21776 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2001 / Notices

50 CFR Section Species (scientific name) Type of reporting

17.84(c) ................................ Red Wolf (Canis rufus): .................................................. Take in defense of human life, incidental take, take related to livestock depredation.

17.84(g) ................................ Black footed ferret (Mustela nigripes): ............................ Incidental take, specimen collection/reporting.

17.84(h) ................................ Whooping crane (Grus americana): ................................ Specimen collection/reporting.

17.84(i) ................................. Gray wolf (Canis lupus): ................................................. Take in defense of human life, incidental take, take related to livestock depredation.

17.84(j) ................................. California condors (Gymnogyps californianus): .............. Specimen collection/reporting, incidental take.

17.84(k) ................................ Mexican gray wolf (Canus lupus baileyi) ........................ Take in defense of human life, incidental take, take related to livestock depredation.

17.84(l) ................................. Grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis) ......................................... Take in defense of human life, incidental take, take related to livestock depredation.

Future experimental populations that

are established will require the same

types of reports as listed above. This

proposed information collection notice

would also apply to future experimental

populations that encompass the same

information requirements outlined

above to streamline the process.

Title: Endangered and Threatened

Wildlife, 50 CFR 17.84, Experimental

populations.

Description of respondents: Private

individuals and households, businesses,

not-for-profit organizations, and farms.

Bureau form number: N/A.

Frequency of collection: On occasion.

Species]

BURDEN ESTIMATES FOR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIMENTAL POPULATINS

Type of report Number of respondents

Average time required per report

(in minutes)

Total annual burden (in hours)

General take or removal a .......................................................................................... 20 15 5

Depredation related take b ......................................................................................... 22 15 5.5

Specimen collection c ................................................................................................. 20 15 5

(a) General take or removal includes human related mortality including unintentional taking incidental to otherwise lawful activities (e.g. highway mortalities), take in defense of human life, take related to defense of property (if authorized) or take in the form of authorized harassment.

(b) Depredation-related take is take for management purposes where livestock depredation has been documented and may include authorized

harassment or authorized lethal take of experimental animals in the act of attacking livestock.

(c) Specimen collection, recovery, or reporting of dead individuals from experimental populations for documentation purposes or authorized scientific collection purposes.

Dated: April 26, 2001.

Rebecca A. Mullin,

Fish and Wildlife Service, Information

Collection Office.

[FR Doc. 01–10810 Filed 4–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Habitat Conservation

Plan and Receipt of an Application for

an Incidental Take Permit for the

Northern Spotted Owl, Boise Cascade

Corporation, Klickitat County, WA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that the Boise Cascade Corporation

(Boise) has applied to the Fish and

Wildlife Service (Service) for an

incidental take permit pursuant to

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

The application has been assigned

permit number TE 028219–0. The

proposed permit would authorize the

incidental take, in the form of habitat

modification (i.e., harm), of the northern

spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina),

a species that is federally listed as

threatened. The proposed duration of

the permit and habitat conservation

plan (HCP) is 5 years, or as long as the

owl site is active. We also announce the

opening of a 30-day comment period to

receive comments from the public on

Boise’s incidental take permit

application and the accompanying

proposed HCP. The HCP fully describes

the proposed project and the measures

Boise will undertake to minimize and

mitigate for project impacts to the owl.

These measures and associated impacts

are also described in the background

and summary information that follow.

We also request comments from the

public on our preliminary

determination that Boise’s HCP would

qualify as a ‘‘Low Effect’’ HCP, eligible

for a categorical exclusion under the

National Environmental Policy Act, as

provided by the Department of the

Interior Manual (516 DM2, Appendix 1

and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). The basis

for this determination is discussed in an

Environmental Action Statement, which

is also available for public review. All

comments received will become part of

the public record and will be available

for review pursuant to section 10(c) of

the Act.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by 5 p.m. on May 31, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to the State Supervisor, Fish

and Wildlife Service, Western

Washington Office, 510 Desmond Drive

SE, Suite 102, Lacey, Washington

98503, fax number (306) 753-9518 (for

further information and instruction on

the reviewing and commenting process,

see Public Review and Comment section

below).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Joseph Zisa, Fish and Wildlife Service,

Western Washington Office, telephone

(360) 534–9330.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9

of the Act and Federal regulation

prohibit the taking of a species listed as

endangered or threatened. The term

‘‘take’’ is defined under the Act to mean

harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,

wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or

to attempt to engage in any such

conduct. ‘‘Harm’’ is defined to include

significant habitat modification or

degradation where it actually kills or

injures wildlife by significantly

impairing essential behavioral patterns,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2001 / Notices 21777

including breeding, feeding, and

sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). However,

under limited circumstances the Service

may issue permits to take listed species,

provided such take is incidental to, and

not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful

activity. Regulations governing permits

for threatened species are promulgated

in 50 CFR 17.32. Regulations governing

permits for endangered species are

promulgated in 50 CFR 17.22.

Background

The proposed permit area occurs

within Boise’s 34,000-hectare (ha)

(84,000-acre (ac)) Simcoe District

ownership in the eastern Cascade

Mountains of Washington. The actual

area covered by the proposed permit

and HCP is 250 ha (620 ac) of Boise

ownership within owl site #459,

centered in section 27, township 6

north, range 15 east. The proposed

permit area occurs in the ponderosa

pine zone, an ecotype that historically

provided little habitat for spotted owls.

In the last century, fire suppression and

other aspects of forest management have

allowed large areas to transition to

grand fir and douglas fir habitat types

that provide more habitat for the

species. However, even in light of these

historically recent conditions, the

proposed permit area occurs at the

extreme southern and eastern edge of

current spotted owl distribution within

Washington. Immediately to the south

and east, central Klickitat County is not

forested. To the west, the main

population of owls is on Federal lands

in the Cascade Mountains,

approximately 50 kilometers (km) (30

miles (mi)) from owl site #459. The area

in-between is dominated by non-Federal

land and contains only a few scattered

owl sites’the nearest of these being

about 16 km (10 mi) away. A fairly large

owl population cluster (approximately

25 to 35 sites) occurs to the north,

largely in the Klickitat River basin

within the Yakama Indian Reservation,

and site #459 is at the extreme edge of

that cluster.

As is common throughout the eastern

portion of the owl’s range, the humaninduced fir habitat types within the

proposed permit area are being

degraded by severe and chronic insect

infestations. In addition to direct

degradation and mortality of fir trees,

such infestations result in massive

accumulation of standing and downed

wood fuels that increase the likelihood

of fires that will remove not only the

damaged stands, but also healthier

neighboring stands. Spruce budworm

infestations have heavily impacted large

acreages within and nearby the

proposed permit area in the last decade.

Recent surveys by Service and

Washington Department of Natural

Resources personnel indicate that the

majority of douglas fir and grand fir

which dominate stands within the

proposed permit area are being

defoliated and are either in advanced

stages of decline or already dead. The

ponderosa pine component of these

stands is not impacted directly by the

spruce budworm.

Less than 60 ha (150 ac) of the 2,635-

ha (6,511-ac) likely home range radius

of owls at site #459 are classified as

suitable habitat, including 35 ha (86 ac)

within the proposed permit area. This

amount of habitat is far below the

acreage typically thought necessary to

maintain long-term viability of owl sites

in this portion of the species’ range.

The proposed permit area also

includes a portion of Bowman Creek, a

fish-bearing stream that is a tributary of

the Little Klickitat River. Bull trout

(Salvelinus confluentus) and other listed

or proposed salmonids are not known to

occur on Bowman Creek or its down

stream confluence, the Little Klickitat

River (Carl Dugger, Washington

Department of Fish and Wildlife,

Goldendale, Washington, pers. comm.).

A 15-meter (50-foot) waterfall on the

Little Klickitat River below the

confluence with Bowman Creek may

serve as a barrier to fish passage into the

proposed permit area. No other federally

threatened or endangered plants or

animals are known to exist in the permit

area.

The requested section 10 permit

would authorize the incidental take of

spotted owls associated with one

currently occupied owl site. Boise

proposes harvest of severely and

chronically insect-damaged forest

within this owl site. While this harvest

will not result in removal of known

suitable habitat while the site remains

occupied, operations within adjacent

non-suitable habitat or within forest

classified as non-suitable but perhaps

occasionally used by owls, could result

in some harm or harassment of the owls

at this site. Issuance of the permit would

provide Boise with certainty that such

unintended and specifically

unpredictable consequences do not

result in violations of the Act.

Under the proposed action, Boise

would limit harvest, through seasonal

restrictions and harvest deferrals and

prescriptions. Harvest would be limited

not only within suitable owl habitat, but

also within other forest areas adjacent to

the habitat, and harvest deferrals would

be retained for a longer period of time

than would otherwise be necessary.

Boise also would increase monitoring of

owls associated with the proposed

permit area—including implementation

of a radio-telemetry project to monitor

the response of the owls to the proposed

management activities, and financial

contribution to an ongoing owl

population study in the region. All

associated information would be

included in mandatory reports to the

Service. Seasonal restrictions also

would be imposed on these

management actions so that

reproductive and fledgling activities of

the owls are not disturbed.

We have made a preliminary

determination that the Boise HCP

qualifies as a Low Effect HCP as defined

by the Service’s Habitat Conservation

Planning Handbook. Low Effect HCPs

are those involving: (1) minor or

negligible effects on federally listed and

candidate species and their habitats;

and (2) minor or negligible effects on

other environmental values or

resources. As more fully explained in

the Service’s preliminary Low Effect

Determination, the Boise HCP qualifies

as a Low Effect HCP for the following

reasons:

(1) Approval of the HCP would result

in minor or negligible effects on the owl

and other listed or proposed species.

Occurrence of threatened northern

spotted owls on the permit lands is

limited to one occupied site. There is a

possibility that this site may be subject

to incidental take as a result of the

proposed action. Several facts lead to

the conclusion that loss of this site due

to incidental take would have a

negligible impact on the long-term

survival of the species: Loss of the site

would probably occur even absent

issuance of the permit; this owl site

occurs at the very edge of the species

range and is relatively isolated; the site

is not associated with any Late

Successional Reserve or other owl

population cluster designated for longterm conservation purposes; the status

of the local owl population (east of the

national forests in Yakima and Klickitat

counties) is most substantially

influenced by natural conditions and

management actions on the Yakama

Indian Reservation and other nearby

lands. Except for the owl, no listed or

proposed animals occur on the

proposed permit lands; due to the

presence of a natural fish passage

barrier, no bull trout, steelhead

(Oncorhynchus mykiss) or other

anadromous fish are known to occur on

the proposed permit lands and no

salmonid habitat impacts would result

from issuance of the permit. No listed or

proposed plant species are known to

occur on the proposed permit lands;

(2) The HCP would not have adverse

effects on unique geographic, historic or

21778 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2001 / Notices

cultural sites, or involve unique or

unknown environmental risks;

(3) Approval of the HCP would not

result in any cumulative impacts and

would not result in significant adverse

effects on public health or safety;

(4) The project does not require

compliance with Executive Order 11988

(Floodplain Management), Executive

Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), or

the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act,

nor does it threaten to violate a Federal,

state, local or tribal law or requirement

imposed for the protection of the

environment; and

(5) Approval of this HCP would not

establish a precedent for future action or

represent a decision in principle about

future actions with potentially

significant environmental effects.

We have therefore made a preliminary

determination that approval of the Boise

HCP qualifies as a categorical exclusion

under the National Environmental

Policy Act, as provided by the

Department of the Interior Manual (516

DM2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6,

Appendix 1). Based upon this

preliminary determination, we do not

intend to prepare further National

Environmental Policy Act

documentation. We will consider public

comments in making our final

determination on whether to prepare

such additional documentation.

This notice is provided pursuant to

section 10(c) of the Act. We will

evaluate the permit application, HCP,

and comments submitted thereon to

determine whether the application

meets the requirements of section 10(a)

of the Act. If we determine that the

requirements are met, we will issue a

permit for the incidental take of the

northern spotted owl. The final permit

decision will be made no sooner than 30

days from the date of this notice.

Public Review and Comments

Individuals wishing copies of the

permit application, copies of our

preliminary Low Effect Determination,

or copies of the full text of the HCP,

including a map of the proposed permit

area, references, and legal descriptions

of the proposed permit area, should

contact the office and personnel listed

in the ADDRESSES section above.

If you wish to comment on the permit

application or the HCP, you may submit

your comments to the address listed in

the ADDRESSES section of this document.

For internal tracking purposes, please

refer to permit number TE 028219–0

when submitting comments. Comments

and materials received, including names

and addresses of respondents, will be

available for public review, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the address in the ADDRESSES

section above and will become part of

the public record, pursuant to section

10(c) of the Act. Individual respondents

may request that we withhold their

home address from the record, which

we will honor to the extent allowable by

law. There also may be circumstances in

which we would withhold from the

record a respondent’s identity, as

allowable by law. If you wish us to

withhold your name and/or address,

you must state this prominently at the

beginning of your comment.

Anonymous comments will not be

considered. All submissions from

organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as

representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, are

available for public inspection in their

entirety.

Dated: April 19, 2001.

Don Weathers,

Deputy Regional Director, Region 1, Portland,

Oregon.

[FR Doc. 01–10763 Filed 4–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

Technology Transfer Act of 1986;

Chevron Research and Technology Co.

AGENCY: Geological Survey, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Cooperative

Research & Development Agreement

(CRADA) Negotiations.

SUMMARY: The United States Geological

Survey (USGS) is contemplating

entering into a Cooperative Research

and Development Agreement (CRADA)

with the Chevron Research and

Technology Company, a division of

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. for the purpose of

evaluating hyperspectral remote sensing

technology that permits the rapid

assessment of vegetation type.

INQUIRIES: If any other parties are

interested in similar activities with the

USGS, please contact Delores

Richardson, Administrative Officer,

USGS National Wetlands Research

Center, 700 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette,

LA 70506, phone (337) 266–8515.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is submitted to meet the USGS

requirements stipulated in Survey

Manual Chapter 500.20.

Susan Haseltine,

Chief Scientist for Biology.

[FR Doc. 01–10815 Filed 4–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–17–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

Technology Transfer Act of 1986;

Exploration Company of Delaware, Inc.

AGENCY: Geological Survey, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Cooperative

Research and Development Agreement

(CRADA) Negotiations.

SUMMARY: The United States Geological

Survey (USGS) is contemplating

entering into a Cooperative Research

and Development Agreement (CRADA)

with the Exploration Company of

Delaware, Inc., to obtain and

characterize various coalbeds from the

Maverick Basin, in south Texas.

INQUIRIES: If any other parties are

interested in similar activities with the

USGS, please contact Charles E. Barker,

USGS Denver Federal Center, Sixth Ave.

and Kipling St., Building 20, MS 977,

Denver, CO 80225, (303) 236–5797.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is submitted to meet the USGS

requirements stipulated in Survey

Manual Chapter 500.20.

P. Patrick Leahy,

Associate Director for Geology.

[FR Doc. 01–10816 Filed 4–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–47–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey

Technology Transfer Act of 1986

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed cooperative

research & development agreement

(CRADA) negotiations.

SUMMARY: The United States Geological

Survey (USGS) is contemplating

entering into a Cooperative Research

and Development Agreement (CRADA)

with Hamilton Operating, Inc., to obtain

and characterize various coalbeds from

the Eagle Pass Basin, in south Texas.

Inquiries: If any other parties are

interested in similar activities with the

USGS, please contact Charles E. Barker,

USGS Denver Federal Center, Sixth Ave.

and Kipling St., Building 20, MS 977,

Denver, CO 80225, (303) 236–5797.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice is submitted to meet the USGS

requirements stipulated in Survey

Manual Chapter 500.20.

P. Patrick Leahy,

Associate Director for Geology.

[FR Doc. 01–10817 Filed 4–30–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–Y7–M