tonsillar swabs and blood serum for diagnostic tests to 
both Oregon State University and Washington Animal

[[Page 27431]]

Disease Diagnostics Laboratory in Pullman, Washington, to be screened 
for a number of pathogens, including Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), 
a bacterium known to be associated with acute pneumonia mortality 
events. However, M. ovi was not detected in any of the samples, and 
there does not appear to be a clear association of the population 
decline with respiratory disease or other common diseases. Since 
January 2019, eight of 19 radio-collared sheep have died; six because 
of mountain lion predation, one killed legally by a hunter, and one 
from unknown causes.
    Given rapidly declining sheep numbers and 2 years of poor lamb 
recruitment, the herd is at risk of extirpation from the refuge in the 
next few years unless appropriate management actions are taken. In 
response, ODFW suspended sheep hunting on the Refuge following the 2019 
hunting season. Because there is considerable uncertainty about what 
the proximate and ultimate causes of this decline are, development of a 
management plan and EIS are warranted in order to analyze existing data 
and identify short- and long-term alternatives and actions needed to 
restore the bighorn sheep herd to a self-sustaining population level. 
Possible management actions include continued monitoring, management of 
the sheep and associated predator populations, and restoration and 
maintenance of habitat.

Preliminary Issues, Concerns, and Opportunities

    Based on the fundamental principles of wildlife management, we have 
identified the following preliminary issues, concerns, and 
opportunities regarding the sheep population that we may address in the 
plan. Additional issues may be identified during the public scoping 
process.
     Bighorn sheep population objectives. What parameters 
should the Service use to define a self-sustainable population on the 
refuge? What criteria or triggers should the Service consider when 
deciding to implement or suspend management actions?
     Bighorn sheep survival and mortality. What actions can the 
Service take to improve sheep survival and lamb recruitment? What are 
the effects of the various sources of mortality--including disease, 
predation, and hunting--on the long-term viability of the sheep 
population? Given risks of disease introductions, is there a role for 
augmenting the sheep population?
     Habitat quality and quantity. What actions can the Service 
take to maintain and restore sheep habitat? How are western juniper 
expansion and invasive plant species (invasive annual grasses including 
cheatgrass) affecting the sheep population? Is there a role for 
prescribed fire to manage sheep habitats? Is natural water availability 
a limiting resource?
     Potential alternatives and environmental analysis. 
Potential alternatives include a focus on habitat, a focus on 
population management, or a combination of approaches. What 
alternatives for restoring the bighorn sheep population should the 
Service explore? Which components of the human environment should the 
Service emphasize in the environmental analysis?

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments received from individuals become part of the official 
public record. We will handle all requests for such comments in 
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and the CEQ's NEPA 
regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6(f). The Service's practice is to make 
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available 
for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents 
may request that we withhold their home address from the record, which 
we will honor to the extent allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comments.

Charles Stenvall,
Acting Regional Refuge Chief, Pacific Region, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2020-09255 Filed 5-7-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P