Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 130 / Thursday, July 6, 2000 / Notices 41719

to the southern tip of the Holgate

Peninsula.

Dated: June 27, 2000.

Mamie A. Parker,

Acting Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife

Service, Hadley, Massachusetts.

[FR Doc. 00–17013 Filed 7–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Habitat Conservation

Plan and Receipt of an Application for

an Incidental Take Permit for the

Beaver Creek Tract, Lincoln County,

Oregon

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that Coast Range Conifers, LLC (CRC or

applicant) has applied to the Fish and

Wildlife Service (Service) for an

incidental take permit pursuant to

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA).

The application has been assigned

permit number TE–028956–0. The

proposed permit would authorize the

incidental take, in the form of habitat

modification (harm) and disturbance

(harass), of the bald eagle (Haliaeetus

leucocephalus) which is federally listed

as threatened.

The Service announces the receipt of

the applicant’s incidental take permit

application and the availability of the

Coast Range Conifers Beaver Tract

Habitat Conservation Plan (Beaver Tract

Plan) and draft Implementation

Agreement, which accompany the

incidental take permit application, for

public comment. The Beaver Tract Plan

describes the proposed project and the

measures the applicant will undertake

to minimize for project impacts to the

bald eagle. These measures and

associated impacts are also described in

the background and summary

information that follow. The Service is

presently conducting the National

Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)

process and will announce the

availability of NEPA compliance

documentation soon.

DATES: Written comments on the permit

application and Plan should be received

on or before August 7, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Individuals wishing copies

of the permit application or copies of

the full text of the Beaver Tract Plan,

should immediately contact the office

and personnel listed below. Documents

also will be available for public

inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the address

below. Comments regarding the permit

application, draft Implementation

Agreement or the Beaver Tract Plan

should be addressed to State Supervisor,

Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State

Office, 2600 S.E. 98th Avenue, Suite

100, Portland, Oregon 97266. Please

refer to permit number TE–028956–0

when submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Rich Szlemp, Fish and Wildlife Service,

Oregon State Office, telephone (503)

231–6179.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9

of the ESA and Federal regulation

prohibits the ‘‘taking’’ of a species listed

as endangered or threatened. However,

the Service, under limited

circumstances, may issue permits to

‘‘incidentally take’’ listed species,

which is take that is incidental to, and

not the purpose of, otherwise lawful

activities. Regulations governing

permits for threatened species are

promulgated in 50 CFR 17.32.

Summary of the Beaver Tract Plan

The applicant is proposing to harvest

about 12 acres of mature forest

approximately 80 to 140 years old

within a 40-acre parcel of land. There

are approximately 5 to 10 old growth

Sitka spruce and Douglas-fir trees

present in the proposed harvest area.

The surrounding ownership consists of

commercial timber lands containing

forests of various age classes. The

Beaver Tract Plan area contains one

known bald eagle nest tree and several

other trees that could be utilized as nest

or roost trees. Other listed species that

may also be affected by the proposed

Beaver Tract Plan, but potentially may

not be fully addressed, include the

threatened marbled murrelet

(Brachyramphus marmoratus) and

northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis

caurina) (spotted owl). Please refer to

‘‘Summary of Service’s Concerns and

Recommendations’’ below for additional

discussion on this topic.

The Beaver Tract Plan contains two

alternatives: preferred and no action.

Under their preferred alternative, the

applicant would harvest 12 acres of

mature timber to the extent allowed by

the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection

Act (Eagle Act), Migratory Bird Act, and

Oregon Forest Practice Act (OFPA)

Rules. Under the no action alternative,

the subject timber would be left

standing to provide bald eagle habitat.

The applicants rejected the no action

alternative because they believe it

would deny them of all economically

productive use of the subject timber.

The applicants propose the following

minimization and mitigation measures:

a. Retaining the bald eagle nest tree

and two snags or green trees per acre,

30 feet or greater in height and 11

inches or greater in diameter.

b. Conducting harvest activities

outside of the period March 1 to

September 15, except for road building.

c. Replant Douglas-fir, western red

cedar, and/or western hemlock over the

harvest units. As per OFPA Rules, this

planting will take place within 12

months after completion of harvest.

d. Meet the current OFPA Rules to

leave all snags and standing dead trees

unharvested until they have fallen to the

ground and rotted away, except when

they represent a safety hazard for the

logging operation.

Additional Background

CRC submitted a written plan on or

about June 30, 1998, to the Oregon

Department of Forestry to harvest the

Beaver Tract to within 330 feet of the

bald eagle nest site. The State Forester

rejected that written plan on the basis

that it did not provide adequate

protection for the bald eagle nest site.

The State Forester required that a

forested buffer of 400 feet around the

nest tree and an additional 100 foot

band in which 50 percent of the live

trees would be retained. CRC proceeded

to harvest the 28 acres surrounding the

bald eagle nest site, which retained the

12 acres (400 foot radius circle) that are

the subject of this incidental take permit

application. Oregon law allows (but

does not require) the State Forester to

approve logging within these protected

12 acres if a landowner receives an

Federal incidental take permit.

Summary of Service’s Concerns and

Recommendations

The Service received the Plan and

application on December 28, 1999.

Unlike most Plans, the Beaver Tract

Plan was prepared without any

opportunities for the Service to provide

technical assistance prior to the

submission of the application. A revised

Beaver Tract Plan was received on May

18, 2000, in response to the Service’s

April 18, 2000, request for clarification

of items in the original Beaver Creek

Tract Plan. The revised Beaver Tract

Plan lacks much of the biological

analysis and information routinely

provided by other applicants to expedite

processing an incidental take permit.

The Service has reviewed the Beaver

Tract Plan and has some concerns with

the adequacy of the proposed

minimization and mitigation measures.

We specifically invite the public to

41720 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 130 / Thursday, July 6, 2000 / Notices

provide comments on the measures

proposed by the applicant.

As stated in the Beaver Tract Plan, the

impacts from the proposed harvest

would likely eliminate the site as bald

eagle habitat, other than the retention of

the nest tree. While it is not specifically

stated, we believe that few if any of the

existing old growth trees would likely

be retained under the proposed

mitigation (i.e., retaining two trees per

acre greater than 11 inches in diameter).

Based upon the proposed harvest and

the above assumption regarding tree

retention, the ability of the site to

continue to provide a suitable nest site

for bald eagles post-harvest is difficult

to accurately assess. However, the

harvest is likely to increase the

likelihood of the nest tree and any other

large standing trees to be subject to

blowdown or windthrow due to

exposure. Furthermore, it is not

uncommon for bald eagles to have more

than one nest site and multiple roosting

sites in an area. The proposed harvest

would diminish the availability of roost

sites and alternate nest sites. We believe

that the harvest proposed in the Plan

would violate the Bald and Golden

Eagle Protection Act.

The Service believes that other

practicable minimization measures

exist. In our April 18, 2000, letter to

CRC we suggested adding the following

alternative under which we believe we

could likely issue an incidental take

permit and comply with both the ESA

and the Bald and Golden Eagle

Protection Act. This alternative protects

the bald eagle nest tree from harvest and

likely damage associated with harvest in

the Beaver tract. The prescription is as

follows: the nest tree would not be

harvested. All trees that could come in

contact with and damage the nest tree

if they were felled, would not be

harvested. (Directional felling would not

exclude any trees from this component).

For example, if a tree is 100 feet tall and

is located less than 100 feet from the

nest tree, then the tree would not be cut.

If a tree is 100 feet tall and is located

greater than 100 feet from the nest tree,

then that tree is eligible to be cut

pending a risk analysis for windthrow

(see next criteria). The applicant would

have to consider whether the removal of

any trees in the tract would increase the

likelihood of windthrow of the bald

eagle nest tree, or any other nearby trees

that could be windthrown and result in

damage to the bald eagle nest tree.

While we understand that windthrow

can occur within any stand, regardless

of its composition, we know that certain

harvest prescriptions can predictably

lead to a much greater likelihood of

susceptibility to windthrow. Measures

can be taken when devising a harvest

prescription to limit the increased

likelihood of windthrow. We believe

this alternative would retain a sufficient

area around the nest tree to maintain the

integrity of the nest site, alternate nest

trees, and multiple roost sites and

perches. The intent of this prescription

is to maintain a sufficiently sized patch

of habitat that is likely to provide

important structural components for

bald eagle breeding habitat, while also

providing some level of confidence that

timber operations and future weather

events are not likely to effect the

existing nest tree and the area

immediately surrounding the nest tree.

CRC responded through their legal

counsel that no further changes would

be made to the Beaver Tract Plan. We

believe that other alternatives are

available. However, these alternatives

are likely to require an examination of

the stand or a detailed stand inventory,

and a discussion with the landowner

and/or their legal representative.

Because bald eagles are presumed to be

nesting as of the date of this notice, we

would not suggest visiting the site until

after nesting activities are completed for

the season.

Any alternative we recommend or

consider would have to incorporate a

seasonal restriction. We consider the

breeding season for bald eagles to be

anytime from January 1 through August

31 which is based upon their breeding

biology. The seasonal restriction being

proposed by the applicant is from

March 1 through September 15. This

time period does not capture the

important period of time in January and

February when bald eagles engage in

breeding activities that may include

establishing territories, pair bonds, and

nest construction.

The Service has not made a

determination as to whether the

proposed Beaver Tract Plan may affect

spotted owls or marbled murrelets. The

Beaver Tract Plan concludes that the

plan area is not sufficient to support

spotted owls and that take of spotted

owls was previously addressed in a

section 7 consultation under the ESA

that was conducted on the exchange of

this parcel from the U. S. Forest Service

to CRC and was completed on February

13, 1996. The Beaver Tract Plan states

that no marbled murrelets have been

seen in the area and that incidental take

of murrelets was also addressed in the

above referenced section 7 consultation.

The land exchange section 7

consultation was based upon protocolbased surveys conducted in 1995 and

1996. At that time, it was determined

that no spotted owls were using the

area. Also at that time, it was

determined that marbled murrelets were

not using the area, although there was

one detection of murrelets. The nature

of this detection did not lead to a

determination of occupancy or warrant

additional surveys. The ‘‘Protocol for

Surveying Proposed Management

Activities that may Impact Northern

Spotted Owls’’, dated March 17, 1992,

and endorsed by the Service, states that

2-year surveys (which were done for the

Beaver Tract in 1994–1995) are valid for

2 additional years before resurveying

would be required. The ‘‘Methods for

Surveying Marbled Murrelets in Forests:

An Update to the Protocol for Land

Management and Research’’, dated April

15, 2000, by the Pacific Seabird Group,

states that for areas surveyed and not

determined to be occupied, resurveying

is recommended after 5 years. Because

5 years has elapsed since the last known

spotted owl and murrelet surveys

covering the Beaver Tract, there is some

uncertainty as to the likelihood of this

property currently providing habitat for

either of these two species. Because of

this uncertainty, we request that the

results of any surveys conducted for

spotted owls or murrelets that were

completed within the past 5 years and

that covered the general vicinity of the

Beaver Tract be submitted to the Service

and CRC.

The Beaver Tract Plan calls for the

harvest of approximately 12 acres.

However, the Oregon State Forester

required that a 400-foot no-cut buffer

(12 acres) with an additional 100-foot

buffer in which only 50 percent of the

live trees could be removed. A 500-foot

radius circle is approximately 18 acres.

Therefore, there is some confusion as to

what amount of forest is currently left

standing on the Beaver Tract and

potentially what 12 acres are being

proposed for harvest.

This notice is provided pursuant to

section 10(c) of the Act. The Service

will evaluate the permit application,

Plan, and comments submitted thereon

to determine whether the application

meets the requirements of section 10(a)

of the Act. If it is determined that the

requirements are met, a permit will be

issued for the incidental take of the bald

eagle.

Dated: June 29, 2000.

David L. McMullen,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland,

Oregon.

[FR Doc. 00–17014 Filed 7–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P