Availability of an Environmental Impact Statement and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Crown Pacific, Ltd., Hamilton Tree Farm Habitat Conservation Plan, Whatcom and Skagit Counties, Washington

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[I.D. 101599H]

Availability of an Environmental Impact Statement and Receipt of

an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Crown Pacific,

Ltd., Hamilton Tree Farm Habitat Conservation Plan, Whatcom and Skagit

Counties, Washington

AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce; Fish and Wildlife Service

(FWS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of application and availability for public comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that Crown Pacific, Ltd., has

submitted an application to FWS and NMFS (together, the Services) for

an Incidental Take Permits (Permits) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). As required by

section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA, Crown Pacific has also prepared a

Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) designed to minimize and mitigate any

such take of endangered or threatened species. The Permit application

is related to forest management and timber harvest, recreational

activities, installation and operation of communication towers, and

military training operations, on approximately 84,689 acres of Crown

Pacific lands located in Whatcom and Skagit counties, Washington. The

proposed Permits would authorize the take of the following endangered

or threatened species incidental to otherwise lawful activities:

northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), marbled murrelet

(Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus), bald eagle (Haliaeetus

leucocephalus), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), gray wolf (Canis lupus),

and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Crown Pacific is also

seeking coverage for 22 currently unlisted species of concern

(including anadromous and resident fish) under specific provisions of

the Permits, should these species be listed in the future. One of

these, the coastal-Puget Sound population of the bull trout (Salvelinus

confluentus), is currently in the final stages of the listing process.

A determination will soon be made as to whether the bull trout will be

listed as threatened. The duration of the proposed Permits and Plan is

100 years.

The Permit application includes: (1) the proposed Plan; and, (2)

the proposed Implementing Agreement. The Services also announce the

availability of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the

Permit application.

This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the ESA, and

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The Services are

furnishing this notice in order to allow other agencies and the public

an opportunity to review and comment on these documents. All comments

received will become part of the public record and will be available

for review pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA.

DATES: Written comments on the permit application, EIS, Plan, and

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Implementing Agreement must be received from interested parties no

later than December 27, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for information should be directed to

Brian Bogaczyk, Project Biologist, FWS, 510 Desmond Drive, SE., Suite

102, Lacey, Washington, 98503-1273, (telephone: (360)753-5824;

facsimile: (360)534-9331), and Matt Longenbaugh, Project Biologist,

NMFS, 510 Desmond Drive, SE., Suite 103, Lacey, Washington, 98503-1273

(telephone: (360)753-7761; facsimile: (360)753-9517). Comments and

materials received will also be available for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business hours by calling (360)534-9330.

Requests for documents on CD ROM should be made by calling FWS at

(360)534-9330. Hard bound copies are also available for viewing, or

partial or complete duplication, at the following libraries: Sedro-

Woolley Public Library, 802 Ball Street, Sedro Woolley, WA, (360)855-

1166; Bellingham Public Library, Reference Desk, 210 Central Avenue,

Bellingham, WA, (360)676-6860; Seattle Public Library, Government

Publications Desk, 1000 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA, (260)386-4636; and,

Olympia Timberland Library, Reference Desk, 313 8th Avenue SE, Olympia,

WA, (360)352-0595. The documents are also available electronically on

the World Wide Web at http://www.r1.fws.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations

prohibit the taking of a 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. Harm has been defined by FWS to include

``significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually

kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential

behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering.''

NMFS' proposed definition of harm includes ``significant habitat

modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures fish or

wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns,

including breeding, spawning, rearing, feeding, and sheltering.''

The Services may issue permits, under limited circumstances, to

take listed species incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise

lawful activities. FWS regulations governing permits for endangered

species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.22; and, regulations governing

permits for threatened species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.32. NMFS

regulations governing permits for threatened and endangered species are

promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.

Background

Crown Pacific, Ltd., owns and manages the Hamilton Tree Farm,

located in Whatcom and Skagit Counties, Washington. The Tree Farm is

composed of several parcels, totaling 84,689 acres, and is located

north and south of State Highway 20, roughly between Sedro-Woolley and

Marblemount, Washington. Management activities on the tree farm include

forest management and timber harvest. A portion of the proposed Plan

area, Arlecho Creek, a 2,246-acre basin, is in the process of being

transferred to the Nature Conservancy and the Lummi Indian Nation, with

the understanding that the property will be managed as a natural/

cultural area. The transfer is expected to be completed in late 1999.

Some forest management and timber harvest activities have the

potential to impact species subject to protection under the ESA.

Section 10 of the ESA contains provisions for the issuance of

Incidental Take Permits (Permits) to non-Federal land owners for the

take of endangered and threatened species, provided the take is

incidental to otherwise lawful activities, and will not appreciably

reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in

the wild. In addition, the applicant must prepare and submit to the

Services for approval, a Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) containing a

strategy for minimizing and mitigating all take associated with the

proposed activities to the maximum extent practicable. The applicant

must also ensure that adequate funding for the Plan will be provided.

Crown Pacific has developed a Plan with technical assistance from

the Services, to obtain Permits for their activities on the Hamilton

Tree Farm. Activities proposed for Permit coverage include the

following: harvest of trees; silvicultural treatments; site

preparation; tree planting; timberland inventory and monitoring;

construction, maintenance, and use of logging roads and landings;

quarrying stone and gravel; communication sites; recreation activities;

fire prevention and suppression; habitat restoration; use of low-flying

aircraft; tribal access; and, military training operations. The Permits

and Plan would also cover certain monitoring activities and related

scientific experiments in the Plan area. The duration of the proposed

Permits and Plan is 100 years.

The Services formally initiated an environmental review of the

project through a Federal Register notice on August 20, 1998 (63 FR

44634), which announced a 30-day public scoping period. A second

Federal Register notice was published following the scoping period on

February 5, 1999 (64 FR 5775), announcing the decision to prepare an

EIS. Following this announcement a draft EIS was prepared.

Under Alternative A, the No Action Alternative, no Permit would be

issued and take would be avoided for any and all threatened and

endangered species on the property. Alternative B, the Proposed Action

Alternative, involves issuing Permits for seven threatened and

endangered species on the property (bald eagle, marbled murrelet,

northern spotted owl, grizzly bear, gray wolf, and Puget Sound chinook

salmon), with provisions for 22 unlisted species. The Plan details

minimization and mitigation measures for the same six threatened and

endangered species and 22 unlisted species. Alternative C, the Late-

Successional Dependent Species and Anadromous Fish Alternative,

involves issuing Permits for northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet,

and chinook salmon, with provisions for 7 unlisted fish species. The

Plan would have minimization and mitigation measures for northern

spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and chinook salmon, and 7 unlisted fish

species.

Alternatives considered during scoping but which were not analyzed

in detail included a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA)

Alternative, and a Northwest Forest Plan (NFP) Alternative. The CCA

Alternative, would have involved developing and implementing a CCA with

minimization and mitigation measures for a discreet list of species

that are candidates for listing as threatened or endangered, or are

expected to be candidates in the near future (specifically anadromous

salmonids and bull trout), and take avoidance for any and all

threatened and endangered species on the property. This alternative was

not analyzed in detail because Crown Pacific included listed species in

their proposal, as well as other unlisted species for which listing is

not anticipated in the near future. This eliminates the implementation

of a CCA as a management tool, because, by definition, the targets of

CCAs are proposed and candidate species of fish, wildlife, and plants;

and species likely to become candidate species in the near future (64

FR 32706, June 17, 1999). The NFP Alternative, would have involved

issuing a Permit for all threatened and endangered species that occur

on the property and developing a Plan with

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mitigation measures similar to those found in the NFP. This alternative

was not analyzed in detail because it would result in excessive direct

and indirect costs to Crown Pacific. These excessive costs do not meet

the purpose in this Federal action, which is to provide protection and

conservation to listed and proposed species and their habitats to the

extent intended under 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, while allowing Crown

Pacific to fulfill its forest management and timber harvest mission in

a practical manner.

The No Action, Proposed Action, Late-Successional Dependent Species

and Anadromous Fish alternatives are analyzed in detail in the draft

EIS. The CCA Alternative and NFP Alternative were dismissed from

detailed analysis.

This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the ESA, and

NEPA regulations. The Services will evaluate the application,

associated documents, and comments submitted thereon to determine

whether the application meets the requirements of the ESA and NEPA. If

it is determined that the requirements are met, Permits will be issued

for the incidental take of listed species. The final permit decision

will be made no sooner than 60 days from the date of this notice.

Dated: October 8, 1999.

Donald Weathers,

Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Portland,

Oregon.

Dated: October 19, 1999.

Wanda L. Cain,

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-27696 Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F, 4310-55-F