[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57891-57893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20231]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) to the Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment 
Final EIS at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine 
Palms, California

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD.

[[Page 57892]]


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the 
Department of the Navy (DON) announces its intent to prepare a 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the 
potential environmental impacts that may result from implementing 
alternative desert tortoise translocation plans at the Marine Corps Air 
Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms (hereinafter ``the Combat 
Center''). The Supplemental EIS is a supplement to the Final EIS for 
``Land Acquisition and Airspace Establishment to Support Large-Scale 
Marine Air Ground Task Force Live Fire and Maneuver Training'' dated 
July 2012 (hereinafter ``2012 Final EIS'') (77 FR 44234).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c), a Supplemental 
EIS is being prepared to evaluate new information relevant to 
environmental concerns associated with translocation of tortoises from 
specific training areas on newly acquired lands. Translocation was 
deemed necessary to mitigate the moderate to high levels of impact on 
the tortoise population from the Marine Expeditionary Brigade training 
activities assessed in the 2012 Final EIS. Since the 2012 Final EIS, 
the Marine Corps has conducted additional detailed studies and worked 
cooperatively with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), 
the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) on alternative translocation plans for the desert 
tortoise, as required in a 2012 Biological Opinion (BO) issued by the 
USFWS. In light of new information gained from these efforts, the DON 
has elected to prepare a Supplemental EIS focusing on the evaluation of 
potential impacts from alternative tortoise translocation plans.
    The purpose of the proposed action evaluated in the Supplemental 
EIS is to study alternative translocation plans in support of the 
project that was described in the 2012 Final EIS, selected in the 2013 
Record of Decision (ROD) (78 FR 11632), and authorized by the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014.
    The Marine Corps needs to implement the proposed action to satisfy 
requirements identified in the 2012 Final EIS and associated 2012 BO. 
The 2012 BO concluded that the implementation of the Preferred 
Alternative from the 2012 Final EIS would likely result in the ``take'' 
of desert tortoises associated with military training, tortoise 
translocation efforts, and authorized and unauthorized Off-Highway 
Vehicle (OHV) use by recreationists displaced from former areas of the 
Johnson Valley OHV Area.
    The 2013 ROD and associated BO committed the Marine Corps to 
undertake measures to minimize the ``take'' of desert tortoises 
including:
     Establishment of new Special Use Areas (tortoises habitat 
areas where military training and Off-Highway Vehicle use will be 
prohibited;
     Translocation Program;
     Desert Tortoise Headstarting and Population Augmentation; 
and
     Monitoring.
    While the 2012 Final EIS and associated BO analyzed a particular 
translocation program, additional detailed studies and cooperative work 
on alternative translocation plans for the desert tortoise revealed 
other possible methods of meeting these requirements. In light of the 
purpose and need for the proposed action, the DON has identified two 
potential action alternatives and a No-Action Alternative for the 
translocation of desert tortoise from training impact areas.
    Each alternative will identify recipient sites (to which tortoises 
would be translocated), and control sites (where the resident tortoise 
populations will be studied to provide comparative data on survival, 
threats to survival, habitat stability and changes, and health and 
disease relative to the translocated tortoise populations at the 
recipient sites). Each alternative will also include details of the 
proposed tortoise translocation, including specific handling 
procedures, fencing, clearance surveys, 30 years of post-translocation 
monitoring, and other research activities.
    The Combat Center identified and applied screening criteria from 
the 2011 USFWS revised recovery plan for the Mojave population of the 
desert tortoise and the 2011 USFWS guidance for translocation of desert 
tortoises to evaluate and select the proposed recipient sites/areas 
under each alternative. These criteria relate to land use, habitat 
quality, population levels, disease prevalence, and distance from 
collection. The Combat Center also screened for research and monitoring 
feasibility.
    Under the No-Action Alternative, the Marine Corps would conduct 
translocation of desert tortoises in accordance with the General 
Translocation Plan (GTP) described in the 2012 BO. Alternatives 1 and 2 
primarily differ from the No Action Alternative in the selection of 
proposed recipient and control areas and in the distribution of desert 
tortoises at each release site. Compared to the No Action Alternative, 
Alternatives 1 and 2 would also include additional research studies and 
reflect updated information obtained from the 3-year program of surveys 
conducted since the 2012 Final EIS. Alternative 2 differs from 
Alternative 1 in that: (1) One less recipient site would be used; (2) 
the pairing of control sites to recipient sites would be different; (3) 
the Bullion control site would be located on the Combat Center instead 
of within the Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness Area; and (4) translocation 
densities would be different.
    The Supplemental EIS will analyze environmental effects associated 
primarily with biological resources, land use, air quality, and 
cultural resources. The Supplemental EIS analysis will evaluate direct, 
indirect, short-term and long-term impacts, as well as cumulative 
impacts from other relevant activities. Additionally, the DON will 
undertake any consultations required by all applicable laws or 
regulations.
    BLM has been invited to be a Cooperating Agency on the preparation 
of the Supplemental EIS since many of the lands to which tortoises 
would be relocated are managed by BLM.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9(c)(4), the DON will prepare, circulate, 
and file the Supplemental EIS in the same fashion (exclusive of 
scoping) as it did the draft and 2012 Final EIS. This will include 
providing a Draft Supplemental EIS for a 45-day public review period in 
October 2016, during which three (3) public information meetings will 
be held in the communities of Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, and Barstow. A 
Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental EIS and Notice of 
Public Meetings will be published in the Federal Register, in area 
newspapers, and on the Supplemental EIS Web site at http://LADTT.com in 
advance of the release of the Draft Supplemental EIS and the public 
meetings. Those notices will identify further details about the public 
meetings and the specific opportunities and methods for the public to 
provide comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS.
    The mailing list for the Supplemental EIS is based on the 2012 
Final EIS. Those on this list will receive notices and documents 
related to Supplemental EIS preparation. This list includes local, 
state, and federal agencies with jurisdiction or other interests in the 
alternatives. In addition, the mailing list includes adjacent property 
owners, affected municipalities, and other interested parties such as 
conservation

[[Page 57893]]

and off-highway vehicle organizations. Anyone wishing to be added to 
the mailing list may request to be added by contacting the Supplemental 
EIS project manager at the address below.
    No decision will be made to implement any alternative until the 
Supplemental EIS process is completed and a ROD is signed by the 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) 
or designee.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NEPA Program Manager (Attn: Mr. Scott 
Kerr), Bldg. 1418, MAGTFTC/MCAGCC, Twentynine Palms, CA 92278-8104; 
phone: 760-830-8190; email: [email protected].

    Dated: August 18, 2016.
C. Pan,
Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, Alternate 
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-20231 Filed 8-23-16; 8:45 am]
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