NOTICES
GAME COMMISSION
Notice of Intent to Adopt Final Environmental Assessment Prepared for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program in Pennsylvania by the Farm Service Agency and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, in May 2011
[44 Pa.B. 7990]
[Saturday, December 20, 2014]The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announces its intent to adopt the Farm Service Agency and the Pennsylvania Game Commission Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Implementation of the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) Agreement for Pennsylvania, May 2011 (2011 EA), under the provisions of the Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act in 40 CFR 1506.3 (relating to adoption). The NRCS has reviewed the 2011 EA and determined that it adequately addresses the environmental impacts related to the proposed action which is to grant the Game Commission (Commission) $6 million to continue expansion of the components of the Pennsylvania Public Access Program that were funded under the 2011 VPA-HIP grant.
VPA-HIP provides grants to State and Tribal governments to encourage owners and operators of privately held farm, ranch and forest land to voluntarily allow public access for outdoor recreation activities such as hunting. VPA-HIP was authorized under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-234). Previously administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, VPA-HIP was transferred to NRCS in 2014. The Pennsylvania Public Access Program will use 2014 VPA-HIP funds to:
• Increase cooperator participation by at least 20% to 16,923 cooperators.
• Provide 20% more new hunting and trapping opportunities to hunters and trappers for pheasants, rabbits, woodcock, ducks, quail, mink and muskrats.
• Increase the current 2.6 million-acre program by 520,000 acres.
• Increase habitat quality on at least 50,000 acres on participating properties.
• Monitor the results, including program element increases, economic benefits and the results of public access user surveys, so that successes can be documented.
These elements of the program are substantially the same as those analyzed in the 2011 EA. To ensure there are no adverse effects on protected species when habitat improvement projects are carried out, the Commissionhas agreed to follow its well-established process for evaluating the potential impacts proposed projects would have on both State and Federally listed threatened, endangered and candidate species. In addition, the NRCS will designate the Commission as its representative for purposes of conducting informal consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) if it is determined that an action may affect a Federally-listed species. The Commission will use the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) to identify potential impacts to all known Federal and State listed threatened and endangered species, as well as candidate species. They will analyze PNDI data for all land on which 2014 VPA-HIP funds may be used to implement habitat improvement projects for both State and Federally listed threatened, endangered and candidate species. If PNDI data analysis indicates a potential impact, the Commission will undertake informal Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation with the Service on behalf of the NRCS. If mitigation measures cannot be identified to avoid adverse effects, the Commission will not carry out the project in that location. Each project funded through the 2014 VPA-HIP grant will be evaluated by a Commission biologist using the process previously described. A detailed description of the process is available on the NRCS web site at www.nrcs.usda.gov/EA.
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is aware of all habitat management activities that the Commission implements. If any new activity is proposed that involves a soil disturbing practice that might impact below plow depth (12 inches), such as construction activities, the Commission will request SHPO review for that activity. None of the currently proposed VPA-HIP practices are considered construction practices or anticipated to impact soils below plow depth. The SHPO recently conducted field reviews on fire break construction and other prescribed burning activities utilized by the Commission, and their findings were that no negative impacts on cultural resources would occur. The NRCS has also determined these best management practices are not likely to adversely affect historic or cultural resources, primarily because the installation of the practice will not exceed the depth, extent or kind of previous cultivation or other earth disturbance.
The NRCS will accept comments on its intent to adopt the 2011 EA at the following address until January 20, 2015. A copy of the 2011 EA is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ea. The NRCS will review comments and determine whether it is appropriate to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact or to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement before the action proceeds.
For further information concerning actions being taken by the NRCS, to obtain a hard copy of the 2011 EA or to provide written comment, contact Andrée DuVarney, National Environmental Coordinator, USDA, NRCS, Ecological Sciences Division, Room 6158-S, P. O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013-2890, andree.duvarney@wdc.usda.gov.
R. MATTHEW HOUGH,
Executive Director
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-2654. Filed for public inspection December 19, 2014, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
