[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 138 (Friday, July 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43597-43598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15437]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2020-N073; FXES11140800000-201-FF08ECAR00]
Safe Harbor Agreement for the Reintroduction of the Amargosa Vole
(Microtus californicus scirpensis) in Shoshone, CA, and Draft
Environmental Action Statement, Inyo County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from Susan Sorrells (applicant) for an
enhancement of survival permit (permit) under the Endangered Species
Act. The application includes a draft safe harbor agreement (SHA) to
facilitate reintroduction and recovery of the federally endangered
Amargosa vole on non-Federal land in California. We have prepared a
draft environmental action statement (EAS) for our preliminary
determination that the SHA and permit decision may be eligible for
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. We
invite the public to review and comment on the permit application,
draft SHA, and the draft EAS.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments on or
before August 17, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may view or download copies of the draft SHA and draft
EAS and obtain additional information on the internet at https://www.fws.gov/carlsbad/, or obtain hard copies or a CD-ROM by calling the
phone number listed below. You may submit comments or requests for more
information by any of the following methods:
Email: fw8cfwocomments@fws.gov. Include ``Amargosa vole
SHA'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Assistant Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, 777 East
Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hoffmann, Palm Springs Fish and
Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); by telephone at 760-322-2070 or by
electronic mail at scott_hoffmann@fws.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Susan Sorrells, hereafter referred to as the
applicant, has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permit
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit application
includes a draft safe harbor agreement (SHA), which covers 467 acres
owned by the applicant in Inyo County, California. The proposed term of
the permit and the SHA is 30 years. The permit would authorize
incidental take of the endangered Amargosa vole (Microtus californicus
scirpensis) in exchange for habitat conservation actions that are
expected to provide a net conservation benefit for the species. We have
prepared a draft environmental action statement (EAS) for our
preliminary determination that the SHA and permit decision may be
eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA; 43 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We invite the public to
review and comment on the permit application, draft SHA, and the draft
EAS.
Background Information
SHAs are intended to encourage private or other non-Federal
property owners to implement beneficial conservation actions for
species listed under the ESA. SHA permit holders are assured that they
will not be subject to increased property use restrictions as a result
of their proactive actions to benefit listed species. Incidental take
of listed species is authorized under a permit pursuant to the
provisions of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA. For an applicant to
receive a permit through an SHA, the applicant must submit an
application form that includes the following:
(1) The common and scientific names of the listed species for which
the applicant requests incidental take authorization;
(2) A description of how incidental take of the listed species
pursuant to the SHA is likely to occur, both as a result of management
activities and as a result of the return to baseline; and
(3) A description of how the SHA complies with the requirements of
the Service's Safe Harbor policy.
For the Service to issue a permit, we must determine that:
(1) The take of listed species will be incidental to an otherwise
lawful activity and will be in accordance with the terms of the SHA;
(2) The implementation of the terms of the SHA is reasonably
expected to provide a net conservation benefit to the covered species
by contributing to its recovery, and the SHA otherwise complies with
the Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717, June 17, 1999);
(3) The probable direct and indirect effects of any authorized take
will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of survival and recovery in
the wild of any listed species;
(4) Implementation of the terms of the SHA is consistent with
applicable Federal, State, and Tribal laws and regulations;
(5) Implementation of the terms of the SHA will not be in conflict
with any ongoing conservation or recovery programs for listed species
covered by the permit; and
(6) The applicant has shown capability for and commitment to
implementing all of the terms of the SHA.
The Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717) and the Safe Harbor
Regulations (68 FR 53320, 69 FR 24084) provide important terms and
concepts for developing SHAs. The Service's Safe Harbor policy and
regulations are
[[Page 43598]]
available at the following website: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/regulations-and-policies.html.
Proposed Action
The applicant has submitted a draft SHA for the Amargosa vole that
covers approximately 467 acres of land (enrolled property) in Inyo
County, California, within historical but currently unoccupied habitat
of the Amargosa vole. The enrolled property comprises marsh habitat in
areas irrigated by water from Shoshone Spring or other sources,
interspersed trees of various species, open meadow, various degrees of
undisturbed and disturbed salt scrub desert, and developed areas.
Development within the enrolled property includes the Shoshone Trailer
RV Park (camping sites, picnic areas, walking trails, and a swimming
pool), various parking areas, and unpaved trails and roads. The broader
Enrolled Property is bisected by Old State Highway CA 127 and State
Highway CA 127, and lies adjacent to land owned by the Death Valley
Unified School District. Within the enrolled property is a core area
comprising three connected marsh sites where intensive habitat
restoration activities have been implemented by the applicant, the
Service, and other cooperators.
The permit and implementation of management activities described in
the SHA will enable the translocation and reintroduction of wild
Amargosa voles, which will expand the species' current range into
historical habitat where it had previously been extirpated. Management
activities will also include ongoing restoration in the core area to
support this newly established population. The re-establishment of
Amargosa vole populations within their historical range is a high-
priority recovery action. Management activities in the SHA have been
developed to support recovery actions for the Amargosa vole by
restoring and protecting suitable habitat, and by implementing habitat
management plans. The Service anticipates that implementation of these
activities will produce the following net conservation benefits to the
Amargosa vole:
Re-establish Amargosa vole populations at the northern
extent of the subspecies' range, in its historical type locality;
Provide areas where suitable habitat for the Amargosa vole
will be maintained, protected, and remain relatively undisturbed;
Increase population redundancy within the subspecies'
range; and
Reduce the potential for local extirpation and extinction
due to stochastic events (e.g., wildfire and disease) within the
species' limited existing occupied habitat.
Species Information
The current range of the Amargosa vole is confined to 36 marshes in
the Lower Amargosa River Valley in the vicinity of Tecopa Hot Springs
and the northern end of the Amargosa Canyon. The Amargosa vole
obligately depends upon, and is closely associated with, wetland
vegetation dominated by Olney's three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus
americanus), where it generally occurs in isolated and disjunct marshes
surrounded by saltgrass-dominated habitats or more xeric desert scrub
or barren areas. Although not all of the mechanisms that drive habitat
selection are fully understood, plausible explanations for habitat
preference may include the presence of standing and flowing water,
reliance on Olney's three-square bulrush as a vital food source, and
utilization of bulrush litter layers (up to 3.3 feet in depth) for
thermoregulation, nesting, and predator avoidance.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
The development of the draft SHA and the proposed issuance of an
enhancement of survival permit are Federal actions that trigger the
need for compliance with the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We have
prepared a draft EAS to analyze the impacts of permit issuance and
implementation of the SHA on the human environment in comparison to the
no-action alternative. We have made a preliminary determination that
issuing the permit and implementing the SHA would have minor or
negligible impacts to the environment, and thus the proposed SHA and
permit actions are eligible for categorical exclusion under NEPA. The
basis for our preliminary determination is contained in the EAS, which
is available for public review (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 the ESA, NEPA, and their implementing regulations.
If we determine that all requirements are met, we will sign the
proposed SHA and issue a permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA to
the applicant. We will not make our final decision on the permit
application until after the end of the public comment period, and we
will fully consider all comments we receive during the comment period.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments 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 comment, you should be aware that the entire comment, including
your personal identifying information, may be made 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 ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and
17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Scott Sobiech,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Pacific Southwest
Region.
[FR Doc. 2020-15437 Filed 7-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P