[Federal Register: March 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 56)]
[Notices]
[Page 15188-15189]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21mr08-86]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2008-N0041; 30120-1122-0000 F2]
Notice: Receipt of application for an Enhancement of Survival
Permit; Request for Comments
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.
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SUMMARY: The DuPage County Forest Preserve District (District)
(Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A)
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit
application includes a draft Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between
the Applicant and the Service for the Hine's emerald dragonfly
(Somatochlora hineana). Section 9 of the Act and its implementing
regulations prohibit the take of animal species listed as endangered or
threatened. The definition of take under the Act includes the following
activities: to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect listed animal species, or attempt to engage in such
conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). Section 10 of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1539,
establishes a program whereby persons seeking to pursue activities that
otherwise could give rise to liability for unlawful ``take'' of
federally protected species may receive a permit, which protects them
from such liability. The Hine's emerald dragonfly (HED) was listed as
endangered by the Service in
[[Page 15189]]
January 1995. A Recovery Plan for the species was published in
September 2001.
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). The basis
for this determination is contained in an Environmental Action
Statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for
public review.
DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments
on or before April 21, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments or request information by any of the
following methods:
U.S. Mail: Written comments should be addressed to the
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago Field Office,
1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington, IL 60010.
Facsimile: Written comments may be faxed to (847) 381-
2285.
E-Mail: sha_dupagecounty@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Mengler, Chicago Field
Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: (847) 381-2253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Individuals wishing copies of the permit application, copies of our
preliminary Environmental Action Statement, and/or copies of the full
text of the Agreement, including a map of the proposed permit area,
should contact the office and personnel listed in the ADDRESSES section
above. Copies of the draft Agreement are also available for public
review during normal business hours (8-4:30) at the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's Regional Office, located at 1 Federal Drive, Fort
Snelling, Minnesota 55111, and at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
Chicago Field Office, located at 1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington,
IL 60010. Documents are also available for review at the Service's
Regional Web site at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/permits/
hcp/index.html.
Public Availability of Comments
Public requests for comments submitted will be handled in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Our practice is to make
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available
for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents
may request we withhold their home address from the record, which we
will honor to the extent allowable by law. If a respondent wishes us to
withhold his/her name and/or address, this must be stated prominently
at the beginning of the comment.
Draft Safe Harbor Agreement
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, Safe
Harbor Agreements, and the subsequent enhancement of survival permits
that are issued pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), encourage private and other non-Federal property owners
to implement conservation measures for federally 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 enhancement of
survival permits through Safe Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR
17.22(c).
Land subject to this Agreement (i.e., enrolled land) involve
approximately 14 acres within the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve
District in DuPage County, Illinois. The land consists of mowed turf
grass, several buildings, a gravel driveway, several picnic shelters,
septic systems, and a series of fish ponds that are groundwater fed via
a system of pipes and artesian wells. Currently, the land does not
provide any suitable habitat for HED.
The purpose of this SHA is to facilitate management actions that
results in an increased population of HED on land and water within
Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois.
Specifically, this refers to management actions proposed for the fish
farm parcel and adjoining land within said preserve that is owned and
managed by the District, a local public agency. Without the Agreement
and proposed management actions, the enrolled land is unlikely to
support any HED in the foreseeable future. The proposed duration of the
Agreement and permit is 15 years.
Upon approval of this Agreement, 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 District
authorizing take of HED incidental to the implementation of the
management activities specified in the Agreement and other lawful uses
of the properties, including normal routine land management activities,
and/or to return to pre-Agreement conditions (baseline).
Decisions
We will evaluate this permit application, associated documents, and
comments submitted thereon to determine whether the permit application
meets the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act. If we
determine that the requirements are met, we will sign the Agreement and
issue an enhancement of survival permit to the Applicant for take of
HED 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 we will fully consider all
comments received during the comment period.
Dated: February 15, 2008.
Lynn Lewis,
Assistant Regional Director, Acting, Ecological Services, Region 3,
Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
[FR Doc. E8-5741 Filed 3-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P