[Federal Register: October 6, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 194)]
[Notices]
[Page 58263-58264]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06oc08-108]
[[Page 58263]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2008-N00172; 10120-1112-0000-F2]
Proposed Willamette Valley Native Prairie Habitat Programmatic
Safe Harbor Agreement for the Fender's Blue Butterfly in Benton, Lane,
Linn, Marion, Polk, and Yamhill Counties, OR
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of application.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposes to issue
itself an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),
for a programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement). The proposed term
of the Agreement is 15 years, and the proposed term of the permit is 25
years. In accordance with regulation, the Service is completing the
application process for this proposed permit. The requested permit
would authorize the Service to extend incidental take coverage with
assurances to eligible landowners who are willing to carry out habitat
management measures that would benefit the federally-listed endangered
Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides fenderi) and the
threatened Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii) by
enrolling them under the Agreement as Cooperators through issuance of
Certificates of Inclusion. The covered area or geographic scope of this
Agreement includes the known and potential range of the Fender's blue
butterfly, which occurs on prairie habitat within Benton, Lane, Linn,
Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties of Oregon. We request comments from
the public on the permit application, proposed Agreement and related
documents, which are available for review (see ADDRESSES below).
DATES: Comments must be received from interested parties on or before
November 5, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your written comments to: Project Leader,
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 S.E. 98th Ave., Suite 100, Portland,
Oregon 97266, or facsimile (503) 231-6195. Include your name and
address in your comments and refer to the ``Willamette Valley
Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement.'' Copies of the draft documents are
available for public inspection, by appointment, at the above address
during normal business hours. You may also view the documents on the
Internet at http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/species/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or to receive
copies of the documents on CD ROM, please contact Richard Szlemp at
(503) 231-6179.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Safe Harbor Agreements,
and the subsequent enhancement of survival permits that are issued
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act, encourage private and other
non-federal property owners to implement conservation efforts for
listed species by assuring 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). These
permits allow future incidental take of covered species above the
mutually agreed upon baseline conditions for those species in
accordance with the terms of the permit and accompanying agreement.
The Service has developed the proposed Agreement for the
conservation of the Fender's blue butterfly. The Fender's blue
butterfly was listed as an endangered species by the Service in 2000
(65 FR 3875). As of the time of its listing, it was known to occupy
only 32 sites across 408 acres (165 hectares). Of the 32 sites found to
support Fender's blue butterfly, Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus
ssp. kincaidii) has been documented as co-occurring as a larval host
plant at 27 of the sites (65 FR 3875).
The geographical area covered by this Agreement includes the known
and potential range of the Fender's blue butterfly within the
Willamette Valley in Benton, Lane, Linn, Marion, Polk, and Yamhill
counties of Oregon. Properties that are eligible for enrollment are
non-Federal lands where the butterfly occurs or could occur through
colonization, translocation, or reintroduction. Activities under the
Agreement are also expected to benefit Kincaid's lupine, a federally-
listed as threatened plant. However, Kincaid's lupine is not included
as a ``covered species.''
The Fender's blue butterfly is threatened due to few populations,
low numbers, and habitat fragmentation. Conserving existing populations
and actively maintaining, enhancing, and expanding the size of existing
butterfly-occupied habitat patches is essential for recovery. In
addition, reestablishing habitat connectivity by creating stepping
stones of habitat between existing butterfly populations will improve
the prospects for individuals to reach other suitable 9 habitats for
reproduction, dispersal, and recolonization (71 FR 63874). This
Agreement is intended to encourage non-federal landowners to undertake
proactive conservation and restoration actions for the Fender's blue
butterfly (and Kincaid's lupine).
Site-specific plans will be developed for each property to be
enrolled. In addition to the monitoring, one or more of the following
on-the-ground activities will be included in the plans: (a) Removal of
invasive, non-native herbaceous plants and woody vegetation; (b)
revegetation with native species; (c) collection of Kincaid's lupine
seed and plant material for use in species recovery efforts; (d)
reintroduction and augmentation of Kincaid's lupine; and (e) reducing
threats. Environmental baseline conditions for the Fender's blue
butterfly will be established on each property as lands are enrolled.
The programmatic nature of the Agreement provides eligible
landowners with a streamlined process for obtaining assurances that
specified actions taken to benefit the Fender's blue butterfly will not
result in additional regulatory obligations under the Act. Without the
regulatory assurances provided through the Agreement and permit,
landowners may otherwise be unwilling or reluctant to engage in
activities that would benefit the Fender's blue butterfly on their
properties.
A draft Environmental Action Statement now available for public
review (see ADDRESSES ) indicates that the proposed Agreement and
permit decision may be eligible for a categorical exclusion under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.).
The Service will evaluate the 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 the requirements under NEPA. All comments received, including names
and addresses, will become part of the administrative record and will
be available for review pursuant to section
[[Page 58264]]
10(c) of the Act. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home addresses and telephone numbers to the extent allowable by
law. If you wish us to withhold this personal information, 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.
If we determine that all requirements are met, we will sign the
Agreement and issue an enhancement of survival permit under section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the Service's Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office
(OFWO). The OFWO will serve as the permit holder, and may extend
coverage to interested, eligible landowners for the take of Fender's
blue butterfly, incidental to otherwise lawful activities in accordance
with the terms of the Agreement, Certificates of Inclusion and permit.
Please note that the Service will not be receiving any assurances as
holder of the permit, but permitted landowners will. This notice is
provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and NEPA regulations (40
CFR 1506.6).
Dated: August 8, 2008.
David J. Wesley,
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1,
Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E8-23556 Filed 10-3-08; 8:45 am]
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