[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 184 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50883-50885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25459]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 071798F]


Receipt and Availability of Applications for Permits to Allow 
Incidental Take of Threatened and Endangered Species by The Pacific 
Lumber Company and its Subsidiaries, Scotia Pacific Holding, L.L.C., 
and Salmon Creek Corporation, on Lands in Humboldt County, California

AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Marine 
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period; request for public 
comment on Potential incidental take permit provisions and draft 
habitat conservation plan errata.

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SUMMARY: As announced in the Federal Register on July 14, 1998, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(collectively, the Services) requested comments on the applications for 
permits to allow incidental take of threatened and endangered species 
submitted by the Pacific Lumber Company and its Subsidiaries, Scotia 
Pacific Holding, L.L.C., and Salmon Creek Corporation (collectively, 
the Companies), on lands in Humboldt County, California, including the 
associated draft Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and draft 
Implementation Agreement (IA) on or before October 13, 1998. By this 
Notice, the Services announce an extension of the public comment period 
on the permit applications, including the draft HCP and IA, and invite 
public comment on new provisions which may be included in incidental 
take permits that may be issued to the Companies, and provide 
information clarifying language in the July 1998 draft HCP.

DATES: Written comments on the permit applications, draft HCP and draft 
IA must be received on or before November 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the application, including the draft HCP 
and IA, should be addressed to Mr. Bruce Halstead, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, California 95521-5582. 
Written comments may be sent by facsimile to (707) 822-8411. Please 
refer to permit number PRT-828950 and number 1157 when submitting 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bruce Halstead, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, (707) 822-7201, or Mr. Craig Wingert, National Marine 
Fisheries Service,(562) 980-4020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Companies have applied to the Services 
for incidental take permits pursuant to section 10(a) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The federally listed species for 
which the Companies have requested permits are the northern spotted 
owl, marbled murrelet, American peregrine falcon, bald eagle, western 
snowy plover, and coho salmon. The Companies have also requested 
inclusion in the permits of thirty currently unlisted species, which 
could be listed in the future under the Act. A draft HCP and draft IA 
were submitted to the Services as part of the permit applications. The 
draft HCP covers approximately 211,700 acres of the Companies' lands in 
Humboldt County, California. By a Federal Register Notice dated July 
14, 1998 (63 FR 37900), the Services announced the availability of the 
permit applications, including the draft HCP and IA for public review 
and solicited comments on the documents for a 90-day period ending on 
October 13, 1998. The Services are required to comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in determining whether to issue 
incidental take permits and, in cooperation with the California 
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, are in the process of 
preparing a joint Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the permit applications and 
related Federal and state actions.
    By this Notice, the Services are extending the public review and 
comment period on the permit applications, including the draft HCP and 
IA, to November 16, 1998. It is anticipated that the close of the 
public comment period on the soon to be released Draft EIS/EIR on the 
Headwaters Project will close on the same date. A Federal Register 
Notice announcing the availability of the Draft EIS/EIR for public 
review is expected in early October. Should the deadline for comments 
on the draft EIS/EIR be later than November 16, the comment period on 
the permit application also will be extended.
    By this Notice, the Services also advise the public that the 
agencies are considering additional provisions for inclusion in the 
incidental take permits that may be issued to the Company. These 
provisions, which are summarized below, are included in legislation 
regarding the Headwaters Forest and HCP (Assembly Bill 1986) recently 
passed by the California State legislature and currently waiting 
signature by the Governor. The full text of Assembly Bill 1986 may be 
obtained through the California Environmental Resources Evaluation 
System (CERES) website at http://www.ceres.ca.gov/ and through the Fish 
and Wildlife Service website at http://www.r1.fws.gov/text/
species.html.
    The California legislation appropriates monies to the state 
Wildlife Conservation Board to fund the State's share of the cost of 
acquiring approximately 7,500 acres of private forest lands, including 
the Headwaters Forest, in furtherance of an Agreement signed by the 
United States, the State of California, The Pacific Lumber Company, and 
its corporate parent on September 28, 1996. Like counterpart 
legislation passed by Congress (Pub. L. 105-83) in November 1997 to 
fund the Federal government's share of the cost of acquiring the forest 
lands, Assembly Bill 1986 provides that, among other things, incidental 
take permits covering the Companies' lands must be issued

[[Page 50884]]

before the appropriation becomes effective.
    The state legislation further conditions the expenditure of state 
funds for acquisition of the Headwaters Forest and adjacent lands on 
the inclusion of several provisions in the final HCP intended to 
strengthen protections for threatened and endangered species. Those 
provisions include the following:
    (1) Establishment of a 100-foot no-cut buffer on each side of each 
Class I watercourse until, following completion of a watershed analysis 
that has been reviewed by the Services, site specific prescriptions for 
the watercourse have been established by the Fish and Wildlife Service 
or National Marine Fisheries Service and implemented by the Companies;
    (2) Establishment of a 30-foot no-cut buffer on each side of each 
Class II watercourse until, following completion of a watershed 
analysis that has been reviewed by the Services, site specific 
prescriptions for the watercourse have been established by the Fish and 
Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service and implemented 
by the Companies;
    (3) A requirement that the restrictions applicable to all Class I, 
II and III watercourses contained in the January 7, 1998, document 
entitled ``Corrected Version Draft - Interagency Federal-State Aquatic 
Strategy and Mitigation for Timber Harvest and Roads for the Pacific 
Lumber Company'' (located in the draft HCP in Volume 4, part D, section 
3, under the heading ``Default Strategy for Lands not Assessed through 
Watershed Analysis'') remain in effect until, following completion of a 
watershed analysis for each watercourse that has been reviewed by the 
Services, site specific prescriptions for the watercourse have been 
established by the Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine 
Fisheries Service and implemented by the Companies;
    (4) A requirement that the site specific prescriptions established 
by the Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service 
result in no-cut buffers of not less than 30 feet and not more than 170 
feet on each side of each Class I and Class II watercourse, except that 
no-cut buffers of less than 30 feet on Class II watercourses (but no 
less than allowed under the draft HCP) may be established where either 
of the Services determines a smaller buffer would benefit aquatic 
habitat or species;
    (5) Development of a peer review process by the Services, in 
consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the 
North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Department of 
Fish and Game, to evaluate on a spot-check basis the analyses and 
prescriptions developed through the watershed analysis process;
    (6) Establishment of a schedule that results in completion of the 
watershed analysis process in five years;
    (7) A prohibition on timber harvesting, including salvage logging 
and other management activities detrimental to the marbled murrelet and 
marbled murrelet habitat within the Marbled Murrelet Conservation Areas 
identified in the draft HCP for the life of the incidental take permits 
as defined in the February 27, 1998, document entitled ``Pre-Permit 
Application Agreement in Principle'';
    (8) A 5-year moratorium on timber harvesting, including salvage 
logging and other management activities within the Grizzly Creek 
Marbled Murrelet Conservation Area to provide an opportunity for the 
purchase and permanent protection of the area;
    (9) Inclusion of conditions on road-related activities that, on 
balance, are no less protective of species and habitat than the 
provisions contained in the Pre-Permit Application Agreement in 
Principle; and
    (10) A requirement that the Companies submit each timber harvesting 
plan (THP) covering lands included in the HCP to the Services for 
review and comment and a finding that the THP is consistent with the 
final HCP at least 30 days prior to the earliest possible date of the 
THP's approval by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
    Under the legislation, expenditure of the funds appropriated for 
acquisition of the Headwaters Forest and adjacent lands also requires 
that the final HCP be no less protective of aquatic or avian species 
than the draft HCP as amended by the conditions in the state 
legislation.
    Assembly Bill 1986 appropriates, conditioned on issuance of the 
incidental take permits and approval of the Sustained Yield Plan (SYP), 
additional funding for the future purchase of the Owl Creek and Grizzly 
Creek Marbled Murrelet Conservation Areas and, to the extent funds are 
available, purchase of tracts known as the ``Elk River Property''and 
forest land within the Mattole River watershed. These purchases would 
not be a component of the HCP, incidental take permits, or SYP. The 
state legislation also appropriates an additional $15,000,000 in 
economic assistance to Humboldt County conditioned on the approval of 
the incidental take permits and SYP.
    Because the provisions of the state legislation identified in 
numbered paragraphs 1 through 10 above are being considered for 
inclusion in a final HCP and any incidental take permits that may be 
issued, the Services invite public comment on the provisions. The 
provisions will also be analyzed in the Draft EIS/EIR scheduled to be 
released for public review and comment in early October 1998.

Draft Habitat Conservation Plan Errata

    Several inaccurate statements have been identified in the Pacific 
Lumber Company's Public Review Draft, Sustained Yield Plan/Habitat 
Conservation Plan, dated July, 1998. These statements describe the 
effects of the action as proposed by the Pacific Lumber Company at that 
time. Corrections are needed to provide an accurate portrayal of that 
proposal. The corrections detailed below relate to the description of 
the action as proposed in the July 1998 Public Review Draft.
    The following corrections or clarifications are needed within the 
Marbled Murrelet Habitat Conservation Plan, Volume IV, Part B, and 
within the Summary, Volume I, Part G.3.
    1. Correction of erroneous statement regarding protected acreage 
of residual timber stands.
    In Volume IV, Part B, page 1, last paragraph, the next to the 
last sentence should be replaced with the following sentence: A 
substantial amount (at least 3,300 acres, 27%) of the lower density 
residual old growth will not be available for harvest. 
    The original sentence in the Public Review Draft contained two 
errors. The errors derived from direct incorporation of language 
provided by Thomas Reid & Associates in page 2 of a memorandum to 
members of the Marbled Murrelet Recovery Team, dated June 5, 1998. 
That memorandum is attached to the HCP/SYP at Volume IV, Part B, 
Section 14. As a result of a typographical error, the word ``not'' 
was omitted from a corresponding sentence in that memorandum. Also, 
the amount of residual old-growth that would be protected was 
incorrectly calculated.
    2. Clarification regarding aggregate and protected acreages for 
MMCAs.
    In the Public Review Draft HCP, 12 separate MMCAs are aggregated 
into 8 contiguous areas, one of which would be harvested under the 
provisions of the HCP (either Owl Creek or Grizzly Creek, see e.g., 
paragraph 4, Volume IV, Part B, Page 1). In aggregate, all 8 of the 
contiguous MMCAs comprise approximately 8,500 acres. This number is 
reported in Volume I, Part B, at two locations on page 24: the last 
sentence of the 4th paragraph, and the first sentence of the sixth 
paragraph. It also is reported in Volume IV, Part B, Section 9.a, 
page 31; and on page 35 in the last sentence of the first paragraph 
under Section II. It is also reported the Summary, Volume I, page 
50, in the last sentence of the first paragraph under Section d.
    For clarification, it should be understood that while the MMCAs 
in aggregate would

[[Page 50885]]

total approximately 8,500 acres, either the Owl Creek MMCA or the 
Grizzly Creek MMCA would be harvested, and thus, total acreage 
protected within the remaining MMCAs would actually amount to 
approximately 7,500 acres (i.e., if the Owl Creek MMCA were 
harvested total MMCA protection will be 7,586 acres), not 8,500 
acres.
    Similarly, total acreage of Headwaters Reserve and MMCAs would 
equal approximately 15,000 acres, not 17,000 acres, as stated in 
Volume IV, Part B, in the final sentence on page 1, and on page 31, 
sec. 9.a, second sentence. This error also emanates from the Reid 
memo to members of the Recovery Team dated June 5, 1998, attached to 
the HCP at Volume IV, Part B, Section 14. The total had been 
incorrectly calculated.

    Dated: September 9, 1998.
Anne C. Badgley,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Portland, Oregon.
    Dated: September 14, 1998.
Kevin Collins,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-25459 Filed 9-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F