[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44038-44039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15963]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R6-ES-2016-N075; FXES1115XPSAGEG-167-FF06E13000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Enhancement of
Survival Permit Applications; Greater Sage-Grouse Umbrella Candidate
Conservation Agreement With Assurances for Wyoming Ranch Management
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 applications for enhancement of survival permits (EOS permits)
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), pursuant to
the Greater Sage-grouse Umbrella Candidate Conservation Agreement with
Assurances for Wyoming Ranch Management (Umbrella CCAA). The permit
applications, if approved, would authorize incidental take associated
with implementation of specified individual Candidate Conservation
Agreements with Assurances (individual CCAAs) developed in accordance
with the Umbrella CCAA. We invite the public to comment on the EOS
permit applications described below. The Act requires that we invite
public comment before issuing these permits.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
August 5, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submitting Comments: Send written comments by one of the
following methods. Please specify the permit(s) you are commenting on
by relevant number(s) (e.g., Permit No. TE-XXXXXX).
U.S. mail: Tyler Abbott, Wyoming Ecological Services Field
Office (ESFO), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5353 Yellowstone Road,
Suite 308A, Cheyenne, WY 82009.
Email: tyler_abbott@fws.gov.
Fax: Tyler Abbott, (307) 772-2358.
Reviewing Documents: You may review copies of the enhancement of
survival permit applications during
[[Page 44039]]
regular business hours at the Wyoming ESFO (see address above). You may
also request hard copies by telephone at (307) 772-2374, ext. 231, or
by letter to the Wyoming ESFO. Please specify the permit(s) you are
interested in by relevant number(s) (e.g., Permit No. TE-XXXXXX).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler Abbott, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, (307) 772-2374, ext. 231 (phone); tyler_abbott@fws.gov
(email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
A Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances is an agreement
with the Service in which private and other non-Federal landowners
voluntarily agree to undertake management activities and conservation
efforts on their properties to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat to
benefit species that are proposed for listing under the Act, that are
candidates for listing, or that may become candidates. The Service and
several State, Federal, and local partners developed the Umbrella CCAA
(available at http://www.fws.gov/wyominges) to provide Wyoming ranchers
with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve greater sage-grouse and
its habitat while carrying out their ranching activities. The Umbrella
CCAA was made available for public review and comment on February 7,
2013 (see 78 FR 9066), and was executed by the Service on November 8,
2013.
Pursuant to the Umbrella CCAA, ranchers in Wyoming may apply for an
EOS permit under the Act by agreeing to implement certain conservation
measures for the greater sage-grouse on their properties. These
conservation measures are specified in individual CCAAs for their
properties, which are developed in accordance with the Umbrella CCAA
and are subject to the terms and conditions stated in that agreement.
Landowners consult with the Service and other participating agencies to
develop an individual CCAA for their property, and submit it to the
Service for approval with their EOS permit application. If we approve
the individual CCAA and EOS permit application, we will issue an EOS
permit, under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
that authorizes incidental take of greater sage-grouse that results
from activities covered by the individual CCAA, should the species
become listed. Through the Umbrella CCAA and the individual CCAA and
EOS permit, we also provide assurances to participating landowners
that, if the greater sage-grouse is listed, and so long as they are
properly implementing their individual CCAA, we will not require any
conservation measures with respect to greater sage-grouse in addition
to those provided in the individual CCAA or impose additional land,
water, or financial commitments or restrictions on land, water, or
resource use in connection with the species. The EOS permit would
become effective on the effective date of listing of the greater sage-
grouse as endangered or threatened, and would continue through the end
of the individual CCAA's 20-year term. Regulatory requirements and
issuance criteria for EOS permits through a CCAA are found in 50 CFR
17.22(d) and 17.32(d), as well as 50 CFR part 13.
Applications Available for Review and Comment
We invite local, State, and Federal agencies and the public to
comment on the following EOS permit applications. The Umbrella CCAA, as
well as the individual CCAAs submitted with the permit applications,
are also available for review, subject to the requirements of the
Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.
552). The following applicants request approval of EOS permits for the
greater sage-grouse, pursuant to the Umbrella CCAA, for the purpose of
enhancing the species' survival.
Permit Application Number TE88360B-0
Applicant: Sommers Ranch LLC, Sublette County, Wyoming.
Permit Application Number TE88361B-0
Applicant: S. Robert Leaver Family Limited Partnership, Sublette
County, Wyoming.
Permit Application Number TE88365B-0
Applicant: Grindstone Cattle Company, Sublette County, Wyoming.
Permit Application Number TE88366B-0
Applicant: Chrisman Land Company, Inc., Sublette and Lincoln
Counties, Wyoming.
Permit Application Number TE88362B-0
Applicant: Piney Creeks Ranch, Sublette County, Wyoming.
Permit Application Number TE88363B-0
Applicant: Hi Allen Ranch, Carbon County, Wyoming.
Permit Application Number TE58909B-1
Applicant: Blake Sheep Co., Carbon and Sweetwater Counties,
Wyoming.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive in response to these requests
will become part of the public record, and will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the address
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
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 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.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act (16 U.S.C.
1539(c)).
Dated: June 17, 2016.
Michael G. Thabault,
Assistant Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-15963 Filed 7-5-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P