FONSI -Pilot release of ‘Alalā on East Maui Environmental Assessment.pdf

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), as a joint lead agencies, prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to examine alternative actions and potential impacts to the human environment associated with a pilot release of ‘alalā on east Maui, Hawai‘i (HDLNR/USFWS 2023). The EA was completed in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508) as revised by the Council on Environmental Quality in 2022, as well as Department of the Interior NEPA Regulations (43 CFR 46). The purpose of this project is to evaluate whether ʻalalā will breed in wet forest on east Maui, in absence of their natural predator, ‘io or Hawaiian hawk (Buteo solitarius), thereby reducing extinction risk and contributing to the recovery of this species. The statements and conclusions reached in this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) are based on documentation and analysis provided in the EA. Relevant sections of the EA are summarized and incorporated by reference below. Although the EA was a cooperative Federal and state compliance document satisfying both NEPA and the Hawai‘i Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) regulations, this FONSI analyzes only the impacts under the current NEPA requirements.