[Federal Register: September 5, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 171)]
[Notices]
[Page 52339-52340]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05se06-38]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for the California Red-Legged Frog
and the California Tiger Salamander for Landowners Restoring and
Enhancing Stock Ponds in Alameda County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: receipt of application; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Alameda County
Resource Conservation District (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service) for an enhancement of survival permit
pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act). The permit application includes a proposed Safe
Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between the Applicant and the Service for
the threatened California red-legged frog (CRLF) (Rana aurora
draytonii) and the California tiger salamander (CTS) (Ambystoma
californiense). The Agreement and permit application are available for
public comment.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before October 5,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Shannon Holbrook, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage
Way, W-2605, Sacramento, CA 95825, or sent by facsimile to (916) 414-
6712.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Shannon Holbrook, Sacramento Fish
and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: (916) 414-6600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of the documents for review by contacting the
individual named above. You may also make an appointment to view the
documents at the above address during normal business hours.
Background
Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating landowners voluntarily
undertake management activities on their property to enhance, restore,
or maintain habitat benefiting species listed under the Act. Safe
Harbor Agreements, and the subsequent enhancement of survival permits
that are issued pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), encourage private and other non-Federal property owners
to implement conservation efforts for listed species by assuring
property owners that they will not be subjected to increased property
use restrictions as a result of their efforts to attract listed species
to their property, or to increase the numbers or distribution of listed
species already on their property. Application requirements and
issuance criteria for enhancement of survival permits through Safe
Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR 17.22(c).
We have worked with the Applicant to develop this proposed
Agreement for the conservation of the CRLF and CTS on private ranches
in Alameda County, California. The properties subject to this Agreement
consist of those non-Federal lands in Alameda County, California, on
which existing stock ponds will be restored and maintained pursuant to
a written agreement between the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) and the landowner.
This Agreement provides for the creation of a Program in which
private landowners (Program Participants), who enter into written
cooperative agreements with the Applicant pursuant to the terms of the
Agreement, will restore, enhance, and maintain stock ponds in ways
beneficial to the CRLF and CTS. Such cooperative agreements will be for
a term of at least 10 years. The proposed duration of the Agreement is
50 years, and the proposed term of the enhancement of survival permit
is 50 years. The Agreement fully describes the proposed Program,
management activities to be undertaken by Program Participants, and the
conservation benefits expected to be gained for the CRLF and CTS.
Upon approval of this Agreement, and consistent with the Service's
Safe Harbor Policy published in the Federal Register on June 17, 1999
(64 FR 32717), the Service would issue a permit to the Applicants
authorizing take of CRLF and CTS incidental to the implementation of
the management activities specified in the cooperative agreements,
incidental to other lawful uses of the properties, including normal,
routine land management activities, or to return to pre-Agreement
conditions.
To benefit the CRLF and CTS, Program Participants will agree to
undertake management activities specified in their written cooperative
agreements with the Applicant. Such management activities shall provide
for the restoration and maintenance of an existing stock pond. These
practices have been designed to achieve a high degree of likelihood
that the pond will retain water through the rearing season of the CRLF
and CTS so as to allow metamorphosis of their larvae, vegetation and
grazing management appropriate to the conservation needs of the
species, effective control of non-native predators, and related
measures. The object of such measures is to enhance the potential of
existing stock ponds to serve as effective breeding sites for the CRLF
and CTS while simultaneously providing water for use by livestock. Take
of CRLF or CTS incidental to the aforementioned activities is unlikely;
however, it is possible that in the course of such activities or other
lawful activities on the enrolled property, a Program Participant could
incidentally take a CRLF or CTS, thereby necessitating take authority
under the permit.
Both the CRLF and CTS rely on a variety of habitats for various
stages of their life cycle, including pond and riparian habitat, upland
habitat, and moist refuges. Pre-Agreement conditions (baseline),
consisting of the size of existing ponds and riparian habitat, acreage
of appropriate upland habitat and a characterization and location of
moist refuges associated with ponds, shall be determined for each
enrolled property as provided in the Agreement. In order to receive the
above assurances regarding incidental take of CRLF and CTS, a Program
Participant must maintain baseline on the enrolled property. The
Agreement and requested enhancement of survival permit will allow each
Program Participant to return to baseline conditions after the end of
the term of the 10-year cooperative agreement and prior to the
expiration of the 50-year permit, if so desired by the Applicants.
Consistent with the Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717 et
seq.), the proposed Agreement and requested permit also extend certain
assurances to those lands that are immediately adjacent to lands on
which restoration activities occur. To receive such assurances, a
neighboring landowner must enter into a written agreement with the
Service that specifies the baseline conditions on the property. This
written agreement remains in effect until the expiration of the 50-year
Agreement between the Applicant and the Service and requires the
neighboring landowner to maintain the baseline conditions established
at the start of the agreement.
[[Page 52340]]
Public Review and Comments
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the proposed
Agreement and permit application are eligible for categorical exclusion
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). We explain
the basis for this determination in an Environmental Action Statement,
which is also available for public review.
Individuals wishing copies of the permit application, copies of our
preliminary Environmental Action Statement, and/or copies of the full
text of the Agreement, including a map of the proposed permit area,
references, and legal descriptions of the proposed permit area, should
contact the office and personnel listed in the ADDRESSES section above.
If you wish to comment on the permit application or the Agreement,
you may submit your comments to the address listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this document. Comments and materials received, including
names and addresses of respondents, will be available for public
review, by appointment, during normal business hours at the address in
the ADDRESSES section above and will become part of the public record,
pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. Individual respondents may
request that we withhold their home address from the record, which we
will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be
circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent's
identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name
and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your comment. Anonymous comments will not be considered. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety.
We will evaluate this permit application, associated documents, and
comments submitted thereon to determine whether the permit application
meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA
regulations. If we determine that the requirements are met, we will
sign the proposed Agreement and issue an enhancement of survival permit
under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the Applicants for take of the
CRLF and CTS incidental to otherwise lawful activities in accordance
with the terms of the Agreement. We will not make our final decision
until after the end of the 30-day comment period and will fully
consider all comments received during the comment period.
The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the
Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).
Susan Moore,
Acting Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office,
Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. E6-14630 Filed 9-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P