Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 60735 

issued December 16, 2008 (73 FR 

78724), had been requested by the 

above-named permit holder. The 

requested modification has been granted 

under the authority of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the 

regulations governing the taking, 

importing, and exporting of endangered 

and threatened species (50 CFR 222– 

226). 

This permit amendment adds those 

ESA-listed NMFS species not previously 

included in the previous permit. No live 

animal takes or incidental harassment of 

animals would is authorized under this 

permit. Samples will be archived at the 

NOS Lab and used to support law 

enforcement actions, research studies 

(primarily genetics), and outreach 

education. 

Issuance of this modification, as 

required by the ESA was based on a 

finding that such permit (1) was applied 

for in good faith, (2) will not operate to 

the disadvantage of such endangered or 

threatened species, and (3) is consistent 

with the purposes and policies set forth 

in section 2 of the ESA. 

Dated: September 24, 2010. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24694 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

RIN 0648–XY95 

Proposed Issuance of Incidental Take 

Permits to the Washington Department 

of Fish and Wildlife for State of 

Washington Wildlife Areas 

AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA) 

Commerce; Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS), Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct a 

30–day public scoping period and 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (FWS) and the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), collectively 

the Services, advise interested parties of 

our intent to conduct public scoping 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) to gather information 

to prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) related to incidental take 

permit (ITP) applications from the 

Washington Department of Fish and 

Wildlife (WDFW) for incidental take of 

species listed under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA), as well as unlisted 

species should they become listed 

during the term of the proposed permit. 

The WDFW has identified specific land 

management and recreation activities 

that currently occur on state Wildlife 

Areas that may cause incidental take. In 

support of the ITP applications, the 

WDFW is proposing to implement a 

habitat conservation plan (HCP) on 

approximately 900,000 acres of their 

state Wildlife Areas. The term of the 

proposed HCP and ITP’s will occur after 

the public scoping process. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before November 1, 2010. 

Four public scoping meetings will be 

held to introduce the proposed action, 

explain the NEPA public participation 

process, and solicit public comment. 

The public scoping meetings will be 

held on October 19, 20, 26, and 27, 

2010, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the 

following locations: 

1. October 19: Everett Community 

College, 2000 Tower Street, Whitehorse 

Hall, Room 105, Everett, WA 98201. 

2. October 20: FWS and NMFS Office, 

510 Desmond Drive, Suite 102, Lacey, 

WA 98503. 

3. October 26: Hal Homes Center, 209 

N. Ruby Street, Teanaway Room, 

Ellensburg, WA 98926. 

4. October 27: Spokane Valley Center 

Place, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Room 

109, Spokane, WA 99206. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by one of the following methods: 

1. Verbally or in writing at the public 

scoping meetings; 

2. U.S. mail or hand delivery to : Mr. 

David Molenaar, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 510 Desmond Drive, 

SE, Suite 103, Lacey, WA 98503; or Mr. 

Mark Ostwald, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife 

Office, 510 Desmond Drive, SE, Suite 

102, Lacey, WA 98503 

3. Email to Wdfwwlareahcp@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Mark Ostwald with the FWS at (360) 

753–9564, or at MarklOstwald@fws.gov 

or Mr. David Molenaar with the NMFS 

at (360) 753–9456 or at 

David.Molenaar@noaa.gov, or on the 

Internet at: http://www.fws.gov/wafwo. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with section 10(a)(2)(A) of 

the ESA of 1973, as amended (U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.), the WDFW is preparing a 

HCP for their Wildlife Areas in support 

of their ITP applications to the Services 

to incidentally take the following ESA 

listed species under FWS jurisdiction: 

marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, 

western snowy plover, Oregon 

silverspot butterfly, golden paintbrush, 

howellia, Spalding’s silene, Ute ladies’ 

tresses, Columbian white-tailed deer, 

gray wolf, grizzly bear, lynx, pygmy 

rabbit, and the bull trout. 

The applications also request 

incidental take authorization for the 

following species under NMFS 

jurisdiction: chinook salmon 

Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) 

in Puget Sound, the Lower Columbia 

River, Upper Columbia River springrun, Upper Willamette River, Snake 

River fall-run and the Snake River 

spring/summer-run; chum salmon ESUs 

in the Columbia River and Hood Canal 

(summer run); coho salmon ESUs in the 

Lower Columbia River; steelhead 

Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) in 

Puget Sound, Snake River Basin, the 

Lower Columbia River, Middle 

Columbia River, Upper Columbia River, 

and the Upper Willamette River; 

sockeye salmon ESUs in Ozette Lake 

and the Snake River; the Southern DPS 

of the pacific eulachon; and the 

Southern DPS of the green sturgeon. 

The WDFW also requests incidental 

take for the following unlisted species 

under FWS jurisdiction should they 

become listed during the term of the 

HCP: burrowing owl, greater sagegrouse, sharp-tailed grouse, slenderbilled white breasted nuthatch, streak 

horned lark, northern leopard frog, 

Oregon spotted frog, Rocky Mountain 

tailed frog, sagebrush lizard, striped 

whipsnake, Van Dyke’s salamander, 

western pond turtle, mardon skipper, 

Taylors checkerspot , valley silverspot, 

westslope cutthroat trout, fisher, 

Townsends western big-eared bat, 

Washington ground squirrel and the 

western pocket gopher. 

The HCP proposes to cover 

approximately 900,000 acres within 32 

state Wildlife Areas managed by WDFW 

for specific covered activities that the 

WDFW conducts or allows on the 

Wildlife Areas including: horseback 

riding and dog field trial events; 

construction, maintenance, removal, 

and operation of upland infrastructures, 

water control structures, and water 

crossing structures; non-chemical weed 

control; forest management; livestock 

grazing and associated activities; 

agriculture and associated activities; 

irrigation; upland bird stocking; wildlife 

feeding; routine habitat management; 

and habitat restoration. 

The WDFW manages 32 designated 

Wildlife Areas across a broad and 

diverse spectrum of habitats throughout 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
60736 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 190 / Friday, October 1, 2010 / Notices 

Washington State. These Wildlife Areas 

are managed by the WDFW for the 

purposes of fish and wildlife 

conservation and for recreational 

opportunities. The different Wildlife 

Areas include forest and woodlands, 

wetlands, prairie, savanna and shrub 

steppe, upland grasslands, agricultural, 

and riparian habitats. The WDFW has 

identified specific goals and objectives 

for each Wildlife Areas depending upon 

the wildlife species present, the purpose 

for which the land was acquired, and 

the available outdoor recreational 

opportunities. 

The draft HCP in support of the ITP 

applications will describe the impacts of 

land management and recreational 

activities on proposed covered species 

and detail a conservation strategy to 

minimize and mitigate those impacts to 

the maximum extent practicable. With 

technical assistance from the Services, 

WDFW will develop habitat 

conservation measures for fish and 

wildlife and their associated habitats. 

The Services are responsible for 

determining whether the HCP satisfies 

the ESA section 10 permit issuance 

criteria. 

Section 9 of the ESA and 

implementing regulations prohibit the 

taking of endangered species. The term 

‘‘take’’ is defined under the ESA (16 

U.S.C. 1532(19)) as harass, harm, 

pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 

capture, or collect, or to attempt to 

engage in any such conduct. ‘‘Harm‘‘ is 

defined by FWS regulation to include 

significant habitat modification or 

degradation where it actually kills or 

injures wildlife by significantly 

impairing essential behavioral patterns, 

including breeding, feeding, or 

sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). ‘‘Harm’’ is 

defined by NMFS regulation to include 

significant habitat modification or 

degradation where it actually kills or 

injures fish or wildlife by significantly 

impairing essential behavioral patterns, 

including breeding, feeding, spawning, 

migrating, rearing, or sheltering (64 FR 

60727, November 8, 1999). 

Section 10 of the ESA and its 

implementing regulations specify the 

requirements for the issuance of ITPs to 

non-Federal applicants for the take of 

endangered and threatened species. Any 

proposed take must be incidental to 

otherwise lawful activities and must not 

appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 

survival and recovery of the species in 

the wild. In addition, the applicant must 

prepare a HCP describing the impact 

that will likely result from such taking, 

what steps will be taken to minimize 

and mitigate the impacts of the take, the 

funding available to implement such 

steps, alternatives to such taking, and 

the reason such alternatives are not 

being implemented. 

Environmental Impact Statement 

NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires 

that Federal agencies conduct an 

environmental analysis of their 

proposed actions to determine if the 

actions may significantly affect the 

human environment. The Services have 

determined that an EIS should be 

prepared under NEPA for these two ITP 

requests. The Services will prepare the 

EIS as joint lead agencies (40 CFR 

1506.2). It is anticipated that the WDFW 

will also adopt the EIS for purposes of 

compliance with the State of 

Washington Environmental Policy Act. 

We will conduct an environmental 

review of the permit applications, 

including the HCP. We will prepare an 

EIS in accordance with NEPA 

requirements, as amended (40 U.S. C. 

4321 et seq.) and NEPA implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508), and in 

accordance with other Federal laws and 

regulations. 

The primary purpose of the scoping 

process is for the public to assist the 

Services in developing the EIS by 

identifying issues and alternatives 

related to the applicant’s proposed 

action. The scoping meetings will 

allocate time for presentations by the 

Services and WDFW, and also for 

receiving comments from the public. 

The public is encouraged to attend a 

public scoping meeting at 1 of the 4 

locations. 

The Services request data, comments, 

pertinent information, or suggestions 

from the public, other concerned 

governmental agencies, the scientific 

community, Tribes, industry, or any 

other interested party regarding the 

proposed permit actions discussed in 

this notice. We will consider all 

comments we receive in complying with 

the requirements of NEPA and in 

development of the HCP and ITPs. We 

particularly seek specific comments 

concerning: 

(1) The direct, indirect, and 

cumulative effects that implementation 

of any reasonable alternative could have 

on endangered and threatened species, 

and other unlisted species and their 

habitats; 

(2) Other reasonable alternatives (in 

addition to the HCP), and their 

associated effects; 

(2) Measures that would minimize 

and mitigate potentially adverse effects 

of the proposed project; 

(3) Baseline environmental conditions 

and/or important species observations 

within the WDFW wildlife areas; 

(4) The term of the ITPs; 

(5) Covered activities that should or 

should not be part of the HCP; 

(6) Wildlife areas that should or 

should not be part of the HCP; 

(7) Species that should or should not 

be on the ITPs; 

(8) Biological information regarding 

requested covered species; 

(9) Monitoring and adaptive 

management that might be relevant to 

the project; and 

(10) Other plans or projects that might 

be relevant to this project. 

The EIS will analyze the effects that 

the various alternatives would have on 

the proposed covered species as well as 

the other aspects of the human 

environment, including but not limited 

to geology and soils, land use, air 

quality, water quality, wetlands, 

socioeconomics, recreation, cultural 

resources, noise, visual resources, 

climate change, and the cumulative 

impacts of the alternatives. A notice of 

availability for the draft EIS is expected 

to be published in the Federal Register 

in fall 2011, when it will be available for 

public review and comment. 

Special Accommodation 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations to attend and 

participate in the public meeting should 

contact Mark Ostwald, FWS, at 360– 

753- 9564 or David Molenaar, NMFS, at 

360–753–9456. To allow sufficient time 

to process requests, please call no later 

than 1 week before the public meeting. 

Information regarding the applicant’s 

proposed action is available in 

alternative formats upon request. 

Dated: September 28, 2010. 

Susan Pultz, 

Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

Dated: September 28, 2010. 

Theresa E. Rabot, 

Deputy Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24692 Filed 9–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODES 3510–22–S, 4310–55–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

Water Technology Trade Mission to 

India 

AGENCY: International Trade 

Administration, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES