Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 15, 2021 / Notices 51367 

Public Availability of Comments 

Written comments we receive become 

part of the administrative record 

associated with this action. 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 request in your comment 

that we withhold your personal 

identifying information from public 

review, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. All submissions 

from organizations or businesses, and 

from individuals identifying themselves 

as representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

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

and its implementing regulations (50 

CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations (40 CFR 

1506.6 and 43 CFR 46). 

Stephen Small, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services, Mountain-Prairie Region. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19916 Filed 9–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R3–ES–2021–0062; 

FXES11140300000–212] 

Draft Environmental Assessment; 

Receipt of an Application for an 

Incidental Take Permit and Habitat 

Conservation Plan for Five Bat 

Species, Missouri 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment and information. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, have received an 

application from the Missouri 

Department of Conservation (applicant) 

for an incidental take permit (ITP) under 

the Endangered Species Act. If 

approved, the permit would be for a 50- 

year period and would authorize the 

incidental take of two endangered 

species, the Indiana bat and the gray bat; 

one threatened species, the northern 

long-eared bat; and two species 

petitioned for Federal listing, the little 

brown bat and the tricolored bat. The 

applicant has prepared a habitat 

conservation plan (HCP) to cover a suite 

of activities associated with continued 

forest and habitat management within 

the State of Missouri. 

DATES: We will accept comments 

received or postmarked on or before 

October 15, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Document availability: 

Electronic copies of the documents this 

notice announces, along with public 

comments received, will be available 

online in Docket No. FWS–R3–ES– 

2021–0062 at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Comment submission: In your 

comment, please specify whether your 

comment addresses the proposed HCP, 

draft EA, or any combination of the 

aforementioned documents, or other 

supporting documents. You may submit 

written comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• Online: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Search for and submit comments on 

Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2021–0062. 

• U.S. mail: Send comments to Public 

Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 

FWS–R3–ES–2021–0062; U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, 

MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Weber, Deputy Field Supervisor, 

Missouri Ecological Services Field 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

101 Park DeVille Drive, Suite A, 

Columbia, MO 65203; telephone: 573– 

234–2132. 

Individuals who are hearing impaired 

or speech impaired may call the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 for 

TTY assistance. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We make 

available for public comment the 

applicant’s habitat conservation plan 

(HCP) and announce the availability of 

a draft environmental assessment, 

which has been prepared in response to 

the permit application in accordance 

with the requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act. We invite the 

public and local, State, Tribal, and 

Federal agencies to comment on these 

applications. Before issuing any of the 

requested permits, we will take into 

consideration any information that we 

receive during the public comment 

period. 

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), have received an 

application from the Missouri 

Department of Conservation (applicant) 

for an incidental take permit (ITP) under 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

for its habitat conservation plan (HCP) 

for the for the Indiana bat, gray bat, 

northern long-eared bat, little brown bat, 

and tricolored bat (covered species). 

The applicant conducts habitat and 

forest management activities statewide 

in Missouri; the application covers 

nearly the entire State, except for lands 

owned and managed by other Federal 

and State entities, and would consist of 

approximately 42 million acres of 

covered species habitat. The applicant 

has prepared a habitat conservation plan 

that describes the continued habitat and 

forest management operations and 

measures that the applicant would 

implement to avoid, minimize, and 

mitigate incidental take of the covered 

species. The HCP proposes to restore, 

enhance, and maintain more than 1 

million acres of covered species habitat 

and has dedicated 28,000 acres of Stateowned land specifically for the 

enhanced restoration, management, and 

permanent protection of priority bat 

management zones to further offset 

impacts to the covered species. If 

approved, the ITP would be for a 50- 

year period and would authorize the 

incidental take of two endangered 

species, the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) 

and the gray bat (Myotis grisescens); one 

threatened species, the northern longeared bat (Myotis septentrionalis); and 

two species petitioned for Federal 

listing, the little brown bat (Myotis 

lucifugus) and the tricolored bat 

(Perimyostis subflavus). The applicant 

has prepared an HCP that describes the 

actions and measures that the applicant 

would implement to avoid, minimize, 

and mitigate incidental take of Indiana 

bat, gray bat, northern long-eared bat, 

little brown bat, and tricolored bat. We 

also announce the availability of a draft 

environmental assessment (EA), which 

has been prepared in response to the 

permit application in accordance with 

the requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We request public 

comment on the application and 

associated documents. 

Background 

Section 9 of the ESA and its 

implementing regulations prohibit the 

‘‘take’’ of animal species listed as 

endangered or threatened. Take is 

defined under the ESA as to ‘‘harass, 

harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, 

trap, capture, or collect ‘‘listed animal 

species,’’ or to attempt to engage in such 

conduct’’ (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, 

under section 10(a) of the ESA, we may 

issue permits to authorize incidental 

take of listed species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ 

is defined by the ESA as take that is 

incidental to, and not the purpose of, 

carrying out an otherwise lawful activity 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
51368 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 15, 2021 / Notices 

(16 U.S.C. 1539). Regulations governing 

incidental take permits for endangered 

and threatened species, respectively, are 

found in the Code of Federal 

Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 

17.32. Impacts to plants do not fall 

under the definition of ‘‘take’’; therefore, 

the Service cannot authorize incidental 

take of plants. However, the Service 

cannot issue an ITP that would 

jeopardize the continued existence or 

adversely modify the designated critical 

habitat of any listed species. 

Applicant’s Proposed Project 

The applicant requests a 50-year ITP 

to take the five bat species. The 

applicant determined that take is 

reasonably certain to occur incidental to 

enactment of forest and habitat 

management activities statewide on 42 

million acres of covered species habitat. 

The proposed conservation strategy in 

the applicant’s proposed HCP is 

designed to avoid, minimize, and 

mitigate the impacts of habitat and 

forest management on the covered 

species. The biological goals and 

objectives are to minimize potential take 

of the five covered species through 

minimization measures and to provide 

habitat conservation measures for the 

covered species to offset any impacts 

from implementation of habitat and 

forest management activities. The 

estimated level of take from the project 

is 20.38 adult Indiana bats, 0.02 

northern long-eared bats, 0.11 little 

brown bats, and 1.81 tricolored bats on 

an annual basis. As a result of proposed 

avoidance measures, the likelihood of 

take for gray bat has been greatly 

reduced such that a measurable level of 

take is not anticipated to occur. To 

offset the impacts of the taking of the 

five covered bat species, the applicant 

proposes to avoid habitat loss-related 

impacts from habitat and forest 

management, by instituting avoidance 

measures during the management 

process, such as avoiding certain 

activities during the active maternity 

season, and implement species habitat 

protection, enhancement, or restoration 

on 28,000 acres. Beneficial and net 

effects of the conservation strategy 

include the successful management of 

forests, which protect potential habitat 

for bats; site-level maintenance and 

promotion of roost trees and foraging 

habitat; the protection and management 

of 28,000 acres of priority bat 

management zones targeted at treeroosting covered species; the protection 

and enhancement of caves; and other 

specific measures that minimize or 

avoid effects to the covered species. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The issuance of an ITP is a Federal 

action that triggers the need for 

compliance with NEPA. We prepared a 

draft EA that analyzes the 

environmental impacts on the human 

environment resulting from three 

alternatives: A no-action alternative, a 

no take alternative, the applicant’s 

proposed action, and an early planning 

mitigation alternative. 

Next Steps 

The Service will evaluate the permit 

application and the comments received 

to determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA. We will also conduct an 

intra-Service consultation pursuant to 

section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the 

effects of the proposed take. After 

considering the above findings, we will 

determine whether the permit issuance 

criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA 

have been met. If met, the Service will 

issue the requested ITP to the applicant. 

Request for Public Comments 

The Service invites comments and 

suggestions from all interested parties 

on the proposed HCP, draft EA, and 

supporting documents during a 30-day 

public comment period (see DATES). In 

particular, information and comments 

regarding the following topics are 

requested: 

1. The effects that implementation of 

any alternative could have on the 

human environment; 

2. Whether or not the significance of 

the impact on various aspects of the 

human environment has been 

adequately analyzed; and 

3. Any other information pertinent to 

evaluating the effects of the proposed 

action on the human environment 

including Indiana, gray, northern longeared, little brown, and tricolored bats. 

Availability of Public Comments 

You may submit comments by one of 

the methods shown under ADDRESSES. 

We will post on http://regulations.gov 

all public comments and information 

received electronically or via hardcopy. 

All comments received, including 

names and addresses, will become part 

of the administrative record associated 

with this action. 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 request in your comment that 

we withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, will be 

made available for public disclosure in 

their entirety. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

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

and its implementing regulations (50 

CFR 17.22) and the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4371 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR 46). 

Lori Nordstrom, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19929 Filed 9–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Geological Survey 

[GX21DK20H2S0000; OMB Control Number 

1028–0114] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; National Ground-Water 

Monitoring Network Cooperative 

Funding Application 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Information 

Collection; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are 

proposing to renew an information 

collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

15, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. U.S. Geological Survey, 

Information Collections Officer, 12201 

Sunrise Valley Drive MS 159, Reston, 

VA 20192; and by email to gs-info_

collections@usgs.gov. Please reference 

OMB Control Number 1028–0114 in the 

subject line of your comments. 

Individuals who are hearing or speech 

impaired may call the Federal Relay 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES