[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 43 (Monday, March 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13337-13338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04315]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA908]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS), in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to analyze the potential impacts on 
the human (biological, physical, social, and economic) environment 
caused by the Western Oregon State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan 
(WOSF HCP) and a range of reasonable alternatives. The WOSF HCP is 
being prepared in support of a request for Endangered Species Act (ESA) 
incidental take permits (ITPs) authorizing incidental take of covered 
species by covered activities. We are also announcing the initiation of 
a public scoping period to engage Federal, Tribal, State, and local 
governments and the public in the identification of issues and 
concerns, potential impacts, and reasonable alternatives to the 
proposed action that meet the purpose and need for consideration in the 
draft EIS. The applicant for the ITPs is the Oregon Department of 
Forestry (ODF).

DATES: The NMFS requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis, 
and identification of relevant information, studies, and analyses. All 
comments must be received by April 7, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0019, by:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2021-0019 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    The WOSF draft HCP is posted on the ODF website: https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/AboutODF/Pages/HCP-initiative.aspx.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle McMullin, NMFS, 541-957-3378, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The purpose of ITP(s) issuance to ODF is to protect the covered 
species and their habitat while allowing the applicant to manage WOSF 
lands in compliance with the ESA. The need for the Federal action is to 
respond to the applicant's request for ITPs for the covered species and 
covered activities as described in the WOSF HCP. NMFS and the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (USWFS) will review the ITP applications to 
determine if they meet permit issuance criteria.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Under the proposed action, NMFS and USFWS would approve the WOSF 
HCP and issue ITPs with 70-year permit

[[Page 13338]]

terms to the ODF for incidental take of covered species from covered 
activities in the plan area. The plan area includes all state 
forestlands west of the Cascade Range that are managed by ODF, a total 
of 733,695 acres (about 2969.16 km\2\). The permit area is defined as 
the portion of the plan area that ODF currently controls and where all 
covered activities would occur and conservation actions would apply. 
The covered activities are the projects and activities for which ODF is 
requesting take authorization. The covered activities include the ODF's 
forest and recreation management activities in the permit area as well 
as the activities needed to carry out ODF's proposed conservation 
strategy. Broad categories of covered activities include stand 
management, road system management, recreation infrastructure 
construction and maintenance, and HCP conservation actions. Covered 
species under the proposed WOSF HCP include threatened and endangered 
species listed under the ESA, and currently unlisted species that have 
the potential to become listed during the life of the HCP. Incidental 
take coverage is being sought by ODF for covered species. More 
information on covered activities and the species for which ODF is 
seeking incidental take coverage is provided in the draft HCP, 
available at https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/AboutODF/Pages/HCP-initiative.aspx.
    We will consider the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative 
as well as being open to considering what ideas the public may bring 
forward during the scoping process. We are using this process to seek 
alternatives, which may include, but are not limited to variation in 
the length of the permit term; adding or removing some of the covered 
species; the level of take allowed; the level, location, or type of 
minimization, mitigation, or monitoring provided under the HCP; the 
scope of covered activities; the location, amount or type of 
conservation, or similar aspects of the permit conditions.

Summary of Expected Impacts

    Incidental take is expected to occur due to the covered activities 
under the proposed action. Expected impacts are less than what occurs 
under ODFs current timber/land management practices. ODF is proposing a 
conservation strategy as part of their HCP that is intended to fully 
offset the impacts of the take.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    The following permits, consultations, or other authorizations are 
anticipated to be required in order to proceed with issuance of the 
ITPs:
     ESA Section 7 consultations, ESA Section 10 Findings;
     Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
consultation;
     Tribal consultations; and
     National Historic Preservation Act with possible 
memorandum of agreement or other mechanism.

Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    Information on the proposed NEPA schedule can be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/notice-intent-prepare-environmental-impact-statement-western-oregon-state-forest-habitat.

Public Scoping Process

    This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the EIS. NMFS is hosting a public webinar for 
informational purposes, including a question and answer session, within 
the scoping period. Information on the webinar date and time, and 
instructions for connecting or calling into the webinar will be posted 
at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/notice-intent-prepare-environmental-impact-statement-western-oregon-state-forest-habitat. 
Accommodations for persons with disabilities are available; 
accommodation requests should be directed to Michelle McMullin at least 
10 working days prior to the webinar.
    Public comments will not be accepted during the webinar.

Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and 
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action

    The primary purpose of the scoping process is for the public to 
assist NMFS in developing the EIS. NMFS requests that the comments be 
specific. In particular, we request information regarding: Any science 
that is relevant and not yet incorporated, any interpretation of 
science that is different than what is presented; significant issues; 
identification of impacts that are not fully off-set; review and input 
regarding monitoring; possible alternatives that meet the purpose and 
need; effects or impacts to the human environment from the proposed 
action or alternatives; and potential terms and conditions that may 
minimize adverse effects, including time or area restrictions or both 
to reduce environmental impacts.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    NMFS is the lead agency for the NEPA process. The USFWS is a 
cooperating agency in the NEPA process.

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    If after publication of the Record of Decision we determine that 
all requirements are met for ITP issuance, the NMFS West Coast Regional 
Administrator will issue a decision on the requested ITP.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; 40 CFR parts 1500-1508; and 
Companion Manual for NOAA Administrative Order 216-6A, 82 FR 4306.

    Dated: February 25, 2021.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-04315 Filed 3-5-21; 8:45 am]
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