[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 238 (Monday, December 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89498-89499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29677]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N093; FF04E00000-1113-0000-178]
Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Florida Department of
Military Affairs, via the Florida Armory Board (applicant), has applied
for an enhancement of survival permit associated with a candidate
conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit application
includes a proposed CCAA between the applicant, the Service, and the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 22 species,
including 2 Federal candidate species--the striped newt and the gopher
tortoise--and 20 other at-risk species, including Florida State-listed
species. The CCAA will cover 46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint
Training Center, which is located in Clay County, Florida. The duration
of the CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application.
DATES: We must receive written comments at our Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES) on or before January 11, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents for Review: You may obtain a copy of the
application and associated documents by contacting Mr. Jay Herrington,
Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, North Florida Ecological
Services Field Office, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL
32256. Documents are also available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife
Service's Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345,
or at the Service's North Florida Ecological Services Field Office.
Note that requests for application documents must be in writing to be
processed. When requesting information about or submitting comments
regarding this notice, please reference ``Camp Blanding Candidate
Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B'' in your
correspondence.
Submitting Comments: See the Public Comments section under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Harris, At-Risk Species
Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone:
404-679-7066; or Ms. Lourdes Mena, Endangered Species Biologist, at the
North Florida Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES),
telephone: 904-731-3119.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice advises the public that the
Florida Department of Military Affairs via the Florida Armory Board
(applicant) has applied for an enhancement of survival permit (permit)
associated with a candidate conservation agreement with assurances
(CCAA) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit application includes a proposed CCAA
between the applicant, the Service, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission for 22 species, including 2 Federal candidate
species--the striped newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and the gopher
tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)--and 20 other at-risk species, including
Florida State-listed species (covered species). The CCAA will cover
46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, which is
located in Clay County, Florida (enrolled lands). The duration of the
CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application.
Introduction
CCAAs encourage private and other non-Federal property owners to
implement conservation efforts for candidate and at-risk species while
providing regulatory assurances to the property owners that they will
not be subjected to increased property use restrictions should the
species become listed as threatened or endangered under the Act.
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of
survival permits through CCAAs are found in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and
17.32(d).
Under the CCAA, the applicant agrees to voluntarily undertake
conservation practices on the enrolled lands to protect, enhance,
restore, and/or maintain habitat benefiting the covered species. In
turn, the applicant will receive regulatory assurances and incidental
take authorization should a covered species be federally listed in the
future. The conservation practices vary according to the six habitat
types that support the covered species on the enrolled lands. These
practices include use of prescribed fire and thinning to maintain
forest habitats, protection of wetlands and streams through the
maintenance of riparian zones and prohibition of impoundments and
channelization, and other actions such as monitoring and control of
invasive exotic species.
Request for Information
We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the
public via this notice on our proposed Federal action, including our
determination that the applicant's proposal, including the proposed
mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or negligible
effects on the species covered in their CCAA. Therefore, our proposed
issuance of the requested permit qualifies as a categorical exclusion
under the National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by Department
of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215). A low-
effect CCAA is one involving (1) Minor or negligible effects on
federally listed or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor
or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. We
also solicit information regarding the adequacy of the CCAA per 50 CFR
parts 13 and 17.
Public Comments
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
request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
[[Page 89499]]
If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by one of the
following methods. You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife
Service's Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or comment via the
internet to michael_harris@fws.gov. Please include your name and return
address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation
from us that we have received your email message, contact us directly
at either of the telephone numbers listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. You also may hand-deliver comments to either of our offices
listed under ADDRESSES. Please reference ``Camp Blanding Candidate
Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B'' in any comments you
submit.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the applicant's enhancement of survival permit
application, including the CCAA and any comments we receive, to
determine whether the permit issuance requirements of section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act are met. We will also evaluate via an intra-
Service consultation on whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(A)
permit would comply with section 7 of the Act. If we determine that the
requirements are met, we will issue the requested permit to the
applicant in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements. We
will not make a final decision on whether to issue the permit until
after the close of the 30-day comment period.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: December 2, 2016.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-29677 Filed 12-9-16; 8:45 am]
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