Fish and Wildlife Service November 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, intend to prepare a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act to consider potential impacts on the human environment from proposed amendments to an incidental take permit and associated habitat conservation plan. Under the Endangered Species Act, we issued the original permit to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) in December 2011, authorizing take of the grizzly bear, Canada lynx, bull trout, and two other fish species incidental to the DNRC's forest management activities. The purpose of this notice is to describe the proposed action and advise other Federal and State agencies, potentially affected tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare a DSEIS. The DNRC intends to jointly prepare the DSEIS to comply with its responsibilities under the Montana Environmental Policy Act. We are not soliciting comments at this time. The public will have opportunity to comment on the published DSEIS when we announce its availability in the Federal Register and local and regional news sources.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received an application from the Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association (Thunder Basin Association) for an Enhancement of Survival permit (permit) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), associated with implementation of a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for eight species (Covered Species) in specified areas in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana (Coverage Area). The CCAA would implement a Conservation Strategy developed by the Thunder Basin Association for farm and ranch operations, certain recreational activities, oil and gas activities, and surface/in-situ mining activities on enrolled non-Federal lands in the Coverage Area. The Association also proposes that the Conservation Strategy be implemented on Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in the Coverage Area through two additional agreements, a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Conservation Agreement (CA), that would also be administered by the Association. The intent of the CCAA and associated CCA and CA is to provide non-Federal landowners and BLM and USFS pemittees/lessees in the Coverage Area with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve the Covered Species and their habitats on enrolled properties while carrying out their operations in a manner that would contribute to precluding the need to list any of these species. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we have prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the potential impacts of issuance of the permit and implementation of the proposed CCAA, as well as the potential impacts of other Federal entities entering into the companion CCA and CA. The draft EA also analyzes the potential impacts of two alternatives to the consolidated proposed action, including a no action alternative. The permit application, the draft CCAA and draft EA are available for public review, and we seek public comment on these documents and potential issuance of the permit associated with the CCAA. Because the draft CCA and CA are part of the proposed action addressed in the draft EA, we have also made these draft agreements available for public review.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks information about potential objections to the public release of possibly confidential information regarding import and export activities tracked via the Service's Law Enforcement Management Information System. We issue this notice and solicit this information in response to a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our intent to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for proposed issuance of an incidental take permit (ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the draft Oil & Gas Coalition Multi-State Habitat Conservation Plan (O&G HCP). The O&G HCP is being developed to streamline environmental permitting and compliance with the ESA for nine companies in conjunction with their respective midstream and upstream oil and gas exploration, production, and maintenance activities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia over a 50-year period. We announce a public scoping period during which we invite input regarding development of the draft EIS, which will evaluate the impacts to the human environment associated with issuance of an ITP and implementation of the O&G HCP, and alternatives. We will hold public informational meetings and request comments during this public scoping period.

Under the Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on an incidental take permit application for federally listed American burying beetle (ABB) take resulting from activities associated with oil and gas well field infrastructure geophysical exploration (seismic) and construction, maintenance, operation, repair, and decommissioning in Oklahoma. If approved, the permit would be issued under the approved Amended Oil and Gas Industry Conservation Plan (ICP)Associated with Issuing Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(B) American Burying Beetle Permits Oklahoma.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibit activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce revisions to our Mitigation Policy, which has guided Service recommendations on mitigating the adverse impacts of land and water developments on fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats since 1981. The revisions are motivated by changes in conservation challenges and practices since 1981, including accelerating loss of habitats, effects of climate change, and advances in conservation science. The revised Policy provides a framework for applying a landscape-scale approach to achieve, through application of the mitigation hierarchy, a net gain in conservation outcomes, or at a minimum, no net loss of resources and their values, services, and functions resulting from proposed actions. The primary intent of the Policy is to apply mitigation in a strategic manner that ensures an effective linkage with conservation strategies at appropriate landscape scales.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received an incidental take permit application from Na Pua Makani Power Partners, LLC, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The requested permit would authorize the take of one threatened and six endangered species caused by covered activities associated with a wind energy generation project on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The permit application included the proposed Na Pua Makani Wind Energy Project Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which described the activities that may result in the incidental taking of listed species, and the measures the applicant will take to minimize, mitigate, and monitor for adverse impacts to the covered species. The applicant modified the proposed action in the HCP in response to public comments and the modified HCP is available for public review pursuant to this notice. The Service also announces the availability of a Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) addressing the modified proposed action in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). If issued, the ITP would authorize incidental take of the covered species that may occur as a result of the construction and operation of the Na Pua Makani Wind Energy Project (Project) over a 21-year period. We are making the permit application package, including the modified HCP and SEIS, available for public review and comment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the final long range transportation plan (LRTP). The Final LRTP outlines a strategy for improving and maintaining transportation assets that provide access to Service-managed lands in the Northeast Region (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) over the next 20 years.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental assessment (EA) for the National Elk Refuge (Refuge, NWR). In this final CCP, we describe how we intend to manage the refuge for the next 15 years.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make available the final record of decision (ROD) on revising regulations governing non-Federal oil and gas activities on National Wildlife Refuge System lands in order to improve our ability to protect refuge resources, visitors, and the general public's health and safety from potential impacts associated with non-Federal oil and gas operations located within refuges. The Service has selected Alternative B, implementation of the final rule, Management of Non-Federal Oil and Gas Rights, which revises current Service regulations, as its final decision. This decision is described and analyzed in the final environmental impact statement and summarized in the ROD.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a public meeting of the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (Council). A Federal advisory committee, the Council was created in part to foster partnerships to enhance public awareness of the importance of aquatic resources and the social and economic benefits of recreational fishing and boating in the United States. This meeting is open to the public, and interested persons may make oral statements to the Council or may file written statements for consideration.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application from Kamehameha Schools (KS), a private charitable education trust, for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit application includes a draft Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) between KS, the Service, and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). Kamehameha Schools is proposing to conduct proactive conservation activities to promote the survival and recovery of 32 federally endangered species and one species currently proposed for listing (``covered species'') across the Keauhou and Kilauea Forest Lands, which comprise 32,280 acres on the southeastern slope of Mauna Loa, Hawaii Island. We invite comments from all interested parties on the permit application, including the draft SHA and a draft environmental action statement (EAS) prepared pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibit activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the final Environmental Assessment (FEA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the issuance of a take permit for golden eagles pursuant to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act), in association with the operation of the Alta East Wind Project (Alta East) in Kern County, California. The FEA was prepared in response to an application from Alta Wind X, LLC (applicant), an affiliate of NRG Yield, Inc., for a 5-year programmatic take permit for golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) under the Eagle Act. The applicant will implement a conservation program to avoid, minimize, and compensate for the project's impacts to eagles, as described in the applicant's Eagle Conservation Plan (ECP). We solicited comments on the draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) and have reviewed those comments in the course of preparing our findings for this project. Based on the FEA, the Service concludes that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. Based on the FONSI and findings we prepared associated with the permit application, we intend to issue the permit after 30 days.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the technical/agency draft recovery plan for the endangered chucky madtom, a fish. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria that must be met in order for us to reclassify this species to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public.