Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 205 / Thursday, October 23, 1997 / Notices 55269

the Service faced the considerable task

of allocating the available resources to

the significant backlog of listing

activities. The Service published Final

Listing Priority Guidance for FY 1997

on December 5, 1996 (61 FR 64475). The

Listing Priority Guidance system

employed 4 tiers for assigning relative

priorities to listing actions to be carried

out under section 4 of the Act. Tier 1,

the processing of emergency listings for

species facing a significant risk to their

well-being, remains the Service’s

highest priority. The processing of final

decisions on pending proposed listings

is assigned to Tier 2. Tier 3 includes

resolving the conservation status of

species identified as candidates and

processing 90-day or 12-month

administrative findings on petitions to

list or reclassify species from threatened

to endangered status. Preparation of

proposed or final critical habitat

designations, and processing of

reclassifications, which provide little or

no additional conservation benefit to

listed species, are assigned lowest

priority (Tier 4).

While operating the listing program

under the Final FY 1997 Listing Priority

Guidance, the Service focused its

resources on issuing final

determinations (Tier 2 listing activities).

After April 1, 1997, the Service began

implementing a more balanced listing

program and began processing more

Tier 3 listing actions. The continuing

(though reduced) backlog and funding

limitations underscore the need to

maintain program-wide biologically

sound priorities to guide the allocation

of limited resources.

Extension of Listing Priority Guidance

for Fiscal Year 1997

The Department of the Interior has not

yet received a FY 1998 appropriation.

Under the current continuing

resolution, the Service continues to

operate at FY 1997 funding levels. Until

the FY 1998 appropriation is enacted,

the funding level for the endangered

species listing activity remains

unknown, and issuance of FY 1998

listing priority guidance remains

premature. Therefore, until the

Department of the Interior’s 1998

appropriation becomes law and final

Listing Priority Guidance for FY 1998 is

published in the Federal Register, the

Service will continue to follow the FY

1997 guidance, issued on December 5,

1996. The Service will announce new

proposed guidance as promptly as

possible after the FY 1998

appropriations bill for the Department

of the Interior is approved and becomes

law.

Authority

The authority for this notice is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

Dated: October 17, 1997.

Jamie Rappaport Clark,

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 97–28171 Filed 10–20–97; 3:26 pm]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Preparation of an Environmental

Impact Statement in Anticipation of

Receiving a Permit Application to

Incidentally Take Threatened and

Endangered Species in Association

With the Kern County Valley Floor

Habitat Conservation Plan for Kern

County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service;

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement and to

hold a public scoping meeting.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

has under consideration for approval

the draft Kern County Valley Floor

Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan)

submitted by Kern County, California.

This 30-year Plan, developed by Kern

County and six other participating

agencies, is expected to accompany a

future application to the Service for a

permit under Section 10(a) of the

Endangered Species Act that would

authorize incidental take of listed

species. In addition, it is expected the

applicants will request implementing

agreements. It is anticipated that the

implementing agreements will include

provisions for species that may be listed

in the future. In response to the

proposed Plan, the Service intends to

prepare a joint Environmental Impact

Statement/Environmental Impact Report

pursuant to the National Environmental

Policy Act and the California

Environmental Quality Act. The Plan

covers about 3,110 square miles of land

with major uses including natural open

space, oil and gas production, farming,

ranching, agricultural water conveyance

and storage, urban development and

other activities. The Plan addresses

various sensitive plant and animal

species and their habitats. The Plan

creates a framework for the issuance of

permits and other authorizations under

the Federal and California Endangered

Species Acts.

This notice describes the proposed

action and possible alternatives, notifies

the public of a scoping meeting, invites

public participation in the scoping

process for preparing the joint

Environmental Impact Statement/

Report, solicits written comments, and

identifies the Service official to whom

questions and comments concerning the

proposed action and the joint

Environmental Impact Statement/Report

may be directed.

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be

held at 1:00 p.m. on November 4, 1997,

at the Kern County Public Services

Building, 2700 M Street, First Floor

Conference Room, Bakersfield,

California. Oral comments will be

received during the scoping meeting.

Written comments are encouraged and

should be received on or before

November 21, 1997, at the address

below.

ADDRESSES: Information, comments, or

questions related to preparation of the

joint Environmental Impact Statement/

Report and the National Environmental

Policy Act process should be submitted

to Mr. Steve Strait, Kern County

Planning Department, 2700 M Street,

Suite 100, Bakersfield, California 93301,

telephone (805) 862–8600. Written

comments also may be sent by facsimile

to telephone (805) 862–8601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Peter Cross, Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office, 3310 El Camino

Avenue, Suite 130, Sacramento,

California 95821, telephone (916) 979–

2725. Documents also will be available

for public inspection by appointment

during normal business hours (8:00 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) at

the above noted Kern County Planning

Department office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Plan area, generally described as

the San Joaquin Valley floor, is bounded

by Kern County and San Luis Obispo

County boundaries to the west, Kings

and Tulare counties to the north, and

the 2,000-foot elevation contour to the

east and south. The Plan generally does

not address Metropolitan Bakersfield

with the exception of oil and

agricultural activities, or several smaller

areas that are covered under separate

conservation planning efforts.

The Plan addresses 32 species,

including 18 animals and 14 plants

identified as species of concern. Of the

wildlife species, five receive particular

attention due to their distribution

within the Plan area. They are: the

blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia

silas), San Joaquin antelope squirrel

(Ammospermophilus nelsoni), Tipton

kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides

nitratoides), giant kangaroo rat
55270 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 205 / Thursday, October 23, 1997 / Notices

(Dipodomys ingens), and San Joaquin

kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica); all of

these, with the exception of the squirrel,

are listed as endangered under the

Federal Endangered Species Act. The

plant species of concern are generally

concentrated in a limited number of

locations such as existing refuges and

reserves, the southeastern portion near

Wheeler Ridge, and several locations in

the lower foothills in the eastern portion

of the Plan area. The Plan provides longterm protection of identified species

while allowing for the economic growth

of the county. The Plan has seven major

components: (1) Habitat zones; (2)

compensation framework; (3) direct fee

payment option; (4) take-avoidance

measures; (5) safety nets; (6) industry/

agency conservation strategies; and (7)

direct negotiation option.

The Plan area is divided into three

‘‘Habitat Zones’’ with lands categorized

based on habitat value with a

corresponding conservation priority.

The Red Zones are areas of highest

quality habitat for species of concern,

especially for Federal and State listed

threatened and endangered wildlife

species. A number of rare plant

occurrences also are found in these

zones. The Green Zones provide the

second highest habitat quality and

generally include areas around the

western, southern, and eastern edges of

the Plan. White Zones comprise about

55 percent of the total Plan area,

including 121,219 acres of natural, less

valuable habitat, and occur throughout

the central and eastern portions of the

Plan area. The habitat zones serve as the

basis for the Compensation Framework.

The Compensation Framework

encourages conservation of high-quality

habitat and creates a system of

conservation credits based on habitat

quality. This component of the Plan is

a pay-as-you-go mitigation approach.

Compensation will be provided in

specified ratios to address the actual

take of species habitat. However, upfront compensation is specified for the

oil and agricultural conservation

strategies.

Direct Fee Payment is an option

provided to project proponents

involving payment of fee based on

conservation credits.

Take-avoidance Measures are

included in the Plan to reduce the

likelihood and magnitude of direct loss

of the five wildlife species noted above.

Safety Nets are part of the Rare Plant

Conservation Strategy designed to

protect specific plant species with

localized and restricted distributions.

Industry/Agency Conservation

Strategies address the potential for

incidental take of species of concern

that may occur with certain activities

associated with major land uses in the

Plan area (e.g., oil and gas, agriculture,

water conveyance systems, ranching,

and urban development).

The Direct Negotiation Option allows

a project proponent to address the issue

of Federal and California Endangered

Species Act compliance with the

Service and California Department of

Fish and Game, respectively,

independently of other Plan provisions.

The joint Environmental Impact

Statement/Report will consider the

proposed action (issuance of a Section

10(a) Endangered Species Act permit for

the Plan) and a reasonable range of

alternatives derived from conservation

and compensation approaches

considered during formulation of the

Plan:

Alternative 1—No Action. This

alternative assumes compliance with

the Federal and California Endangered

Species Acts on a project-by-project

basis.

Alternative 2—Initial Compensation.

This alternative would establish

compensation and take-avoidance

formulas applicable to all permitted

activities allowed in each of the three

habitat zones. Development projects in

each zone would be required to provide

compensation, and in some cases

identify and secure options to purchase

suitable habitat land for which

conservation credits would be received.

The supplementary credits could be

banked and sold to other developers

needing habitat conservation credits.

Alternative 3—Protect and Release.

This alternative incorporates a release

ratio limit of one acre of development

for every nine acres of permanently

protected land in the Red Zones only. It

also requires a compensation ratio

unique to each of the three zones for

habitat disturbance.

Alternative 4—Habitat Transaction

Method. This alternative would assign a

relative conservation credit value per

acre within each habitat zone. A

compensation ratio of not more than 3:1,

based on conservation credits, would be

used to determine compensatory

requirements. Credits would be

generated by the permanent

preservation of habitat, restoration,

granting of conservation easements, and

other measures. The value of the credits

and the amount of required

compensation would be based on the

conservation value of the land preserved

and developed, respectively.

Environmental review of the Plan will

be conducted in accordance with the

requirements of National Environmental

Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321

et. seq.), National Environmental Policy

Act regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–

1508), other appropriate regulations,

and Service procedures for compliance

with those regulations. This notice is

being furnished in accordance with

Section 1501.7 of the National

Environmental Policy Act to obtain

suggestions and information from other

agencies and the public on the scope of

issues to be addressed in the joint

Environmental Impact Statement/

Report.

Comments and participation in the

scoping process are solicited. The

primary purpose of the scoping process

is to identify rather than debate any

significant issues related to the

proposed action. Interested persons are

encouraged to attend the public scoping

meeting to identify and discuss issues

and alternatives that should be

addressed in the joint Environmental

Impact Statement/Report. The proposed

agenda for this facilitated meeting

includes a summary of the proposed

action; status of the threats to subject

species; and tentative issues, concerns,

opportunities, and alternatives.

Additional public meetings will be

conducted on later dates to provide

more opportunities to comment on the

draft Environmental Impact Statement/

Report.

Dated: October 15, 1997.

Don Weathers,

Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 97–28085 Filed 10–22–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible

to Receive Services From the United

States Bureau of Indian Affairs

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the

current list of tribal entities recognized

and eligible for funding and services

from the Bureau of Indian Affairs by

virtue of their status as Indian tribes.

This notice is published pursuant to

Section 104 of the Act of November 2,

1994 (Pub. L. 103–454; 108 Stat. 4791,

4792).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Daisy West, Bureau of Indian Affairs,

Division of Tribal Government Services,

MS–4641–MIB, 1849 C Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20240. Telephone

number: (202) 208–2475.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is published in exercise of

authority delegated to the Assistant