8894 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 2015 / Notices 

that the study is focused on gathering 

factual and relevant information to aid 

the Coast Guard in reducing the risk of 

marine casualties and increasing the 

efficiency of vessel traffic in the region. 

The study will assess whether the 

creation of a vessel routing system is 

advisable to increase the predictability 

of vessel movements, which may 

decrease the potential for collisions, oil 

spills, and other events that could 

threaten the marine environment. 

Based on comments received to date 

there is a general sense that a designated 

traffic route could improve traffic 

predictability thereby reducing marine 

casualties and oil spills; however, a few 

comments received did note that a 

designated traffic route (depending on 

location) could adversely impact 

subsistence hunting, marine mammals 

and other wildlife more so than widely 

dispersed vessel traffic. Therefore, the 

Coast Guard puts forth a potential twoway route as a starting point for 

analyzing where to put a vessel traffic 

route should one be deemed needed and 

beneficial to the region. 

The Coast Guard will analyze vessel 

traffic density, agency and stakeholder 

experience in vessel traffic management, 

navigation, ship handling, the effects of 

weather, impacts to subsistence 

hunting, impacts to marine mammals 

and other wildlife concerns into the 

decision making process of the study. 

We encourage you to participate in the 

study process by submitting comments 

in response to this notice. 

The expanded study area is described 

as an area bounded by a line connecting 

the following geographic positions: 

• 67°30′ N, 168°58′37′′ W; 

• 67°30′ N, 167°30′ W; 

• 54°50′ N, 164°40′ W; 

• 54°03′ N, 166°25′ W; 

• 63°20′ N, 173°43′ W; thence 

following the Russian Federation/

United States maritime boundary line to 

the first geographical position. 

The proposed ship routing measures 

are described as follows: 

(1) A four nautical mile wide, twoway route extending from Unimak Pass 

in the Aleutian Islands that proceeds 

Northward through the Bering Sea and 

Bering Strait before terminating in the 

Chukchi Sea. 

(2) A four nautical mile wide, twoway route extending from a location 

North of the Western side of St. 

Lawrence Island and near the US/

Russian Federation maritime border, 

then proceeding Northeast to a junction 

with the first two way route located to 

the West of King Island. 

(3) A total of four precautionary areas, 

each circular and 8 nautical miles wide 

in diameter. Three of these 

precautionary areas will be located at 

the starting/ending points of the twoway routes, and the fourth will be 

located at the junction of the 

recommended two-way routes. 

See the ADDRESSES section for where 

to obtain a copy of the chart showing 

the exact location of the proposed route. 

Timeline, Study Area, and Process of 

this PARS: The Seventeenth Coast 

Guard District will conduct this PARS. 

The study will continue upon 

publication of this notice and may take 

24 months to complete. 

We will publish the results of the 

PARS in the Federal Register. It is 

possible that the study may validate the 

status quo (no routing measures) and 

conclude that no changes are necessary. 

It is also possible that the study may 

recommend one or more changes to 

enhance navigational safety and the 

efficiency of vessel traffic management. 

The recommendations may lead to 

future rulemakings or appropriate 

international agreements. 

Schematic of proposed vessel routing 

system: A chart showing the Coast 

Guard’s proposed two-way route can be 

downloaded from http://

www.regulations.gov, type ‘‘USCG– 

2014–0941’’ into the search bar and 

click search, next to the displayed 

search results click ‘‘Open Docket 

Folder’’, which will display all 

comments and documents associated 

with this docket. 

Dated: February 3, 2015. 

D.B. Abel, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, 

Seventeenth Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03332 Filed 2–18–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

National Park Service 

[NPS–ANRSS–17182; PPWONRADE2, 

PMP00EI05.YP0000] 

North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly 

Bear Restoration Plan/Environmental 

Impact Statement, Washington 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service and 

National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: The National Park Service 

(NPS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS) are jointly preparing a North 

Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear 

Restoration Plan and Environmental 

Impact Statement (Plan/EIS) to 

determine how to restore the grizzly 

bear to the North Cascades ecosystem 

(NCE), a portion of its historical range. 

DATES: The FWS and NPS request that 

comments be submitted by March 23, 

2015, or 15 days after the last public 

open house, whichever is later. Open 

houses will be announced in local 

media. For more information on 

submitting public comments, see How 

To Provide Comments, under Public 

Comment in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section. 

ADDRESSES: Information will be 

available for public review online at 

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG; in 

the Office of the Superintendent, 810 

State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 

98284 (360–854–7200, telephone); and 

in the Washington Fish and Wildlife 

Office, 510 Desmond Dr. SE., Suite 102, 

Lacey, WA 98503 (360–753–9440). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Denise Shultz, Public Information 

Officer, North Cascades National Park 

Service Complex, 810 State Route 20, 

Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 (360–854– 

7302, telephone), or Brent Lawrence, 

Public Affairs Specialist, FWS Pacific 

Regional Office, 911 NE 11th Ave., 

Portland, OR 97232 (503–231–6211). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C) 

(NEPA), the National Park Service (NPS) 

and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 

are jointly preparing a North Cascades 

Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan 

and Environmental Impact Statement 

(Plan/EIS) to determine how to restore 

the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) 

to the North Cascades ecosystem (NCE), 

a portion of its historical range. 

Background 

Situated in the core of the North 

Cascades Ecosystem (NCE), the North 

Cascades National Park Complex is 

surrounded by more than 2.6 million 

contiguous acres of federally designated 

wilderness, including protected lands 

and de facto wilderness in British 

Columbia, Canada. The United States 

portion of the NCE is contiguous with 

habitat north of the international border 

in British Columbia, Canada, but 

isolated from other grizzly bear 

populations in both the United States 

and Canada. 

Research indicates that this 

wilderness landscape is capable of 

supporting a self-sustaining grizzly bear 

population. However, there has only 

been one observation of a solitary bear 

during the past 10 years. Given the low 

number of grizzly bears, very slow 

reproductive rate, and other recovery 

constraints, grizzly bears in the NCE are 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 2015 / Notices 8895 

the most at-risk grizzly bear population 

in the United States today. 

The FWS recently reaffirmed (78 FR 

70104, November 22, 2013) that the NCE 

grizzly bear warrants uplisting from 

threatened to endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.). However, a change in 

listing status remains precluded by lack 

of funding and the Service’s need to 

make listing determinations for other 

species not yet protected under the ESA. 

The main threat to grizzly bears in this 

recovery zone is a small population size, 

with resulting demographic and genetic 

risks. Natural recovery in the NCE is 

challenged by the absence of verified 

reproduction, as well as isolation from 

any contiguous population in British 

Columbia, Canada, and the United 

States. 

A nationwide Grizzly Bear Recovery 

Plan was finalized by the FWS in 1982, 

and updated in 1993. The NCE recovery 

plan chapter was finalized in 1997. 

Current recovery efforts in the United 

States are focused on limiting humancaused mortality, protecting habitat by 

emphasizing no net loss of core habitat, 

providing information and education 

efforts regarding grizzly bears and their 

habitat, and enhancing sanitation by 

enforcing proper garbage and food 

storage in bear habitat. Education 

programs continue to inform people 

about grizzly bear biology and 

techniques to avoid conflicts when 

living or recreating in bear habitat. 

Restoration Plan and Environmental 

Impact Statement Draft Purpose, Need, 

and Objectives 

The NCE recovery plan chapter 

identifies four priority actions: (1) 

Develop a strategy for implementation 

of the NCE chapter; (2) develop an 

intensive ongoing educational program 

to provide information about grizzly 

bears and grizzly bear recovery to the 

public; (3) initiate the NEPA process; 

and (4) conduct an intensive research 

and monitoring effort to determine 

grizzly bear population size and 

distribution, habitat use, and home 

ranges in the NCE. In accordance with 

the NCE recovery plan chapter, the NPS 

and the FWS are initiating a NEPA 

planning process as joint lead agencies 

for grizzly bear restoration in the U.S. 

portion of the NCE. The Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife and the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture–Forest 

Service will serve as cooperating 

agencies. The following are the draft 

purpose, need, and objectives for the 

NCE Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan/EIS: 

Purpose 

The purpose of this Plan/EIS is to 

determine how to restore the grizzly 

bear to the North Cascades ecosystem 

(NCE), a portion of its historical range. 

Need 

Since the NCE grizzly bears are at risk 

of local extinction, action is needed at 

this time to: 

• Avoid the permanent loss of grizzly 

bears in the NCE; 

• Contribute to the restoration of 

biodiversity of the ecosystem for the 

benefit and enjoyment of present and 

future generations of people; 

• Enhance the probability of longterm survival and conservation of 

grizzly bears within the lower 48 States 

and thereby contribute to overall grizzly 

bear recovery; and 

• Support the eventual removal of the 

grizzly bear from the Federal List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. 

Objectives 

The objectives of this Plan/EIS are to: 

• Restore a grizzly bear population as 

part of the natural and cultural heritage 

of the North Cascades. 

• Provide Pacific Northwest residents 

and visitors with the opportunity to 

again experience grizzly bears in their 

native habitat. 

• Seek to support Tribal cultural and 

spiritual values, as well as 

environmental and natural resource 

objectives related to the grizzly bear. 

• Expand outreach efforts to inform 

and involve the public and build 

understanding about grizzly bear 

recovery. 

Environmental Impact Statement 

Alternatives and Their Impacts 

As part of the planning and EIS 

process, the NPS and FWS will evaluate 

various approaches for the restoration of 

a grizzly bear population to the NCE. 

Preliminary alternatives to be 

considered in the Plan/EIS include the 

no action alternative (passive 

restoration) as well as active restoration 

alternatives, including moving grizzly 

bears from other U.S. and/or Canadian 

populations into the NCE as either 

threatened or experimental 10(j) 

populations under the ESA. 

The Plan/EIS will evaluate the effects 

of a range of alternatives, including 

potential impacts to: Rare or unusual 

vegetation, wildlife and habitat, 

soundscapes, wilderness (including a 

minimum requirements analysis), 

visitor use and experience, 

socioeconomics, human safety, and 

other resources. 

Public Comment 

How To Provide Comments 

During the scoping period, public 

open houses will be held on both the 

east and west sides of the North 

Cascades Ecosystem to provide an 

opportunity for the public to share their 

comments and learn more about grizzly 

bear restoration. Details regarding the 

exact times and locations of these 

meetings will be announced on the 

project Web site (http://

parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG) and 

through local and regional media. The 

meetings will also be announced 

through email notification to 

individuals and organizations on the 

initial distribution list. Those wishing to 

be added to the project information 

distribution list should send an email 

request to NCE_grizzly@nps.gov. 

If you wish to comment on the 

purpose, need, objectives, potential 

alternatives, or on any other issues 

associated with development of the 

draft Plan/EIS, you may submit your 

comments by any one of several 

methods. You may comment online at 

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/NCEG. You 

may also mail or hand deliver 

comments to the Superintendent, North 

Cascades National Park Service 

Complex, 810 State Route 20, SedroWoolley, WA 98284. Written comments 

will also be accepted at the public open 

houses. Comments will not be accepted 

by fax, email, or by any method other 

than those specified above. Bulk 

comments in any format (hard copy or 

electronic) submitted on behalf of others 

will not be accepted. 

Public Availability of Comments 

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 

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. 

Dated: February 6, 2015. 

Robyn Thorson, 

Regional Director, Pacific Region, Fish and 

Wildlife Service. 

Dated: February 5, 2015. 

Christine S. Lehnertz, 

Regional Director, Pacific West Region, 

National Park Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03504 Filed 2–18–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4312–52–P 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES