[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 196 (Thursday, October 9, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58298-58299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25621]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 402

[ID 092603B]
RIN 1018-AJ02; RIN 0648-AR05


National Marine Fisheries Service; Joint Counterpart Endangered 
Species Act Section 7 Consultation Regulations

AGENCIES: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; Bureau of Land 
Management, Interior; National Park Service, Interior; Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Interior; Forest Service, Agriculture; National Marine 
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and notice of 
availability of Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine 
Fisheries Service, (Services) announce the reopening of the comment 
period for the proposed joint counterpart regulations and the 
availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Healthy Forests 
Initiative Counterpart Regulations. The Services are evaluating the 
environmental effects of establishing counterpart regulations pursuant 
to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (ESA). These counterpart regulations are being 
proposed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 
Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and National Park 
Service (NPS) (jointly, Action Agencies). The proposal supports the 
President's Healthy Forests initiative and is intended to streamline 
ESA section 7 consultations on proposed projects that support the 
National Fire Plan (NFP).
    We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties 
to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule and the associated 
Environmental Assessment. Comments previously submitted on the proposed 
rule that was published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2003 (68 FR 
33805), need not be resubmitted as they will be incorporated into the 
public record as part of this reopened comment period and will be fully 
considered in the final rule.

DATES: Comments on this environmental assessment or the associated 
proposed rule must be received by November 10, 2003 to be considered in 
the final decision.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of this Environmental Assessment or the 
associated proposed rule may be obtained from the USFWS World Wide Web 
Consultation Home Page at: http://endangered.fws.gov/consultations/forestplan.html. Written copies of this Environmental Assessment or the 
associated proposed rule may be obtained from the Chief of the Division 
of Consultation, Habitat Conservation Planning, Recovery, and State 
Grants, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax 
Drive, Room 420, Arlington, Virginia 22203, or the Chief of the 
Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, 
Maryland 20910.
    Comments or materials concerning the Environmental Assessment or 
the associated proposed rule should be sent to the Chief, Division of 
Consultation, Habitat Conservation Planning, Recovery and State Grants, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 420, 
Arlington, Virginia 22203. Comments can also be accepted if submitted 
via e-mail to [email protected]. Comments and materials received 
in conjunction with this rulemaking will be available for inspection, 
by appointment, during normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Leonard, Chief, Division of 
Consultation, Habitat Conservation Planning, Recovery and State Grants, 
at the above address (Telephone 703/358-2171, Facsimile 703/358-1735) 
or Phil Williams, Chief, Endangered Species Division, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-1401; facsimile 301/713-
0376).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In response to several years of catastrophic wildland fires 
throughout the United States culminating in the particularly severe 
fire season of 2000, when over 6.5 million acres of wildland areas 
burned, President Clinton directed the Departments of the Interior and 
Agriculture to develop a report outlining a new approach to managing 
wildland fires and restoring fire-adapted ecosystems. The report, 
entitled Managing the Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the 
Environment, was issued September 8, 2000. This report set forth ways 
to reduce the impacts of fires on rural communities, a short-term plan 
for rehabilitation of fire-damaged ecosystems, and ways to limit the 
introduction of invasive species and address natural restoration 
processes. The report, and the accompanying budget requests, 
strategies, plans, and direction, have become known as the NFP. The NFP 
is intended to reduce risk to communities and natural resources from 
wildland fires through rehabilitation, restoration and maintenance of 
fire-adapted ecosystems, and by the reduction of accumulated fuels or 
highly combustible fuels on forests, woodlands, grasslands, and 
rangelands.
    In August 2002, during another severe wildland fire season in which 
over 7.1 million acres of wildlands burned, President Bush announced 
the Healthy Forests Initiative. The initiative was intended to 
accelerate implementation of the fuels reduction and ecosystem 
restoration goals of the NFP in order to minimize the damage caused by 
catastrophic wildfires by reducing unnecessary regulatory obstacles 
that

[[Page 58299]]

have at times delayed and frustrated active land management activities. 
As part of the initiative, the agencies were tasked with streamlining 
the section 7 consultation process for projects implementing the NFP.
    The Action Agencies published a proposed rule to establish Joint 
Counterpart Endangered Species Act section 7 regulations on June 5, 
2003 (68 FR 33805). The proposed counterpart regulations, authorized in 
general at 50 CFR 402.04, will provide an optional alternative to the 
existing section 7 consultation process described in 50 CFR part 402, 
subparts A and B. The counterpart regulations complement the general 
consultation regulations in part 402 by providing an alternative 
process for completing section 7 consultation for agency projects that 
authorize, fund, or carry out actions that support the NFP.
    In the Environmental Assessment, we considered three alternatives 
that would streamline the consultation process. The Memorandum of 
Understanding/Programmatic consultation alternative was eliminated from 
further consideration. The no action alternative would keep the current 
section 7 consultation process in place. The preferred alternative is 
to finalize the proposed counterpart regulation. The proposed action is 
to establish an alternative consultation process that would eliminate 
the need to conduct informal consultation and eliminate the requirement 
to obtain written concurrence from the applicable Service for those NFP 
actions that the Action Agency determines are ``not likely to adversely 
affect'' (NLAA) any listed species or designated critical habitat.

    Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: October 3, 2003.
Julie MacDonald,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
    Dated: October 3, 2003.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 03-25621 Filed 10-8-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P; 4310-55-P