[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31898-31899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11225]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-NWRS-2022-N004; FXRS12610100000-223-FF01R00000]


Record of Decision for the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Bighorn Sheep Management Plan, Hart Mountain National Antelope 
Refuge, Lake County, OR

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; record of decision.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a record of decision (ROD) for the final environmental 
impact statement for the Bighorn Sheep Management Plan for Hart 
Mountain National Antelope Refuge in Oregon. The ROD documents the 
Service's decision to select a preferred alternative comprised of a 
combination of bighorn sheep habitat improvement and population 
management actions.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the ROD and other documents 
associated with the decision by the following methods.
     Internet: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/hart_mountain/.
     Upon Request: You may request alternative formats of the 
documents directly from the Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannon Ludwig, by telephone at 541-
947-3315, or by email at [email protected]. Individuals in the 
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United 
States should use the relay services offered within their country to 
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service),

[[Page 31899]]

announce the availability of a record of decision (ROD) for the final 
environmental impact statement for the Bighorn Sheep Management Plan at 
the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge (Refuge), in Lake County, 
Oregon. The ROD documents the Service's decision to select Alternative 
D, Comprehensive Integrated Management (Preferred), which is a 
combination of bighorn sheep habitat improvement and population 
management actions.
    The bighorn sheep herd on the Refuge has declined from 
approximately 150 animals in 2017, to as few as 48 in 2020. 
Consequently, the herd is at risk of extirpation (local extinction) in 
the next few years without prompt management intervention. In response 
to the decline, the Service developed a bighorn sheep management plan 
and final environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze existing data 
and identify alternatives and actions needed to restore the herd to a 
sustainable population level. The EIS analyzes four alternatives: 
Continuing current management; a habitat management focus; a predator 
control focus; and a preferred alternative, which is a combination of 
habitat management and predator control. The alternatives reflect the 
urgency to implement short-term management actions that are based on 
the best available science, in combination with mid-to-long-term 
management and monitoring.
    The ROD documents the Service's decision to select Alternative D, 
the Comprehensive Integrated Management approach. Considering complex 
interactions between habitat features and demographic factors that 
ultimately determine the sustainability of bighorn sheep on the Refuge, 
we prefer an integrated management approach. Alternative D includes a 
long-term focus on habitat improvement and a shorter-term focus on 
bighorn sheep and predator population management.
    We are advising the public of the availability of the ROD, 
developed in compliance with agency decision making requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.). Our draft EIS and final EIS were made available to the 
public via Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Register 
notices on April 30, 2021 (86 FR 22963), and December 3, 2021 (86 FR 
68661), respectively. In the draft and final EIS documents, we 
described in detail, evaluated, and analyzed all alternatives. Because 
we initiated the EIS process prior to the September 14, 2020, effective 
date for the Council on Environmental Quality's updated NEPA 
regulations, the final EIS and ROD were completed consistent with the 
previous regulations (40 CFR 1506.13).

Authority

    We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of NEPA 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).

Hugh Morrison,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-11225 Filed 5-24-22; 8:45 am]
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