18438 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 65 / Monday, April 6, 2015 / Notices 

you are interested in by number (e.g., 

Permit No. TE–XXXXXX). 

• Email: permitsR6ES@fws.gov. 

Please refer to the respective permit 

number (e.g., Permit No. TE–XXXXXX) 

in the subject line of the message. 

• U.S. Mail: Ecological Services, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 

25486–DFC, Denver, CO 80225. 

• In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or 

Pickup: Call (719) 628–2670 to make an 

appointment during regular business 

hours at 134 Union Blvd., Suite 645, 

Lakewood, CO 80228. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathy Konishi, Recovery Permits 

Coordinator, Ecological Services, (719) 

628–2670 (phone); permitsR6ES@

fws.gov (email). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

prohibits certain activities with 

endangered and threatened species 

unless authorized by a Federal permit. 

Along with our implementing 

regulations at 50 CFR 17, the Act 

provides for permits and requires that 

we invite public comment before 

issuing these permits. 

A permit granted by us under section 

10(a)(1)(A) of the Act authorizes the 

permittees to conduct activities with 

U.S. endangered or threatened species 

for scientific purposes, enhancement of 

propagation or survival, or interstate 

commerce (the latter only in the event 

that it facilitates scientific purposes or 

enhancement of propagation or 

survival). Our regulations implementing 

section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are 

found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered 

wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for 

threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR 

17.62 for endangered plant species, and 

50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant 

species. 

Applications Available for Review and 

Comment 

We invite local, State, and Federal 

agencies and the public to comment on 

the following applications. Documents 

and other information the applicants 

have submitted with their applications 

are available for review, subject to the 

requirements of the Privacy Act (5 

U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). 

Permit Application Number TE220827 

Applicant: Bryce Canyon National 

Park, Bryce Canyon, UT. 

The applicant requests a permit 

renewal to conduct presence/absence 

surveys for southwestern willow 

flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) 

in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah for 

the purpose of enhancing the species’ 

survival. 

Permit Application Number TE183430 

Applicants: Headwaters Corporation, 

Kearney, NE. 

The applicants request a permit 

renewal to conduct presence/absence 

surveys for interior least tern (Sterna 

antillarum athalassos) in Nebraska for 

the purpose of enhancing the species’ 

survival. 

Permit Application Number TE045150 

Applicant: Oklahoma State 

University, Stillwater, OK. 

The applicant requests an amendment 

to a permit to conduct presence/absence 

surveys and propagate American 

burying beetle (Nicrophorus 

americanus) in Nebraska, South Dakota, 

Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas for the 

purpose of enhancing the species’ 

survival. 

Permit Application Number TE220827 

Applicant: Colorado Natural Heritage 

Program, Colorado State University, Fort 

Collins, CO. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

conduct presence/absence surveys for 

New Mexico meadow jumping mouse 

(Zapus hudsonius luteus) in Colorado 

for the purpose of enhancing the 

species’ survival. 

Permit Application Number TE01741B 

Applicant: Colorado Department of 

Transportation, Lakewood, CO. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

conduct presence/absence surveys for 

New Mexico meadow jumping mouse 

(Zapus hudsonius luteus) in Colorado 

for the purpose of enhancing the 

species’ survival. 

Permit Application Number TE054237 

Applicant: USDA Forest Service 

Rocky Mountain Region, Golden, CO. 

The applicant requests an amendment 

to conduct presence/absence surveys for 

southwestern willow flycatcher 

(Empidonax traillii extimus) in all 

national forests in Colorado for the 

purpose of enhancing the species’ 

survival. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), we have made an initial 

determination that the proposed 

activities in these permits are 

categorically excluded from the 

requirement to prepare an 

environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement (516 

DM 6 Appendix 1, 1.4C(1)). 

Public Availability of Comments 

All comments and materials we 

receive in response to these requests 

will be available for public inspection, 

by appointment, during normal business 

hours at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

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. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Michael G. Thabault, 

Assistant Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie 

Region. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07714 Filed 4–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

Alaska, Outer Continental Shelf, 

Chukchi Sea Planning Area, Oil and 

Gas Lease Sale 193; MMAA 104000 

AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the 

Record of Decision for Chukchi Sea 

Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas 

Lease Sale 193. 

SUMMARY: BOEM announces the 

availability of the Record of Decision 

(ROD) for remanded Chukchi Sea Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas 

Lease Sale 193 (Lease Sale 193), 

originally held on February 6, 2008. 

BOEM prepared the Chukchi Sea Oil 

and Gas Lease Sale 193 Final Second 

Supplemental Environmental Impact 

Statement (SEIS) to address a deficiency 

identified by the U.S. Court of Appeals 

for the Ninth Circuit (Court of Appeals) 

in its opinion of January 22, 2014. The 

Final Second SEIS considers the 

potential impacts of oil and gas 

activities that could result from leases 

issued in Lease Sale 193, including the 

full range of likely production if oil 

production were to occur (80 FR 9266, 

Feb. 20, 2015). 

In making her decision, the Assistant 

Secretary for Land and Minerals 

Management (ASLM) considered four 

alternatives for Lease Sale 193, the 


tkelley on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 65 / Monday, April 6, 2015 / Notices 18439 

potential impacts for each alternative as 

presented in the Final Second SEIS, and 

all comments received throughout the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) process. After careful 

consideration, the ASLM selected 

BOEM’s preferred alternative, to affirm 

Lease Sale 193 and leases previously 

issued. This selection meets the purpose 

and need for the proposed action, 

promotes orderly resource development 

with protection of the human, marine, 

and coastal environments, and ensures 

that the public receives an equitable 

return for these resources and that freemarket competition is maintained. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

more information on the ROD, you may 

contact Mr. Michael Routhier, Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management, Alaska OCS 

Region, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Ste. 

500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. You may 

also contact Mr. Routhier by telephone 

at 907–334–5265. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Lease Sale 193 Final Second SEIS, 

BOEM evaluated four alternatives 

summarized below: 

Alternative I—The Proposed Action: 

This alternative entails offering the 

entire Chukchi Sea Program Area for 

leasing. The area available for leasing 

under this alternative consists of 

approximately 34 million acres within 

the Chukchi Sea. Specifically excluded 

from this alternative was the 25 mile (40 

kilometer (km)) buffer implemented by 

then-Secretary Kempthorne in the Final 

OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 

2007–2012. 

Alternative I was not selected for the 

original sale in 2008. Since Lease Sale 

193 has already occurred, all of the 

leases originally issued are contained in 

an area smaller than, but covered by, 

Alternative I. Accordingly, selecting 

Alternative I would result in affirming 

Lease Sale 193 and all of the leases 

issued as a result of the sale. 

Alternative II—No Lease Sale: This 

alternative, which is the ‘‘No Action 

Alternative,’’ entails offering no areas in 

the Chukchi Sea for leasing. The 

opportunity to develop oil and gas 

resources that could have resulted from 

the lease sale would be precluded or 

postponed. This ‘‘no action’’ alternative 

would avoid any potential 

environmental impacts associated with 

the other alternatives. Since Lease Sale 

193 has already occurred, selecting 

Alternative II would result in not 

affirming the lease sale and voiding or 

vacating the remaining 460 leases issued 

in 2008 as a result of Lease Sale 193. 

Alternative III—Corridor I Deferral: 

This alternative entails offering the 

entire Chukchi Sea Program Area for 

leasing, minus a corridor (referred to as 

Corridor I) extending 60 miles (97 km) 

offshore along the coastward edge of the 

Program Area to protect important 

bowhead whale habitat. The area 

available for leasing under this 

alternative consists of approximately 24 

million acres in the Chukchi Sea. 

Five leases issued as a result of Lease 

Sale 193 are contained within Corridor 

I. Accordingly, selecting Alternative III 

would result in affirming the lease sale 

and all leases, except the Corridor I area, 

and those five leases, which would be 

vacated. 

Alternative IV—Corridor II Deferral: 

Alternative IV was the alternative 

originally selected for Lease Sale 193 

and BOEM’s preferred alternative in the 

Final Second SEIS. This alternative 

entails offering the entire Chukchi Sea 

Program Area available for leasing, 

minus a corridor (referred to as Corridor 

II) along the coastward edge of the 

Program Area. The area covered by 

Corridor II is a subset of the area 

covered by Corridor I. The area for 

leasing under this Alternative consists 

of 29.4 million acres. Selecting 

Alternative IV would result in affirming 

Lease Sale 193 and all existing leases. 

Alternative IV was BOEM’s preferred 

alternative because it represented a 

reasonable balance between 

environmental, economic, and technical 

considerations mandated by the OCS 

Lands Act. 

After careful consideration, the ASLM 

has decided to select Alternative IV and 

affirm Lease Sale 193 and the leases 

issued as a result of the sale. As 

described in the ROD, the ASLM fully 

considered the potential impacts of this 

action as described in the Final Second 

SEIS, considered potential mitigation of 

potential impacts through deferral of 

sensitive OCS areas and implementation 

of lease stipulations, and articulated 

factors considered in selecting the 

agency’s preferred alternative. In 

making her decision, the ASLM 

confirmed the previously adopted lease 

stipulations as being the most 

practicable means of reducing or 

avoiding impacts to the environment, 

while also noting that the OCS Lands 

Act provides BOEM and BSEE broad 

discretion to require additional 

mitigations on postlease activities. 

In affirming Lease Sale 193 and 

preserving the opportunity to explore 

and possibly develop all the leases 

issued in Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193, 

the ASLM’s decision balances the 

national policies mandated by Congress 

to expeditiously and safely develop the 

natural resources of the OCS, subject to 

environmental safeguards, in a manner 

that is consistent with the maintenance 

of competition and other national needs. 

The ASLM’s selection of Alternative IV, 

and adoption of all practicable 

mitigation measures at the lease sale 

stage, balances the goal of orderly 

resource development with protection 

of the human, marine, and coastal 

environments, while also ensuring that 

the public receives an equitable return 

for these resources and that free-market 

competition is maintained. 

Record of Decision Availability: To 

obtain a single printed or CD copy of the 

ROD for Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193, 

you may contact BOEM, Alaska OCS 

Region, Alaska OCS Region, 3801 

Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, 

Anchorage, Alaska 99503 or by 

telephone at 1–907–334–5200. An 

electronic copy of the ROD is available 

on BOEM’s Internet Web site at http:// 

www.boem.gov/About-BOEM/BOEMRegions/Alaska-Region/Leasing-andPlans/Leasing/Lease-Sales/Sale-193/

Index.aspx. 

Authority: This NOA is published 

pursuant to the regulations (40 CFR part 

1506) implementing the provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

Dated: March 31, 2015. 

Abigail Ross Hopper, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07860 Filed 4–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R1–ES–2015–N060; 

FXES11130100000–156–FF01E00000] 

Endangered Species; Recovery Permit 

Applications 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, invite the public to 

comment on the following applications 

for recovery permits to conduct 

activities with the purpose of enhancing 

the survival of an endangered species. 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act), prohibits certain 

activities with endangered species 

unless a Federal permit allows such 

activity. The Act also requires that we 

invite public comment before issuing 

such permits. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by May 6, 

2015. 


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