[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9477-9479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03572]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2015-N001; FXES11120100000F2-156-FF01E00000]


Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Habitat Conservation 
Plan for the Fender's Blue Butterfly on Private Lands in Yamhill 
County, Oregon

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from the Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation 
District (SWCD) for an incidental take permit (permit) under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit 
application includes a draft Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) addressing 
private land management activities within upland prairie in Yamhill 
County, Oregon, that may result in the incidental take of the federally 
endangered Fender's blue butterfly. The Service also announces the 
availability of a draft environmental assessment (EA) addressing the 
proposed HCP and issuance of a permit that was prepared in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). 
We invite comments from all interested parties on the permit 
application, including the HCP and the EA.

DATES: Written comments on the HCP and the EA must be received from 
interested parties no later than March 25, 2015.

ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments, 
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information 
request or comments are in reference to the Yamhill SWCD HCP.
     Internet: Documents may be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/ToolsForLandowners/HabitatConservationPlans/.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Yamhill SWCD HCP'' 
in the subject line of the message or comments.
     U.S. Mail: State Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 2600 SE 98th Ave., Suite 100, Portland, OR 97266.
     Fax: 503-231-6195, Attn: Yamhill SWCD HCP.
     In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Comments and materials 
received will be available for public inspection, by appointment, 
during normal business hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
2600 SE 98th Ave., Suite 100, Portland, OR 97266.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Szlemp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 503-231-6179; facsimile: 503-231- 
6195. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf, please call 
the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) prohibits the take of 
fish and wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened under 
section 4 of the ESA. Under the ESA, the term ``take'' means 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(19)). The term 
``harm,'' as defined in our regulations, includes significant habitat 
modification or degradation that results in death or injury to listed 
species by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, 
including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). The term 
``harass'' is defined in our regulations as to carry out actions that 
create the likelihood of injury to listed species to such an extent as 
to significantly disrupt normal behavioral patterns, which include, but 
are not limited to, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3).
    Under specified circumstances, the Service may issue permits that 
authorize take of federally listed species, provided the take is 
incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity. 
Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened species are 
at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA 
contains provisions for issuing such incidental take permits to non-
Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species, 
provided the following criteria are met:
    (1) The taking will be incidental;
    (2) The applicant will prepare a conservation plan that, to the 
maximum extent practicable, identifies the steps the applicant will 
take to minimize and mitigate the impact of such taking;
    (3) The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan 
will be provided;
    (4) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
    (5) The applicant will carry out any other measures that the 
Service may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes 
of the plan.

Proposed Action

    The Service proposes to approve the HCP and to issue a permit, both 
with a term of 50 years, to the SWCD for incidental take of the 
federally endangered Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides 
fenderi) caused by covered activities, if permit issuance criteria are 
met. The permit would allow the SWCD to issue certificates of inclusion 
to private landowners wanting coverage under the HCP for incidental 
take of the Fender's blue butterfly. Private landowners who wish to be 
covered under the permit may apply for a certificate of inclusion to 
the permit after signing a cooperative agreement with the SWCD. This 
will allow landowners within identified butterfly habitat in Yamhill 
County to continue to perform otherwise lawful activities that have the 
potential to impact the Fender's blue butterfly. To compensate for take 
impacts, the SWCD will work

[[Page 9478]]

with participating landowners to minimize and mitigate their impacts.
    The area to be addressed in the HCP (i.e., the covered lands) 
consists of privately-owned lands in Yamhill County, Oregon, totaling 
approximately 7,831 acres. The covered lands are primarily rural lands 
supporting a variety of agricultural activities, some of which have the 
potential to affect Fender's blue butterflies. Activities proposed for 
coverage (covered activities) under the HCP include forage production, 
livestock grazing, vineyard establishment, timber establishment, 
voluntary habitat restoration, and mitigation and monitoring. Potential 
impacts caused by covered activities are anticipated to occur within 
upland prairie habitat in areas that are within the butterfly flight 
distance (1.2 miles) of known Fender's blue butterfly populations.
    Under the HCP, the impacts of ``take'' of the Fender's blue 
butterfly are being measured by the quantity of the butterfly's host 
plant, Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii), and nectar 
resources that are adversely affected. Kincaid's lupine is federally-
listed as a threatened species, but there are no take prohibitions for 
plants on non-Federal lands under the ESA. These impacts are projected 
based on the acreage of butterfly habitat where the covered activities 
occur, and the average abundance of Kincaid's lupine and nectar plants 
in those affected areas. Under the HCP, the total take impact on 
covered lands is estimated at 0.91 acres over the 50-year permit term.
    The HCP includes measures to conserve butterfly habitat, and to 
avoid and minimize incidental take of the Fender's blue butterfly. 
Under the HCP, the conservation measures include:
    (1) Working with individual landowners and providing technical 
assistance on means to avoid adverse impacts to the butterfly and its 
habitat and to implement best management practices for the identified 
covered activities;
    (2) Implementing mitigation measures when impacts to the Fender's 
blue butterfly and its habitats are unavoidable. Mitigation may be 
completed by protection of existing butterfly-occupied habitat, habitat 
enhancement and management that increases the quantity of resources for 
Fender's blue butterflies beyond pre-existing levels, or a combination 
of protection and enhancement. Mitigation ratios will be calculated 
using a product of a site quality multiplier and a base mitigation 
ratio. The site quality modifier ranges from 0.8 to 1.2, and the base 
mitigation ratios vary from 1 to 1, to 5 to 1. The HCP assumes an 
overall average mitigation ratio of 2 to 1 to be applied.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The development of the draft HCP and the proposed issuance of the 
permit under this plan is a Federal action that triggers the need for 
compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We have prepared a draft 
EA to analyze the environmental impacts of three alternatives related 
to the issuance of a permit and implementation of the conservation 
program under the proposed HCP. The three alternatives include the 
proposed action, a no-action alternative, and an individual permit 
alternative to the issuance of certificates of inclusion under the HCP.
    The ``Proposed Action'' alternative is the issuance of a permit to 
the SWCD and implementation of the HCP.
    Under the ``No-action'' alternative, the proposed HCP would not be 
implemented and no permit would be issued to the SWCD to provide 
landowners coverage for incidental take of Fender's blue butterfly 
resulting from covered activities. The no-action alternative would not 
give landowners regulatory certainty, and actions that could result in 
take of Fender's blue butterfly would be prohibited under section 9 of 
the ESA.
    Under the individual permit alternative, each landowner who may 
impact the Fender's blue butterfly and its habitat would complete their 
own HCP, obtain their own permit, and conduct and pay for their own 
mitigation, which could delay implementation of a covered activity 
anywhere from one to three years. The SWCD would also be required to 
obtain take coverage for any habitat restoration, enhancement, and 
management activities that are likely to impact and cause take of the 
Fender's blue butterfly.

Public Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods 
listed in the ADDRESSES section. We request data, comments, new 
information, or suggestions from the public, other concerned 
governmental agencies, the scientific community, Tribes, industry, or 
any other interested party on our proposed Federal action. We 
particularly seek comments on the following: (1) Biological data or 
other information regarding the Fender's blue butterfly and Kincaid's 
lupine; (2) additional information concerning the range, distribution, 
population size, and population trends of the butterfly and the lupine; 
(3) current or planned activities in the subject area and their 
possible impacts on these species; (4) the presence of archeological 
sites, buildings and structures, historic events, sacred and 
traditional areas, and other historic preservation concerns, which are 
required to be considered in Federal project planning by the National 
Historic Preservation Act; (5) identification of any other 
environmental issues that should be considered with regard to the 
permit action; and (6) information regarding the adequacy of the HCP 
pursuant to the requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments and materials we receive become part of the public 
record associated with this action. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comments, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so. Comments and materials we 
receive, as well as supporting documentation we use in preparing the 
EA, will be available for public inspection by appointment, during 
normal business hours, at our Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office (see 
ADDRESSES).

Next Steps

    After completion of the EA based on consideration of public 
comments, we will determine whether our proposed approval of the HCP 
warrants a finding of no significant impact or whether an environmental 
impact statement should be prepared pursuant to NEPA. We will evaluate 
the HCP, as well as any comments we receive, to determine whether 
implementation of the HCP would meet the criteria for issuance of a 
permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also evaluate 
whether the proposed permit action would comply with section 7 of the 
ESA by conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation. We will 
consider the results of this consultation, in combination with the 
above findings, in our final analysis to determine whether or not to 
issue a permit to the SWCD. We will not make the final NEPA and permit 
decisions until after the end of the 30-day public comment period on 
this notice, and we will fully consider all comments we receive during 
the public comment period.

[[Page 9479]]

    If we determine that the permit issuance requirements are met, the 
Service will issue a permit to the SWCD. The SWCD would then begin 
processing requests from landowners interested in certificates on 
inclusion under the HCP in order to receive coverage for the incidental 
take of the Fender's blue butterfly under the permit issued to SWCD.

Authority

    We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of 
section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) and their implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 40 
CFR 1506.6, respectively).

    Dated: January 9, 2015.
Richard Hannan,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2015-03572 Filed 2-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P