[Federal Register: August 14, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 156)]
[Notices]
[Page 45445-45446]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14au07-82]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for the Valley Elderberry Longhorn
Beetle and the Giant Garter Snake for Landowners Restoring, Enhancing
or Managing Native Riparian and Wetland Habitats in Yolo County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of application.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the National Audubon
Society, Inc., doing business in California as Audubon California
(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 valley
elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB) (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus)
and/or the giant garter snake (GGS) (Thamnopsis gigas). The Agreement
and permit application are available for public comment.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before September 13,
2007.
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, California 95825. Written comments may be 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.
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 with the Applicant to develop this proposed
Programmatic Agreement for the conservation of the VELB and the GGS in
Yolo County, California. The properties subject to this Agreement
consist of approximately 200,000 acres of non-Federal properties within
the boundaries of Yolo County, on which habitat for the VELG and/or GGS
will be restored, enhanced, and managed pursuant to a written agreement
between Audubon California and a property owner.
This Agreement provides for the creation of a Program in which
private landowners (Program Participants) enter into written
cooperative agreements with the Applicant pursuant to the terms of the
Agreement, to restore, enhance, and maintain riparian and wetland
habitat in ways beneficial to the VELB and/or GGS. 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
Program Participants and the conservation benefits expected to be
gained for the VELB and GGS.
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 Audubon California
authorizing take of VELG and GGS by Program Participants incidental to
the implementation of the
[[Page 45446]]
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.
To benefit the VELB and GGS, Program Participants 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
restoration, enhancement and management of native riparian and/or
wetland habitats in Yolo County. The object of such activities is to
enhance populations of VELB and/or GGS by creating healthy native
riparian plant and/or wetland communities. Take of VELB and GGS
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 VELB or GGS thereby necessitating take authority
under the permit.
Pre-Agreement conditions (baseline), consisting of a description
and survey to delineate the locations of all elderberry bushes having 1
or more stems that are 1 inch or greater in diameter at the base and to
determine the quantity, quality, and location of suitable GGS habitat,
shall be determined for each enrolled property as provided in the
Agreement. In order to receive the above assurances regarding
incidental take of VELB and/or GGS, 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 30-year
permit, if so desired by the Applicants.
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
specifies 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 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
at 40 CFR 1506.6. 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 VELB and/or GGS 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: August 8, 2007.
Susan K. Moore,
Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, Sacramento,
California.
[FR Doc. E7-15893 Filed 8-13-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P