Notice2026-10995
North Dakota Petroleum Council, North Dakota; Multi-Project Habitat Conservation Plan for the Dakota Skipper, Draft Environmental Assessment
Primary source
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Published
June 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of documents related to an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) is applying for a permit associated with incidental take of the Dakota Skipper (Hesperia dacotae) during above-ground activities associated with the development of oil and gas projects in North Dakota. NDPC has submitted a new application for a 30-year ITP, including the Dakota Skipper Multi-Project Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and associated documents and appendices. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's revised HCP and the Service's draft environmental assessment, prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. The Service provides this notice to seek comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32994-32995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10995]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2026-0859; FXES11140600000-267-FF06E15000]
North Dakota Petroleum Council, North Dakota; Multi-Project
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Dakota Skipper, Draft Environmental
Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of documents related to an application for an incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The North
Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) is applying for a permit associated
with incidental take of the Dakota Skipper (Hesperia dacotae) during
above-ground activities associated with the development of oil and gas
projects in North Dakota. NDPC has submitted a new application for a
30-year ITP, including the Dakota Skipper Multi-Project Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) and associated documents and appendices. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's revised HCP and the Service's draft environmental
assessment, prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Service provides this notice to seek comments from the public and
Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before July
2, 2026. Comments submitted online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (see
ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing
date.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: Electronic copies of the documents this notice
announces, along with public comments received, will be available
online in Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2026-0859 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Submitting Comments: All submissions must include the docket number
[FWS-R6-ES-2026-0859] for this document. To submit written comments,
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information
requests or comments are in reference to the NDPC HCP.
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2026-0859.
<bullet> U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R6-ES-2026-0859; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this
document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be
considered. We will not accept comments via email, fax, or hand
delivery. We are not required to consider comments that are submitted
after the comment period ends or that are submitted via a method
outside of these instructions. Comments containing profanity,
vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate content will not be
considered.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luke Toso, by phone at (701) 355-8528
or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c68ab3ada39992a9b5a986a0b1b5e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4a063f212f151e2539250a2c3d39642d253c">[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, TTD, 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 the Dakota Skipper Multi-
Project Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), Draft Environmental Assessment
(draft EA), and associated documents related to the North Dakota
Petroleum Council's (NDPC) application for an Incidental Take Permit
(ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). NDPC applied for a 30-year ITP to seek
authorization for incidental take of the Dakota Skipper (Hesperia
dacotae; DASK) that may be associated with oil and gas development
projects by NDPC
[[Page 32995]]
member companies in North Dakota. If granted, the ITP would authorize
incidental take of DASK resulting from the HCP's covered activities.
The proposed HCP has a programmatic structure that establishes a
standardized conservation strategy and defines a process to enroll
multiple similar projects under a single incidental take permit through
Certificates of Inclusion over the 30-year permit term. The draft EA
analyzes the effects of the proposed action and the no-action
alternative.
Background
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 to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. The
Service 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 and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b) and 17.32(b)) provide for authorizing
incidental take of listed species. Issuance of an ITP also must not
jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant
species, pursuant to section 7 of the ESA and 50 CFR 402.02. The
permittee would receive assurances under our ``No Surprises''
regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).
Project Information
The NDPC has requested take authorization of DASK that may result
from covered activities associated with oil and gas development in the
Plan Area, which is the State of North Dakota. Covered activities
include those associated with above-ground pre-construction and
exploration actions, construction, operation and maintenance,
decommissioning, and reclamation for multiple future projects. Under
the programmatic structure of the HCP, the NDPC is the master permit
holder. Individual projects seeking coverage under the HCP would
prepare an application package to demonstrate their plan to implement
the conservation strategies set forth in the HCP, submit that
application package to the NDPC, and receive a Certificate of
Inclusion. The Certificate of Inclusion then extends the DASK take
authorization of the HCP and ITP to the Certificate of Inclusion holder
for the individual project.
The ITP, if issued, would authorize take of the DASK that may occur
incidental to the covered activities. The HCP describes the covered
activities, the anticipated impacts to DASK from the covered
activities, and the measures that NDPC and Certificate of Inclusion
holders will implement to minimize and mitigate such impacts. The HCP
also describes the environmental setting and biological resources in
the Plan Area, the biological goals and objectives of the HCP,
monitoring, adaptive management, and funding assurances.
National Environmental Policy Act Background
The draft EA analyzes the effects of the proposed action, which is
issuance of the ITP and the implementation of the proposed programmatic
HCP. The draft EA also analyzes the no-action alternative, which is the
denial of the programmatic permit application and the consideration of
individual ITP applications for proposed projects instead.
The potential issuance of the ITP is considered a Federal action
under NEPA, and we determined that preparation of an EA to analyze the
potential impacts on the human (biological, physical, social, and
economic) environment caused by the project was appropriate. The draft
EA was prepared in accordance with NEPA, and the most recent associated
regulations, and the procedures set forth in the Department of the
Interior's NEPA Handbook.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--might
be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 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. Comments and materials we receive will be available for
public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2026-0859, at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>.
Next Steps and Decision to be Made
We will make a permit decision based on the statutory and
regulatory criteria of ESA Section 10(a), informed by the permit
application, HCP, and any public comments. This determination will also
include our compliance with Section 7 of the ESA through an intra-
Service consultation. We will rely on the results of this consultation,
our NEPA analyses, and the findings on permit issuance criteria to
decide whether to issue the permit with appropriate terms and
conditions.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations
(50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32), National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and the Service's implementing regulations (43 CFR Part
46).
Marjorie Nelson,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Mountain-Prairie
Region.
[FR Doc. 2026-10995 Filed 6-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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