Notice of Availability and Adoption – Oregon. Wildlife Services, a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS-WS), has adopted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge Final Big Horn Sheep Management Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and has issued a Record of Decision (ROD).
On December 3, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register (86 FR 68661, Docket No. 2021-26285) a notice of availability of the USFWS FEIS. APHIS-WS was a cooperating agency in the development of USFWS’s FEIS and adopted the FEIS pursuant to the EPA notice that will be published in the Federal Register on January 14, 2022.
APHS-WS reviewed the FEIS and independently concluded the document meets the standards for an adequate statement and that its comments and suggestions have been satisfied. The ROD documents APHIS-WS’s decision to assist USFWS in the implementation of components of Alternative D: Comprehensive Integrated Management, (the preferred alternative identified in the FEIS and the environmentally preferred alternative identified by both agencies). Alternative D is an integrated approach to recover a rapidly declining California bighorn sheep population in Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge which combines habitat improvement and cougar population management.
Interested parties may view the FEIS and ROD at:
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/APHIS-2022-0002
If you would like a copy of the final EIS and/or the ROD sent to you by mail, WS-Oregon asks that you mail a written request to:
Oregon Wildlife Services State Director
6035 NE 78th Ct, Ste 100
Portland, OR 97218
When submitting a request by mail, please include a mailing address.
Additional information about Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and its management may be viewed at: Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge