Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 35 / Monday, February 23, 2015 / Notices 9477 

Next Steps 

After completion of the EA based on 

consideration of public comments, we 

will determine whether adoption of the 

proposed CCAA warrants a finding of 

no significant impact or whether an 

environmental impact statement should 

be prepared. We will evaluate the 

proposed CCAA as well as any 

comments we receive, to determine 

whether implementation of the 

proposed CCAA would meet the 

requirements for issuance of an EOS 

permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 

ESA. We will also evaluate whether the 

proposed permit action would comply 

with section 7 of the ESA by conducting 

an intra-Service section 7 consultation. 

We will consider the results of this 

consultation, in combination with the 

above findings, in our final analysis to 

determine whether or not to issue an 

EOS permit to the DSL. We will not 

make our final decision until after the 

end of the 30-day public comment 

period, and we will fully consider all 

comments we receive during the public 

comment period. 

Authority 

We provide this notice in accordance 

with the requirements of section 10 of 

the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and their 

implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 

and 40 CFR 1506.6, respectively). 

Dated: February 10, 2015. 

Richard Hannan, 

Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03565 Filed 2–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R1–ES–2015–N001; 

FXES11120100000F2–156–FF01E00000] 

Draft Environmental Assessment and 

Draft Habitat Conservation Plan for the 

Fender’s Blue Butterfly on Private 

Lands in Yamhill County, Oregon 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

an application from the Yamhill Soil 

and Water Conservation District (SWCD) 

for an incidental take permit (permit) 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA). The permit 

application includes a draft Habitat 

Conservation Plan (HCP) addressing 

private land management activities 

within upland prairie in Yamhill 

County, Oregon, that may result in the 

incidental take of the federally 

endangered Fender’s blue butterfly. The 

Service also announces the availability 

of a draft environmental assessment 

(EA) addressing the proposed HCP and 

issuance of a permit that was prepared 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA). We invite comments 

from all interested parties on the permit 

application, including the HCP and the 

EA. 

DATES: Written comments on the HCP 

and the EA must be received from 

interested parties no later than March 

25, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: To request further 

information or submit written 

comments, please use one of the 

following methods, and note that your 

information request or comments are in 

reference to the Yamhill SWCD HCP. 

• Internet: Documents may be viewed 

on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/

oregonfwo/ToolsForLandowners/

HabitatConservationPlans/. 

• Email: OFWOcomment@fws.gov. 

Include ‘‘Yamhill SWCD HCP’’ in the 

subject line of the message or 

comments. 

• U.S. Mail: State Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE 98th 

Ave., Suite 100, Portland, OR 97266. 

• Fax: 503–231–6195, Attn: Yamhill 

SWCD HCP. 

• In-Person Viewing or Pickup: 

Comments and materials received will 

be available for public inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, 2600 SE 98th Ave., Suite 100, 

Portland, OR 97266. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Szlemp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 

503–231–6179; facsimile: 503–231– 

6195. If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf, please call the 

Federal Information Relay Service at 

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.) prohibits the take of fish and 

wildlife species listed as endangered or 

threatened under section 4 of the ESA. 

Under the ESA, the term ‘‘take’’ means 

to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, 

wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or 

to attempt to engage in any such 

conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term 

‘‘harm,’’ as defined in our regulations, 

includes significant habitat modification 

or degradation that results in death or 

injury to listed species by significantly 

impairing essential behavioral patterns, 

including breeding, feeding, or 

sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). The term 

‘‘harass’’ is defined in our regulations as 

to carry out actions that create the 

likelihood of injury to listed species to 

such an extent as to significantly disrupt 

normal behavioral patterns, which 

include, but are not limited to, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). 

Under specified circumstances, the 

Service may issue permits that authorize 

take of federally listed species, provided 

the take is incidental to, but not the 

purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity. 

Regulations governing permits for 

endangered and threatened species are 

at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. 

Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains 

provisions for issuing such incidental 

take permits 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 prepare a 

conservation plan that, to the maximum 

extent practicable, identifies the steps 

the applicant will take to 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 the Service may 

require as being necessary or 

appropriate for the purposes of the plan. 

Proposed Action 

The Service proposes to approve the 

HCP and to issue a permit, both with a 

term of 50 years, to the SWCD for 

incidental take of the federally 

endangered Fender’s blue butterfly 

(Icaricia icarioides fenderi) caused by 

covered activities, if permit issuance 

criteria are met. The permit would allow 

the SWCD to issue certificates of 

inclusion to private landowners wanting 

coverage under the HCP for incidental 

take of the Fender’s blue butterfly. 

Private landowners who wish to be 

covered under the permit may apply for 

a certificate of inclusion to the permit 

after signing a cooperative agreement 

with the SWCD. This will allow 

landowners within identified butterfly 

habitat in Yamhill County to continue to 

perform otherwise lawful activities that 

have the potential to impact the 

Fender’s blue butterfly. To compensate 

for take impacts, the SWCD will work 


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9478 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 35 / Monday, February 23, 2015 / Notices 

with participating landowners to 

minimize and mitigate their impacts. 

The area to be addressed in the HCP 

(i.e., the covered lands) consists of 

privately-owned lands in Yamhill 

County, Oregon, totaling approximately 

7,831 acres. The covered lands are 

primarily rural lands supporting a 

variety of agricultural activities, some of 

which have the potential to affect 

Fender’s blue butterflies. Activities 

proposed for coverage (covered 

activities) under the HCP include forage 

production, livestock grazing, vineyard 

establishment, timber establishment, 

voluntary habitat restoration, and 

mitigation and monitoring. Potential 

impacts caused by covered activities are 

anticipated to occur within upland 

prairie habitat in areas that are within 

the butterfly flight distance (1.2 miles) 

of known Fender’s blue butterfly 

populations. 

Under the HCP, the impacts of ‘‘take’’ 

of the Fender’s blue butterfly are being 

measured by the quantity of the 

butterfly’s host plant, Kincaid’s lupine 

(Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii), and 

nectar resources that are adversely 

affected. Kincaid’s lupine is federallylisted as a threatened species, but there 

are no take prohibitions for plants on 

non-Federal lands under the ESA. These 

impacts are projected based on the 

acreage of butterfly habitat where the 

covered activities occur, and the average 

abundance of Kincaid’s lupine and 

nectar plants in those affected areas. 

Under the HCP, the total take impact on 

covered lands is estimated at 0.91 acres 

over the 50-year permit term. 

The HCP includes measures to 

conserve butterfly habitat, and to avoid 

and minimize incidental take of the 

Fender’s blue butterfly. Under the HCP, 

the conservation measures include: 

(1) Working with individual 

landowners and providing technical 

assistance on means to avoid adverse 

impacts to the butterfly and its habitat 

and to implement best management 

practices for the identified covered 

activities; 

(2) Implementing mitigation measures 

when impacts to the Fender’s blue 

butterfly and its habitats are 

unavoidable. Mitigation may be 

completed by protection of existing 

butterfly-occupied habitat, habitat 

enhancement and management that 

increases the quantity of resources for 

Fender’s blue butterflies beyond preexisting levels, or a combination of 

protection and enhancement. Mitigation 

ratios will be calculated using a product 

of a site quality multiplier and a base 

mitigation ratio. The site quality 

modifier ranges from 0.8 to 1.2, and the 

base mitigation ratios vary from 1 to 1, 

to 5 to 1. The HCP assumes an overall 

average mitigation ratio of 2 to 1 to be 

applied. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Compliance 

The development of the draft HCP 

and the proposed issuance of the permit 

under this plan is a Federal action that 

triggers the need for compliance with 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We have 

prepared a draft EA to analyze the 

environmental impacts of three 

alternatives related to the issuance of a 

permit and implementation of the 

conservation program under the 

proposed HCP. The three alternatives 

include the proposed action, a no-action 

alternative, and an individual permit 

alternative to the issuance of certificates 

of inclusion under the HCP. 

The ‘‘Proposed Action’’ alternative is 

the issuance of a permit to the SWCD 

and implementation of the HCP. 

Under the ‘‘No-action’’ alternative, the 

proposed HCP would not be 

implemented and no permit would be 

issued to the SWCD to provide 

landowners coverage for incidental take 

of Fender’s blue butterfly resulting from 

covered activities. The no-action 

alternative would not give landowners 

regulatory certainty, and actions that 

could result in take of Fender’s blue 

butterfly would be prohibited under 

section 9 of the ESA. 

Under the individual permit 

alternative, each landowner who may 

impact the Fender’s blue butterfly and 

its habitat would complete their own 

HCP, obtain their own permit, and 

conduct and pay for their own 

mitigation, which could delay 

implementation of a covered activity 

anywhere from one to three years. The 

SWCD would also be required to obtain 

take coverage for any habitat restoration, 

enhancement, and management 

activities that are likely to impact and 

cause take of the Fender’s blue butterfly. 

Public Comments 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods listed 

in the ADDRESSES section. We request 

data, comments, new information, or 

suggestions from the public, other 

concerned governmental agencies, the 

scientific community, Tribes, industry, 

or any other interested party on our 

proposed Federal action. We 

particularly seek comments on the 

following: (1) Biological data or other 

information regarding the Fender’s blue 

butterfly and Kincaid’s lupine; (2) 

additional information concerning the 

range, distribution, population size, and 

population trends of the butterfly and 

the lupine; (3) current or planned 

activities in the subject area and their 

possible impacts on these species; (4) 

the presence of archeological sites, 

buildings and structures, historic 

events, sacred and traditional areas, and 

other historic preservation concerns, 

which are required to be considered in 

Federal project planning by the National 

Historic Preservation Act; (5) 

identification of any other 

environmental issues that should be 

considered with regard to the permit 

action; and (6) information regarding the 

adequacy of the HCP pursuant to the 

requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts 

13 and 17. 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments and materials we 

receive become part of the public record 

associated with this action. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comments, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

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. Comments and materials we 

receive, as well as supporting 

documentation we use in preparing the 

EA, will be available for public 

inspection by appointment, during 

normal business hours, at our Oregon 

Fish and Wildlife Office (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Next Steps 

After completion of the EA based on 

consideration of public comments, we 

will determine whether our proposed 

approval of the HCP warrants a finding 

of no significant impact or whether an 

environmental impact statement should 

be prepared pursuant to NEPA. We will 

evaluate the HCP, as well as any 

comments we receive, to determine 

whether implementation of the HCP 

would meet the criteria for issuance of 

a permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

ESA. We will also evaluate whether the 

proposed permit action would comply 

with section 7 of the ESA by conducting 

an intra-Service section 7 consultation. 

We will consider the results of this 

consultation, in combination with the 

above findings, in our final analysis to 

determine whether or not to issue a 

permit to the SWCD. We will not make 

the final NEPA and permit decisions 

until after the end of the 30-day public 

comment period on this notice, and we 

will fully consider all comments we 

receive during the public comment 

period. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 35 / Monday, February 23, 2015 / Notices 9479 

If we determine that the permit 

issuance requirements are met, the 

Service will issue a permit to the SWCD. 

The SWCD would then begin processing 

requests from landowners interested in 

certificates on inclusion under the HCP 

in order to receive coverage for the 

incidental take of the Fender’s blue 

butterfly under the permit issued to 

SWCD. 

Authority 

We provide this notice in accordance 

with the requirements of section 10 of 

the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and their 

implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 

and 40 CFR 1506.6, respectively). 

Dated: January 9, 2015. 

Richard Hannan, 

Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03572 Filed 2–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Geological Survey 

[GX15EE000101100] 

Announcement of National Geospatial 

Advisory Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Meeting 

SUMMARY: The National Geospatial 

Advisory Committee (NGAC) will meet 

on March 17–18, 2015 at the South 

Interior Building Auditorium, 1951 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20240. The meeting will be held in 

the first floor Auditorium. The NGAC, 

which is composed of representatives 

from governmental, private sector, nonprofit, and academic organizations, was 

established to advise the Federal 

Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) on 

management of Federal geospatial 

programs, the development of the 

National Spatial Data Infrastructure 

(NSDI), and the implementation of 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–16. Topics to be 

addressed at the meeting include: 

• Leadership Dialogue 

• FGDC Report (NSDI Strategic Plan 

Implementation, National Geospatial 

Data Asset Management Plan, 

Geospatial Platform) 

• Crowd-Sourced Geospatial Data 

• Geospatial Privacy 

• 3D Elevation Program 

• Landsat 

• Subcommittee Activities 

The meeting will include an 

opportunity for public comment on 

March 18. Comments may also be 

submitted to the NGAC in writing. 

Members of the public who wish to 

attend the meeting must register in 

advance. Please register by contacting 

Lucia Foulkes at the U.S. Geological 

Survey (703–648–4142, lfoulkes@

usgs.gov). Registrations are due by 

March 13, 2015. While the meeting will 

be open to the public, registration is 

required for entrance to the South 

Interior Building, and seating may be 

limited due to room capacity. 

DATES: The meeting will be held from 

8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on March 17 and 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on March 18. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Mahoney, U.S. Geological Survey (206– 

220–4621). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Meetings 

of the National Geospatial Advisory 

Committee are open to the public. 

Additional information about the NGAC 

and the meeting is available at 

www.fgdc.gov/ngac. 

Kenneth Shaffer, 

Deputy Executive Director, Federal 

Geographic Data Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03592 Filed 2–20–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4311–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[145A2100DD.AADD001000.A0E501010.

999900] 

Renewal of Agency Information 

Collection for the Bureau of Indian 

Education Adult Education Program 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of submission to OMB. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is 

submitting to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) a request for renewal 

for the collection of information for the 

Bureau of Indian Education Adult 

Education Program. The information 

collection is currently authorized by 

OMB Control Number 1076–0120, 

which expires February 28, 2015. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before March 

25, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the information collection to the 

Desk Officer for the Department of the 

Interior at the Office of Management and 

Budget, by facsimile to (202) 395–5806 

or you may send an email to: OIRA_

Submission@omb.eop.gov. Please send a 

copy of your comments to Ms. Juanita 

Mendoza, Program Analyst, Bureau of 

Indian Education, U.S. Department of 

the Interior, 1951 Constitution Avenue 

NW., MS 312, Washington, DC 20240; or 

email to: Juanita.Mendoza@bie.edu. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Juanita Mendoza, telephone: (202) 208– 

3559. You may review the information 

collection request online at http://

www.reginfo.gov. Follow the 

instructions to review Department of the 

Interior collections under review by 

OMB. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) 

is seeking renewal of the approval for 

the information collection conducted 

under 25 CFR part 46 to manage 

program resources and for fiscal 

accountability and appropriate direct 

services documentation. Approval for 

this collection expires on February 28, 

2015. This information includes an 

annual report form. No changes are 

being made to the approved burden 

hours and forms for this information 

collection. 

II. Request for Comments 

On December 9, 2014, the BIE 

published a notice announcing the 

renewal of this information collection 

and provided a 60-day comment period 

in the Federal Register (79 FR 73100). 

There were no comments received in 

response to this notice. 

The BIE requests your comments on 

this collection concerning: (a) The 

necessity of this information collection 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden (hours 

and cost) of the collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) Ways we could enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Ways we could 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

the information on the respondents. 

Please note that an agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and an individual 

need not respond to, a collection of 

information unless it displays a valid 

OMB Control Number. 

It is our policy to make all comments 

available to the public for review at the 

location listed in the ADDRESSES section. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 


Rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES