Notice2025-00264
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Elliott State Research Forest Habitat Conservation Plan in Coos and Douglas Counties; Oregon
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Published
January 10, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announces the availability of a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the evaluation of incidental take permit applications and a supporting habitat conservation plan (HCP) developed by the Oregon Department of State Lands (ODSL; applicant). The applicant seeks incidental take permits from FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (together, the Services) to authorize the incidental take of three species expected to result from research and management activities on the Elliott State Research Forest in Coos and Douglas Counties, Oregon. With this notice, we also make available the final Elliott State Research Forest Habitat Conservation Plan submitted by the applicant.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 6 (Friday, January 10, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2013-2015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00264]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2022-0029; ES11140100000-256-FF01E0000]
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Elliott State
Research Forest Habitat Conservation Plan in Coos and Douglas Counties;
Oregon
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; final environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announces the
availability of a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the
evaluation of incidental take permit applications and a supporting
habitat conservation plan (HCP) developed by the Oregon Department of
State Lands (ODSL; applicant). The applicant seeks incidental take
permits from FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (together,
the Services) to authorize the incidental take of three species
expected to result from research and management activities on the
Elliott State Research Forest in Coos and Douglas Counties, Oregon.
With this notice, we also make available the final Elliott State
Research Forest Habitat Conservation Plan submitted by the applicant.
DATES: The Services' decisions on the incidental take permit
applications will occur no sooner than 30 days after publication of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability of the
FEIS in the Federal Register, and will be documented in records of
decision by the Services.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the HCP and FEIS by any of the
following methods:
<bullet> Internet: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (search for Docket
No. FWS-R1-ES-2022-0029) or at <a href="https://www.fws.gov/project/elliott-state-research-forest-habitat-conservation-plan">https://www.fws.gov/project/elliott-state-research-forest-habitat-conservation-plan</a>.
<bullet> Phone: You may call Shauna Everett at 503-231-6949, to
request alternative formats of the documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shauna Everett, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Office, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES), by telephone
at 503-231-6949, or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#33405b52465d526c56455641564747735544401d545c45"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="44372c25312a251b21322136213030042233376a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>. 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
[[Page 2014]]
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)
announce the availability of a final environmental impact statement
(FEIS) to address the Oregon Department of State Lands' (ODSL;
applicant) proposal related to its activities in managing the Elliott
State Research Forest (ESRF) pursuant to ODSL's Habitat Conservation
Plan (ESRF HCP). In accordance with the requirements of the Endangered
Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the applicant
seeks an incidental take permit (ITP) authorizing take of the
threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina),
threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), and threatened
Oregon Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) (together, the covered
species). Incidental take permits for the northern spotted owl and
marbled murrelet fall under the jurisdiction of FWS; incidental take
permits for the Oregon Coast coho salmon fall under the jurisdiction of
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together, the Services).
If issued, the ITPs would authorize take of the covered species
that may occur incidental to a variety of research and management
activities on the Elliott State Research Forest (ESRF) in Coos and
Douglas Counties, Oregon, for a period of 80 years. In support of the
ITP applications, ODSL prepared the ESRF HCP to specify the impacts
that will likely result from the take of covered species and the steps
the applicant would take to avoid, minimize, and mitigate such impacts.
The applicant's HCP also explains proposed monitoring and adaptive
management procedures, changed circumstances, and funding assurances
for HCP implementation.
The Service, with input from NMFS, Oregon Department of Forestry
(ODF), and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) as
cooperating agencies, prepared the Final EIS pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) implementing NEPA regulations at 40 CFR
parts 1500-1508, effective on May 20, 2022 (87 FR 23453) and the
Department of the Interior's NEPA regulations at 43 CFR part 46. The
Final EIS provides updates and clarifications to information presented
in the Draft EIS, including revisions in response to issues raised in
comments received during the public review period for that document,
and identifies a preferred alternative.
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as
endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538 and 16 U.S.C. 1533). The ESA
implementing regulations extend, under certain circumstances, the
prohibition of take to threatened species (50 CFR 17.31). Under section
3 of the ESA, the term ``take'' means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in
any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm'' is defined
by FWS regulations as ``an act which actually kills or injures
wildlife. Such act may include significant habitat modification or
degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering'' (50 CFR 17.3; see 50 CFR 222.102 for
NMFS regulations).
Under section 10(a) of the ESA, the Services may issue permits to
authorize incidental take of listed fish and wildlife species.
``Incidental take'' is take that is incidental to, and not the purpose
of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the ESA contains provisions for issuing ITPs to non-Federal entities
for the take of endangered and threatened species, provided the
following criteria are met:
1. The taking will be incidental;
2. The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
4. The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
5. The applicant will carry out any other measures that FWS (or
NMFS) may require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of
the HCP.
ODSL is requesting authorization of incidental take of the
threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina),
threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), and threatened
Oregon Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) (together, the covered
species) for covered activities in management of the ESRF located in
Coos and Douglas Counties in southwestern Oregon. ODSL is seeking
authorization for incidental take for a variety of research and
management activities, including forest research treatments, timber
removal, forest and species research projects, supporting management
activities, supporting infrastructure management, and activities
identified in the conservation strategy and monitoring program that may
result in effects on covered species. These activities and the effects
on covered species and the environment are described further in the HCP
and FEIS. The proposed permit term is 80 years.
Measures to minimize and mitigate impacts on covered species are
described in the HCP for each species as conservation measures and
conditions on covered activities, guided by goals and objectives in the
conservation strategy of the HCP. ODSL would monitor implementation of
these measures for compliance and effectiveness. Minimization and
mitigation measures are subject to adaptive management to ensure
achievement of the ESRF HCP's biological goals and objectives.
The ESRF HCP includes funding information and assurances,
monitoring requirements, adaptive management, and provisions for
changed and unforeseen circumstances to help ensure conservation
outcomes for the covered species over the permit term. Annual reports
to the Services would confirm the amount, type, and location of impacts
and mitigation, as well as the status of monitoring, adaptive
management, changed circumstances, and funding.
National Environmental Policy Act
The proposed issuance of an ITP supported by the HCP is a Federal
action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.). The EIS was prepared consistent with the Council on
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508, May 2022)
and the Department of the Interior's NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46).
FWS is the Federal lead agency responsible for preparing the EIS; NMFS,
ODF, and ODFW were cooperating agencies. As a cooperating agency, NMFS
may adopt the EIS in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.3.
The purpose of the Federal action considered in the EIS is to
fulfill the Services' section 10(a)(1)(B) conservation authorities and
obligations under the ESA to address the applications requesting
authorization of incidental take of three species listed as threatened
under the ESA, the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and Oregon
Coast coho salmon. The need for the Federal action is to respond to the
applicant's request for incidental take permits for the covered species
and
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covered activities as described in the HCP.
The proposed action, identified as the preferred alternative in the
FEIS, is the issuance of an ITP and implementation of the HCP. The FEIS
analyzed the proposed action, a no action alternative, and two
alternatives to the proposed action, including the environmental
consequences of each alternative. All action alternatives include
issuance of an ITP for take of three covered species.
Public Involvement
FWS published a notice of intent to prepare an EIS, opening a
public scoping period on May 5, 2022 (87 FR 26778), which closed on
June 6, 2022. A virtual public scoping meeting was held May 16, 2022.
FWS prepared a DEIS and opened a 45-day public comment period on the
DEIS and draft HCP on November 18, 2022 (87 FR 69291), followed by a 7-
day extension (published December 20, 2022, 87 FR 77877). A virtual
public meeting was held on December 13, 2022, during the comment
period, which ended on January 10, 2023. A total of 170 public comments
were received during the DEIS comment period, including duplicates. In
preparing the FEIS, FWS considered all of the public comments on the
DEIS and draft HCP, and the FEIS includes a response to substantive
comments received.
Environmental Protection Agency's Role in the EIS Process
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged under section
309 of the Clean Air Act with reviewing all Federal agencies' EISs and
commenting on the adequacy and acceptability of the environmental
impacts of proposed actions. Under the CEQ NEPA regulations, EPA is
also responsible for administering the EIS filing process. EPA is
publishing a notice in the Federal Register announcing this FEIS. EPA
serves as the repository (EIS database) for EISs prepared by Federal
agencies. You may search for EPA comments on EISs, along with EISs
themselves, at <a href="https://cdxapps.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/eis/search">https://cdxapps.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/eis/search</a>.
Next Steps and Decision To Be Made
FWS will evaluate the associated documents and public comments
received in reaching a final decision on the proposed issuance of ITPs.
No earlier than 30 days after the EPA's notice of the FEIS is published
in the Federal Register, FWS expects to complete a record of decision
pursuant to 40 CFR 1505.2, in accordance with applicable timeframes
established in 40 CFR 1506.11. FWS expects to issue a record of
decision by spring 2025. NMFS will independently document their
decision at the conclusion of the ESA and NEPA compliance processes.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of NEPA
and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Katherine Norman,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region.
[FR Doc. 2025-00264 Filed 1-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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