[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 107 (Monday, June 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29709-29711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13622]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
a Permit Application to Incidentally Take the Endangered Karner Blue
Butterfly in the State of Wisconsin
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent and meetings.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is issuing this
notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) will be prepared regarding an application from the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Madison, Wisconsin, for a
permit to allow the incidental take of the Karner blue butterfly
(Lycaeides melissa samuelis) in the State of Wisconsin with an
accompanying habitat conservation plan (HCP). This notice describes the
conservation plan (proposed action) and possible alternatives, invites
public participation in the scoping process for preparing the EIS, and
identifies the Service official to whom questions and comments
concerning the proposed action may be directed. Three public scoping
meetings will be held in the State of Wisconsin on the following dates
at the indicated locations and times:
1. June 27, 1995; Wisconsin Rapids, WI at City Hall, 444 W. Grand
Ave., Council Chambers; 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
2. June 28, 1995; Siren, WI at the Burnett County Government
Center, 7410 Cty. Rd. K, Room 165; 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
3. June 29, 1995; Eau Claire, WI at the South Middle School, 2115
Mitscher Ave., Auditorium; 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
There will be a presentation at 3 p.m. at each meeting which will
address the Karner blue butterfly, the background and history of the
HCP development process, the information available on the presence of
this species in Wisconsin, activities which may be affected by their
presence, and strategies to conserve the species while allowing land
use activities to continue. Submission of written and oral comment and
questions will be accepted at the scoping meetings. Written comments
regarding EIS scoping also may be submitted by August 30, 1995, to the
address below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Janet M. Smith, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1015
Challenger Court, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54311.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Karner blue butterfly was listed by the
Service as an endangered species in December, 1992. Because of its
listing as endangered, the Karner blue butterfly population is
protected by the Endangered Species Act's (Act) prohibition against
``taking.'' The Act defines ``take'' to mean: to harass, harm, pursue,
hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or attempt to
engage in such conduct. ``Harm'' is further defined by regulation as
any act that kills or injures wildlife including significant habitat
modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife
by significantly impairing essential behavior patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3).
However, the Service may issue permits to carry out prohibited
activities involving endangered and threatened species under certain
circumstances. Regulations governing permits for endangered and
threatened wildlife are at 50 CFR 17.22, 17.23, and 17.32.
The WDNR is preparing to apply to the Service for an incidental
take permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, which
authorizes the issuance of incidental take permits to non-Federal
landowners. The largest populations of the Karner blue butterfly in the
nation occur in this State. This permit would authorize the incidental
take of the Karner blue butterfly, and, possibly, associated threatened
or endangered species addressed in the HCP, during the course of
conducting otherwise lawful land use or development activities on
public and private land in the State of Wisconsin. Although public and
private entities or individuals have participated in development of the
HCP and may benefit by issuance of an incidental take permit, the WDNR
has accepted the responsibility of coordinating preparation of the HCP,
submission of the permit application and coordination of the
preparation and processing of an EIS for Service review and approval.
The action to be described in the HCP is a program that will ensure the
continued conservation of the Karner blue butterfly in the State of
Wisconsin, while resolving potential conflicts that may arise from
otherwise lawful activities that may involve this species and its
habitat on non-Federal lands in the State of Wisconsin. The
environmental impacts which may result from implementation of a
conservation program described in the HCP or as a result of
implementing other alternatives will be evaluated in the EIS. The WDNR
and more than 30 other persons or entities are involved in the process
of information gathering, development and preparation of the Section
10(a)(1)(B) permit application, NCP, and the EIS, which is being
developed concurrently.
Development of the HCP will involve a public process that includes
open meetings of the HCP team and its advisory subcommittees. Those
involved in this effort include other State and Federal agencies;
counties; towns; industries, utilities, foresters, lepidopterists and
biologists; and representatives of various environmental and
recreational use organizations. Conservation strategies to be applied
to the lands will differ depending on the landowner, ownership
objective and management capability. It is anticipated that
implementation of the conservation strategies will be through an
implementation agreement or cooperative agreement entered into by the
landowner and the WDNR.
Alternatives
I. Statewide HCP and Incidental Take Permit (Proposed Action)
This alternative, the proposed action, seeks to address all lands
which constitute potential Karner blue butterfly habitat and associated
land uses in the State of Wisconsin, whether publicly or privately
owned or large or small in size. Such lands include utility, highway
and railroad rights-of-way; private and publicly owned forest lands;
other publicly owned lands such as parks, fisheries and wildlife areas,
and recreational use areas; and private and publicly owned land subject
to other [[Page 29710]] land uses including agriculture and
development. This approach seeks to address conservation through a
``grassroots'' landowner effort. Individual conservation strategies of
landowners may include:
1. Forest management and production strategies designed to assure
no net loss of Karner blue butterfly habitat. However, specific areas
of habitat may change;
2. Continued management of habitat through a maintenance and
management scheme. Information on this species to date indicates that
it is dependent on a disturbance regime, whether natural or otherwise.
The species is found in such areas as tank trails on military training
areas, timber sale or timber regeneration areas, highway or utility
rights-of-way, and agricultural lands. There is evidence that some past
and current practices in agriculture, forest management, military
operations, right-of-way management, and wildlife management have been
beneficial to the species. A ``protection'' strategy alone may result
in the loss of habitat due to the natural maturation of other
vegetation;
3. Barrens management which entails a scheme designed to maintain
or restore barrens communities which may constitute habitat for a
variety of species including the Karner blue butterfly;
4. Right-of-way maintenance regimes designed to minimize adverse
effects on the Karner blue butterfly or enhance habitat through
modification in mowing or clearing regimes, or burning;
5. Agricultural practices designed to maintain habitat; and
6. Other practices or strategies designed to maintain and,
possibly, enhance habitat as science or practice confirms their
effectiveness.
This alternative would incorporate the concept of ``adaptive
management.'' As science and conservation strategies evolve or
demonstrate a need to change, the landowners would adapt or modify the
conservation strategy as needed. Therefore, as science and information
progress, so may the conservation strategies and efforts under the HCP
and permit.
This alternative seeks authority for a long-term incidental take
permit. The HCP will assure continued conservation measures as well as
monitoring and reporting procedures, as required for issuance of an
incidental take permit by the Service.
Service issuance of an incidental take permit will authorize land
use activities to proceed without violating the Act. Landowners may
participate in the HCP through cooperative agreements, certificates of
inclusion, involvement in one of the several WDNR private lands
assistance programs, other cooperative programs by partners or
participants in this conservation effort, or exemption from regulation
based on the conservation program established under the HCP and permit.
A coarse estimate of potential Karner blue butterfly habitat in the
State would include about 25 percent of its acreage. About 12 percent
may have a high potential to be Karner blue butterfly habitat.
II. Development of an HCP and Application for an Incidental Take Permit
by one Landowner or a Consortium of Landowners or Organizations Not
Constituting a Statewide Effort
This alternative may involve a single landowner, such as the WDNR
or an industrial forest landowner. It may also involve a group of
landowners, such as several industrial forest landowners or utilities.
Any conservation strategy addressed in the proposed action alternative
could be applied by the landowners involved under the same or similar
facts or motives. Conservation strategies not discussed earlier could
also be developed.
This alternative requires separate HCP development and application
processes. Naturally, this approach would require separate permit
review processes by the Service with the necessity of conducting
separate environmental impact review procedures and documents.
Implementation and oversight would not likely involve the WDNR,
which is the endangered resource regulatory agency for the State of
Wisconsin, but would require oversight and implementation as described
in the implementation agreements and permits.
III. Development of Short-term Incidental Take Permits
This alternative would seek to address the conservation program for
this species for a period which is shorter than that anticipated in the
proposed action alternative, which could extend for up to 30 years for
willing landowners. Conservation strategies may be the same or similar
as in the proposed action alternative, with the possibility of
addressing the same land ownership, or some smaller element of land
ownership.
IV. No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative, no section 10(a)(1)(B) permit(s)
would be issued and activities involving the take of the Karner blue
butterfly would remain prohibited under Section 9 of the Act.
Activities that would avoid the take of the butterfly could continue.
Proposed activities on non-Federal land that may affect the butterfly
would require submitting an individual section 10(a)(1)(B) permit
application to the Service. If a Federal action (e.g., proposed
roadway) would affect the butterfly, incidental take could be allowed
through the Section 7 consultation process and development of an
incidental take statement if the action were determined to not
jeopardize the continued existence of the species.
Issue Resolution and Environmental Review
The primary issue to be addressed during the scoping and planning
process for the HCP and EIS is how to resolve potential conflicts
between development or land management practices and listed (Federal or
State) species in the State of Wisconsin. A tentative list of issues,
concerns and opportunities has been developed. There will be a
discussion of the potential effect, by alternative, which will include
the following areas:
(1) Karner blue butterfly and its habitat.
(2) Other federally listed endangered or threatened species in the
state of Wisconsin.
(3) State listed endangered and threatened species in the State of
Wisconsin.
(4) Effects on other species of flora and fauna.
(5) Socioeconomic effects.
(6) Use of state, county and local public lands for Karner blue
butterfly conservation.
(7) Use of privately owned lands for Karner blue butterfly
conservation.
(8) Use of Federal lands.
Environmental review of the permit application will be conducted in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), National
Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), other
appropriate Federal regulations, and Service procedures for compliance
with those regulations. This notice is being furnished in accordance
with Section 1501.7 of the National Environmental Policy Act, to obtain
suggestions and information from other agencies, tribes, and the public
on the scope of issues to be addressed in the statement. Comments and
participation in this scoping process are solicited. [[Page 29711]]
The draft environmental impact statement should be available to the
public in the spring of 1996.
William F. Hartwig,
Regional Director, Region 3, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fort
Snelling, MN.
[FR Doc. 95-13622 Filed 6-2-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
