[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45602-45603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19204]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2011-N144; 81440-1113-0000-F3]
Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for California Red-Legged Frog, at
Swallow Creek Ranch, San Luis Obispo County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of permit application.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received, from Swallow Creek Ranch (Applicant), an application for an
enhancement of survival permit for the Federally threatened California
red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (Act). This permit application includes a proposed
Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between the Applicant and the
Service. The Agreement and permit application are available for public
comment.
DATES: To ensure we are able to consider your comments, please send
them to us by August 29, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The documents are available on our Web site: http://www.fws.gov/ventura. A limited number of printed copies are available
by request. You may request the documents or submit comments by any of
the following methods.
E-mail: fw8SHA_swallowcreekranch@fws.gov. Include
``Swallow Creek Ranch SHA'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office; 2493 Portola Road, Suite B;
Ventura, CA 93003.
Fax: Attn: Field Supervisor, (805) 644-3958.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Morrissette, Safe Harbor
Coordinator, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office at the address above or
by telephone at (805) 644-1766.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of the documents for review by using one of
the methods in ADDRESSES, or by contacting the individual named in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. You also may make an
appointment to view the documents at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office (see ADDRESSES) during normal business hours.
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 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). Safe Harbor Agreements, and the subsequent permits that
are issued under 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 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
permits through Safe Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR 17.32(c).
We have worked with the Applicant to develop this proposed
Agreement for the conservation of the California red-legged frog on the
property subject to the Agreement (Enrolled Property), which is owned
and managed by the Applicant. The Enrolled Property is Swallow Creek
Ranch in San Luis Obispo County, California. Within the 620 acres of
land comprising the Enrolled Property, habitat for the California red-
legged frog will be restored, enhanced, and managed under a written
agreement between the Applicant and Service. We expect that the
activities proposed in the Agreement will result in an increase in
suitable habitat for this species and provide for its increase in
number and its expansion into additional areas that are currently not
occupied, thus resulting in a net conservation benefit for the species.
This Agreement provides for the restoration, enhancement, and
management of aquatic, riparian, and upland habitat suitable for the
California red-legged frog on the Enrolled Property. 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 the
Applicant and the net conservation benefits expected to be gained for
the California red-legged frog.
Upon approval of this Agreement and satisfactory completion of all
other applicable legal requirements, 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 Applicant
authorizing take of the California red-legged frog incidental to the
implementation of the management activities specified in the Agreement;
incidental to other lawful uses of the Enrolled Property, including
normal, routine land management activities; and incidental to the
return to pre-Agreement conditions (baseline).
Management activities included in the Agreement will provide for
the restoration, enhancement, and management of native riparian
habitats within the Enrolled Property. The objective of such activities
is to enhance the population of California red-legged frogs by
increasing the quality and quantity of suitable habitat on the Enrolled
Property. Take of California red-legged frogs 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, the Applicant could incidentally take California
red-legged frog, thereby
[[Page 45603]]
necessitating take authority under the permit.
Baseline conditions have been determined for the Enrolled Property
based on the occurrence of California red-legged frog and the extent of
suitable habitat as provided in the Agreement. The Applicant must
maintain baseline on the Enrolled Property in order to receive coverage
regarding incidental take of California red-legged frogs. The Agreement
and requested permit would allow the Applicant to return the Enrolled
Property to baseline conditions after the end of the term of the
Agreement and prior to the expiration of the 30-year permit, if so
desired by the Applicant.
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) (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.). We explain the basis for this determination in an
Environmental Action Statement, which also is available for public
review.
Individuals wishing copies of the permit application, copies of our
draft Environmental Action Statement, and copies of the Agreement,
including a map of the proposed permit area, should contact the Ventura
Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).
If you wish to comment on the permit application or the Agreement,
you may submit your comments to one of the addresses 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, under section 10(c) of the Act.
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.
We will evaluate this permit application, associated documents, and
comments we receive to determine whether the permit application meets
the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA regulations. 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 Applicant 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 we receive during the comment period.
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and
under implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-19204 Filed 7-28-11; 8:45 am]
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