Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Notices 40015 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2017–N079; FF08ESMF00– 

FXES11120800000–178] 

Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan 

for Sierra Pacific Industries Forest 

Practices in the Klamath, Cascade, and 

Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA; 

Environmental Impact Statement 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent and request for 

comments; notice of scoping meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended, we, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, are advising the public 

that we intend to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

on a proposed Endangered Species Act 

incidental take permit (ITP) application 

from Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) for 

the federally threatened Northern 

spotted owl and the California spotted 

owl. The California spotted owl was 

recently petitioned for listing under the 

ESA. The activities to be covered would 

include timber harvest and timber 

management SPI conducts on its lands 

in the State of California. We are also 

announcing the initiation of a 30-day 

public scoping process to engage 

Federal, Tribal, State, and local 

governments; special interest groups; 

and the public in the identification of 

issues and concerns, potential impacts, 

and possible alternatives to the Service’s 

Proposed Action. 

DATES: 

Submitting Comments: We will 

consider all comments on the scope of 

the environmental impact statement 

(EIS) analysis that are received or 

postmarked by September 22, 2017. 

Comments received or postmarked after 

this date will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

Meetings: We will conduct two public 

scoping meetings. The scoping meetings 

will provide the public an opportunity 

to ask questions, discuss issues with the 

Service regarding the EIS, and provide 

written comments. 

• September 13, 2017—Hilltop 

Holiday Inn—Buckskin Room, 1900 

Hilltop Drive, Redding, California, 5:30 

to 7:30 p.m. 

• September 14, 2017—Bonderson 

Building—Hearing Room, 901 P Street, 

Sacramento, California, 1:30 to 3:30 

p.m. 

Online Webinar: In addition, the 

Service will host a webinar on 

September 14, 2017, from 5:30 to 7:30 

p.m. Pacific Standard Time. For 

information on how to participate, go to 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/ 

register/6193715410282440961. 

Pre-registration is required. 

ADDRESSES: Additional information on 

the Service’s proposed action is 

provided on the Internet at 

www.fws.gov/sacramento. 

Send written comments to the Field 

Supervisor, via one of the following 

methods: 

• U.S. mail or hand-delivery: U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento 

Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage 

Way, Suite 2605, Sacramento, CA 

95825; or 

• Fax: 916–414–6713. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim 

Turner, at 916–414–6606 (telephone) or 

Kim_S_Turner@fws.gov (email). If you 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf, please call the Federal Relay 

Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 

et seq.; NEPA), we, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), are advising 

the public that we intend to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

on a proposed Endangered Species Act 

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

take permit (ITP) application from 

Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI). SPI’s 

application would be for incidental take 

of the federally threatened Northern 

spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) 

and the non-ESA listed California 

spotted owl (Strix occidentalis 

occidentalis). We intend to prepare an 

EIS to evaluate impacts associated with 

alternatives related to the potential 

issuance of an ITP to SPI. We are also 

announcing the initiation of a 30-day 

public scoping process, the purpose of 

which is to engage Federal, Tribal, State, 

and local governments; special interest 

groups; and the public in the 

identification of issues and concerns, 

potential impacts, and possible 

alternatives to the Service’s Proposed 

Action. 

SPI owns and conducts forest 

practices on 1.6 million acres in the 

State of California. SPI is preparing a 

habitat conservation plan (HCP) in 

support of its ITP application under 

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, 16 U.S.C. 

1539(a)(1)(B), to cover SPI’s operations. 

The SPI HCP will be developed in 

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

the ESA and 50 CFR 17.22(b)(1), 

17.32(b)(1). SPI may elect to prepare a 

candidate conservation agreement with 

assurances (CCAA) for the California 

spotted owl, instead of including it in 

the HCP with the Northern spotted owl. 

If SPI pursues that direction, the CCAA 

will be developed in accordance with 

section 10(a)(2)(A) of the ESA and 50 

CFR 17.22(d)(1), 17.32(d)(1). The 

activities to be covered under the SPI 

HCP and CCAA (if the latter is also 

prepared) include timber harvest and 

timber management in the State of 

California where ESA incidental take 

authorization may be needed. 

Background 

Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ‘‘take’’ 

of fish and wildlife species listed as 

endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 

1538, 16 U.S.C. 1533). The ESA 

implementing regulations extend, under 

certain circumstances, the prohibition of 

take to threatened species (50 CFR 

17.31). Under section 3 of the ESA, to 

‘‘take’’ means to harass, harm, pursue, 

hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, 

or collect, or attempt to engage in any 

such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532(19)). The 

term ‘‘harm’’ is defined by regulation as 

an act which actually kills or injures 

wildlife. Such act may 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). The term 

‘‘harass’’ is defined in the regulations as 

an intentional or negligent act or 

omission which creates the likelihood of 

injury to wildlife by annoying it to such 

an extent as to significantly disrupt 

normal behavioral patterns which 

include, but are not limited to, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). 

Under section 10 of the ESA, the 

Service may issue permits to authorize 

incidental take of federally listed fish 

and wildlife 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.’’ To obtain an ITP from the 

Service, an applicant must submit an 

HCP to the Service that specifies (1) the 

impact which will likely result from the 

taking; (2) what steps the applicant will 

take to minimize and mitigate the 

impacts, and the funding that will be 

available to implement such steps; (3) 

what alternative actions to the taking 

the applicant considered and the 

reasons why the alternatives are not 

being utilized; and (4) other measures 

that the Service may require as being 

necessary or appropriate for purposes of 

the HCP. If we find, after opportunity 

for public comment, with respect to the 

permit application and the related HCP 

that (1) the taking will be incidental; (2) 

the applicant will, to the maximum 

extent practicable, minimize and 

mitigate the impacts of such taking; (3) 

the applicant will ensure that adequate 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
40016 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2017 / Notices 

funding for the HCP will be provided; 

(4) the taking will not appreciably 

reduce the likelihood of the survival 

and recovery of the species in the wild; 

and (5) the measures, if any, required by 

the Service will be met, and we have 

received assurances that the plan will be 

implemented, the Service will issue SPI 

its requested permit. Regulations 

governing permits for endangered and 

threatened species are at 50 CFR 17.22 

and 17.32. 

Proposed Sierra Pacific Industries 

Habitat Conservation Plan 

The SPI HCP will encompass land 

within the State of California where SPI 

timber management operations occur. 

SPI currently manages about 1.6 million 

acres of timber land in the State of 

California. Activities to be covered by 

the proposed HCP include those 

necessary to manage and harvest timber 

land within the State of California. 

Covered activities also include 

development and management of 

mitigation measures and monitoring. 

The SPI HCP will cover the federally 

listed Northern spotted owl and the 

unlisted California spotted owl. Both 

species are subject to injury or mortality 

during timber harvest operations and 

management activities. 

Alternatively, the California Spotted 

owl will potentially be covered by a SPI 

CCAA, and the Northern spotted owl 

will be covered under the SPI HCP. 

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. Through our early 

analysis and based on 40 CFR 1502.3, 

we have determined that 

implementation of the proposed SPI 

HCP may have significant impacts on 

the human environment and, because it 

involves spotted owls and timber 

harvest, is likely to be controversial. 

Therefore, before deciding whether to 

issue an ITP to SPI, we will prepare an 

EIS to analyze the environmental 

impacts associated with issuance of the 

ITP. The EIS will also include analysis 

of a reasonable range of alternatives to 

the proposed action. Alternatives 

considered in the EIS may include, but 

are not limited to, variations in the 

permit term or permit structure; the No 

Surprises timeframe allowed under the 

ITP; the level of take allowed; the level, 

location, or type of conservation, 

monitoring, or mitigation provided; the 

scope of covered activities; the list of 

covered species; or a combination of 

these factors. Additionally, a no action 

alternative will be included. 

Request for Information 

We request data, comments, new 

information, or suggestions from the 

public, other concerned governmental 

agencies, the scientific community, 

Tribes, industry, or any other interested 

party on this notice. We will consider 

these comments in developing the draft 

EIS. We seek specific comments on: 

1. Biological information and relevant 

data concerning covered species; 

2. Additional information concerning 

the range, distribution, population size, 

and population trends of covered 

species; 

3. Direct, indirect, and cumulative 

impacts that implementation of the 

proposed covered activities could have 

on endangered, threatened, and other 

covered species, and their communities 

or habitats; 

4. Other possible alternatives to the 

proposed action(s) that the Service 

should consider; 

5. Other current or planned activities 

in the subject area and their possible 

impacts on covered species; 

6. The presence of archaeological 

sites, buildings and structures, historic 

events, sacred and traditional areas, and 

other historic preservation concerns, 

which are required to be considered in 

project planning by the National 

Historic Preservation Act; and 

7. Any other environmental issues 

that should be considered with regard to 

the proposed SPI HCP, and permit 

action(s). 

Public Availability of Comments 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods listed 

above in the ADDRESSES section. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—might 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. 

Comments and materials we receive, 

as well as supporting documentation we 

use in preparing the EIS, will be 

available for public inspection by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours, at the Service’s Sacramento Fish 

and Wildlife Office in Sacramento, 

California (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT). 

Scoping Meetings 

See DATES for the dates and times of 

the public scoping meetings. The 

primary purpose of these meetings and 

public comment period is to provide the 

public with a general understanding of 

the background of the proposed action 

and to solicit suggestions and 

information on the scope of issues and 

alternatives we should consider when 

drafting the EIS. Written comments will 

be accepted at the meetings. Comments 

can also be submitted by methods listed 

in ADDRESSES. Once the draft EIS and 

proposed SPI HCP are complete and 

made available for review, there will be 

additional opportunity for public 

comment on the content of those 

documents. 

Persons needing reasonable 

accommodations in order to attend and 

participate in the public meetings 

should contact the Service using one of 

the methods listed in ADDRESSES as soon 

as possible. In order to allow sufficient 

time to process requests, please make 

contact no later than one week before 

the public meeting. Information 

regarding this proposed action is 

available in alternative formats, upon 

request. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10 of the ESA and per NEPA regulations 

(40 CFR 1501.7, 1506.5 and 1508.22). 

Michael Senn, 

Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services, Pacific Southwest Region. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17837 Filed 8–22–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[178A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900 253G]; OMB Control 

Number 1076–0177] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Tribal Energy 

Development Capacity Program 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are 

proposing to renew an information 

collection. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES