[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6964-6965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4116]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AD20


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Special 
Rule for the Conservation of the Northern Spotted Owl on Non-Federal 
Lands

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Alternatives 
Analysis for the Proposed Special Rule for the Conservation of the 
Northern Spotted Owl on Non-Federal Lands and Extension of Public 
Comment Period on the Proposed Special Rule.

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SUMMARY: The Service has prepared a Draft Environmental Alternatives 
Analysis (EAA) for the proposed special rule for the conservation of 
the northern spotted owl on non-Federal lands in California and 
Washington. The proposed special rule was published in the Federal 
Register on February 17, 1995 (60 FR, No. 33, Page 9484). The 
implementing regulations for threatened wildlife generally incorporate 
the prohibitions of Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 
1973, as amended, for endangered wildlife, except when a ``special 
rule'' promulgated pursuant to Section 4(d) of the Act has been issued 
with respect to a particular threatened species. At the time the 
northern spotted owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, (spotted owl) was 
listed as a threatened species in 1990, the Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service) did not promulgate a special Section 4(d) rule and, 
therefore, all of the Section 9 prohibitions, including the ``take'' 
prohibitions, became applicable to the species. Subsequent to the 
listing of the spotted owl, a Federal Late-Successional and Old-growth 
(LSOG) forest management strategy (Plan) was developed and then 
formally adopted on April 13, 1994, in a Record of Decision (ROD) that 
amended land management plans for Federal forests in northern 
California, Oregon, and Washington. Although this proposed rule refers 
to the Federal LSOG forest strategy as the ``Forest Plan'', it is noted 
that the strategy is not a stand-alone management plan but rather 
effected a series of amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
Management planning documents. In recognition of the significant 
contribution the Plan does make toward spotted owl conservation and 
management, the Service proposed a special rule, pursuant to Section 
4(d) of the Act, to replace the blanket prohibition against incidental 
take of spotted owls with a narrower, more tailor-made set of standards 
that reduce prohibitions applicable to timber harvest and related 
activities on specified non-Federal forest lands in Washington and 
California.
    The Service seeks comments from the interested public, agencies, 
and interest groups on the Draft EAA and for its proposed 4(d) rule. 
The comment period for the proposed rule has been extended repeatedly 
since the proposed rule's publication in February of 1995, and will be 
extended one more time to coincide with the end of the public comment 
period on the Draft EAA.

DATES: Comments from all interested parties must be received by April 
8, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments and materials concerning this Draft Environmental 
Alternatives Analysis and the proposed rule should be sent to Mr. 
Michael J. Spear, Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181. The 
complete file for this proposed rule will be available for public 
inspection, by appointment during normal business hours, at the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Technical Support for Forest 
Resources, 333 S.W. 1st Avenue, 4th Floor, Portland, Oregon 97204, 
(503/326-6218).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Curt Smitch, Assistant Regional 
Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3704 Griffin Lane 
S.E., Suite 102, Olympia, Washington 98501, (206/534-9330); or Ron 
Crete, Office of Technical Support for Forest Resources, 333 S.W. 1st 
Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181, (503/326-6218).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service has prepared a draft document 
called an Environmental Alternatives Analysis (EAA) that describes and 
analyzes the potential environmental effects of the proposed special 
rule and six alternatives for the conservation of the northern spotted 
owl on non-Federal lands in Washington and California. Each alternative 
would revise to varying degrees the Federal prohibitions and exceptions 
regarding the incidental take of spotted owls on non-Federal lands in 
California and Washington. The proposed rule, analyzed in the Draft EAA 
as Alternative 3, was published in the Federal Register on February 17, 
1995 (60 FR, No. 33, Page 9484). The new document was prepared as a 
draft EAA rather than as a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
because in the 1995 Rescissions Act signed in July of 1995, Congress 
specifically exempted the Service from preparing an EIS under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for this action. While not 
subject to the provisions of NEPA as a matter of law, the Draft EAA 
nevertheless follows the same general format and addresses the same 
range of issues as is generally found in a draft EIS.
    The Service believes that it is important to seek public comment on 
the environmental analysis it has conducted on the various alternative 
approaches to this proposed action. Therefore, a 45-day comment period 
is provided.
    The implementing regulations for threatened wildlife generally 
incorporate the prohibitions of Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act 
(Act) of 1973, as amended, for endangered wildlife, except when a 
``special rule'' promulgated pursuant to Section 4(d) of the Act has 
been issued with respect to a particular threatened species. When the 
northern spotted owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, (spotted owl) was 
listed as a threatened species in 1990, the Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service) did not promulgate a special 4(d) rule. Therefore, all of the 
Section 9 prohibitions for endangered species were made applicable to 
the spotted owl throughout its range, including the prohibitions 
against ``take'' that apply to endangered species under the Act.
    Subsequent to the listing of the spotted owl, a new Federal forest 
management strategy was developed and proposed by the Forest Ecosystem 
Management Assessment Team (FEMAT), which was established by President 
Clinton following the April 2, 1993, Forest Conference, in Portland, 
Oregon. FEMAT outlined those options in the report, Forest Ecosystem 
Management: An Ecological, Economic, and Social Assessment, which drew 
heavily upon previous scientific studies conducted on the northern 
spotted owl. On July 1, 1993, the President identified ``Option 9'' in 
the FEMAT Report as the preferred alternative for managing 

[[Page 6965]]
Federal LSOG forests in northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
    The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on FEMAT was 
completed in February 1994, and the Record of Decision was signed on 
April 13, 1994. This process culminated in the formal administrative 
adoption of Alternative 9 as the President's Forest Plan. This Plan was 
viewed as providing a firm foundation for the conservation needs of the 
spotted owl, especially in light of the net addition of approximately 
600,000 acres of Federal forest lands to protected reserve status 
between its original formulation in the FEMAT Report and the Record of 
Decision.
    Despite enhanced owl protection under the final Forest Plan, 
however, the Service believed that some supplemental support from non-
Federal forest lands remained necessary and advisable for owl 
conservation in certain parts of the range of the owl.
    The Service published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal 
Register (58 FR, Page 69132) on December 29, 1993, to issue a 4(d) rule 
on the spotted owl, and sent out a mailer advising the public of its 
intention to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the 
proposal. In response, the Service received and evaluated more than 
8,500 public comments. Taking these comments into consideration, and 
based upon additional analyses, the Service subsequently proposed a 
special rule that would reduce the prohibition against incidental take 
of spotted owls in the course of timber harvest and related activities 
on specified non-Federal forest lands in Washington and California.
    The Service did not include Oregon within the geographic scope of 
the proposed special rule at the request of the Oregon Congressional 
delegation. The Service was asked to wait for state officials and 
private landowners to develop an alternative owl conservation strategy 
for the state. By excluding Oregon altogether from the proposed special 
rule, the Service retained for Oregon the original level of protection 
against take for the owl established when the species was listed on 
June 26, 1990.
    Although the release of this Draft EAA represents another important 
milestone in the development of a 4(d) rule for the northern spotted 
owl, the Service wants to reiterate that the ability to finalize such a 
rule, providing relief to non-Federal landowners, is directly dependent 
upon the continued strength of the President's Forest Plan, as well as 
the continued viability of the assumptions underlying that Plan. Should 
litigation or legislative enactments ultimately nullify key elements of 
the Forest Plan, the Service would have to reassess its ability to 
finalize any 4(d) rule.
    The Draft EAA is being mailed to all persons who previously 
requested a copy. A 35 page Executive Summary also is available by 
calling (503) 326-6218. The document, including all maps, tables, 
charts, and graphs, is available on the Internet's World Wide Web at 
http://www.rl.fws.gov/4deaa/welcome.html.

    Dated: February 15, 1996.
Michael J. Spear,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, 
Oregon.
[FR Doc. 96-4116 Filed 2-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P