Proposed Joint Programmatic Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances and Safe Harbor Agreement for Select Species in the Upper Little Red River Watershed, Arkansas, 53129-53130 [E6-14867]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 174 / Friday, September 8, 2006 / Notices
Specific Information Requested for the
Arkansas Fatmucket
We are especially interested in
information on species biology,
population trends, distribution,
abundance, demographics, and genetics;
habitat conditions, including amount,
distribution, and stability; conservation
measures that have been implemented
that benefit the species; threat status
and trends; and other new information,
data, or corrections, including
taxonomic or nomenclatural changes,
identification of erroneous information
and improved analytical methods.
required to disclose your name and
address pursuant to the Freedom of
Information Act. We will not consider
anonymous comments, however. We
will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
Specific Information Requested for the
Black Clubshell, Flat Pigtoe,
Stirrupshell
We are especially interested in
learning of extant locations for these
three mussels. Section 4(a)(1) of the Act
requires that our determination be made
on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available.
Dated: July 21, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6–14866 Filed 9–7–06; 8:45 am]
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
What could happen as a result of this
review?
If we find that there is new
information concerning any of these 14
species indicating that a change in
classification may be warranted, we may
propose a new rule that could do one of
the following: (a) Reclassify the species
from endangered to threatened
(downlist); (b) reclassify the species
from threatened to endangered (uplist);
or (c) delist the species. If we determine
that a change in classification is not
warranted, then the species will remain
on the List under its current status.
Public Solicitation of New Information
We request any new information
concerning the status of any of these 14
species. See ‘‘What information is
considered in the review?’’ heading for
specific criteria. Information submitted
should be supported by documentation
such as maps, bibliographic references,
methods used to gather and analyze the
data, and/or copies of any pertinent
publications, reports, or letters by
knowledgeable sources. Our practice is
to make comments, including names
and home addresses of respondents,
available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we
withhold their home addresses from the
supporting record, which we will honor
to the extent allowable by law. There
also may be circumstances in which we
may withhold from the supporting
record a respondent’s identity, as
allowable by law. If you wish us to
withhold your name and/or address,
you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comment, but you
should be aware that the Service may be
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:38 Sep 07, 2006
Jkt 208001
Authority
This document is published under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Joint Programmatic
Candidate Conservation Agreement
with Assurances and Safe Harbor
Agreement for Select Species in the
Upper Little Red River Watershed,
Arkansas
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public
that the Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Arkansas Ecological Service Field Office
(ARFO), Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission (AGFC), Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS), and The
Nature Conservancy (TNC), have
applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service
(we or Service) for an enhancement of
survival permit (permit) pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
The permit application includes a
proposal that combines a Candidate
Conservation Agreement with
Assurances (CCAA) for the candidate
yellowcheek darter (Etheostoma moorei;
YCD) with a Safe Harbor Agreement
(SHA) for the federally endangered
speckled pocketbook (Lampsilis
streckeri; SPB)—jointly referred to as
the ‘‘Agreement.’’ The term of the
Agreement will be 30 years. If approved,
the Agreement would allow the
Applicants to issue Certificates of
Inclusion (CI) throughout the upper
Little Red River Watershed in Arkansas
to eligible non-Federal landowners that
complete an approved Property Owner
Management Agreement (POMA).
We announce the opening of a 30-day
comment period and request comments
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Fmt 4703
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53129
from the public on the Applicant’s
permit application, the accompanying
proposed Agreement, and the
supporting National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) documentation.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before October 10, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of
the information available by contacting
the Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Arkansas Ecological Services
Field Office, 1500 Museum Road, Suite
105, Conway, Arkansas 72032.
Alternatively, you may set up an
appointment to view these documents
during normal business hours. Written
data or comments should be submitted
to the Service’s Regional Safe Harbor
Coordinator, Fish and Wildlife Service,
1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200,
Atlanta, Georgia 30345. Note that
requests for any documents must be in
writing to be processed. When you are
requesting or reviewing the information
provided in this notice, please reference
‘‘Programmatic CCAA and SHA in the
Upper Little Red River’’ in any
correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Chris Davidson, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Arkansas Ecological Services
Field Office (see ADDRESSES above),
telephone (501) 513–4481; or Mr. Rick
Gooch, Regional Safe Harbor Program
Coordinator, Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone (404) 679–
7124.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under a
CCAA, participating property owners
voluntarily undertake management
activities on their property to enhance,
restore, or maintain habitat benefiting
candidate species for listing under the
Act. CCAAs encourage private and other
non-Federal property owners to
implement conservation efforts for
candidate species by assuring property
owners they will not be subjected to
increased property use restrictions
should the species become listed as
threatened or endangered under the Act.
Under a SHA, participating property
owners voluntarily undertake
management activities on their property
to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat
benefiting federally listed species under
the Act. SHAs encourage private and
other non-Federal property owners to
implement conservation efforts for
federally listed species by assuring
property owners they will not be
subjected to increased property use
restrictions under the Act. Application
requirements and issuance criteria for
SHAs and CCAAs are found in 50 CFR
17.22(d) and 50 CFR 17.32(d),
respectively. Because of the significant
overlap between the two covered
E:\FR\FM\08SEN1.SGM
08SEN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
53130
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 174 / Friday, September 8, 2006 / Notices
species’ habitat requirements and the
anticipated beneficial effects from
implementation of the voluntary
conservation measures on both species,
we believe that it is appropriate to
combine the CCAA/SHA elements in a
single Agreement for consideration in
this notice.
The ARFO, AFGC, NRCS, and TNC’s
proposed watershed wide joint
Agreement is designed to encourage
voluntary habitat restoration and/or
enhancement actions to benefit either or
both of the covered species. The
geographic scope of the Agreement is
approximately 558,615 acres of the
upper Little Red River watershed in
north central Arkansas. Lands
potentially eligible for inclusion include
all privately owned lands, State lands,
and public lands owned by cities,
counties, and municipalities, with
potentially suitable habitat for the
covered species in the upper Little Red
River watershed. Simultaneous to
implementation of voluntary
management actions through the
individual landowner agreements (the
POMA), the Agreement will provide
specific regulatory assurances.
Under the Agreement’s CCAA
program element (covering the YCD),
the landowner will not have any
responsibility under the Act beyond that
which exists at the time he or she enters
into the program, even if the YCD
becomes federally listed. The POMA
will identify any existing YCD habitat
and will describe the actions that the
landowner commits to take (e.g.,
riparian revegetation, livestock fencing,
etc.) or will allow to be taken to improve
YCD habitat on the property, and the
time period within which those actions
are to be taken and maintained. When
combined with actions of other
landowners throughout the watershed,
conservation actions taken by a specific
landowner should preclude the need to
list the YCD as threatened or
endangered under the Act.
Under the Agreement’s SHA element
(covering the SPB), each POMA will
identify any existing SPB habitat on the
landowner’s property and will describe
the actions that the landowner commits
to take (e.g., riparian revegetation,
livestock fencing, etc.) or will allow to
be taken to improve SPB habitat on the
property, and the time period within
which those actions are to be taken and
maintained. Under the POMA, the
landowner will have the option of
returning the enrolled lands to baseline
conditions, even if such actions will
result in the incidental taking of SPB.
The proposed Agreement is being
evaluated for Categorical Exclusion from
the NEPA process. As a result, no other
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19:38 Sep 07, 2006
Jkt 208001
alternatives have been evaluated to
implement conservation efforts for
either the YCD or SPB at this time.
Entering into a POMA is strictly
voluntary for landowners. We do not
foresee any detrimental effects to the
human environment resulting from
approval and implementation of this
application and Agreement. We believe
that the net effect of the Agreement will
be to increase the amount of habitat
available for the two covered species
and improve overall water quality
conditions throughout the watershed. It
is therefore likely that the Agreement
will meet the requirements to be
categorically excluded from the NEPA
process.
We provide this notice pursuant to
section 10(c) of the Endangered Species
Act and pursuant to implementing
regulations for the National
Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR
1506.6). We will evaluate the proposed
Agreement, associated documents, and
comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the requirements of
section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA
regulations have been met. If we
determine that the requirements are
met, we will issue a permit under
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the
Applicants in accordance with the
applicable regulatory requirements. We
will not make our final decision until
after the end of the 30-day comment
period and will fully consider all
comments received during the comment
period.
Dated: August 30, 2006.
Ed Buskirk,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6–14867 Filed 9–7–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed John W. Starr Memorial
Forest, Mississippi State University
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Safe
Harbor Agreement, Oktibbeha and
Winston Counties, MS
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Mississippi State University
(MSU or Applicant) has applied to the
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for
an enhancement of survival permit
(ESP) under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (Act). The ESP application
includes a proposed Safe Harbor
Agreement (Agreement) for the
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Frm 00055
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
endangered red-cockaded woodpecker
(Picoides borealis) (RCW) for a period of
20 years. If approved, the Agreement
would allow the Applicant to establish
and enhance RCW habitat on the John
W. Starr Memorial Forest (JSMF).
We announce the opening of a 30-day
comment period and request comments
from the public on the Applicant’s ESP
application, the accompanying
proposed Agreement, and the
supporting Environmental Action
Statement (EAS) Screening Form.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before October 10, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of
the information available by contacting
the Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Ecological Services Field
Office, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway,
Suite A, Jackson, Mississippi 39213.
Alternatively, you may set up an
appointment to view these documents
during normal business hours. Written
data or comments should be submitted
to the Service’s Regional Safe Harbor
Coordinator, Fish and Wildlife Service,
1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200,
Atlanta, Georgia 30345. Note that
requests for any documents must be in
writing to be processed. When you are
requesting or reviewing the information
provided in this notice, please reference
‘‘Proposed Mississippi State University
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor
Agreement’’ in any correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Kathy Lunceford, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Mississippi Ecological
Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES),
telephone: (601) 321–1132; or Mr. Rick
Gooch, Regional Safe Harbor Program
Coordinator at the Service’s Southeast
Regional Office (see ADDRESSES),
telephone: (404) 679–7124.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under a
Safe Harbor Agreement, participating
property owners voluntarily undertake
management activities on their property
to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat
benefiting species listed under the Act.
Safe Harbor Agreements encourage
private and other non-Federal property
owners to implement conservation
efforts for listed species by assuring
property owners that they will not be
subjected to increased property use
restrictions if their efforts attract listed
species to their property or increase the
numbers or distributions of listed
species already on their property.
Application requirements and issuance
criteria for ESPs through Safe Harbor
Agreements are found in 50 CFR 17.22
and 17.32.
MSU’s proposed Agreement is
designed to allow for management
activities for the RCW on the JSMF and
E:\FR\FM\08SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 174 (Friday, September 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53129-53130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14867]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Joint Programmatic Candidate Conservation Agreement with
Assurances and Safe Harbor Agreement for Select Species in the Upper
Little Red River Watershed, Arkansas
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Fish and Wildlife
Service's Arkansas Ecological Service Field Office (ARFO), Arkansas
Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), have applied to the Fish and
Wildlife Service (we or Service) for an enhancement of survival permit
(permit) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application includes a proposal
that combines a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA)
for the candidate yellowcheek darter (Etheostoma moorei; YCD) with a
Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for the federally endangered speckled
pocketbook (Lampsilis streckeri; SPB)--jointly referred to as the
``Agreement.'' The term of the Agreement will be 30 years. If approved,
the Agreement would allow the Applicants to issue Certificates of
Inclusion (CI) throughout the upper Little Red River Watershed in
Arkansas to eligible non-Federal landowners that complete an approved
Property Owner Management Agreement (POMA).
We announce the opening of a 30-day comment period and request
comments from the public on the Applicant's permit application, the
accompanying proposed Agreement, and the supporting National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before October 10,
2006.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of the information available by
contacting the Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Arkansas
Ecological Services Field Office, 1500 Museum Road, Suite 105, Conway,
Arkansas 72032. Alternatively, you may set up an appointment to view
these documents during normal business hours. Written data or comments
should be submitted to the Service's Regional Safe Harbor Coordinator,
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,
Georgia 30345. Note that requests for any documents must be in writing
to be processed. When you are requesting or reviewing the information
provided in this notice, please reference ``Programmatic CCAA and SHA
in the Upper Little Red River'' in any correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chris Davidson, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES
above), telephone (501) 513-4481; or Mr. Rick Gooch, Regional Safe
Harbor Program Coordinator, Regional Office (see ADDRESSES above),
telephone (404) 679-7124.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under a CCAA, participating property owners
voluntarily undertake management activities on their property to
enhance, restore, or maintain habitat benefiting candidate species for
listing under the Act. CCAAs encourage private and other non-Federal
property owners to implement conservation efforts for candidate species
by assuring property owners they will not be subjected to increased
property use restrictions should the species become listed as
threatened or endangered under the Act. Under a SHA, participating
property owners voluntarily undertake management activities on their
property to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat benefiting federally
listed species under the Act. SHAs encourage private and other non-
Federal property owners to implement conservation efforts for federally
listed species by assuring property owners they will not be subjected
to increased property use restrictions under the Act. Application
requirements and issuance criteria for SHAs and CCAAs are found in 50
CFR 17.22(d) and 50 CFR 17.32(d), respectively. Because of the
significant overlap between the two covered
[[Page 53130]]
species' habitat requirements and the anticipated beneficial effects
from implementation of the voluntary conservation measures on both
species, we believe that it is appropriate to combine the CCAA/SHA
elements in a single Agreement for consideration in this notice.
The ARFO, AFGC, NRCS, and TNC's proposed watershed wide joint
Agreement is designed to encourage voluntary habitat restoration and/or
enhancement actions to benefit either or both of the covered species.
The geographic scope of the Agreement is approximately 558,615 acres of
the upper Little Red River watershed in north central Arkansas. Lands
potentially eligible for inclusion include all privately owned lands,
State lands, and public lands owned by cities, counties, and
municipalities, with potentially suitable habitat for the covered
species in the upper Little Red River watershed. Simultaneous to
implementation of voluntary management actions through the individual
landowner agreements (the POMA), the Agreement will provide specific
regulatory assurances.
Under the Agreement's CCAA program element (covering the YCD), the
landowner will not have any responsibility under the Act beyond that
which exists at the time he or she enters into the program, even if the
YCD becomes federally listed. The POMA will identify any existing YCD
habitat and will describe the actions that the landowner commits to
take (e.g., riparian revegetation, livestock fencing, etc.) or will
allow to be taken to improve YCD habitat on the property, and the time
period within which those actions are to be taken and maintained. When
combined with actions of other landowners throughout the watershed,
conservation actions taken by a specific landowner should preclude the
need to list the YCD as threatened or endangered under the Act.
Under the Agreement's SHA element (covering the SPB), each POMA
will identify any existing SPB habitat on the landowner's property and
will describe the actions that the landowner commits to take (e.g.,
riparian revegetation, livestock fencing, etc.) or will allow to be
taken to improve SPB habitat on the property, and the time period
within which those actions are to be taken and maintained. Under the
POMA, the landowner will have the option of returning the enrolled
lands to baseline conditions, even if such actions will result in the
incidental taking of SPB.
The proposed Agreement is being evaluated for Categorical Exclusion
from the NEPA process. As a result, no other alternatives have been
evaluated to implement conservation efforts for either the YCD or SPB
at this time. Entering into a POMA is strictly voluntary for
landowners. We do not foresee any detrimental effects to the human
environment resulting from approval and implementation of this
application and Agreement. We believe that the net effect of the
Agreement will be to increase the amount of habitat available for the
two covered species and improve overall water quality conditions
throughout the watershed. It is therefore likely that the Agreement
will meet the requirements to be categorically excluded from the NEPA
process.
We provide this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the Endangered
Species Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for the National
Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1506.6). We will evaluate the proposed
Agreement, associated documents, and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA
regulations have been met. If we determine that the requirements are
met, we will issue a permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the
Applicants in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements.
We will not make our final decision until after the end of the 30-day
comment period and will fully consider all comments received during the
comment period.
Dated: August 30, 2006.
Ed Buskirk,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6-14867 Filed 9-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
