[Federal Register: November 19, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 222)]
[Notices]
[Page 65056-65058]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19no07-82]
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DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for the California Red-Legged Frog
for Landowners Restoring Aquatic and Riparian Habitat in the Pine Gulch
Creek Watershed in Marin County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of application.
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[[Page 65057]]
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Marin County
Agriculture Commission (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 (Rana aurora draytonii). The
Agreement and permit application are available for public comment.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before December 19,
2007.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Rick Kuyper, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage
Way, W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825. Written comments may be sent
by facsimile to (916) 414-6712.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rick Kuyper, 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.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
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 land use
restrictions as a result of efforts to attract or increase the numbers
or distribution of a listed species 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 the Applicant to develop this proposed Programmatic
Agreement for the conservation of the California red-legged frog in the
7.5 square-mile Pine Gulch Creek Watershed in Marin County, California.
The properties subject to this Agreement consist of approximately 4,800
acres of non-Federal properties within the Pine Gulch Creek Watershed,
on which habitat for the California red-legged frog will be created,
enhanced, and managed pursuant to a written agreement between the
Service, Marin County Agriculture Commission, and property owners in
the Pine Gulch Creek Watershed.
This Agreement provides for the creation of a Program in which
private landowners (Cooperators) enter into written cooperative
agreements with the Applicant pursuant to the terms of the Agreement,
to restore, enhance, and maintain aquatic and riparian habitat in ways
beneficial to the California red-legged frog. Such cooperative
agreements will be for a term of at least 10 years. The proposed
duration of the Agreement is 30 years, and the proposed term of the
enhancement of survival permit is 30 years. The Agreement fully
describes the proposed management activities to be undertaken by
Cooperators and the conservation benefits expected to be gained for the
California red-legged frog.
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 Marin County
Agriculture Commission authorizing take of the California red-legged
frog by Cooperators 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, and/or to return to pre-Agreement conditions (baseline).
To benefit the California red-legged frog, Cooperators will agree
to undertake site-specific management activities, which will be
specified in their written cooperative agreements. Management
activities that could be included in the Cooperative Agreements will
provide for the enhancement, restoration, and/or maintenance of aquatic
and riparian habitat. These activities have been designed to enhance
California red-legged frog populations by creating and improving
breeding habitat, managing vegetation and grazing as appropriate,
controlling non-native predators, and managing agriculture and
recreation as appropriate to benefit populations of California red-
legged frog. Take of California red-legged frog 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 Cooperator could incidentally take a California
red-legged frog, thereby necessitating take authority under the permit.
The California red-legged frog relies on a variety of habitats for
various stages of its life cycle, including pond and riparian habitat,
upland habitat and moist refuges. Baseline conditions, consisting of a
description and survey to determine the quantity and location of
suitable California red-legged frog habitat, shall be determined for
each enrolled property as provided in the Agreement. In order to
receive the above assurances regarding incidental take of the
California red-legged frog, a Cooperator must maintain baseline on the
enrolled property. The Agreement and requested enhancement of survival
permit will allow each Cooperator to return to baseline conditions
after the end to the term of the 10-year cooperative agreement and
prior to the expiration of the 30-year permit, if so desired by the
Applicant and Cooperator.
Consistent with the Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717), 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
specifics the baseline conditions on the property. This written
agreement remains in effect until the expiration of the 30-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.
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 the
[[Page 65058]]
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 comment to the address listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this document. Comments and materials received, including
names and addressed 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
at 40 CFR 1506.6. If we determine that the requirements are met, we
will sign the proposed Agreement and issue and enhancement of survival
permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the Applicants for take
of the California red-legged frog 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).
Dated: November 8, 2007.
Susan K. Moore,
Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. 07-5703 Filed 11-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M