[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35991-35992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12118]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2022-N021; FXES11140100000-223-FF01E0000]


Port Blakely Company; John Franklin Eddy Forestlands Habitat 
Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment; Receipt of Incidental 
Take Permit Application

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), have received an 
incidental take permit (ITP) application from the Port Blakely Company, 
including a habitat conservation plan (HCP) for the John Franklin Eddy 
Forestlands in Clackamas County, Oregon. Port Blakely submitted the ITP 
application and HCP pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also received an ITP 
application from Port Blakely and, concurrent with this notice, has 
also published a notice of availability for comment on the ITP 
application, the applicant's HCP, and, as the lead Federal agency under 
the National Environmental Policy Act, a draft environmental assessment 
(draft EA) analyzing the potential effects of issuance of the 
respective ITPs. We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and 
Federal agencies to comment on these documents.

DATES: Written comments must be received by no later than 5 p.m. 
Pacific Standard Time on July 14, 2022. Any comments received after the 
closing date may not be considered in the final decision on these 
actions.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining documents: The HCP and draft EA are available on the 
internet at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/port-blakely-habitat-conservation-plan-john-franklin-eddy-forestlands.
    Submitting comments: Submit comments in writing via email to 
[email protected]. Include the following in the email subject 
line: ``Comments on Port Blakely HCP/Draft EA.'' Please specify whether 
your comments are associated with the HCP or the draft EA, and refer to 
the specific page number and line number of the document on which you 
are commenting. FWS and NMFS will consider all relevant comments 
submitted in response to the respective notices of availability. There 
is no need to submit identical comments in response to both notices 
(please also see Public Availability of Comments).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Zisa, by email at [email protected] 
or via phone at 503-231-6961. 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 
(FWS), have received an incidental take permit (ITP) application from 
the Port Blakely Company, including a habitat conservation plan (HCP) 
for the John Franklin Eddy Forestlands in Clackamas County, Oregon. 
Port Blakely submitted the ITP application and HCP pursuant to section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit, if issued, would authorize incidental 
take of species under FWS jurisdiction resulting from the timber 
harvest, silviculture, road management, and conservation activities 
described in the HCP, for a permit term of 50 years.
    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also received an ITP 
application and, concurrent with this notice, has also published a 
notice of the availability for comment on that ITP application, the HCP 
and, as the lead Federal agency under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a draft 
environmental assessment (draft EA) analyzing the potential effects of 
issuance of the respective ITPs. FWS is a cooperating agency under NEPA 
for this proposed action. Both notices are soliciting public comments 
through a single process, described below.

Species Included in the Habitat Conservation Plan

    Port Blakely's habitat conservation plan (HCP) includes three ESA-
listed species that are under the jurisdiction of FWS, and three ESA-
listed species that are under the jurisdiction of NMFS. The HCP also 
includes 14 species not listed under the ESA.

ESA-Listed Species Under FWS Jurisdiction:
     Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus): threatened
     Gray wolf (Canis lupus): endangered
     Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina): 
threatened
ESA-Listed Species Under NMFS Jurisdiction:
     Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): threatened 
Lower Columbia River (LCR) evolutionarily significant unit (ESU); 
threatened Upper Willamette River (UWR) ESU
     Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch): threatened LCR ESU
     Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss): threatened LCR distinct 
population segment (DPS); threatened UWR DPS
Non-ESA-Listed Species:
     Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)
     Cascades frog (Rana cascadae)
     Coastal tailed frog (Ascaphus truei)
     Cascade torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton cascadae)
     Oregon slender salamander (Batrachoseps wright)
     Western/North Pacific pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata 
marmorata)
     Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

[[Page 35992]]

     Pacific fisher (Pekania pennanti)
     Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii spp.)
     Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus)
     Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)
     Fringed myotis bat (Myotis thysanodes)
     Long-eared myotis bat (Myotis evotis)
     Long-legged myotis bat (Myotis volans)

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the taking of a species listed as 
endangered or threatened. The ESA defines ``take'' to mean to harass, 
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or 
to attempt to engage in any such conduct. The FWS may issue permits, 
under limited circumstances, to take listed species incidental to 
otherwise lawful activities pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA 
and implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b) and 17.32(b)).
    On August 16, 2020, NMFS and FWS received separate applications 
from Port Blakely for ITPs to authorize take of the above species that 
may occur incidental to Port Blakely's timber harvest, silviculture, 
road management, and conservation activities on approximately 30,000 
acres of its John Franklin Eddy Forestlands in the Clackamas River and 
Molalla River Basins of Oregon. In association with the applications, 
the applicant submitted a HCP, which specifies the impacts to the 
species that will likely result from implementing the covered 
activities, steps that Port Blakely will take to minimize and mitigate 
such impacts, procedures to account for unforeseen or changed 
circumstances, a plan for monitoring and adaptive management, and a 
description of funding assurances. Authorization for take of the 
species not currently listed under the ESA addressed by the HCP would 
be included in the ITP proposed for issuance by FWS; the take 
authorization would be in effect for one or more of the species if the 
FWS lists the species during the permit term.
    The proposed issuance of the ITPs is considered a Federal action 
under NEPA, and NMFS prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) to 
analyze the potential impacts on the human environment in accordance 
with the requirements of NEPA, with input from FWS as a cooperating 
agency. Further information regarding the Draft EA is described in the 
NMFS notice of availability.

Next Steps

    After the public comment period ends (see DATES), FWS and NMFS will 
each evaluate the permit applications, associated documents, and any 
comments received to make their permit decisions based on the statutory 
and regulatory criteria of the ESA. Each agency will document its 
determination independently, in separate ESA section 10 findings 
documents and ESA Section 7 biological opinions. NMFS will also 
finalize the EA and determine whether the proposed action warrants a 
finding of no significant impact, or whether an environmental impact 
statement should be prepared pursuant to NEPA.

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 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. Moreover, 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

    Section 10(c) of the ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 
17.22, and 50 CFR 17.32).

Hugh Morrison,
Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-12118 Filed 6-13-22; 8:45 am]
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