Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Oregon Silverspot Butterfly Along the Central Coast, Lane County, OR, 65830-65832 [E6-18970]
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65830
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 217 / Thursday, November 9, 2006 / Notices
This Notice also lists the following
information:
Title of Proposal: Civil Rights Front
End and Limited Monitoring Review.
OMB Control Number: 2577–new.
Description of the need for the
information and proposed use:
The information collected during the
onsite comprehensive reviews of Public
Housing Agencies (PHAs) will be used
by HUD to evaluate the PHAs’
compliance with civil rights and fair
housing laws and regulations
(Regulatory Authorities: 24 CFR 1.6(b);
24 CFR 8.55; 24 CFR 125).
Agency form number, if applicable:
None.
Members of affected public: Public
Housing Agencies
Estimation of the total number of
hours needed to prepare the information
collection including number of
respondents: The estimated total
number of burden hours needed to
prepare the information collection is 40;
the number of respondents is 20; the
frequency of response is annually; the
estimated time to gather and prepared
the necessary document is 2 hours per
submission.
Status of the proposed information
collection: New Collection.
Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35,
as amended.
Dated: November 3, 2006.
Bessy Kong,
Director, Office of Policy, Program and
Legislative Initiatives.
[FR Doc. E6–18888 Filed 11–8–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–5045–N–45]
Federal Property Suitable as Facilities
To Assist the Homeless
Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice
AGENCY:
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
SUMMARY: This Notice identifies
unutilized, underutilized, excess, and
surplus Federal property reviewed by
HUD for suitability for possible use to
assist the homeless.
DATES: Effective Date: November 9,
2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Ezzell, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, Room 7262,
451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20410; telephone (202) 708–1234;
TTY number for the hearing- and
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:26 Nov 08, 2006
Jkt 211001
speech-impaired (202) 708–2565, (these
telephone numbers are not toll-free), or
call the toll-free Title V information line
at 1–800–927–7588.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the December 12, 1988
court order in National Coalition for the
Homeless v. Veterans Administration,
No. 88–2503–OG (D.D.C.), HUD
publishes a Notice, on a weekly basis,
identifying unutilized, underutilized,
excess and surplus Federal buildings
and real property that HUD has
reviewed for suitability for use to assist
the homeless. Today’s Notice is for the
purpose of announcing that no
additional properties have been
determined suitable or unsuitable this
week.
Dated: November 1, 2006.
Mark R. Johnston,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special
Needs.
[FR Doc. 06–9085 Filed 11–8–06; 8:45am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–M
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered Species Recovery Permits
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and
receipt of application.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We announce the receipt of
an application to conduct certain
activities pertaining to enhancement of
survival of endangered species.
DATES: Written comments on this permit
application must be received by
December 11, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Written data or comments
should be submitted to the Assistant
Regional Director, Fisheries-Ecological
Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
P.O. Box 25486, Denver Federal Center,
Denver, Colorado 80225–0486; facsimile
303–236–0027. Documents and other
information submitted with these
applications are available for review,
subject to the requirements of the
Privacy Act [5 U.S.C. 552A] and
Freedom of Information Act [5 U.S.C.
552], by any party who submits a
request for a copy of such documents
within 20 days of the date of publication
of this notice to Kris Olsen, by mail or
by telephone at 303–236–4256. All
comments received from individuals
become part of the official public
record.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
following applicant has requested an
issuance of enhancement of survival
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Sfmt 4703
permit to conduct certain activities with
endangered species pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.).
Applicant: Craig Paukert, Kansas State
University, Manhattan, Kansas, TE–
136943. The applicant requests a permit
to take Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka)
in conjunction with recovery activities
throughout the species’ range for the
purpose of enhancing their survival and
recovery.
Dated: October 6, 2006.
James J. Slack,
Deputy Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.
[FR Doc. E6–18967 Filed 11–8–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor
Agreement for the Oregon Silverspot
Butterfly Along the Central Coast, Lane
County, OR
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of
application.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) has applied to the U.S. 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 Safe Harbor
Agreement (Agreement) between TNC
and the Service. The proposed term of
the permit and Agreement is 35 years.
The requested permit would authorize
TNC and private landowners to carry
out habitat management measures that
would benefit the federally-listed as
threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly
(Speyeria zerene hippolyta). The
covered area or geographic scope of this
Agreement includes all non-Federal
properties on the central coast of Oregon
located in whole or in part within the
approximately 7-mile corridor along the
central coast between Bray Point and
Big Creek in Lane County, Oregon. We
request comments from the public on
the permit application, proposed
Agreement, and related documents, all
of which are available for review.
DATES: Comments must be received
from interested parties on or before
December 11, 2006. The final permit
decision will be made no sooner than
December 11, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of
the documents for review by contacting
E:\FR\FM\09NON1.SGM
09NON1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 217 / Thursday, November 9, 2006 / Notices
Richard Szlemp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 2600 SE. 98th Ave., Suite 100,
Portland, Oregon 97266; facsimile (503)
231–6195; or by making an appointment
to view the documents at the above
address during normal business hours.
You may also view the documents on
the Internet through https://
www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/. You may
submit comments by postal mail/
commercial delivery or by e-mail. If you
use postal mail/commercial delivery,
please address written comments to
Kemper M. McMaster, State Supervisor,
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE. 98th
Ave., Suite 100, Portland, Oregon
97266, or facsimile (503) 231–6195. If
you wish to use e-mail, address your
comments to centralcoast_sha@fws.gov.
Include your name and address in your
comments and please refer to the TNC
Central Coast SHA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard Szlemp (see ADDRESSES) (503)
231–6179.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under a
Safe Harbor Agreement, participating
landowners voluntarily undertake
management activities on their property
to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat
benefiting species listed under the Act
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Safe Harbor
Agreements, and the subsequent
enhancement of survival permits that
are issued pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act, encourage private
and other non-Federal property owners
to implement conservation efforts for
listed species by assuring the
landowners that they will not be
subjected to increased property use
restrictions as a result of their efforts to
attract listed species to their property, or
to increase the numbers or distribution
of listed species already on their
property. Application requirements and
issuance criteria for enhancement of
survival permits through Safe Harbor
Agreements are found in 50 CFR
17.22(c). These permits allow any
necessary future incidental take of any
covered species above the mutually
agreed upon baseline conditions for
those species in accordance with the
terms of the permit and accompanying
agreement.
We have worked with TNC to develop
the proposed Agreement for the
conservation of the Oregon silverspot
butterfly within the central coast region
of Oregon, roughly between Bray Point
and Big Creek. The area covered by this
Agreement is about 7 miles long and
within 1 mile of the coastal waters of
the Pacific Ocean. Under this
programmatic Agreement, individual
Cooperative Agreements (CAs) between
the Service, TNC, and landowner/
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:26 Nov 08, 2006
Jkt 211001
cooperators would be developed for
individuals who volunteer to engage in
activities, such as habitat restoration,
that are likely to benefit the Oregon
silverspot butterfly and wish to become
a party to the Agreement.
Environmental baseline conditions
would be established and would
primarily be based on the presence or
absence of the Oregon silverspot
butterfly’s larval host plant, the early
blue violet (Viola adunca), prior to
restoration efforts. We anticipate that
the baseline conditions will in most
cases be determined to be at or near
zero. The landowners would then be
issued a Certificate of Inclusion (CI),
which would allow activities on the
enrolled property that might involve
incidental take of Oregon silverspot
butterflies above the baseline conditions
to be covered under TNC’s section
10(a)(1)(A) permit. TNC and/or the
landowners would implement
restoration and management actions to
restore and enhance coastal meadow
habitat for the Oregon silverspot
butterfly.
TNC has agreed to work with
landowners to improve Oregon
silverspot butterfly habitat by
suppressing or removing invasive
vegetation, planting native coastal
meadow vegetation, and/or specifically
enhancing early blue violet plant
populations. Without the regulatory
assurances provided through the
Agreement, CI, and permit, landowners
may otherwise be unwilling or reluctant
to engage in activities that would attract
federally-listed species such as the
Oregon silverspot butterfly onto their
properties. Additionally, the requested
permit coverage would allow
management activities to proceed that
might result in some limited amount of
take incidental to those activities that
are intended to benefit the species over
the term of the permit. TNC would carry
out the management activities itself on
private lands or work in conjunction
with landowners to carry out
management activities. TNC has already
begun working with landowners in the
area and has the expertise to carry out
these types of restoration activities and
advise landowners of management
options to provide the desired future
conditions that would benefit the
Oregon silverspot butterfly. The
proposed management activities are
expected to provide a net conservation
benefit to the Oregon silverspot butterfly
within the covered area along Oregon’s
central coast by restoring and improving
habitat conditions, potentially
increasing the local butterfly
population, and providing habitat
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Fmt 4703
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65831
patches linking butterfly populations on
the south and north ends of the project
area.
The Oregon silverspot butterfly was
listed as a threatened species by the
Service in 1980 (45 FR 44935). At the
time of listing, the only known
population was within an area along the
Oregon coast in the vicinity of Rock
Creek and Big Creek in Lane County.
Additional populations were
subsequently discovered at Bray Point,
Cascade Head, and the Clatsop Plains in
Oregon; Long Beach Peninsula in
Washington; and northwestern Del
Norte County, California. Succession,
due to lack of disturbance from fire and
grazing and the spread of non-native
plants, has affected the presence and
abundance of early blue violets through
crowding and shading. Succession has
resulted in trees, shrubs, and ferns
developing within coastal grassland
communities that were previously
maintained by disturbances such as fire
and grazing. Non-native pasture grasses
that have spread and become wellestablished along the coast crowd out
other native plants and create dense
layers of vegetation that inhibit the
growth of native species, including early
blue violets and native nectar sources
used by adult butterflies.
The Service has made a preliminary
determination that the proposed
Agreement and permit application are
eligible for a categorical exclusion under
the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (NEPA). We explain the basis
for this determination in an
Environmental Action Statement that is
also available for public review (see
ADDRESSES).
The Service will evaluate the permit
application, associated documents, and
comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the permit
application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA
regulations. All comments received,
including names and addresses, will
become part of the administrative record
and will be available for review
pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act.
Individual respondents may request that
we withhold their home address from
the record, which we will honor to the
extent 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.
Anonymous comments will not be
considered. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, are
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
E:\FR\FM\09NON1.SGM
09NON1
65832
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 217 / Thursday, November 9, 2006 / Notices
If we determine that all requirements
are met, we will sign the Agreement and
issue an enhancement of survival permit
under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to
TNC for the take of Oregon silverspot
butterflies, incidental to otherwise
lawful activities in accordance with the
terms of the Agreement. This notice is
provided pursuant to section 10(c) of
the Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Dated: November 3, 2006.
Miel Corbett,
Acting State Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office,
Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E6–18970 Filed 11–8–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and
Environmental Assessment for
Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge in
Cameron and Evangeline Parishes, LA
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service
announces that a Draft Comprehensive
Conservation Plan and Environmental
Assessment for Lacassine National
Wildlife Refuge is available for
distribution. This document was
prepared pursuant to the National
Wildlife Refuge System Administration
Act of 1966, as amended, and the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969. The draft plan and environmental
assessment describes the Service’s
proposal for management of the refuge
for 15 years.
DATES: Written comments must be
received at the postal or electronic
address listed below no later than
December 11, 2006.
ADDRESSES: To provide written
comments or to obtain a copy of the
draft plan and environmental
assessment, please contact the Project
Leader, Southwest Louisiana National
Wildlife Refuge Complex, 1428
Highway 27, Bell City, Louisiana 70630;
Telephone: 337–598–2216. Comments
may also be submitted via electronic
mail to judy_mcclendon@fws.gov. The
draft plan and environmental
assessment may be accessed and
downloaded from the Service’s Internet
site https://southeast.fws.gov/planning/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended
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16:26 Nov 08, 2006
Jkt 211001
by the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C.
668dd–66ee), requires the Service to
develop a comprehensive conservation
plan for each refuge. The purpose in
developing a plan is to provide refuge
managers with a 15-year strategy for
achieving refuge purposes and
contributing toward the mission of the
National Wildlife Refuge System,
consistent with sound principles of fish
and wildlife management, conservation,
legal mandates, and Service policies. In
addition to outlining broad management
direction on conserving wildlife and
their habitats, plans identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities
available to the public, including
opportunities for hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation, wildlife
photography, and environmental
education and interpretation.
Background: Lacassine National
Wildlife Refuge is one of four refuges
that makes up the Southwest Louisiana
National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It is
located at the edge of Grand Lake and
15 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in
Cameron and Evangeline Parishes in
Louisiana. The 34,724-acre refuge is
strategically located on the boundary of
coastal marsh and agricultural habitats;
as well as at the southern terminus of
the Mississippi and Central Flyways,
making the refuge critically important to
migratory birds, especially wintering
waterfowl. Habitat types and
approximate acreage on the refuge
include: 14,700 acres of fresh marsh;
16,000 acres of impounded fresh marsh;
1,048 acres of open water, 352 acres of
forested wetlands, 348 acres of shrub
wetlands; 1,109 acres of croplands (e.g.,
rice and fallow); 307 acres of early
successional wetlands; and 334 acres of
coastal prairie, plus roads, levees, etc.
About 3,300 acres are set aside with
wilderness designation.
Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge
was established on December 30, 1937,
as Lacassine Migratory Waterfowl
Refuge by the following: (1) Executive
Order 7780 ‘‘as a Refuge and breeding
ground for migratory birds and other
wildlife,’’ and (2) the Migratory Bird
Conservation Act ‘‘for use as an
inviolate sanctuary, or any other
management purpose, for migratory
birds’’ (16 U.S.C. 715d). Additional
lands were added to the refuge under
the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 ‘‘for
the development, advancement,
management, conservation, and
protection of fish and wildlife
resources’’ [16 U.S.C. 742f(a)(4)] and
‘‘for the benefit of the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service in performing its
activities and services’’ [16 U.S.C.
742f(b)(1)].
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Fmt 4703
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Significant issues addressed in the
draft plan and environmental
assessment include: Migratory bird
management; management for special
habitats, such as the wilderness area,
Lacassine Pool (i.e., freshwater
impoundment), and prairie habitat;
water management; management of oil
and gas activities; access management
for public use activities, including
recreational freshwater sportfishing,
fishing tournaments, and hunting; and
protection of cultural resources.
Also included in the draft plan and
environmental assessment are
compatibility determinations for the
following: Berry picking (collecting
berries, fruits, and nuts); environmental
education and interpretation;
recreational freshwater sportfishing;
recreational freshwater sportfishing
tournaments; recreational hunting;
research and monitoring; wildlife
observation and photography;
commercial alligator harvests;
commercial video and photography;
commercially guided wildlife viewing,
photography, environmental education,
and interpretation; and cooperative
farming.
The Service developed three
alternatives for management of the
refuge and chose Alternative B as the
proposed alternative.
Alternative A represents no change
from current management of the refuge.
Under the ‘‘No Action’’ Alternative the
refuge will remain at 34,724 acres in fee
title, including Farm Service Agency
transfer lands and the lease of the 652acre Cameron Parish school section.
With no action, marsh loss rates of at
least 0.23 percent per year are
anticipated (low to moderate loss) in the
Mermentau River Basin; similar rates
are expected in other areas of the refuge.
The refuge will continue to manage
impounded freshwater marsh (16,000
acres), state-jurisdictional waterways
(Lacassine Bayou and Mermentau
River), ephemeral freshwater marsh
(Streeter Canal and Duck Pond), and
manage upland vegetation to benefit
native plants. Acreages of different
habitats will remain as they are now.
About 3,300 acres south of the Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway will continue to
be formally designated as wilderness.
Management at Lacassine Refuge will
focus on biological monitoring, wildlife
management, invasive plant
management, moist-soil management,
cooperative farming program
management, and priority public use
management, including hunting, fishing
and environmental education.
Alternative B is the Service’s
proposed action to maximize refuge
management capabilities in all
E:\FR\FM\09NON1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 217 (Thursday, November 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65830-65832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18970]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Oregon
Silverspot Butterfly Along the Central Coast, Lane County, OR
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of application.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has applied to the U.S. 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 Safe
Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between TNC and the Service. The proposed
term of the permit and Agreement is 35 years. The requested permit
would authorize TNC and private landowners to carry out habitat
management measures that would benefit the federally-listed as
threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta). The
covered area or geographic scope of this Agreement includes all non-
Federal properties on the central coast of Oregon located in whole or
in part within the approximately 7-mile corridor along the central
coast between Bray Point and Big Creek in Lane County, Oregon. We
request comments from the public on the permit application, proposed
Agreement, and related documents, all of which are available for
review.
DATES: Comments must be received from interested parties on or before
December 11, 2006. The final permit decision will be made no sooner
than December 11, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of the documents for review by
contacting
[[Page 65831]]
Richard Szlemp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE. 98th Ave.,
Suite 100, Portland, Oregon 97266; facsimile (503) 231-6195; or by
making an appointment to view the documents at the above address during
normal business hours. You may also view the documents on the Internet
through https://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/. You may submit comments by
postal mail/commercial delivery or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/
commercial delivery, please address written comments to Kemper M.
McMaster, State Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, 2600 SE. 98th
Ave., Suite 100, Portland, Oregon 97266, or facsimile (503) 231-6195.
If you wish to use e-mail, address your comments to centralcoast_
sha@fws.gov. Include your name and address in your comments and please
refer to the TNC Central Coast SHA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Szlemp (see ADDRESSES) (503)
231-6179.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating
landowners voluntarily undertake management activities on their
property to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat benefiting species
listed under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Safe Harbor Agreements,
and the subsequent enhancement of survival permits that are issued
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act, encourage private and other
non-Federal property owners to implement conservation efforts for
listed species by assuring the landowners that they will not be
subjected to increased property use restrictions as a result of their
efforts to attract listed species to their property, or to increase the
numbers or distribution of listed species already on their property.
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of
survival permits through Safe Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR
17.22(c). These permits allow any necessary future incidental take of
any covered species above the mutually agreed upon baseline conditions
for those species in accordance with the terms of the permit and
accompanying agreement.
We have worked with TNC to develop the proposed Agreement for the
conservation of the Oregon silverspot butterfly within the central
coast region of Oregon, roughly between Bray Point and Big Creek. The
area covered by this Agreement is about 7 miles long and within 1 mile
of the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean. Under this programmatic
Agreement, individual Cooperative Agreements (CAs) between the Service,
TNC, and landowner/cooperators would be developed for individuals who
volunteer to engage in activities, such as habitat restoration, that
are likely to benefit the Oregon silverspot butterfly and wish to
become a party to the Agreement. Environmental baseline conditions
would be established and would primarily be based on the presence or
absence of the Oregon silverspot butterfly's larval host plant, the
early blue violet (Viola adunca), prior to restoration efforts. We
anticipate that the baseline conditions will in most cases be
determined to be at or near zero. The landowners would then be issued a
Certificate of Inclusion (CI), which would allow activities on the
enrolled property that might involve incidental take of Oregon
silverspot butterflies above the baseline conditions to be covered
under TNC's section 10(a)(1)(A) permit. TNC and/or the landowners would
implement restoration and management actions to restore and enhance
coastal meadow habitat for the Oregon silverspot butterfly.
TNC has agreed to work with landowners to improve Oregon silverspot
butterfly habitat by suppressing or removing invasive vegetation,
planting native coastal meadow vegetation, and/or specifically
enhancing early blue violet plant populations. Without the regulatory
assurances provided through the Agreement, CI, and permit, landowners
may otherwise be unwilling or reluctant to engage in activities that
would attract federally-listed species such as the Oregon silverspot
butterfly onto their properties. Additionally, the requested permit
coverage would allow management activities to proceed that might result
in some limited amount of take incidental to those activities that are
intended to benefit the species over the term of the permit. TNC would
carry out the management activities itself on private lands or work in
conjunction with landowners to carry out management activities. TNC has
already begun working with landowners in the area and has the expertise
to carry out these types of restoration activities and advise
landowners of management options to provide the desired future
conditions that would benefit the Oregon silverspot butterfly. The
proposed management activities are expected to provide a net
conservation benefit to the Oregon silverspot butterfly within the
covered area along Oregon's central coast by restoring and improving
habitat conditions, potentially increasing the local butterfly
population, and providing habitat patches linking butterfly populations
on the south and north ends of the project area.
The Oregon silverspot butterfly was listed as a threatened species
by the Service in 1980 (45 FR 44935). At the time of listing, the only
known population was within an area along the Oregon coast in the
vicinity of Rock Creek and Big Creek in Lane County. Additional
populations were subsequently discovered at Bray Point, Cascade Head,
and the Clatsop Plains in Oregon; Long Beach Peninsula in Washington;
and northwestern Del Norte County, California. Succession, due to lack
of disturbance from fire and grazing and the spread of non-native
plants, has affected the presence and abundance of early blue violets
through crowding and shading. Succession has resulted in trees, shrubs,
and ferns developing within coastal grassland communities that were
previously maintained by disturbances such as fire and grazing. Non-
native pasture grasses that have spread and become well-established
along the coast crowd out other native plants and create dense layers
of vegetation that inhibit the growth of native species, including
early blue violets and native nectar sources used by adult butterflies.
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the proposed
Agreement and permit application are eligible for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
We explain the basis for this determination in an Environmental Action
Statement that is also available for public review (see ADDRESSES).
The Service will evaluate the permit application, associated
documents, and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the
permit application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act
and NEPA regulations. All comments received, including names and
addresses, will become part of the administrative record and will be
available for review pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the
record, which we will honor to the extent 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. Anonymous comments will
not be considered. All submissions from organizations or businesses,
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or
officials of organizations or businesses, are available for public
inspection in their entirety.
[[Page 65832]]
If we determine that all requirements are met, we will sign the
Agreement and issue an enhancement of survival permit under section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to TNC for the take of Oregon silverspot
butterflies, incidental to otherwise lawful activities in accordance
with the terms of the Agreement. This notice is provided pursuant to
section 10(c) of the Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: November 3, 2006.
Miel Corbett,
Acting State Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Office, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E6-18970 Filed 11-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
