Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for the Columbia Spotted Frog at Sam Noble Springs, Owyhee County, ID, 5358-5359 [E6-1302]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 1, 2006 / Notices
program’s Notice of Funding
Availability includes: a project
summary and narrative; letter of
appropriate government endorsement;
brief curricula vitae for key project
personnel; and complete standard forms
424, 424a and 424b. Proposals from U.S.
applicants also include a copy of the
organization’s Negotiated Indirect Cost
Rate Agreement (NICRA) (if applicable).
The project summary and narrative is
the basis for this information collection
request for approval, and allows the
review panel to assess how well the
project addresses the priorities
identified by the Act. As all of the
projects under this Act will be
conducted outside the United States, the
letter of appropriate government
endorsement ensures that the proposed
activities will not meet with local
resistance or work in opposition to
locally identified priorities and needs.
Brief curricula vitae for key project
personnel allow the review panel to
assess the qualifications of project staff
to effectively carry out the project goals
and objectives. Although the standard
forms are only required for U.S.
financial assistance applicants, we ask
all applicants to submit these forms in
order to allow for more uniformity
across all proposals. As all Federal
entities are required to honor the
indirect cost rates an organization has
negotiated with their cognizant agency,
we require all organizations with a
NICRA to submit the agreement
paperwork with their proposals to verify
how their rate is applied in their
proposed budget.
We believe the information requested
in this collection, outside of the
required standard forms, is the
minimum information necessary to
allow the review panel sufficient
technical, financial, and administrative
information to determine the merits of
each proposal, and to select the best
projects for funding.
Title: Marine Turtle Conservation
Fund Grant Program.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0128.
Service Form Numbers: None.
Frequency of Collection: Annually.
Description of Respondents: Foreign
governments; domestic and foreign
nongovernmental organizations, and
individuals.
Total Annual Responses: 95 responses
(55 proposals, 40 reports).
Total Annual Burden Hours: 1260
hours (12 hours/proposal and 15 hours/
report).
Several recent applicants provided
comments on (1) the clarity of the
submission instructions, (2) the
estimated length of time to complete a
submission, and (3) ways to improve the
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:49 Jan 31, 2006
Jkt 208001
documents. Most of the comments
related to difficulties encountered filling
in the standard Federal forms where
English was not the applicant’s first
language. To provide better service to
this worldwide program, we are
developing additional instructions for
filling in the standard forms in a variety
of languages including Spanish, French
and Portuguese. We will publish these
instructions on our Web site in the
future.
We again invite comments concerning
this collection on: (1) Whether or not
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether or not the information will
have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of
the agency’s estimate of burden on the
public; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (4) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond.
Dated: January 26, 2006.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6–1315 Filed 1–31–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Proposed Candidate Conservation
Agreement With Assurances for the
Columbia Spotted Frog at Sam Noble
Springs, Owyhee County, ID
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The State of Idaho (Idaho
Department of Lands and the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game) have
applied to the 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 proposed Candidate
Conservation Agreement with
Assurances for the Columbia spotted
frog at Sam Noble Springs, Owyhee
County, Idaho (Agreement) between the
Service, and the State of Idaho. Also
available is a draft environmental
assessment evaluating the proposed
Agreement and permit.
Under the proposed Agreement, the
parties would implement conservation
measures for Columbia spotted frogs
(Rana luteiventris; CSF) over
approximately 680 acres (275 ha) in
Owyhee County, Idaho. The intent of
the proposed Agreement would be to
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
conserve CSFs by protecting and
enhancing habitat and populations, in a
manner that is consistent with the
State’s land use activities and the
Agreement. The proposed term of the
Agreement and the permit is 22 years.
The Service has prepared a draft
Environmental Assessment for approval
of the Agreement and issuance of the
permit.
We request comments from the public
on the permit application, proposed
Agreement, and the draft Environmental
Assessment. All comments we receive,
including names and addresses, will
become part of the administrative record
and may be released to the public.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before March 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
addressed to Carmen Thomas, Project
Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Service,
1387 S. Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise,
Idaho 83709 (telephone: 208/378–5243;
facsimile: 208/378–5262).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carmen Thomas at the above address or
telephone 208/378–5243.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Document Availability
You may obtain copies of the
documents for review by contacting the
individual named above. You also may
make an appointment to view the
documents at the above address during
normal business hours.
Background
Under a Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances,
participating landowners voluntarily
implement conservation activities on
their property to benefit species that are
proposed for listing under the Act, or
other sensitive species. Candidate
Conservation Agreements with
Assurances encourage private and other
non-Federal property owners to
implement conservation efforts, and
reduce threats to unlisted species by
assuring them they will not be subjected
to increased property use restrictions,
beyond those identified in the
agreement, if the species is listed in the
future under the Act. Application
requirements and issuance criteria for
enhancement of survival permits
through Candidate Conservation
Agreements with Assurances are found
in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d).
Populations of the CSF are found from
Alaska and British Columbia to
Washington east of the Cascades,
eastern Oregon, Idaho, the Bighorn
Mountains of Wyoming, the Mary’s,
Reese, and Owyhee River systems of
Nevada, the Wasatch Mountains, and
E:\FR\FM\01FEN1.SGM
01FEN1
cchase on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 1, 2006 / Notices
the western desert of Utah (Green et al.
1997). Genetic evidence (Green et al.
1997) indicates that CSFs may be a
single species with three subspecies, or
may be several weakly-differentiated
species. The Service currently
recognizes four populations based on
disjunct distribution: Northern, Great
Basin, Wasatch, and West Desert. CSFs
are believed to be abundant within the
Northern population of the species’
range from Alaska to Wyoming (Gomez
1994). The other three disjunct
populations (Great Basin, Wasatch, and
West Desert) received candidate status
in 1993 based on the loss of
subpopulations in a number of areas in
Nevada (58 FR 27260). At that time, the
Great Basin population was given a
listing priority of 9; in 2001 the priority
was raised to 3 (the highest listing rank
possible for a subspecies), based upon
the discovery of Chytridiomycosis in the
Owyhee subpopulation, declining
numbers, and the imminence of threats.
The CSF is known to occur in Owyhee
and Twin Falls counties, Idaho.
Columbia Spotted Frogs at Sam Noble
Springs are part of the Great Basin
Population of frogs, which is a
candidate for listing under the Act.
Threats to this population mainly
include impacts to, or loss of, habitat—
specifically, the loss of perennial
wetlands used for feeding, breeding,
hibernating, and migrating. Improperly
managed livestock grazing practices and
water use in areas where frogs occur
may contribute to habitat loss. The State
of Idaho has an opportunity at Sam
Noble Springs to address effects of
livestock grazing on CSF habitat while
continuing to meet their management
needs. By entering into the proposed
Agreement with the Service, the State of
Idaho would help ensure long-term
protection of a population of a species
that is a candidate for listing under the
Act, by significantly reducing the risk of
impacts to CSF habitat, while reducing
any long-term regulatory risk to their
ability to generate funds from those
lands if CSFs were listed and take
prohibitions limited their ability to lease
those lands for livestock grazing.
As a result of this conservation
opportunity and potential regulatory
concern, the State of Idaho developed
the proposed Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances for the CSF
at Sam Noble Springs, Owyhee County,
Idaho, in cooperation with the Service,
and is applying to the Service for a
permit under section 10(a) of the Act,
authorizing incidental take of CSFs.
Under the proposed Agreement and
permit, the State of Idaho and the
Service would implement various
conservation measures on the Sam
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:49 Jan 31, 2006
Jkt 208001
Noble Springs parcel. The conservation
measures under the proposed
Agreement are intended to reduce all
threats to the CSF that are controllable
by the State of Idaho within the project
area. Conservation measures that would
be implemented within the project area
include: (1) Altered timing and intensity
of livestock grazing; (2) installation of
grazing management structures; (3)
creation of additional livestock watering
ponds; (4) installation and operation of
a water collection facility serving a
livestock watering trough; (5)
maintenance of existing livestock
watering ponds; (6) management of
vegetation in and adjacent to occupied
CSF habitat; and (7) monitoring of CSF
populations and habitat condition to
determine effectiveness and compliance
with the Agreement. If issued, the
permit would authorize incidental take
of CSFs as a result of specified land
management practices related to
agriculture, livestock management, and
CSF habitat restoration.
We provide this notice pursuant to
section 10(c) of the Endangered Species
Act and implementing regulations for
the National Environmental Policy Act
(40 CFR 1506.6), in order to solicit
public review and comments on the
permit application and a related
environmental assessment. Comments
received will be considered in the
course of our evaluation of the proposed
permit under section 10(a) of the
Endangered Species Act and National
Environmental Policy Act. We will not
make our final decision on the
application until after completion of the
comment period and will fully consider
all comments received during the
comment period.
Dated: January 26, 2006.
David J. Wesley,
Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E6–1302 Filed 1–31–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Klamath River Basin Fisheries Task
Force
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, announce a meeting of the
Klamath River Basin Fisheries Task
Force. The meeting is open to the
public. The purpose of the meeting is to
allow affected interests to continue
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Fmt 4703
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5359
providing recommendations to us on
implementation of our program to
restore anadromous fisheries, including
salmon and steelhead, in the Klamath
River in California and Oregon.
DATE: The meeting will be from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on February 8, 2006, and from
8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on February 9, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Best Western Beachfront Inn, 16008
Boat Basin Road, Brookings, Oregon.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phil
Detrich, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1829 South Oregon
Street, Yreka, California 96097,
telephone (530) 842–5763.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under
section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), we
announce a meeting of the Klamath
River Fisheries Task Force. This task
force was established under the Klamath
River Basin Fishery Restoration Act (16
U.S.C. 460ss et seq.).
For background information on the
Task Force, please refer to the Federal
Register notice of the initial meeting
(July 8, 1987, 52 FR 25639).
Dated: January 25, 2006.
John Engbring,
Acting California/Nevada Operations
Manager, California/Nevada Office, Fish and
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6–1294 Filed 1–31–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Amendment to Notice of Availability of
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation’s
Proposed Coyote Business Park,
Umatilla County, OR
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public
that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is
amending its Notice of Availability of
the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation’s Proposed Coyote Business
Park, Umatilla County, Oregon, which
was published in the Federal Register
on December 16, 2005 (70 FR 74844).
This amendment adds 18 days to the
public comment period. All of the other
information in the December 16, 2005,
notice remains unchanged.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS
must now arrive by February 17, 2006.
E:\FR\FM\01FEN1.SGM
01FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5358-5359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1302]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for the
Columbia Spotted Frog at Sam Noble Springs, Owyhee County, ID
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The State of Idaho (Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game) have applied to the 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 proposed Candidate
Conservation Agreement with Assurances for the Columbia spotted frog at
Sam Noble Springs, Owyhee County, Idaho (Agreement) between the
Service, and the State of Idaho. Also available is a draft
environmental assessment evaluating the proposed Agreement and permit.
Under the proposed Agreement, the parties would implement
conservation measures for Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris;
CSF) over approximately 680 acres (275 ha) in Owyhee County, Idaho. The
intent of the proposed Agreement would be to conserve CSFs by
protecting and enhancing habitat and populations, in a manner that is
consistent with the State's land use activities and the Agreement. The
proposed term of the Agreement and the permit is 22 years. The Service
has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment for approval of the
Agreement and issuance of the permit.
We request comments from the public on the permit application,
proposed Agreement, and the draft Environmental Assessment. All
comments we receive, including names and addresses, will become part of
the administrative record and may be released to the public.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before March 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Carmen Thomas, Project
Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Room 368,
Boise, Idaho 83709 (telephone: 208/378-5243; facsimile: 208/378-5262).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmen Thomas at the above address or
telephone 208/378-5243.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Document Availability
You may obtain copies of the documents for review by contacting the
individual named above. You also may make an appointment to view the
documents at the above address during normal business hours.
Background
Under a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances,
participating landowners voluntarily implement conservation activities
on their property to benefit species that are proposed for listing
under the Act, or other sensitive species. Candidate Conservation
Agreements with Assurances encourage private and other non-Federal
property owners to implement conservation efforts, and reduce threats
to unlisted species by assuring them they will not be subjected to
increased property use restrictions, beyond those identified in the
agreement, if the species is listed in the future under the Act.
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of
survival permits through Candidate Conservation Agreements with
Assurances are found in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d).
Populations of the CSF are found from Alaska and British Columbia
to Washington east of the Cascades, eastern Oregon, Idaho, the Bighorn
Mountains of Wyoming, the Mary's, Reese, and Owyhee River systems of
Nevada, the Wasatch Mountains, and
[[Page 5359]]
the western desert of Utah (Green et al. 1997). Genetic evidence (Green
et al. 1997) indicates that CSFs may be a single species with three
subspecies, or may be several weakly-differentiated species. The
Service currently recognizes four populations based on disjunct
distribution: Northern, Great Basin, Wasatch, and West Desert. CSFs are
believed to be abundant within the Northern population of the species'
range from Alaska to Wyoming (Gomez 1994). The other three disjunct
populations (Great Basin, Wasatch, and West Desert) received candidate
status in 1993 based on the loss of subpopulations in a number of areas
in Nevada (58 FR 27260). At that time, the Great Basin population was
given a listing priority of 9; in 2001 the priority was raised to 3
(the highest listing rank possible for a subspecies), based upon the
discovery of Chytridiomycosis in the Owyhee subpopulation, declining
numbers, and the imminence of threats. The CSF is known to occur in
Owyhee and Twin Falls counties, Idaho.
Columbia Spotted Frogs at Sam Noble Springs are part of the Great
Basin Population of frogs, which is a candidate for listing under the
Act. Threats to this population mainly include impacts to, or loss of,
habitat--specifically, the loss of perennial wetlands used for feeding,
breeding, hibernating, and migrating. Improperly managed livestock
grazing practices and water use in areas where frogs occur may
contribute to habitat loss. The State of Idaho has an opportunity at
Sam Noble Springs to address effects of livestock grazing on CSF
habitat while continuing to meet their management needs. By entering
into the proposed Agreement with the Service, the State of Idaho would
help ensure long-term protection of a population of a species that is a
candidate for listing under the Act, by significantly reducing the risk
of impacts to CSF habitat, while reducing any long-term regulatory risk
to their ability to generate funds from those lands if CSFs were listed
and take prohibitions limited their ability to lease those lands for
livestock grazing.
As a result of this conservation opportunity and potential
regulatory concern, the State of Idaho developed the proposed Candidate
Conservation Agreement with Assurances for the CSF at Sam Noble
Springs, Owyhee County, Idaho, in cooperation with the Service, and is
applying to the Service for a permit under section 10(a) of the Act,
authorizing incidental take of CSFs.
Under the proposed Agreement and permit, the State of Idaho and the
Service would implement various conservation measures on the Sam Noble
Springs parcel. The conservation measures under the proposed Agreement
are intended to reduce all threats to the CSF that are controllable by
the State of Idaho within the project area. Conservation measures that
would be implemented within the project area include: (1) Altered
timing and intensity of livestock grazing; (2) installation of grazing
management structures; (3) creation of additional livestock watering
ponds; (4) installation and operation of a water collection facility
serving a livestock watering trough; (5) maintenance of existing
livestock watering ponds; (6) management of vegetation in and adjacent
to occupied CSF habitat; and (7) monitoring of CSF populations and
habitat condition to determine effectiveness and compliance with the
Agreement. If issued, the permit would authorize incidental take of
CSFs as a result of specified land management practices related to
agriculture, livestock management, and CSF habitat restoration.
We provide this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the Endangered
Species Act and implementing regulations for the National Environmental
Policy Act (40 CFR 1506.6), in order to solicit public review and
comments on the permit application and a related environmental
assessment. Comments received will be considered in the course of our
evaluation of the proposed permit under section 10(a) of the Endangered
Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act. We will not make our
final decision on the application until after completion of the comment
period and will fully consider all comments received during the comment
period.
Dated: January 26, 2006.
David J. Wesley,
Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E6-1302 Filed 1-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
