[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 99 (Thursday, May 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30981-30982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10923]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2020-N057]; [FXES11140100000-201-FF01E00000]
Proposed Site Plan Under a Candidate Conservation Agreement With
Assurances for the Fisher in Oregon; Enhancement of Survival Permit
Application
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), received an
application for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) pursuant to
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). If granted, the
requested permit would authorize the applicant's take of the fisher,
incidental to otherwise lawful activities should the species become
federally listed under the ESA. The application is associated with a
template candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA)
developed by the Service for the conservation of the fisher. The
conservation measures in the CCAA are intended to provide a net
conservation benefit to the fisher. We have also prepared a draft
environmental action statement that the permit decision may be eligible
for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act.
We provide this notice to open a public comment period and invite
comments from all interested parties regarding the documents.
DATES: Submit written comments no later than June 22, 2020.
ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments,
please use one of the following methods:
Internet: Documents may be viewed on the internet at
http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/.
Email: ChinookCCAAcomments@fws.gov. Include ``Chinook
Fisher CCAA'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: State Supervisor, Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 2600 SE 98th Avenue, Suite 100;
Portland, OR 97266.
Fax: 503-231-6195, Attn: Fisher CCAA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Szlemp (see ADDRESSES);
telephone: 503-231-6179; facsimile: 503-231-6195. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf, please call the Federal Relay
Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), received an application for an enhancement of survival
permit (permit) from Chinook Forest Partners, LLC (applicant) in Oregon
pursuant to section 10(a)(l)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If granted, the requested
permit would authorize take of the fisher (Pekania pennanti) incidental
to the applicant's routine forest-related management activities should
the species become federally listed under the ESA. The application
includes a proposed individual site plan and is associated with a
template candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA)
developed by the Service for the conservation of the fisher. We have
prepared a draft environmental action statement (EAS) for our
preliminary determination that the permit decision may be eligible for
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We provide this notice to open a public
comment period
[[Page 30982]]
and invite comments from all interested parties regarding the documents
referenced above.
Background
A CCAA is a voluntary agreement whereby landowners agree to manage
their lands to remove or reduce threats to species that may become
listed under the ESA (64 FR 32726; June 17, 1999). CCAAs are intended
to facilitate the conservation of proposed and candidate species, and
species likely to become candidates in the near future, by giving non-
Federal property owners incentives to implement conservation measures
for declining species by providing certainty with regard to land,
water, or resource use restrictions that might be imposed should the
species later become listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA.
In return for managing their lands to the benefit of the covered
species, enrolled landowners receive assurances that additional
regulatory requirements pertaining to the covered species will not be
required if the covered species becomes listed as threatened or
endangered under the ESA, so long as the CCAA remains in place and is
being fully implemented.
A CCAA serves as the basis for the Service to issue permits to non-
Federal participants pursuant to section 10(a)(l)(A) of the ESA.
Application requirements and issuance criteria for permits under CCAAs
are found in the Code of Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(d) and
17.32(d). The Service developed a template CCAA for the West Coast
distinct population segment (DPS) of the fisher in Oregon and a draft
EAS for future issuance of permits under the finalized template to
comply with NEPA. The template CCAA and the EAS were noticed for
comment in the Federal Register (81 FR 15737; March 24, 2016). The
template CCAA and EAS were finalized and signed by the Service on June
20, 2018.
The CCAA template established general guidelines and identified
minimum conservation measures for potential participants in the CCAA.
Interested participants can voluntarily enroll their properties under
the CCAA through development of individual site plans prepared in
accordance with the provisions of the CCAA and that are submitted as
part of their permit applications. The permits would authorize
incidental take of the fisher with assurances to qualifying landowners
who carry out conservation measures that would benefit the West Coast
DPS of the fisher.
Proposed Actions
We have received an application for an ESA section 10(a)(l)(A)
permit under the template CCAA for the fisher from the applicant for
their identified lands in Oregon. Chinook Forest Partners, LLC,
including its subsidiary Chinook Forest Management, LLC, manages
timberland on behalf of Siskiyou Timberlands, LLC, and is responsible
for planning and carrying out forest management activities. Chinook
Forest Partners, LLC seeks to enroll all of its managed Oregon
timberlands in Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties. These
lands total approximately 62,000 acres in many separate parcels.
The requested permit would authorize incidental take of the fisher,
should it become federally listed and affected by the applicant's
routine forest-related management activities on their properties
through June 20, 2048. Fisher are not currently known to occur on the
applicant's proposed enrolled lands, but they have been located in the
past on nearby lands.
The permit application includes a proposed site plan that describes
the lands covered by the permit and the conservation measures required
under the template CCAA that will be implemented on covered lands. The
primary conservation measures provided in the site plan include:
Allowing access to covered lands to conduct fisher
surveys;
Protecting fisher dens and their young by limiting
disturbance and impacts to denning structures;
Limiting trapping/nuisance control for other animals that
could pose a risk to the fisher (trapping of fishers is prohibited by
State of Oregon law);
Allowing the potential future translocation of fishers
onto enrolled lands; and
Promoting the development of habitat structures that would
support the fisher.
Public Comments
We are making the permit application package, including the
individual site plan and draft EAS, available for public review and
comment (see ADDRESSES). The final template CCAA and EAS that were
finalized and signed by the Service on June 20, 2018, are also
available for public information. You may submit your comments and
materials by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. 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 our
proposed Federal action, including on the adequacy of the site plan
prepared in accordance with the template 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 personal identifying information
in your comments, 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. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
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).
Mary Abrams,
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-10923 Filed 5-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P