Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2010 / Notices 57059 

Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 

97365; South Tillamook Branch Library, 

6200 Camp St., Pacific City, OR 97135; 

Port Orford Public Library, 555 W. 20th 

St., Port Orford, Oregon 97465; 

Reedsport Branch Library, 395 

Winchester Ave., Reedsport, Oregon 

97467; Seaside Public Library, 60 N. 

Roosevelt Blvd., Seaside, Oregon 97138; 

Tillamook County Library, 1716 3rd St., 

Tillamook, Oregon 97141; Waldport 

Public Library, 460 Hemlock, Waldport, 

Oregon 97394; Warrenton Community 

Library, 225 S. Main Ave., Warrenton, 

Oregon 97146; and the Yachats Public 

Library, 560 W. 7th St., P.O. Box 817, 

Yachats, OR 97498. 

Background 

Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538) 

and the implementing regulations 

prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of fish and wildlife 

species listed as endangered or 

threatened. The term ‘‘take’’ is defined 

under the ESA to mean 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). ‘‘Harm’’ is defined by Service 

regulation to include significant habitat 

modification or degradation where it 

actually kills or injures listed wildlife 

by significantly impairing essential 

behavioral patterns, including breeding, 

feeding, and sheltering (50 CFR 17.3(c)). 

However, under limited circumstances, 

the Service may issue permits to 

authorize the ‘‘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. Regulations 

governing incidental take permits for 

threatened and endangered species are 

found at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, 

respectively. 

The OPRD has management 

responsibility on all Oregon coastal 

beaches, which extend for 

approximately 230 miles, for such 

activities as public use and recreation, 

beach management conducted by staff, 

and natural resource management. 

These activities may result in the 

incidental take of the threatened Pacific 

Coast population of the western snowy 

plover (Charadrius alexandrinus 

nivosus). As a result, the OPRD has 

prepared a 25-year HCP that addresses 

the incidental take of the western snowy 

plover. The HCP forms the basis of 

OPRD’s permit application that was 

submitted to the Service and is the 

proposed action in the Service’s FEIS. 

Activities that the OPRD is proposing 

for permit coverage, and for which 

minimization and mitigation measures 

are described in the HCP include: 

1. Public Use 

a. Dog Exercising 

b. Driving 

c. Recreational Activities 

d. Non-Motorized Vehicle Use 

e. Other Dry Sand Activities 

2. Beach Management 

a. Public Safety 

b. Law Enforcement 

c. Boat and Marine Mammal 

Strandings 

3. Natural Resource Management 

a. Snowy Plover Management 

b. Other Habitat Restoration 

Public Involvement 

The Service formally initiated an 

environmental review of the project 

through publication of a Notice of Intent 

to prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement in the Federal Register on 

March 20, 2003 (68 FR 13720). That 

notice also announced a public scoping 

period through April 28, 2003, during 

which interested parties were invited to 

provide written comments expressing 

their issues or concerns relating to the 

proposal. In a letter jointly signed by the 

OPRD and the Service, agencies and the 

public were notified of the opportunity 

to comment and the dates and locations 

of public meetings. The public meetings 

were also posted on the OPRD’s Web 

site. In March 2003, four public 

meetings were held in Coos Bay, 

Newport, Tillamook, and Portland. 

Utilizing the public scoping comments, 

the Service prepared a draft EIS to 

analyze the effects of the alternatives on 

the human environment. The draft EIS 

was released for a 60-day public 

comment on November 5, 2007, and the 

comment period was extended for an 

additional 15 days on February 26, 

2008. The official comment period 

ended on March 12, 2008. 

Public Review 

Copies of the final FEIS, HCP, and IA 

are available for review (see Availability 

of Documents above). Any comments 

we receive will become part of the 

administrative record and may be 

available to the public. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail 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. 

If you wish us to withhold your name 

and/or address, you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comment. 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. We will honor 

your request to withhold your personal 

information to the extent allowable by 

law. 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

section 10(c) of the ESA and Service 

regulations for implementing NEPA, as 

amended (40 CFR 1506.6). We will 

evaluate the application, associated 

documents, and comments submitted to 

determine whether the application 

meets the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA. A permit decision will be 

made no sooner than 30 days after the 

publication of the EPA’s FEIS notice in 

the Federal Register and completion of 

the Record of Decision. If we determine 

that all requirements are met, we will 

issue an incidental take permit under 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the 

OPRD for take of the western snowy 

plover, incidental to otherwise lawful 

activities in accordance with the HCP, 

the IA, and the permit. 

Dated: August 11, 2010. 

Carolyn A. Bohan, 

Acting Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland, 

Oregon. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23108 Filed 9–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R6–ES–2010–N175; 61130–1115–0000 

F2] 

Montana Department of Natural 

Resources and Conservation Final 

Habitat Conservation Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce 

that we have received from the Montana 

Department of Natural Resources and 

Conservation (DNRC) a Final Habitat 

Conservation Plan (HCP) and prepared a 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(Final EIS). The purpose of the HCP is 

to provide measures for DNRC’s forest 

management activities on State forested 

trust lands to minimize and mitigate to 

the maximum extent practicable the 

impacts of authorized incidental take 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (Act). 

DATES: The Final HCP/EIS will be 

released for public review on September 

17, 2010. We will sign a Record of 

Decision no sooner than 30 days after 

the publication of the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) notice of the 

Final EIS in the Federal Register. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES_PART 1
57060 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2010 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, or to receive the 

documents on CD–ROM, please contact 

Kathleen Ports, at 406–542–4330, or 

Tim Bodurtha, at 406–758–6882. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have 

received the Final HCP and prepared 

the Final EIS for DNRC’s forest 

management activities on State forested 

trust lands to minimize and mitigate the 

impacts of authorized incidental take 

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

We are the lead agency for issuance of 

the incidental take permit (Permit). On 

June 26, 2009, we published our notice 

of receipt of a Permit application, Draft 

HCP, and Draft Implementation 

Agreement and notice of availability of 

the Draft EIS in the Federal Register (74 

FR 30617). We are now releasing for 

public review the Final HCP and the 

Final HCP/EIS, which includes our 

responses to public comments and 

changes to the documents based on 

public comments and recent scientific 

data. We furnish this notice to allow 

other agencies and the public an 

opportunity to review the revised 

documents and our responses to 

comments. For locations to review the 

documents, please see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. We are providing 30 days to 

allow the public sufficient time to 

review these final documents. 

Availability of Documents 

You may review the documents by 

requesting copies on CD–ROM from us 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section). The documents are also 

available on the Internet at http:// 

www.dnrc.mt.gov/HCP/default.asp or at 

the following libraries: 

• Missoula Public Library, 301 East 

Main Street, Missoula, Montana 59802– 

4799; (406) 721–2665. 

• Flathead County Public Library, 247 

First Avenue East, Kalispell, Montana 

59901–4560; (406) 758–5819. 

• Lincoln County Public Library, 220 

W. 6th Street, Libby, Montana 59923– 

1898; (406) 293–2778. 

• Lewis and Clark Library, 120 South 

Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana 

59601–4165; (406) 447–1690. 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations to access the public 

review locations should contact 

Kathleen Ports or Tim Bodurtha, (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section). To allow sufficient time to 

process requests, please call no later 

than 1 week before the desired review 

time. Information regarding the 

proposed action is available in 

alternative formats upon request. 

Background 

The HCP covers timber harvest and 

associated activities on approximately 

548,500 acres (2, 220m2) of trust lands 

in western Montana, overseen by three 

of the six DNRC land offices. The DNRC 

manages scattered parcels and blocks of 

land in the Swan River State Forest and 

Stillwater State Forest. 

The DNRC prepared a 50-year HCP to 

address impacts from incidental take of 

grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), 

Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), and 

bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), 

which are listed as threatened under the 

Act. Unlisted species included in 

DNRC’s HCP and which would receive 

incidental take authorization, should 

they be listed during the term of the 

HCP, are the westslope cutthroat trout 

(Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) and 

Columbia redband trout (Oncorhynchus 

mykiss gairdneri). 

Substantive modifications to the 

proposed HCP, as well as any associated 

modifications to the EIS, were made 

based on: (1) Public comments on the 

2009 Draft EIS/HCP public comment 

period; (2) information from Canada 

lynx researcher, Dr. John Squires, U.S. 

Forest Service, whose ongoing research 

was deemed relevant to finalizing the 

HCP/EIS; and (3) recent guidance from 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

and recent Service policy on how to 

address climate change in National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

documents. The Service and DNRC 

made substantive modifications to lynx 

and aquatic conservation commitments 

in the Final HCP/EIS in light of public 

comment and recent research. 

In the Final HCP, DNRC increased the 

acres subject to lynx conservation 

commitments, removed the commitment 

to retain a minimum of two piles of 

woody debris per square mile as 

potential lynx den sites, and changed 

the foraging commitment from 

maintaining 20 percent of a combination 

of winter and summer foraging habitat 

to maintaining 20 percent of winter 

foraging habitat. We revised the tables 

in the Final HCP/EIS and the Final EIS 

analysis to reflect the increase of 

potential lynx habitat. 

In the Final HCP, DNRC revised the 

aquatic riparian timber harvest strategy 

to widen the no-harvest buffer along 

streams from 25 feet to 50 feet (8m to 

15m) and expand the number of streams 

subject to HCP prescriptions from just 

streams bearing the fish species covered 

by the HCP to all fish-bearing streams. 

The EIS analysis was also revised to 

reflect these changes. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Compliance 

Our proposal to issue a Permit is a 

Federal action that triggers the need for 

compliance with NEPA. Accordingly, as 

the Federal agency responsible for 

compliance under NEPA, we have 

prepared an EIS that analyzes 

alternatives associated with issuance of 

the Permit. In addition to the proposed 

Permit issuance alternative, other 

alternatives we considered in the EIS 

include the ‘‘No Action’’ alternative, an 

‘‘Increased Conservation’’ alternative, 

and an ‘‘Increased Management 

Flexibility’’ alternative. The ‘‘No Action’’ 

alternative would reflect continued 

implementation of the DNRC’s existing 

rules and regulations. The ‘‘increased 

conservation’’ alternative contains 

expanded conservation commitments 

relative to those in the proposed HCP. 

The ‘‘Increased Management Flexibility’’ 

alternative contains commitments that 

would allow for smaller habitat areas for 

some species and longer timelines for 

implementation relative to the proposed 

HCP. 

The Final EIS includes all comments 

we received on the Draft EIS and our 

responses to those comments. After the 

30-day waiting period, we will complete 

a Record of Decision that announces our 

decision on which action to take and 

discusses all factors leading to the 

decision. 

Public Involvement 

The Service initiated an 

environmental review of the project 

through publication of a notice of intent 

to prepare an EIS in the Federal 

Register on April 26, 2003 (68 FR 

22412). Beginning April 28, 2003, the 

DNRC and the Service held a 60-day 

scoping period for the proposed HCP 

and EIS to gather public comments on 

the proposed action. In October 2005, 

the DNRC opened a 45-day public 

review period to allow interested parties 

to review and comment on the 

conservation strategies. On June 26, 

2009, we published a notice of 

availability in the Federal Register (74 

FR 30617) of the Draft EIS/HCP. The 

draft documents were available for 

public review and comment for a 90-day 

period ending on October 9, 2009. 

Public Review 

Copies of the Final HCP/EIS, and 

Implementing Agreement are available 

for review (see Availability of 

Documents). Any comments we receive 

will become part of the administrative 

record and may be available to the 

public. Before submitting comments 

that include your address, telephone 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES_PART 1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 180 / Friday, September 17, 2010 / Notices 57061 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment, including your personal 

identifying information, may be made 

publicly available at any time. While 

you may 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. 

We will evaluate the application, 

associated documents, and comments 

submitted to determine whether the 

application meets the requirements of 

section 10(a) of the Act. We will make 

a permit decision no sooner than 30 

days after the publication of the EPA’s 

Final EIS notice in the Federal Register 

and our completion of a biological 

opinion under section 7 of the Act and 

the Record of Decision. 

Dated: August 24, 2010. 

Hugh Morrison, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23099 Filed 9–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[WY–920–1430–ET; WYW 109115] 

Public Land Order No. 7748; Extension 

of Public Land Order No. 6797; 

Wyoming 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Public land order. 

SUMMARY: This order extends the 

withdrawal created by Public Land 

Order No. 6797 for an additional 20-year 

period. This extension is necessary to 

continue the protection of the Whiskey 

Mountain Bighorn Sheep Winter Range 

in Fremont County. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 14, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Janelle Wrigley, BLM Wyoming State 

Office, 5353 N. Yellowstone Road, P.O. 

Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003, 

307–775–6257. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose for which the withdrawal was 

first made requires this extension to 

continue the protection of the Whiskey 

Mountain Bighorn Sheep Winter Range. 

The withdrawal extended by this order 

will expire on September 13, 2030, 

unless, as a result of a review conducted 

prior to the expiration date pursuant to 

Section 204(f) of the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 

U.S.C. 1714(f), the Secretary determines 

that the withdrawal shall be further 

extended. 

Order 

By virtue of the authority vested in 

the Secretary of the Interior by Section 

204 of the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 

1714, it is ordered as follows: 

Public Land Order No. 6797 (55 FR 

37878 (1990)), which withdrew 9,609.74 

acres of public mineral estate from 

location or entry under the United 

States mining laws (30 U.S.C. Ch. 2) to 

protect the Whiskey Mountain Bighorn 

Sheep Winter Range, is hereby extended 

for an additional 20-year period until 

September 13, 2030. 

(Authority: 43 CFR 2310.4) 

Dated: September 9, 2010. 

Wilma A. Lewis, 

Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23328 Filed 9–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[AZA22647 and AZA23294] 

Public Land Order No. 7749; Extension 

of Public Land Order Nos. 6801 and 

6812; Arizona 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Public land order. 

SUMMARY: This order extends the 

duration of two withdrawals created by 

Public Land Order Nos. 6801 and 6812 

for an additional 20-year period. The 

extensions are necessary to continue to 

protect valuable facilities and 

improvements associated with the 

Smithsonian Institution’s Fred 

Lawrence Whipple Observatory and 

Base Camp site. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 19, 

2010 (PLO No. 6801) and October 31, 

2010 (PLO No. 6812). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl 

Sandwell-Weiss, U.S. Forest Service 

Coronado National Forest Office, 

Federal Building, 300 West Congress 

Street, Tucson, Arizona 85701, (520) 

388–8348, or Vivian Titus, Bureau of 

Land Management, Arizona State Office, 

One North Central, Suite 800, Phoenix, 

Arizona 85004, (602) 417–9598. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To 

maintain the purpose for which the 

withdrawals were first made, an 

extension is required to continue to 

protect valuable facilities and 

improvements associated with the 

Smithsonian Institution’s Fred 

Lawrence Whipple Observatory and 

Base Camp site. The facilities include 

the observatory, a visitor center, the 

administrative offices, a motor pool, and 

the picnic area. The lands continue to 

be used for the purpose for which they 

were withdrawn. 

Order 

By virtue of the authority vested in 

the Secretary of the Interior by Section 

204 of the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 

1714, it is ordered as follows: 

1. Public Land Order No. 6801 (55 FR 

38550, (1990)) that withdrew 61.356 

acres of National Forest System lands 

from location or entry under the United 

States mining laws (30 U.S.C. chapter 2) 

on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service to 

protect valuable facilities and 

improvements for scientific work 

associated with the Smithsonian 

Institution’s Fred Lawrence Whipple 

Observatory, is hereby extended for an 

additional 20-year period. Public Land 

Order No. 6801 will expire on 

September 18, 2030, unless, as a result 

of a new review conducted prior to the 

expiration date pursuant to Section 

204(f) of the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 

1714(f), the Secretary determines that 

the withdrawal shall be further 

extended. 

2. Public Land Order No. 6812 (55 FR 

45805, (1990)) that withdrew 40 acres of 

National Forest System lands from 

location or entry under the United 

States mining laws (30 U.S.C. chapter 2) 

on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service to 

protect valuable facilities and 

improvements associated with the 

Smithsonian Institution’s Fred 

Lawrence Whipple Observatory Base 

Camp Site, is hereby extended for an 

additional 20-year period. Public Land 

Order No. 6812 will expire on October 

30, 2030, unless, as a result of a new 

review conducted prior to the expiration 

date pursuant to Section 204(f) of the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(f), the 

Secretary determines that the 

withdrawal shall be further extended. 

Dated: September 7, 2010. 

Wilma A. Lewis, 

Assistant Secretary—Land and Minerals 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23326 Filed 9–16–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES_PART 1