Aitkin-Carlton Counties Habitat Conservation Plan, Aitkin and Carlton Counties, Minnesota; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; Categorical Exclusion, 70514-70515 [2021-26828]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 235 / Friday, December 10, 2021 / Notices
III. Request for Input
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
E.O. 14011 directs the Task Force to
coordinate its work, as appropriate and
consistent with applicable law, with
relevant stakeholders, including
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representatives of the children and their
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Task Force is soliciting input and
recommendations to minimize the
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occurred incident to the Zero-Tolerance
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is not an exhaustive list of the types of
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thoughts and concerns.
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IV. Review of Public Feedback
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jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
This notice is for information and
planning purposes only and should not
be construed as a solicitation or as
creating or resulting in any obligation
on the part of DHS.
Dated: December 6, 2021.
Michelle Brane´,
Executive Director, Interagency Task Force
on the Reunification of Families, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2021–26691 Filed 12–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–9B–P
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17:03 Dec 09, 2021
Jkt 256001
[Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0126;
FXES11140300000–212]
Aitkin-Carlton Counties Habitat
Conservation Plan, Aitkin and Carlton
Counties, Minnesota; Receipt of an
Application for an Incidental Take
Permit, Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan; Categorical Exclusion
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of
documents; request for comments and
information.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Aitkin and Carlton
Counties for an incidental take permit
(ITP) under the Endangered Species Act
for the proposed Aitkin-Carlton
Counties Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP). If approved, the ITP would
authorize the incidental take of three bat
species for a 25-year period. The
applicant has prepared an HCP to cover
a suite of activities associated with
continued forest and habitat
management. We request public
comment on the application, which
includes the applicant’s proposed HCP,
and on the Service’s preliminary
determination that this HCP qualifies as
‘‘low-effect,’’ categorically excluded
under the National Environmental
Policy Act. To make this determination,
we used our environmental action
statement and low-effect screening form,
both of which are also available for
public review.
DATES: We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
January 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Electronic
copies of the documents this notice
announces, along with public comments
received, will be available online in
Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0126 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your
comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP,
draft environmental action statement, or
any combination of the aforementioned
documents, or other supporting
documents. You may submit written
comments by one of the following
methods:
• Online: https://
www.regulations.gov. Search for and
submit comments on Docket No. FWS–
R3–ES–2021–0126.
• U.S. mail: Submit comments to
Public Comments Processing, Attn:
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0126;
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 5275
Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls
Church, VA 22041–3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shauna Marquardt, Deputy Field
Supervisor, Minnesota-Wisconsin
Ecological Services Field Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 4101
American Boulevard East, Bloomington,
MN 55425; telephone: 573–239–3293; or
Andrew Horton, Regional HCP
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service–Interior Region 3, 5600
American Blvd. West, Suite 990,
Bloomington, MN 55437–1458;
telephone: 612–713–5337.
Individuals who are hearing impaired
or speech impaired may call the Federal
Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for
TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have received an application from
Aitkin and Carlton Counties (applicants)
for an incidental take permit (ITP) under
the Endangered Species Act, as
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
for a proposed habitat conservation plan
(HCP) for the northern long-eared bat,
little brown bat, and tricolored bat. The
applicants conduct habitat and forest
management activities on countymanaged lands in Aitkin and Carlton
Counties, Minnesota. The applicants
have prepared an HCP that describes
their continued habitat and forest
management operations and measures
that the applicants would implement to
avoid, minimize, and mitigate
incidental take of the covered species.
The HCP proposes to create, enhance,
and maintain more than one-third of
county-managed forest lands as covered
species’ habitat to offset impacts of
habitat and forest management activities
to the covered species.
If approved, the ITP would be for a
25-year period and would authorize the
incidental take of the following three
species: northern long-eared bat
(federally listed as threatened), little
brown bat (currently under
discretionary review), and tricolored bat
(petitioned for listing under the ESA).
The applicant has prepared an HCP that
describes the actions and measures that
the applicants would implement to
avoid, minimize, and mitigate
incidental take of the three species. We
request public comment on the
application, which includes the
applicant’s proposed HCP, and on the
Service’s preliminary determination that
this HCP qualifies as ‘‘low-effect,’’
categorically excluded under the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
10DEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 235 / Friday, December 10, 2021 / Notices
this determination, we used our
environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, both of which
are also available for public review.
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Background
Section 9 of the ESA and its
implementing regulations prohibit the
‘‘take’’ of animal species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take is
defined under the ESA as to ‘‘harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to
engage in any such conduct’’ (16 U.S.C.
1532). However, under section 10(a) of
the ESA, we may issue permits to
authorize incidental take of listed
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. Regulations
governing incidental take permits for
endangered and threatened species,
respectively, are found in the Code of
Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and
50 CFR 17.32.
Applicants’ Proposed Project
The applicants request a 25-year ITP
to take the federally threatened northern
long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
and two species petitioned for Federal
listing: The little brown bat (Myotis
lucifugus) and the tricolored bat
(Perimyotis subflavus). The applicant
determined that take is reasonably
certain to occur incidental to enactment
of forest and habitat management
activities on 3 percent or less of countymanaged forest lands annually over a
10-year rolling period. The proposed
conservation strategy in the applicant’s
proposed HCP is designed to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate the impacts of
the habitat and forest management on
the covered species. The biological goals
and objectives are to minimize potential
take of northern long-eared, little brown,
and tricolored bats through
minimization measures and to provide
habitat conservation measures for the
covered species to offset any impacts
from the implementation of habitat and
forest management activities.
The authorized level of take from the
project is up to a total of three northern
long-eared bats, three little brown bats,
and three tricolored bats over the 25year project duration, and lost
reproductive potential is anticipated to
result in a loss of five additional
northern long-eared bats, seven little
brown bats, and seven tricolored bats
over the 25-year period. To offset the
impacts of the taking of northern longeared, little brown, and tricolored bats,
the applicants propose to avoid habitatloss-related impacts from habitat and
forest management by instituting
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17:03 Dec 09, 2021
Jkt 256001
avoidance measures during the
management process, such as restricting
forest management activities to 3
percent or less of the county-managed
forests over a 10-year rolling period,
limiting forest management during the
bat active season to 34 percent or less
of the total annual harvest and 10
percent or less during the pup season,
and leaving buffers around roost trees.
Beneficial and net effects of the
conservation strategy include the
successful management of forests,
which protect potential habitat for bats,
and the creation, restoration, and
maintenance of maternity roost and
foraging habitat on one-third of the
county-managed forest lands (a
minimum of 85,387 acres), and other
specific measures that minimize or
avoid effects to the covered species.
National Environmental Policy Act
The Service has made a preliminary
determination that the applicant’s
project and the proposed mitigation
measures would individually and
cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the covered species and the
environment. Therefore, we have
preliminarily concluded that the ITP for
this project would qualify for categorical
exclusion, and the HCP would be low
effect under our NEPA regulations at 43
CFR 46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect
HCP is one that would result in (1)
minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species
and their habitats; (2) minor or
negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and
(3) incremental impacts from the
Federal action that, when added to other
past, present, and reasonable foreseeable
future actions, would not result in
significant cumulative effects to
environmental values or resources over
time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit
application and the comments received
to determine whether the application
meets the requirements of section 10(a)
of the ESA. We will also conduct an
intra-Service consultation pursuant to
section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the
effects of the proposed take. After
considering the above findings, we will
determine whether the permit issuance
criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA
have been met. If met, the Service will
issue the requested ITP to the applicant.
period (see DATES). In particular,
information and comments regarding
the following topics are requested:
1. Whether or not the significance of
the impact on various aspects of the
human environment has been
adequately analyzed; and
2. Any threats to the northern longeared bat, little brown bat, or tricolored
bat that may influence their populations
over the life of the ITP that are not
addressed in the proposed HCP; and
3. Any other information pertinent to
evaluating the effects of the proposed
action on the human environment.
You may submit comments by one of
the methods shown under ADDRESSES.
We will post on https://regulations.gov
all public comments and information
received electronically or via hardcopy.
All comments received, including
names and addresses, will become part
of the administrative 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 can 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. 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 (50
CFR 17.22) and the NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508
(2020); 43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services.
[FR Doc. 2021–26828 Filed 12–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
Public Comments
The Service invites comments and
suggestions from all interested parties
on the proposed HCP and screening
form during a 30-day public comment
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 235 (Friday, December 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70514-70515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26828]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0126; FXES11140300000-212]
Aitkin-Carlton Counties Habitat Conservation Plan, Aitkin and
Carlton Counties, Minnesota; Receipt of an Application for an
Incidental Take Permit, Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; Categorical
Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comments and
information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Aitkin and Carlton Counties for an incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act for the proposed Aitkin-
Carlton Counties Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). If approved, the ITP
would authorize the incidental take of three bat species for a 25-year
period. The applicant has prepared an HCP to cover a suite of
activities associated with continued forest and habitat management. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's proposed HCP, and on the Service's preliminary
determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically
excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
January 10, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Electronic copies of the documents this
notice announces, along with public comments received, will be
available online in Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0126 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft environmental action
statement, or any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other
supporting documents. You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0126.
U.S. mail: Submit comments to Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0126; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shauna Marquardt, Deputy Field
Supervisor, Minnesota-Wisconsin Ecological Services Field Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 4101 American Boulevard East, Bloomington,
MN 55425; telephone: 573-239-3293; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Interior Region 3, 5600
American Blvd. West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; telephone:
612-713-5337.
Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call
the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), have received an application from Aitkin and Carlton
Counties (applicants) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for a
proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) for the northern long-eared
bat, little brown bat, and tricolored bat. The applicants conduct
habitat and forest management activities on county-managed lands in
Aitkin and Carlton Counties, Minnesota. The applicants have prepared an
HCP that describes their continued habitat and forest management
operations and measures that the applicants would implement to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the covered species. The HCP
proposes to create, enhance, and maintain more than one-third of
county-managed forest lands as covered species' habitat to offset
impacts of habitat and forest management activities to the covered
species.
If approved, the ITP would be for a 25-year period and would
authorize the incidental take of the following three species: northern
long-eared bat (federally listed as threatened), little brown bat
(currently under discretionary review), and tricolored bat (petitioned
for listing under the ESA). The applicant has prepared an HCP that
describes the actions and measures that the applicants would implement
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the three species.
We request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's proposed HCP, and on the Service's preliminary
determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically
excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.). To make
[[Page 70515]]
this determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also available for public
review.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit the
``take'' of animal species listed as endangered or threatened. Take is
defined under the ESA as to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound,
kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under section 10(a) of the ESA, we
may issue permits to authorize incidental take of listed 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.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for endangered and
threatened species, respectively, are found in the Code of Federal
Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
Applicants' Proposed Project
The applicants request a 25-year ITP to take the federally
threatened northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and two
species petitioned for Federal listing: The little brown bat (Myotis
lucifugus) and the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus). The applicant
determined that take is reasonably certain to occur incidental to
enactment of forest and habitat management activities on 3 percent or
less of county-managed forest lands annually over a 10-year rolling
period. The proposed conservation strategy in the applicant's proposed
HCP is designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of the
habitat and forest management on the covered species. The biological
goals and objectives are to minimize potential take of northern long-
eared, little brown, and tricolored bats through minimization measures
and to provide habitat conservation measures for the covered species to
offset any impacts from the implementation of habitat and forest
management activities.
The authorized level of take from the project is up to a total of
three northern long-eared bats, three little brown bats, and three
tricolored bats over the 25-year project duration, and lost
reproductive potential is anticipated to result in a loss of five
additional northern long-eared bats, seven little brown bats, and seven
tricolored bats over the 25-year period. To offset the impacts of the
taking of northern long-eared, little brown, and tricolored bats, the
applicants propose to avoid habitat-loss-related impacts from habitat
and forest management by instituting avoidance measures during the
management process, such as restricting forest management activities to
3 percent or less of the county-managed forests over a 10-year rolling
period, limiting forest management during the bat active season to 34
percent or less of the total annual harvest and 10 percent or less
during the pup season, and leaving buffers around roost trees.
Beneficial and net effects of the conservation strategy include the
successful management of forests, which protect potential habitat for
bats, and the creation, restoration, and maintenance of maternity roost
and foraging habitat on one-third of the county-managed forest lands (a
minimum of 85,387 acres), and other specific measures that minimize or
avoid effects to the covered species.
National Environmental Policy Act
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
applicant's project and the proposed mitigation measures would
individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the
covered species and the environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily
concluded that the ITP for this project would qualify for categorical
exclusion, and the HCP would be low effect under our NEPA regulations
at 43 CFR 46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that would result
in (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and
candidate species and their habitats; (2) minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) incremental impacts
from the Federal action that, when added to other past, present, and
reasonable foreseeable future actions, would not result in significant
cumulative effects to environmental values or resources over time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments
received to determine whether the application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the ESA. We will also conduct an intra-Service
consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the effects
of the proposed take. After considering the above findings, we will
determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B)
of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue the requested
ITP to the applicant.
Public Comments
The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested
parties on the proposed HCP and screening form during a 30-day public
comment period (see DATES). In particular, information and comments
regarding the following topics are requested:
1. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; and
2. Any threats to the northern long-eared bat, little brown bat, or
tricolored bat that may influence their populations over the life of
the ITP that are not addressed in the proposed HCP; and
3. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment.
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
ADDRESSES. We will post on https://regulations.gov all public comments
and information received electronically or via hardcopy. All comments
received, including names and addresses, will become part of the
administrative 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 can 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. 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 (50 CFR 17.22) and the
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
parts 1500-1508 (2020); 43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-26828 Filed 12-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
