[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43288-43290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15417]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2020-0101; FXES11140100000-223-FF01E0000]


Record of Decision for the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
and Habitat Conservation Plan for Thurston County, Washington

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; record of decision and habitat 
conservation plan.

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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 issuance of a permit 
under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the 
Thurston County habitat conservation plan (HCP). The ROD documents the 
Service's decision to issue an incidental take permit (ITP) to the 
Thurston County Community Planning and Economic Development Department 
(Thurston County, County, or applicant) in response to their permit 
application. As summarized in the ROD, the Service has selected the 
proposed action alternative, which includes implementation of the HCP 
and issuance of a 30-year ITP authorizing incidental take from covered 
activities of four threatened species and one endangered species listed 
under the ESA, and one non-listed species.

ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the ROD and other documents 
associated with the decision by any of the following methods:
     Internet: https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2020-0101, or at https://www.fws.gov/office/washington-fish-and-wildlife.
     Upon Request: You may request alternative formats of the 
documents directly from the Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Connally, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, by telephone at 360-753-
9440 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), announce the availability of a record of decision (ROD) for 
the issuance of an Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 10(a)(1)(B) 
incidental take permit (ITP) to the Thurston County Community Planning 
and Economic Development Department (Thurston County, County, or 
applicant) in Thurston County, Washington. The ROD documents the 
Service's decision to issue an ITP to the applicant. As summarized in 
the ROD, the Service has selected the agency-preferred alternative 
(also described as the proposed action below), which includes 
implementation of a habitat conservation plan (HCP) and issuance of a 
30-year ITP authorizing incidental take of the threatened Yelm pocket 
gopher (Thomomys mazama yelmensis), Olympia pocket gopher (T. mazama 
pugetensis), Tenino pocket gopher (T. mazama tumuli), and Oregon 
spotted frog (Rana pretiosa); the endangered Taylor's checkerspot 
butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori); and the Oregon vesper sparrow 
(Pooecetes gramineus affinis), which is under review to determine if 
Federal listing under the ESA is warranted.
    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). The 
Service published a notice of availability (NOA) for the draft 
environmental impact statement (EIS) in the Federal Register on 
September 24, 2021 (86 FR 53111), and we published an NOA for the final 
EIS on May 13, 2022 (87 FR 29361). All alternatives were described in 
detail, evaluated, and analyzed in the draft and final EIS.
    In 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final 
rule updating the NEPA implementing regulations (the ``2020 rule''; 85 
FR 43304, July 16, 2020). The 2020 rule went into effect on September 
14, 2020, and it applied to any NEPA process begun after that date. 
Because the Service published a notice of intent (NOI) to develop an 
EIS for this project on October 16, 2020 (85 FR 65861), the DEIS and 
FEIS were prepared according to the 2020 rule. On April 20, 2022, CEQ 
published a final rule that modified the 2020 rule, including 
reinstating the definition of cumulative effects (the ``2022 rule''; 87 
FR 23453). The 2022 rule went into effect on May 20, 2022. While 
terminology used in the EIS is based on the 2020 rule, the analysis in 
the EIS is consistent with both the 2020 and 2022 rules; the purpose 
and goals of NEPA; longstanding Federal judicial and regulatory 
interpretations; the Department of the Interior's NEPA regulations (43 
CFR part 46); and Administration priorities and policies, including 
Secretary's Order No. 3399, requiring use of ``the same application or 
level of NEPA that would have been applied to a proposed action before 
the 2020 rule went into effect.''

Background

    Thurston County applied for an ITP to cover a variety of activities 
for which the County issues permits or approvals, or activities the 
County otherwise carries out under its jurisdiction, as detailed in the 
HCP. The covered activities are described further in the final EIS and 
in the HCP. The covered activities include:
     Residential development;
     Development of accessory structures;
     Installation, repair, or alteration of septic systems;
     Commercial and industrial development;
     Public service facility construction;
     Transportation projects;
     Transportation maintenance and other work within County-
owned road rights-of-way;
     Landfill and solid waste management;
     Water resources management;
     Management of conservation lands; and
     County parks, trails, and land management.
    Through implementation of the HCP, the County will permit or 
conduct covered activities that incidentally take covered species. The 
HCP includes an analysis of projected impacts to covered species and 
measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts. Where take is 
unavoidable, the County will permanently conserve lands in accordance 
with HCP requirements (``conservation lands'') to fully offset impacts 
of the taking on covered species before permits are issued or covered 
activities are conducted. Conservation lands will be monitored and 
adaptively managed to ensure they meet HCP-specified performance 
standards. Avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures are 
discussed in greater detail below.
    It is not practical to analyze anticipated take of individuals of 
each species; therefore, the HCP uses habitat, measured as habitat area 
or as ``functional-acre'' values, as a surrogate for quantifying 
impacts and mitigation for each covered species. The functional-acre 
approach weights habitat acreage with values for the covered species' 
distribution, habitat condition, and landscape context. This approach 
provides greater weight to

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both impacts and mitigation occurring in or near areas that are a 
priority for conservation of the covered species.
    Development and maintenance activities covered by the HCP will 
impact Mazama pocket gopher subspecies when the activities occur within 
habitat in the ranges of the covered species. Fewer HCP-covered 
development and maintenance activities will impact the Oregon spotted 
frog, the Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, and the Oregon vesper 
sparrow, because they have relatively localized ranges in Thurston 
County and thus are less likely to be impacted by covered activities.
    Measures to avoid and minimize impacts of the taking on covered 
species include avoiding habitat where feasible, reducing the extent of 
habitat impacts through within-site project design, and additional 
species-specific measures for each group of covered activities, as 
described in the HCP. These measures are detailed in Appendix C of the 
HCP, including standard practices to avoid and minimize impacts on 
prairie species and prairie habitats, as well as on the Oregon spotted 
frog and its habitat, when siting and locating activities as well as 
during construction. Appendix C of the HCP also details enhanced 
measures recommended as best practices for land managers who 
voluntarily maintain habitat functions for the covered species.
    To mitigate for unavoidable impacts to covered species, Thurston 
County proposes to permanently protect, restore or enhance where 
appropriate, and manage habitat occupied by covered species on 
conservation lands. Conservation lands include newly acquired permanent 
habitat reserves; working agricultural lands; and existing reserves 
where the County will enhance and permanently maintain habitat quality. 
The addition of conservation lands to the HCP conservation lands 
network will occur incrementally during HCP implementation at a pace 
that meets or exceeds the pace of impacts to each covered species.
    The HCP includes funding assurances, monitoring, an adaptive 
management process, and changed circumstance provisions to help ensure 
that the conservation program achieves the biological goals for the 
covered species. Annual reports will confirm the amount, type, and 
location of impacts and mitigation, as well as the status of 
monitoring, adaptive management, changed circumstances, and funding. 
The conservation program and expected effects of HCP implementation on 
the covered species and their habitats are described in greater detail 
in the HCP and in the FEIS. The HCP is expected to be implemented for 
30 years, and the resulting conservation lands will be permanently 
maintained.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    In addition to the ITP, Thurston County will manage covered 
activities to comply with all other applicable laws, including, without 
limitation, Washington State endangered and protected species 
regulations; the Washington State Growth Management Act, which includes 
State and local protection of historic and cultural resources 
implemented through the County's comprehensive plan; the Washington 
State Shoreline Management Act; the Washington State Hydraulic Code; 
Thurston County Critical Area Ordinances; State and local requirements 
for administrative procedures; and other regulations. Individual 
projects conducted under the HCP will undergo individual review by the 
County for compliance with local codes and further public review, as 
appropriate, through the Washington State Environmental Policy Act.

Purpose and Need

    As described in the final EIS, the Service's purpose and need for 
the Federal action is to process the County's request for an ITP, the 
issuance of which is necessary to meet the County's development and 
biological goals, and to inform the Service's decision to grant, grant 
with conditions, or deny the ITP request in compliance with the 
Service's authority under applicable law, including, without 
limitation, section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and applicable ESA 
implementing regulations. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA includes 
conservation authorities and obligations that require us to respond to 
the ITP application submitted by the applicant.

Alternatives

    In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C 4321 et seq.), the Service 
prepared a final EIS analyzing the proposed action (identified as the 
preferred alternative), a no-action alternative, and one alternative to 
the proposed action. Summaries of each alternative are presented below. 
The environmental consequences of each alternative were analyzed to 
determine if significant impacts to the human environment would occur. 
Public comments received in response to the draft EIS were considered, 
and the final EIS responds to comments and includes some clarifications 
that address public comments. The final EIS did not identify an 
environmentally preferable alternative. Pursuant to NEPA implementing 
regulations found at 40 CFR 1505.2, the Service identified the proposed 
action as the environmentally preferable alternative in the ROD, 
because the network of conservation lands would be slightly larger and 
more diverse than in the modified HCP alternative action, resulting in 
greater conservation benefit to the covered species.
    No-Action Alternative: The Service would not issue incidental take 
authorization to the County, and the County would not implement the 
HCP. The County would continue to conduct, permit, and approve 
activities on a case-by-case basis in compliance with Federal, State, 
and local requirements, including the Thurston County Critical Areas 
code. The County and individual project proponents would continue to 
evaluate each project to ensure unauthorized take of listed species is 
avoided. The County would not implement a coordinated, County-wide 
conservation program for ESA-listed species. This alternative is the 
current situation in Thurston County.
    Proposed Action Alternative: The Service would, in accordance with 
applicable law, issue the requested ITP to Thurston County for the 
incidental take of covered species by the covered activities. The 
County would implement the Thurston County HCP and its conservation 
program, including, without limitation, implementation of measures to 
minimize effects of covered activities, mitigation measures to fully 
offset the impacts of the taking on covered species, and monitoring and 
reporting. The County would also ensure funding for HCP implementation. 
Under the proposed action, the County would mitigate for the impacts of 
the taking on covered species, in part through the execution of 
conservation easements on working agricultural lands, the enhancement 
of existing conservation reserves, and the establishment and management 
of new conservation reserves. The proposed action is the Service's 
agency-preferred alternative because it provides a practical approach 
for durable conservation outcomes in the permit area while supporting 
the County's goals and community interests, such as preservation of 
agricultural lands.
    Modified HCP Alternative Action: The Service would, in accordance 
with applicable law, issue an ITP to Thurston County with the same 
permit area, permit term, covered species, covered activities, and many 
of the HCP elements described for the proposed action. Under this 
alternative, the County would mitigate for the impacts of the taking on 
covered species solely through the establishment and

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management of new conservation reserves. The County would not execute 
conservation easements on working agricultural lands, or include the 
enhancement of existing conservation reserves in the mitigation 
strategy. Under this alternative, the network of conservation lands 
would be slightly smaller.

Decision and Rationale for Decision

    We have made the determination that the applicant's proposed HCP, 
as modified by the terms and conditions of the ITP, would meet the 
statutory ITP issuance criteria set forth in section 10(1)(2)(B) (16 
U.S.C. 1539(a)(2)(B)). Our assessment of the application was conducted 
in accordance with the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA 
and its implementing regulations. Based on our review of the 
alternatives and their environmental consequences as described in the 
final EIS, we selected the proposed action because implementation of 
the final HCP and issuance of the ITP best fulfills the Service's 
statutory mission and responsibilities while meeting our purpose and 
need. This decision is described further in the ROD.

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).

Nanette Seto,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region 1, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-15417 Filed 7-19-22; 8:45 am]
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