[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 23, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 71148-71150] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-34093] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Availability of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Boise Cascade Timber Company, Clatsop County, Oregon AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of receipt of application. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Boise Cascade Corporation (applicant) has applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application has been assigned permit number TE005227-0. The proposed permit would authorize the incidental take, resulting from habitat modification, of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), federally listed as threatened. The permit would be in effect for one year and would cover 65 acres. The Service announces the receipt of the applicant's incidental take permit application and the availability of the proposed Boise Cascade Walker Creek Unit Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) and draft Implementation Agreement, which accompany the incidental take permit application, for public comment. The Plan describes the proposed project and the measures the applicant is willing to undertake to mitigate for project impacts to the owl. These measures and associated impacts are also described in the background and summary information that follow. An environmental assessment on the permit application will be prepared and will be made available for public review. DATES: Written comments on the permit application, Plan, and Implementation Agreement should be received on or before January 22, 1999. ADDRESSES: Individuals wishing copies of the permit application or copies of the full text of the Plan should immediately contact the office and personnel listed below. Documents also will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the address below. Comments regarding the permit application, Draft Implementation Agreement or the Plan should be addressed to State Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State Office, 2600 S.E. 98th Avenue, Suite 100, Portland, Oregon 97266. Please refer to permit number TE005227-0 when submitting comments. [[Page 71149]] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rich Szlemp, Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon State Office, telephone (503) 231-6179. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Section 9 of the Act and applicable federal regulations, the ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered or threatened is generally prohibited. However, the Service, under limited circumstances, may issue permits to ``incidentally take'' listed species, which is take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. Regulations governing permits for threatened species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.32. Regulations governing permits for endangered species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.22. Summary of the Plan Boise Cascade is proposing to harvest approximately 50 acres of mature and old growth forest from a 65-acre parcel of land. The surrounding ownership consists of Oregon Department of Forestry land and lands owned by the Agency Creek Management Company. The Boise Cascade property contains two nest trees that were occupied by a pair of northern spotted owls between 1990 and 1996. Other listed species may also be affected by the proposed Plan. Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are found in Walker Creek in the Plan area. No surveys have been conducted for marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) or bald eagles (Haliaeeus leucocephalus), but the Plan area does contain potential suitable nesting platforms for marbled murrelets and contains suitable bald eagle habitat. The Boise Cascade Plan area contains the best northern spotted owl nesting habitat in the northern portion of the Oregon Coast Range. Most of the surrounding land has been logged or contains younger stands of timber that do not provide as high quality of nesting habitat as the Boise Cascade Plan area. Boise Cascade is proposing to have all harvest completed by March 1, 1999. The Boise Cascade Plan contains two alternatives: a preferred alternative and no action. Under their preferred alternative, Boise Cascade would harvest 50 acres of mature and old growth timber in the Plan area to the extent allowed by the Oregon Forest Practices Act Rules. Under the no action alternative, the subject timber would be left standing to provide northern spotted owl habitat. Boise Cascade rejected the no action alternative because it believes it would deny the company all economically productive use of the subject timber. The Boise Cascade Plan proposes the following minimization and mitigation measures: a. Conduct harvest activities outside of the nesting season for the spotted owl and the marbled murrelet (March 1--September 15), except for road building. b. Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and/or western hemlock would be replanted over the harvest units. In accordance with Oregon Forest Practices Act Rules, this planting would take place within 12 months after completion of harvest. c. Meet current Oregon Forest Practices Act Rules with regard to management of riparian areas. d. Meet the current Oregon Forest Practices Act Rules to leave trees standing and unharvested until they have fallen to the ground and rotted away, all snags and standing dead trees except when they pose a safety hazard for the logging operation. Summary of Service's Concerns and Recommendations The Service received the Plan and application on November 12, 1998. On November 20, 1998, the Service advised Boise Cascade of procedural requirements for processing an incidental take permit application and informed the company that the Plan raised issues regarding whether the proposed minimization and mitigation measures were adequate to meet the statutory issuance criteria. Service employees visited the Plan area on December 2, 1998, to assess existing habitat conditions and to evaluate additional options to minimize and mitigate impacts to spotted owls. On December 9, the Service suggested other options that may be practicable for Boise Cascade to implement. On December 10, Boise Cascade informed the Service that it is not interested in any alternative minimization or mitigation measures. The Service continues to have concerns whether the proposed minimization and mitigation measures would meet the statutory requirement that a permittee minimize and mitigate the impacts of the taking to the maximum extent practicable. The public may wish to provide comments on the mitigation measures proposed by Boise Cascade as well as other alternative mitigation options which may be practicable. As stated in the Plan, impacts from the proposed logging would likely make it impossible for a pair of northern spotted owls to nest on the subject property. The Boise Cascade Plan would leave a 100-foot riparian buffer along Walker Creek and an unknown distribution of approximately 100 trees at least 11-inches in diameter within the unit. The Service does not know whether any potentially suitable spotted owl nest trees would remain, including the two known nest trees. Based upon this information, the value of the site to provide habitat for owls post-harvest is difficult to accurately assess since the distribution and size classes of live and dead trees that will remain standing is not clear. However, the Service believes that the proposed harvest would diminish or eliminate the value of the site to spotted owls for foraging and roosting, especially in the short term. Except for some potential clumping of trees, and the riparian buffer areas, the remaining landscape would consist of a very open canopy that would not be conducive to owl nesting, roosting, or foraging. The proposed leave trees, especially if they are widely scattered, would provide limited habitat value to red-backed voles, red tree voles, and flying squirrels, which are important spotted owl prey items. Any use of the Walker Creek unit post-harvest by spotted owls would potentially make them more vulnerable to predation by barred owls and great-horned owls, which are more aggressive and generally more adaptable to a variety of habitat conditions and prey items. The Service's site visit and review of available data indicate that other practicable minimization and mitigation measures may exist. While alternative plans based on these measures would not maintain current suitable spotted owl nesting habitat, they would provide the basis for reducing the net long-term adverse effects to owls by allowing for the regeneration of suitable nesting habitat conditions within a shorter time period than would result from the proposed harvest. These alternatives would also provide increased opportunities for owl foraging and roosting immediately after the timber harvest, which would minimize and mitigate the incidental take of owls. For example, retaining clumps of larger trees is more likely to provide potential roost sites, habitat for spotted owl prey items, and protective cover from spotted owl predators. While the proposed harvest unit is relatively small, it does contain many old growth trees and large snags that generally serve as part of the foundation for suitable, productive spotted owl habitat. The 65-acre Boise Cascade ownership borders the Clatsop State Forest. The Tillamook State Forest is also nearby. The relatively few spotted owl nest sites or activity centers within the North Coast region of Oregon are concentrated on State Forest lands [[Page 71150]] within a 10-15 mile radius of the Walker Creek unit. This somewhat isolated cluster of spotted owl sites is reflective of the lack of suitable nesting habitat available in the region. The suitable spotted owl nesting habitat in the Walker Creek unit serves to support this cluster of owl sites. Additional erosion of suitable habitat, especially nesting quality habitat, would weaken the ability of this area to retain a population of reproducing spotted owls, and weaken the ability of spotted owls in this cluster to produce offspring that may be able to disperse to any available habitat in or outside the area. Alternative plans the Service suggested, would minimize and mitigate owl take at the Walker Creek site by maintaining older forest structural features that could contribute to maintenance of spotted owls in the area, particularly in the long term. Alternative mitigation options suggested by the Service, which Boise Cascade has stated that it is not interested in pursuing at this time, include: 1. Restricting harvest-related activities, including road building, to times outside of the spotted owl's breeding season (March 1- September 15). 2. Retaining old growth and mature trees to meet the Oregon Forest Practices Act requirements in a scattered distribution with allowances for blow-down and, retaining the standing dead and down timber that could be safely retained. 3. Retaining a mixture of only old growth and mature trees to meet the Oregon Forest Practices Act Rules leave tree requirement in clumped distributions. 4. Retaining eight green trees per acre greater than 20 inches dbh, including three trees greater than 32 inches dbh per acre. Additionally, retaining three snags per acre of the largest size class available. Where snags are not available, green trees of the largest size class available would be substituted on a 2:1 basis. Seventy percent of the retained trees should be in clumps of at least 0.5 acres in size. The remainder would be dispersed or in clumps smaller than 0.5 acres. A minimum of 15 percent of the harvest unit area (7.5 acres) would be retained. Trees in riparian management areas would not be counted towards meeting the above retention objectives. 5. Retaining clumps of trees of a few acres in which no harvest would occur that include multiple old-growth trees that would serve as the foundation for future suitable spotted owl nesting habitat. This would include retaining the two old growth trees that contained previous spotted owl nests. 6. Retaining old growth and mature trees in a clump around the known spotted owl nest trees, and scattering the remaining old growth and mature leave trees to meet Oregon Forest Practices Act Rules with allowances for blow-down. The Service also has identified issues regarding some of the language in the proposed Implementation Agreement. These issues include, but are not limited to, the following. First, it is unclear why the company proposes to have the National Marine Fisheries Service as a signatory when it has not applied for a permit for coho. Second, paragraph 1.1 does not fully represent the court's reasoning in issuing the injunction enjoining the company from logging this unit. Third, paragraph 1.7 characterizes the requested permit as covering owls that ``formerly nested on the Walker Creek Unit and those that might reside there in the future'' although the requested duration of the permit is for only one year. Fourth, paragraph 1.9 states that the purpose of the Implementation Agreement is to ``obtain approval'' of the Plan and permit; however, the principal purpose of an Implementation Agreement is to provide adequate assurances that a Plan and permit would be implemented. Fifth, neither the Plan nor the Implementation Agreement address whether the mitigation would be completed within the one-year requested permit length, or discuss changed circumstances that may affect the mitigation and that can reasonably be anticipated by plan developers. See 50 CFR Secs. 17.3 and 17.22. The public may wish to comment on these or other issues related to the Implementation Agreement. This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. The Service will evaluate the permit application, Plan, Implementation Agreement, and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If it is determined that the requirements are met, a permit will be issued for the incidental take of the northern spotted owl. The final permit decision will be made no sooner than 30 days from the date of this notice. Dated: December 17, 1998. Anne Badgley, Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon. [FR Doc. 98-34093 Filed 12-22-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P