[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2445-2446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00426]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2019-0010; FF06E00000 212 FXES11140600000]


Incidental Take Permit Application; Habitat Conservation Plan and 
Categorical Exclusion for the Threatened Grizzly Bear; Flathead, 
Glacier, Lincoln, and Toole Counties, Montana

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the 
availability of documents related to an application for an incidental 
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. BNSF Railway (BNSF) 
has applied for an ITP, which, if granted, would authorize take of the 
federally threatened grizzly bear that is likely to occur incidental to 
railroad operations and maintenance. The documents available for review 
and comment are the applicant's habitat conservation plan, which is 
part of the ITP application, and our draft environmental action 
statement and low-effect screening form, which support a categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. We invite 
comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
governments.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before 
February 11, 2021. Comments submitted online at Regulations.gov (see 
ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing 
date.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as 
well as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be 
available for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2019-
0010 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2019-0010.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R6-ES-2019-0010; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
PERMA; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    We request that you send comments by only the methods described 
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Conard, by phone at 406-758-6882, 
by email at [email protected], or via the Federal Relay Service at 
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), have received an application from BNSF Railway (BNSF) for a 
7-year incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application 
addresses the potential for take of the federally threatened grizzly 
bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) that is likely to occur incidental to 
ongoing operations and maintenance of approximately 206 miles of 
railroad.
    The documents available for review and comment are the applicant's 
habitat conservation plan (HCP), which is part of the ITP application, 
and our draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening 
form. These documents helped inform our conclusion that the activities 
proposed by the permit application will have a low effect on the 
species and the human environment. Accordingly, the HCP qualifies for a 
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan

    BNSF has submitted a low-effect HCP in support of an application 
for an ITP to address take of the species that is likely to occur as 
the result of BNSF's ongoing operations and management of approximately 
206 miles of railway between Trego, Montana, and Shelby, Montana. The 
requested permit duration is for 7 years from permit issuance. The 
railway is within grizzly bear habitat in the Northern Continental 
Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery zone. The biological goals and 
objectives are to reduce attractants and deter grizzly bears from 
entering high-risk areas of railway and to contribute to the recovery 
of the grizzly bear population by offsetting incidental take by 
reducing other sources of human-caused mortality. The proposed 
conservation program includes implementing measures to reduce 
attractants, providing financial support to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and 
Parks and the Blackfeet Indian Nation for reducing human/grizzly bear 
conflicts through increased personnel, equipment, and education.

Public Availability of Comments

    Written comments we receive become part of the administrative 
record associated with this action. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal

[[Page 2446]]

identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can request in your 
comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their 
entirety.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and NEPA 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).

Stephen Small,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Mountain-Prairie 
Region.
[FR Doc. 2021-00426 Filed 1-11-21; 8:45 am]
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