Safe Harbor Agreement
Hine's Emerald Dragonfly
Federal Register Notice: Receipt of application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit; Request for Comments
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R3–ES–2008–N0041; 30120–1122–0000 F2]
Notice: Receipt of application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit; Request for Comments
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.
SUMMARY: The DuPage County Forest Preserve District (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 draft Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between the Applicant and the Service for the Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana).
Section 9 of the Act and its implementing regulations prohibit the take of animal species listed as endangered or threatened. The definition of take under the Act includes the following activities: to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect listed animal species, or attempt to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). Section 10 of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1539, establishes a program whereby persons seeking to pursue activities that otherwise could give rise to liability for unlawful ‘‘take’’ of federally protected species may receive a permit, which protects them from such liability. The Hine’s emerald dragonfly (HED) was listed as endangered by the Service in January 1995. A Recovery Plan for the species was published in September 2001.
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). The basis for this determination is contained in an Environmental Action Statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for public review.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments on or before April 21, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or request information by any of the following methods:
• U.S. Mail: Written comments should be addressed to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago Field Office, 1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington, IL 60010.
• Facsimile: Written comments may be faxed to (847) 381–2285.
• E-Mail: sha_dupagecounty@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Mengler, Chicago Field Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: (847) 381– 2253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
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, should
contact the office and personnel listed
in the ADDRESSES section above. Copies
of the draft Agreement are also available
for public review during normal
business hours (8–4:30) at the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service’s Regional Office,
located at 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling,
Minnesota 55111, and at the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service’s Chicago Field
Office, located at 1250 S. Grove, Suite
103, Barrington, IL 60010. Documents
are also available for review at the
Service’s Regional Web site at: http://
www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/
permits/hcp/index.html.
Public Availability of Comments
Public requests for comments
submitted will be handled in
accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act. Our practice is to make
comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for
public review during regular business
hours. Individual respondents may
request we withhold their home address
from the record, which we will honor to
the extent allowable by law. If a
respondent wishes us to withhold his/
her name and/or address, this must be
stated prominently at the beginning of
the comment.
Draft Safe Harbor Agreement
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 measures for federally
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).
Land subject to this Agreement (i.e.,enrolled land) involve approximately 14
acres within the Waterfall Glen Forest
Preserve District in DuPage County,
Illinois. The land consists of mowed turf
grass, several buildings, a gravel
driveway, several picnic shelters, septic
systems, and a series of fish ponds that
are groundwater fed via a system of
pipes and artesian wells. Currently, the
land does not provide any suitable
habitat for HED.
The purpose of this SHA is to facilitate management actions that results in an increased population of HED on land and water within Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois. Specifically, this refers to management actions proposed for the fish farm parcel and adjoining land within said preserve that is owned and managed by the District, a local public agency. Without the Agreement and proposed management actions, the enrolled land is unlikely to support any HED in the foreseeable future. The proposed duration of the Agreement and permit is 15 years.
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 District authorizing take of HED incidental to the implementation of the management activities specified in the Agreement and other lawful uses of the properties, including normal routine land management activities, and/or to return to pre-Agreement conditions (baseline).
Decisions
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)(1)(A) of the Act. If we
determine that the requirements are
met, we will sign the Agreement and
issue an enhancement of survival permit
to the Applicant for take of HED
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 we will fully
consider all comments received during
the comment period.
Dated: February 15, 2008.
Lynn Lewis,
Assistant Regional Director, Acting,
Ecological Services, Region 3, Fort Snelling,
Minnesota.
[FR Doc. E8–5741 Filed 3–20–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
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