[Federal Register: July 27, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 143)]
[Notices]
[Page 40616-40618]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27jy99-87]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Preliminary
Finding of No Significant Impact, and Receipt of Applications for an
Incidental Take Permit and an Enhancement of Survival Permit for a
State-wide Conservation Plan for the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker on Private
Lands in the State of Georgia
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior
ACTION: Notice
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SUMMARY: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) (Applicant)
has applied for an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) and an Enhancement of
Survival Permit (ESP) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) and Section 10(a)(1)(A), respectively,
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The proposed
action would involve approval of the Applicant's Conservation Plan (CP)
which will be administered by the Applicant to eligible landowners,
which is defined in the Applicant's CP, and involves two conservation
options termed the Mitigated Incidental Take (MIT) and Safe Harbor
Management Agreement (SHMA) options. The subject permits would
authorize take of the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
(RCW), a federally listed endangered species, on private lands in
Georgia that (1) are isolated, remnant groups of RCWs (for ITP
issuance) or (2) are new RCW groups created above SHMA baselines (for
ESP issuance). Under the authority of the issued permits from the
Service, the Applicant would encourage eligible landowners to
participate in the two RCW conservation options via ``Certificates of
Inclusion'' (or CI). Eligible landowners can be issued a CI in one or
both of the CP's options with the goal to provide landowners with land
management flexibility that balances each landowner's economic
expectations with RCW conservation and recovery. The proposed taking
would be incidental to otherwise lawful activities including typical
forest management actions, land development activities, and other
actions on private land and other non-federal lands in Georgia. The
mitigation and minimization measures outlined in the Applicant's CP to
address the effects of the CP to protected species are described
further in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
This notice advises the public that the Service has opened the
comment period on the permit applications, the draft environmental
assessment (EA), and the preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI). The permit applications include the Applicant's CP (with
appendices). This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10(a) of the
Act and National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) regulations
(40 CFR 1506.6) and advises the public that the Service has made a
preliminary determination that issuing the ITP and ESP is not a major
Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment within the meaning of Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. The FONSI
is based on information contained in the draft EA and CP. The final
determination on this action will be made no sooner than 30 days from
the date of this notice.
The Service will evaluate the application, associated documents,
and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the application
meets the requirements of NEPA regulations and Section 10(a) of the
Act. If it is determined that the requirements are met, the requested
permits will be issued for the incidental take of RCW groups subject to
the provisions of the Applicant's CP. The final NEPA and permit
determinations will not be completed until after the end of a 30-day
comment period and will fully consider all comments received. The
Service will also evaluate whether the issuance of the requested
permits complies with Section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-
Service Section 7 consultation. The resulting Section 7 biological
opinion, in combination with the above types of evaluation
requirements, will be used in the final analysis to determine whether
or not to issue the requested permits.
DATES: Written comments on the permit applications, CP, and draft EA
should be sent to the Service's Southeast Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES) and should be received on or before August 26, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the permit applications, CP, draft
EA, and preliminary FONSI may obtain a copy by writing the Service's
Southeast Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,
Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered Species Permits), or Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 52560, Fort Benning, Georgia
31995-2560. Documents will also be available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the Regional Office.
Written data or comments concerning the permit
[[Page 40617]]
applications, CP, or EA should be submitted to the Regional Office.
Comments or requests for the documentation must be in writing to be
processed. Please reference permit number TE014977-0 in such comments,
or in requests for the documents discussed herein. All comments
received, including names and addresses, will become part of the
official administrative record and may be made available to the public,
subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act and Freedom of
Information Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lee Andrews, Supervisory Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, at either address listed above (see ADDRESSES) or
telephone (706) 544-6428.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Georgia state-wide RCW CP is intended to
establish mechanisms to allow incidental take of: (1) MIT option RCW
groups that will minimize and mitigate loss of isolated RCW groups and
(2) SHMA option RCW groups that represent population expansions
resulting from voluntary RCW habitat development and maintenance. The
Applicant's CP estimates that there are approximately 11 private
landowners and 19 groups of RCWs occupying the habitat of those
landowners that will be initially eligible for incidental take under
the MIT option. However, it is important to note that all incidental
take proposed under the Applicant's CP may or may not ever occur. While
landowners will be permitted to carry out activities under this plan
that could result in the incidental taking of RCWs, they may choose not
to do so or not to do so for many decades. The Applicant and the
Service believe that the implementation of this program will result in
maintenance of the RCW population levels on private lands in Georgia
and an increase in the amount of available and potentially-suitable RCW
habitat. Further, all translocation of RCW groups will be to other
suitable private or state lands.
The geographic scope of the Applicant's CP is the entire State of
Georgia but would only authorize incidental take on specific lands
enrolled in the CP for which a respective CI has been signed. Lands
potentially eligible for inclusion in the CP include (1) all privately-
owned lands and public lands owned by cities, counties, and
municipalities where isolated, remnant groups of RCWs exist and (2)
lands covered under the SHMA option of the CP. Priority will be placed
on developing CIs with landowners where loss of RCW groups is likely
due to isolation from other RCW populations and where development of
SHMA CIs would enroll land that has potential to benefit RCWs,
particularly land with abandoned or inactive clusters or land that is
near existing RCW populations.
Landowners with RCWs on their property will apply to GDNR for
inclusion under the permit. If a RCW group meets the criteria of
isolation and non-viability described in the Applicant's CP, the
landowner will be eligible to participate under the MIT option ITP.
These landowners will select from several mitigation alternatives to
minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take, and, once all
mitigation criteria have been met, the landowner will be allowed to
commence with RCW habitat alterations. Any landowner with potentially
suitable RCW habitat can participate in SHMA option.
The duration of the ITP is 30 years and it would allow incidental
take of up to 19 RCW groups; the ESP will be valid for 99 years and
would allow incidental take of up to 38 RCW groups. This CP may be
amended in the future to cover a higher level of incidental take if
additional RCW groups are located that are eligible for coverage in the
CP, although it is unlikely that additional landowners will
significantly add to the number of those already identified as
eligible. Landowners who are identified as having RCWs in the future
will have the option, if eligible under the CP, to be included through
CP modification with Service approval, or landowners may elect to
pursue the development of landowner-specific conservation plans.
The proposed RCW conservation options complement the ongoing
development of an overall conservation strategy for RCW populations in
Georgia by representatives from the Service, U.S. Forest Service, GDNR,
and private industry. Implementation of this plan should alleviate many
of the concerns about endangered species conservation efforts on
private lands by providing private landowners with relief from
potential regulatory burdens while promoting voluntary enhancement and
restoration of RCW habitat. RCW groups determined to be isolated from
other RCW populations will be used for augmentation of or translocation
to non-federal mitigation sites. Among the minimization measures
proposed by the Applicant are no take of RCWs during the breeding
season, consolidation of small, isolated RCW populations at identified
sites capable of supporting a viable RCW population, and measures to
improve current and potential habitat for the species.
Several alternatives to the proposed action were evaluated by
Service. The alternative of the Service paying landowners for desired
management practices was evaluated and could be accomplished without
incidental take occurring. However, such a program would be expensive,
and funding is not currently available. An alternative where RCW
mitigation would occur on federal lands was investigated but determined
to be inappropriate, because federal lands are already mandated to
recover the species. A no action alternative was also explored, but
this alternative would not increase the probability of isolated RCW
group survival nor would it alleviate landowner conflicts. Instead, the
incentive proposed here, although it authorizes future incidental take,
is expected to attract sufficient interest among Georgia landowners to
generate significant benefits for the RCW. The Applicant's CP was
developed in an adaptive management framework to allow changes in the
program based on new scientific information including, but not limited
to, biological needs and management actions proven to benefit the
species or its habitat.
The CP was prepared by GDNR and sent to the Service for
authorization of the CP's ITP and ESP as per Section 10(a)(1)(B) and
Section 10(a)(1)(A), respectively, of the Act. Section 10(a)(1)(B), a
1982 Act amendment, was created to help resolve land use conflicts
resulting from the presence of listed species on private land by
issuance of a permit authorizing take for those species. As specified
by the ESA, permitted take must be ``incidental to, and not the purpose
of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity.'' In order to
obtain an ITP, the applicant must submit, in part, a conservation plan
specifying ``the impact which will likely result from such taking; what
steps the applicant will take to minimize and mitigate such impacts;
and the funding that will be available to implement such steps; what
alternative actions to such taking the applicant considered and the
reasons why such alternatives are not being utilized; and such other
measures the Secretary {of the U.S. Department of the Interior} may
require as being necessary or appropriate for purposes of the plan.''
These requirements are addressed in this document. Section 10(a)(1)(A)
authorizes ESPs related to the Service's recently-implemented Safe
Harbor policy (Federal Register, Vol. 64, No. 116, 32717-32726).
The Service continues to critically evaluate any potential or real
biological costs and conservation benefits of current RCW management
and research programs. This ensures continuation of
[[Page 40618]]
activities proven to directly benefit or contribute to species
conservation and recovery. Currently acceptable management activities
may be modified or eliminated based upon research findings and/or
evaluation of the biological costs versus the conservation benefits.
The 1985 Red-cockaded Woodpecker Recovery plan is currently undergoing
revision to reflect advances in red-cockaded woodpecker management in
the last 12 years. All interested agencies, organizations, and
individuals are urged to provide comments on the permit applications
and NEPA documents. All comments received by the closing date will be
considered in finalizing NEPA compliance and permit issuance or denial.
The Service will publish a record on its final action in the Federal
Register.
Dated: July 21, 1999.
H. Dale Hall,
Deputy Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 99-19087 Filed 7-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P