Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for Olympia Pocket Gopher; Tumwater Operations and Maintenance Facility, Thurston County, WA; Categorical Exclusion

Issuing agencies

Abstract

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from the City of Tumwater Transportation and Engineering Department (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The ITP would authorize the applicant's take of the federally threatened Olympia subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher (Thomomys mazama pugetensis) ("covered species"), incidental to their otherwise lawful construction and infrastructure improvements at two locations in the City of Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and categorical exclusion screening form, both of which are also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.