[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62550-62551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19437]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD326]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice; Issuance of one Endangered Species Act incidental take 
permit; availability of the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS issued an Incidental Take 
Permit

[[Page 62551]]

(ITP) to Port Blakely, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 
1973, as amended, for the incidental take of ESA-listed species on the 
John Franklin Eddy Forestlands located in the Clackamas River and 
Molalla River basins of Oregon. The ITP is issued for a duration of 50 
years. The ITP application and Port Blakely Habitat Conservation Plan 
(HCP) were submitted to NMFS pursuant to the ESA. NMFS also prepared a 
Final Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FONSI) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
associated with NMFS' issuance of the ITP for the HCP.

DATES: The ITP (No. 26729) was issued to Port Blakely on September 8, 
2023, and the necessary countersignatures by the applicants were 
received on September 8, 2023. The expiration date of the ITP is 
September 1, 2073. The issued ITP is subject to certain conditions set 
forth therein.

ADDRESSES: The permit, the Final EA and FONSI, and other related 
documents are available on the NMFS West Coast Region website at: 
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/port-blakely-habitat-conservation-plan-john-franklin-eddy-forestlands.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Annie Birnie, NMFS, via phone at 503-
230-5407 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Included in the HCP

ESA-Listed Species Covered by NMFS

     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.

ESA-Listed Species Covered by USFWS

     Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus);
     Gray wolf (Canis lupus); and
     Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina).

Non-ESA-Listed Species Covered by USFWS

     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);
     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 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), authorizes NMFS and USFWS to issue ITPs to non-Federal parties 
for potential incidental take of endangered or threatened species as a 
result of covered activities. In support of its applications for such 
ITPs, Port Blakely prepared an HCP that provides an assessment of 
impacts of its timber harvest, silviculture, and road management 
activities in the Clackamas River and Molalla River basins of Oregon on 
the identified species; measures to monitor, minimize and mitigate for 
those impacts on those species; and procedures to account for 
unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances. NMFS received the ITP 
application and draft HCP on February 10, 2022.
    On June 14, 2022, NMFS published a Notice of Receipt and Notice of 
Availability in the Federal Register (87 FR 35970) asking for public 
comments on the draft HCP and the associated draft NEPA EA. NMFS 
received two comments and these comments were addressed as changes to 
the final EA. The requested permit has been issued under the authority 
of the ESA on September 8, 2023. This ITP authorizes the incidental 
take of ESA-listed species set forth in the HCP over the 50-year permit 
term.

Authority

    Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations prohibit the taking of 
a species listed as endangered or threatened. The ESA defines ``take'' 
to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, 
or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. NMFS may issue 
permits, under limited circumstances to take listed species incidental 
to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. Section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA provides for authorizing incidental take of 
listed species. NMFS regulations governing permits for threatened and 
endangered species are promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307

    Dated: September 5, 2023.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-19437 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
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