[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 139 (Monday, July 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42348-42349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17050]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2014-N118; FXES11120100000-145-FF01E00000]
Draft Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances and
Receipt of Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the
Oregon Spotted Frog; Old Mill District Properties, Deschutes County,
Oregon
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application for an enhancement of survival (EOS) permit
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit
application includes a proposed candidate conservation agreement with
assurances (CCAA) for the Oregon spotted frog addressing conservation
and other covered activities at the Old Mill District of the city of
Bend in Deschutes County, Oregon. We invite comments from all
interested parties on the application, including the CCAA, and an
environmental action statement (EAS) prepared pursuant to the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received from
interested parties no later than August 20, 2014.
ADDRESSES: To request further information or to submit written
comments, please use one of the following methods, and note that your
information request or comments are in reference to the Old Mill CCAA.
Internet: Documents may be viewed on the Internet at
http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/ToolsForLandowners/HabitatConservationPlans/.
Email: Jennifer_OReilly@fws.gov. Include ``Old Mill
CCAA'' in the subject line of the message or comments.
U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bend Field
Office, 63095 Deschutes Market Road, Bend, OR 97701.
Fax: 541-383-7638. Include ``Old Mill CCAA'' in the
subject line of the message or comments.
In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Documents will be available
for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bend Field Office, 63095 Deschutes
Market Road, Bend, OR 97701.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Gilbert or Jennifer O'Reilly,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bend Field Office (see ADDRESSES), 541-
383-7146 (telephone). If you use a telecommunications device for the
deaf, please call the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-
8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from William
Smith Properties, Inc.; Fifteen SW Colorado; Mill A Associates Limited
Partnership; River Bend Limited Partnership; Mill Shops LLC; Mill Shops
Manager LLC Managing Member; River Shops II LLC; Deschutes River
Amphitheater LLC; and the River Bend Master Owners Association
(collectively, the applicants) for an enhancement of survival permit
under the ESA. The permit application includes a CCAA between the
applicants and the Service for the Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa)
in the Old Mill District of the city of Bend in Deschutes County,
Oregon. The Service and the applicants prepared the CCAA to provide the
applicants with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve the Oregon
spotted frog and its habitat while managing commercial real estate
properties that the applicants own or manage. We have made a
preliminary determination that the proposed CCAA and permit issuance
are eligible for a categorical exclusion under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et
seq.). The basis for our preliminary determination is contained in an
EAS. We invite comments from all interested parties on the application,
including the CCAA and the EAS.
Background Information
Private and other non-Federal property owners are encouraged to
enter into CCAAs, in which they voluntarily undertake management
activities on their properties to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat
benefiting species that are proposed for listing under the ESA,
candidates for listing, or species that may become candidates or
proposed for listing. Through a CCAA and its associated EOS permit, the
Service provides assurances to participating property owners that they
will not be subject to increased land use restrictions if the covered
species become listed under the ESA in the future, provided the CCAA is
being properly implemented and the EOS permit conditions are met.
Application requirements and issuance criteria for EOS permits for
CCAAs are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
17.22(d) and 17.32(d). See also our joint policy on CCAAs, which we
published in the Federal Register with the Department of Commerce's
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine
Fisheries Service (64 FR 32726; June 17, 1999), as well as our
revisions to that policy (69 FR 24084; May 3, 2004).
On May 7, 1993, the Service published a 12-month finding in the
Federal Register (58 FR 27260) that the spotted frog (Rana pretiosa)
warrants listing under the ESA as threatened in some portions of its
range, but this listing action was precluded by other higher priority
listing actions. Subsequently, genetic analyses separated the spotted
frog into two species: Rana pretiosa (Oregon spotted frog) and Rana
luteiventris (Columbia spotted frog). The Service published these
taxonomic changes in the Federal Register (62 FR 49398) on September
19, 1997. On August 29, 2013, the Oregon spotted frog was proposed for
listing as threatened under the ESA (78 FR 53582). A final listing
determination is anticipated in late summer of 2014.
In anticipation of a final listing decision by the Service, the
applicants requested assistance from the Service in developing a CCAA
addressing the needs of the Oregon spotted frog on lands they own in
Bend, Oregon. Under the proposed CCAA, the applicants will address
threats to the Oregon spotted frog through implementation of
conservation measures that are consistent with their land use
activities and the CCAA. Through the EOS permit issued pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, the applicants would be authorized to
incidentally take Oregon spotted frogs in the course of implementing
the CCAA if the species becomes listed under the ESA in the future, as
long as the terms and conditions of the permit and the CCAA are
followed.
Proposed Action
The Service proposes to approve the CCAA and to issue an EOS
permit, both with a term of 20 years, to the applicants for incidental
take of the Oregon spotted frog caused by covered activities, if permit
issuance criteria are met. The area to be addressed under this proposed
CCAA (i.e., the covered lands) includes 170 acres of land, including
6,909 linear feet along both banks of the Deschutes River, upstream and
downstream of the Colorado Street Bridge, Bend, Deschutes County,
Oregon. Portions of the covered lands currently provide habitat that is
occupied by Oregon spotted frogs. These specific areas include the
Casting Pond, the Les Schwab Amphitheater Marsh, and the riparian
habitat on the banks of
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the Deschutes River above the ordinary high water mark.
The proposed CCAA is intended to result in benefits to Oregon
spotted frogs by reducing or eliminating threats to the species on the
covered lands, and creating or maintaining habitat conditions that are
suitable for all life-history stages of the species through the
implementation of conservation measures. Conservation measures include:
Monitoring and maintaining sufficient water levels for the Oregon
spotted frog in the Casting Pond through the use of water control
devices; periodically removing invasive plants from the Casting Pond to
maintain approximately 30 percent aquatic vegetative cover and 70
percent open water; removal of nonnative predators in the Casting Pond
should they be discovered during annual surveys; maintaining vegetation
along the banks of the Casting Pond to control erosion and potential
sedimentation; and protection of the riparian zone along the banks of
the Deschutes River within the covered lands through the use of signs
and temporary fencing, to address public use that may threaten the
integrity of shoreline vegetation that serves as cover for Oregon
spotted frogs. Some incidental take of spotted frogs is anticipated
with maintenance of the Casting Pond, and with the expansion and
construction of stormwater ponds and bioswales that may become
temporary habitats.
Consistent with our CCAA Policy (64 FR 32726), the conservation
goal of the proposed CCAA is to encourage enhancement and protection of
suitable Oregon spotted frog habitat on the covered lands by either
maintaining or modifying existing land management so that they are
consistent with the conservation needs of the Oregon spotted frog. We
can meet this conservation goal with the use of a CCAA by giving non-
Federal landowners incentives to implement conservation measures,
primarily through regulatory certainty concerning land-use restrictions
that might otherwise apply should the Oregon spotted frog become listed
under the ESA.
We have made a preliminary determination that the proposed CCAA and
permit issuance are eligible for a categorical exclusion under NEPA.
The basis for our preliminary determination is contained in an EAS,
which is available for public review (see ADDRESSES).
Public Comments
We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this
notice. We particularly seek comments on the following: (1) Biological
information concerning the Oregon spotted frog; (2) relevant data
concerning this species; (3) additional information concerning the
range, distribution, population size, and population trends of the
Oregon spotted frog; (4) current or planned activities in the covered
lands and their possible impacts on the Oregon spotted frog; (5)
identification of any other environmental issues that should be
considered by the Service with regard to the proposed permit action;
and (6) information regarding the adequacy of the CCAA pursuant to the
requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive become part of the public
record associated with this action. Before including your address,
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable
information (PII) in your comments, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your PII --may be made publicly available at
any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your PII
from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation
we used in preparing the EAS, will be available for public inspection
by appointment, during normal business hours, at our Bend Field Office
(see ADDRESSES).
Next Steps
We will evaluate the permit application, associated documents, and
comments we receive to determine whether the permit application meets
the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA and NEPA and their
implementing regulations. We will also evaluate whether issuance of an
EOS permit would comply with section 7 of the ESA by conducting a
section 7 consultation on the proposed permit action. If we determine
that all requirements are met, we will sign the proposed CCAA and issue
an EOS permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA to the applicants
for incidental take of Oregon spotted frogs that is likely to occur
with implementation of the CCAA. We will not make our final decision
until after the end of the 30-day public comment period, and we will
fully consider all comments we receive during the public comment
period.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and their implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 40
CFR 1506.6, respectively).
Paul Henson,
State Supervisor, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2014-17050 Filed 7-18-14; 8:45 am]
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