Opinion ID: 3037764
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Harm to the Species

Text: Against this backdrop, EPIC alleges that a full EIS should have been performed or, alternatively, that the analysis of the issue in the EA is inadequate. The Project, EPIC asserts, is likely to affect the northern spotted owl and its critical habitat significantly. EPIC points to portions of the FWS BiOp in which the BiOp notes that “three nest sites could be destroyed” and that the logging will remove “most, if not all, of the small amount of existing nesting habitat” within the critical habitat units. These statements, however, must be read in context. For example, although the logging will remove existing nesting habitat from two critical habitat units, this amounts to a total of only fourteen acres. Similarly, the Project does not autho6994 EPIC v. USFS rize the destruction of any existing nest sites, and surveys and seasonal restrictions operate to protect potentially occupied nest sites. The projected take of three nests or pairs of owls is based on extrapolations from nesting data, and FWS determined that this level of anticipated take was permissible under the ESA. [3] NEPA regulations direct the agency to consider the degree of adverse effect on a species, not the impact on individuals of that species. See Native Ecosystems, 428 F.3d at 1240 (“[I]t does not follow that the presence of some negative effects necessarily rises to the level of demonstrating a significant effect on the environment.”); see also Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. Flowers, 359 F.3d 1257, 1276 (10th Cir. 2004) (“[I]ssuance of an incidental take statement ‘anticipating’ the loss of some members of a threatened species does not automatically lead to the requirement to prepare a full EIS.”). It was not arbitrary and capricious for USFS to determine that although there will be some effect on individual pairs, this will not cause a significant adverse effect on the species and require an EIS.