[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60307-60309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23871]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2013-N205; FXES11150400000F4-123-FF04E00000]
Spring Pygmy Sunfish Candidate Conservation Agreement With
Assurances; Receipt of Applications for Enhancement of Survival
Permits; Beaverdam Springs, Limestone County, AL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received
applications from Mr. Albert C. McDonald of Greenbriar Enterprises LLC
(applicant McDonald Farm) and Ms. Katherine H. Garrett of Greenbrier
Enterprises LLC (applicant Horton Farm) (collectively, applicants) for
enhancement of survival permits (permit or permits) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Each permit
application includes a proposed candidate conservation agreement with
assurances (CCAA) between the applicant and the Service as parties and
the Land Trust of North Alabama as a cooperator for the conservation of
the spring pygmy sunfish. Each Applicant is a limited liability
company, created and existing under the laws of the State of Alabama.
The CCAAs would be implemented at the Beaverdam Spring Complex within
Limestone County, Alabama.
We have made a preliminary determination that each permit
application, including the proposed CCAA, is eligible for categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
The basis for this preliminary determination is contained in the draft
environmental action statement (EAS) prepared by the Service on each
application. We are accepting comments on each permit application and
the associated proposed CCAA, as well as on the draft EAS.
DATES: We must receive comments no later than October 31, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review either or both applications,
including the draft CCAA, and the draft EAS may obtain copies upon
request to Daniel Drennen, Mississippi Field Office, by phone at 601-
321-1127, or via mail or email (see below). The applications and
related documents will also be available for public inspection, by
appointment only, during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at
the Jackson, Mississippi, Field Office (address listed below) or on our
Web site at http://www.fws.gov/mississippiES/endsp.html.
Comments concerning either or both applications, proposed CCAAs,
and draft EASs should be submitted in writing, by one of the following
methods:
Email: daniel_drennen@fws.gov.
Fax: 601-965-4340.
U.S. mail: Daniel Drennen, Mississippi Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway, Jackson, MS 39213.
When submitting comments, please specify the application or
applications on which you are commenting. Please refer to Permit number
TE-155500B-0 when commenting on the McDonald Farm application, and to
Permit number TE-15501B-0 for comments on the Horton Farm application.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Drennen, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Mississippi Field Office, 601-321-1127. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We furnish this notice to provide the
public, other State and Federal agencies, and interested Tribes an
opportunity to review and comment on the permit applications, including
the draft CCAAs, and the associated EASs. We specifically request
information, views, and opinions from the public on the proposed
Federal actions of issuing each permit. Further, we solicit information
regarding the adequacy of each permit application, including the
proposed CCAA, as measured against our permit issuance criteria found
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(d) and
17.32(d).
Background
Private and other non-Federal property owners are encouraged to
enter into CCAAs, in which they voluntarily undertake management
activities and conservation efforts on their properties to enhance,
restore, or maintain habitat
[[Page 60308]]
benefiting species that are proposed for listing under the Act,
candidates for listing, or species that may become candidates or
proposed for listing. Via the CCAAs and their associated permits, the
Service provides assurances to property owners that they will not be
subjected to increased land use restrictions if the covered species
becomes listed under the Act in the future, provided certain conditions
are met. The property owners also are assured that, provided certain
conditions are met, the Service would not require additional
conservation measures or commitment of additional land, water, or
resource use restrictions beyond the level obligated in their CCAAs
agreement, without the property owner's consent. Application
requirements and issuance criteria for permits through CCAAs are found
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(d) and
17.32(d). See also our policy on CCAAs (64 FR 32726; June 17, 1999).
The conservation of the spring pygmy sunfish is of concern to the
Service, other biologists, and the property owners whose lands contain
the species. The spring pygmy sunfish is a spring-associated fish,
endemic to the Tennessee River drainage of Lauderdale and Limestone
Counties in northern Alabama. The species historically occurred in
three distinct spring complexes (Cave Springs, Lauderdale County;
Beaverdam Springs and Pryor Springs, Limestone County). The single
remaining population of the species occupies 5.9 river miles (mi) (9.5
river kilometers) and 1,435 acres (580.6 hectares) within four spring
pools (Moss, Beaverdam, Thorsen, and Horton Springs) associated with
the upper Beaverdam Springs complex in Limestone County, Alabama.
The preferred habitat for the spring pygmy sunfish is clear and
colorless to slightly stained spring water, spring runs, and associated
spring-fed wetlands (Warren 2004). The species is highly localized
within these spring pools and is found in association with patches of
dense, filamentous submergent vegetation. Spring pygmy sunfish
abundance is correlated with specific water quantity and quality
parameters (i.e., water flow velocity, turbidity, and water
temperatures) and certain associated species such as amphipods,
isopods, spring salamanders, crayfish, and snails (Sandel, pers. comm.,
2007).
On April 1, 2011, the Service published a 90-day finding on a
petition to list the spring pygmy sunfish as endangered under the Act
(76 FR 18138). The Service found that the petition presented
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that
listing of the species may be warranted, and announced the initiation
of a formal status review. On October 2, 2012, the Service published a
12-month finding/proposed rule to list the species as threatened and to
designate critical habitat (77 FR 60180) and opened a 60-day comment
period that ended on December 2, 2012. On April 29, 2013, the Service
re-opened the comment period for 30 days to allow public comment on the
draft economic analysis (DEA) and any other aspect of the proposed
rule. The Service is currently in the process of making its final
listing/critical habitat determination, and anticipates publication of
a decision in October 2013.
The areas to be covered under the proposed CCAAs total
approximately 272 acres on the McDonald Farm and approximately 440
acres on the Horton Farm within the Beaverdam Springs complex in
Limestone County, Alabama. Each proposed CCAA represents a significant
milestone in the cooperative conservation efforts for the spring pygmy
sunfish, and is consistent with section 2(a)(5) of the Act, which
encourages creative partnerships among public, private, and government
entities to conserve imperiled species and their habitats.
Each applicant would agree in its CCAA to implement conservation
measures to address known threats to the spring pygmy sunfish. These
measures will help protect the species in the near term and also
minimize any incidental take of the species that might occur as a
result of conducting specified covered activities if the species were
listed under the Act in the future. Conservation measures to be
implemented by the applicants include: (1) Maintaining up to a 100-foot
vegetated buffer zone around Beaverdam Creek; (2) limiting cattle
access to Beaverdam Creek and the buffer zone; (3) limiting surface and
groundwater extraction; and (4) refraining from any deforestation, land
clearing, industrial development, residential development, aquaculture,
temporary or permanent ground water removal installations, stocked farm
ponds, pesticide and herbicide use, and impervious surface installation
without prior consultation with the Service.
The Land Trust of North Alabama, as a cooperator to each CCAA,
would agree: (1) To be responsible for all reporting requirements,
including any changes to the monitoring when necessary for adaptive
management; (2) to ensure that annual habitat analyses and site
samplings are performed as specified by the CCAA; and (3) to provide
resources for reporting and monitoring activities.
The Service would agree to authorize each applicant to engage in
incidental take of the spring pygmy sunfish consistent with its
proposed CCAA and to provide technical assistance, including management
advice.
The term of each proposed CCAA and associated enhancement of
survival permit is 25 years.
When determining whether to issue the permits, we will consider a
number of factors and information sources, including the administrative
record on each application, any public comments we receive, and the
application requirements and issuance criteria for CCAAs set forth in
50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d). We will also evaluate whether issuance of
each permit complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-
Service consultation. Our decision to issue a permit will be based on
the results of this consultation, as well as on the above findings, our
regulations, and public comments.
We will evaluate each permit application, proposed CCAA, EAS, and
comments submitted thereon to determine whether the permit application
meets the requirements of section 10(a)(1) of the Act, our regulations,
and NEPA regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6. If we determine that the
requirements are met as to an application, we will enter into the CCAA
and issue the permit to the applicant for take of the spring pygmy
sunfish in accordance with the terms of its CCAA. We will not make a
final decision on either matter until after the end of the 30-day
comment period, and we will fully consider all comments received during
the comment period.
Authority
We provide this notice under both section 10(c) of the Act and its
implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C 4371 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive become part of our administrative record in
this matter. Requests for copies of comments will be handled in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, NEPA, and
Service and Department of the Interior policies and procedures. Before
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including
[[Page 60309]]
personal identifying information--may be made available to the public
at any time. While you may ask us to withhold your personal identifying
information from public disclosure, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Dated: September 25, 2013.
Stephen M. Ricks,
Field Supervisor, Jackson, Mississippi, Field Office, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-23871 Filed 9-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P