Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Enhancement of Survival Permit Application; Draft Oil and Gas Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Draft Environmental Assessment, 76639-76641 [2013-30196]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2013 / Notices
prohibits activities with endangered and
threatened species unless a Federal
permit allows such activity. The Act
requires that we invite public comment
before issuing these permits.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please
send your written comments by January
17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
or requests for copies or more
information by any of the following
methods. Alternatively, you may use
one of the following methods to request
hard copies or a CD–ROM of the
documents. Please specify the permit
you are interested in by number (e.g.,
Permit No. TE–XXXXXX).
• Email: permitsR6ES@fws.gov.
Please refer to the respective permit
number (e.g., Permit No. TE–XXXXXX)
in the subject line of the message.
• U.S. Mail: Ecological Services, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box
25486–DFC, Denver, CO 80225.
• In-Person Drop-Off, Viewing, or
Pickup: Call (303) 236–4212 to make an
appointment during regular business
hours at 134 Union Blvd., Suite 645,
Lakewood, CO 80228.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Konishi, Permit Coordinator,
Ecological Services, (303) 236–4212
(phone); permitsR6ES@fws.gov (email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Background
The Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
prohibits activities with endangered and
threatened species unless a Federal
permit allows such activity. Along with
our implementing regulations in the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50
CFR 17, the Act provides for permits
and requires that we invite public
comment before issuing these permits.
A permit granted by us under section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act authorizes the
permittees to conduct activities with
U.S. endangered or threatened species
for scientific purposes, enhancement of
propagation or survival, or interstate
commerce (the latter only in the event
that it facilitates scientific purposes or
enhancement of propagation or
survival). Our regulations implementing
section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are
found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered
wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for
threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR
17.62 for endangered plant species, and
50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant
species.
Applications Available for Review and
Comment
We invite local, State, and Federal
agencies and the public to comment on
the following applications. Documents
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15:27 Dec 17, 2013
Jkt 232001
and other information the applicants
have submitted with their 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).
Permit Application Number TE070027
Applicant: Tern and Plover
Conservation Partnership, 516 Hardin
Hall, 3310 Holdrege St., University of
Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.
The applicant requests the renewal of
a permit to conduct presence/absence
surveys and banding of interior least
terns (Sterna antillarum athalassos) in
Nebraska for the purpose of enhancing
the species’ survival.
Permit Application Number TE094832
Applicant: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Federal Hydropower
Facility, 399 Powerhouse Rd.,
Pickstown, SD.
The applicant requests the renewal of
a permit for public educational display
of pallid sturgeon (Scaphirynchus
albus) for the purpose of enhancing the
species’ survival.
Permit Application Number TE069553
Applicant: U.S. Forest Service, Wall
Ranger District, 708 Main St., Wall,
SD.
The applicant requests the renewal of
an existing permit to take black-footed
ferret (Mustela nigripes) in conjunction
with recovery activities in South Dakota
for the purpose of enhancing its survival
and recovery.
National Environmental Policy Act
In compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), we have made an initial
determination that the proposed
activities in these permits are
categorically excluded from the
requirement to prepare an
environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement (516
DM 6 Appendix 1, 1.4C(1)).
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we
receive in response to these requests
will be available for public inspection,
by appointment, during normal business
hours at the address listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, 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
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76639
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 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: December 11, 2013.
Nicole Alt,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, MountainPrairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2013–30064 Filed 12–17–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R6–ES–2013–N268; FF06E24000–
XXX–FRES48010660150]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Enhancement of Survival
Permit Application; Draft Oil and Gas
Candidate Conservation Agreement
With Assurances for the Lesser
Prairie-Chicken; Draft Environmental
Assessment
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), received an
application for an enhancement of
survival permit (permit) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (ESA), for take associated with
implementation of a lesser prairiechicken Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances (CCAA)
throughout the species’ range in Kansas,
Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and
Texas. The intent of the CCAA is to
provide the oil and gas industry with
the opportunity to voluntarily conserve
the lesser prairie-chicken and its
habitat, in a manner that would
contribute to precluding the need to list
the species, while carrying out their oil
and gas activities. The Western
Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies (WAFWA) is the permit
applicant and proposes to convey
incidental take authorization to oil and
gas companies that enroll in the CCAA
through certificates of inclusion.
Pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), we have prepared a
draft environmental assessment (EA)
that analyzes the potential impacts of
issuance of the permit and
implementation of the proposed CCAA,
as well as two alternatives to the
proposed action. The permit
application, draft CCAA, and draft EA
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\18DEN1.SGM
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76640
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2013 / Notices
are available for public review, and we
seek public comment on these
documents and potential issuance of the
permit.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted by January 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Field Supervisor, Colorado Ecological
Services Field Office, 134 Union Blvd.,
Ste. 670, Lakewood, CO 80228; or via
email to lesserprairiechicken@fws.gov.
The draft CCAA and EA are available for
review on our Mountain-Prairie Region
Ecological Services Web site at https://
www.fws.gov/coloradoes/.
You also may review copies of these
documents by appointment during
regular business hours at the following
offices: (a) Colorado Ecological Services
Field Office (ESFO) (see address above),
(303) 236–4773; (b) Kansas ESFO, 2609
Anderson Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502,
(785) 539–3474; (c) Oklahoma ESFO,
9014 East 21 St., Tulsa, OK 74129, (918)
382–4501; (d) Austin, Texas ESFO,
10711 Burnet Rd., Suite 200, Austin, TX
78758, (512) 490–0057; (e) Arlington,
Texas ESFO, 2005 NE Green Oaks Blvd.,
Suite 140, Arlington, TX 76006, (817)
277–1100; and (f) New Mexico ESFO,
2105 Osuna NE., Albuquerque, NM
87113, (505) 346–2525.
If you do not have access to the Web
site or cannot visit our office, you may
request copies by telephone at (303)
236–4773 or by letter to the Colorado
ESFO.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leslie Ellwood, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Colorado Ecological Services
Field Office, (303) 236–4747; leslie_
ellwood@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A CCAA
is an agreement in which private and
other non-Federal landowners
voluntarily agree to undertake
management activities and conservation
efforts on their properties to enhance,
restore, or maintain habitat to benefit
species that are proposed for listing
under the ESA, that are candidates for
listing, or that may become candidates.
If we approve the CCAA, we will issue
an associated enhancement of survival
permit, under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the
ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), that
authorizes incidental take resulting from
covered activities should the species
addressed in the CCAA become listed.
Through the CCAA and permit, we also
provide assurances to participating
landowners that we will not impose
additional land, water, or financial
commitments or restrictions on land,
water, or resource use, as a result of
efforts to attract or increase the numbers
or distribution of a species on their
property if that species becomes listed
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:27 Dec 17, 2013
Jkt 232001
under the ESA in the future.
Application requirements and issuance
criteria for enhancement of survival
permits through a CCAA are found in 50
CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d), as well as 50
CFR part 13.
Under the proposed range-wide
CCAA, participating members of the oil
and gas industry (Participants) would
implement conservation measures that
avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts
to the lesser prairie-chicken and their
habitat from oil and gas activities on
enrolled lands. The Service would issue
the permit to WAFWA, who would
administer the CCAA and enroll the
Participants. The CCAA would be in
effect for 30 years. The CCAA would
cover non-Federal lands within the
current range of the lesser prairiechicken, plus a 10-mile buffer around
the current range. Any non-Federal
lands within lesser prairie-chicken
habitat in the covered area may be
eligible for enrollment under the
proposed CCAA.
The CCAA proposes to implement
WAFWA’s Lesser Prairie-chicken
Range-wide Plan (Range-wide Plan),
which the Service endorsed and
WAFWA finalized in October 2013. The
Range-wide Plan’s conservation
framework provides for financial
incentives to landowners who
voluntarily manage their lands to
benefit the species. It also includes
conservation measures to avoid,
minimize, and mitigate impacts specific
to current and anticipated land-use
activities within the species’ range,
including oil and gas development. The
Range-wide Plan contains a detailed
mitigation fee structure that incentivizes
locating impact activities outside of
lesser prairie-chicken habitat or within
lower quality habitat rather than within
medium or high quality habitat. The
proposed CCAA incorporates the Rangewide Plan’s conservation measures and
mitigation fees pertaining to oil and gas
activities. Enrollment of lands with
habitat impacted by oil and gas
activities into the CCAA is intended to
generate mitigation fees that will
significantly help fund implementation
of conservation actions under the
Range-wide Plan for the lesser prairiechicken throughout its range.
With issuance of the enhancement of
survival permit, the Service would
provide WAFWA and the Participants
assurances that, should the lesser
prairie-chicken be listed, no further
commitments or restrictions than those
they committed to under the CCAA
would be imposed, as long as the CCAA
is properly implemented. Furthermore,
if the lesser prairie-chicken is listed, the
permit would provide WAFWA with
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incidental take authorization.
Participants would also receive take
authorization through their certificates
of inclusion under the permit. The
permit would become effective on the
effective date of a listing of the lesser
prairie-chicken as endangered or
threatened and would continue through
the end of the CCAA term.
Background
The lesser prairie-chicken currently
inhabits rangelands dominated
primarily by shinnery oak-bluestem and
sand sagebrush-bluestem vegetation.
Major factors affecting the status of the
lesser prairie-chicken are habitat
fragmentation, overutilization of habitat
by domestic livestock, oil and gas
development, wind energy
development, loss of native rangelands
to cropland conversion, herbicide use,
fire suppression, and drought. On June
9, 1998, we determined that listing of
the lesser prairie-chicken under the ESA
was warranted but precluded by other
higher priority actions (63 FR 31400). In
the December 10, 2008, Candidate
Notice of Review (73 FR 75176), we
elevated the listing priority of the lesser
prairie-chicken from 8 to 2, because the
overall magnitude of threats to the lesser
prairie-chicken were increasing and
occurring throughout almost all of its
occupied range.
On December 11, 2012, the Service
proposed to list the lesser prairie
chicken as threatened throughout its
range (77 FR 73828). On May 6, 2013,
the Service proposed a special rule (78
FR 26302), under section 4(d) of the
ESA, that would allow for take of the
lesser prairie chicken incidental to
activities conducted pursuant to a
Service-approved comprehensive
conservation program developed by or
in coordination with a State agency. The
rule also proposed authorizing take
incidental to agricultural activities
included within a conservation plan
developed by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) for private
agricultural lands in connection with
the NRCS’s Lesser Prairie Chicken
Initiative. The Service has published the
revised proposed 4(d) rule for public
comment (78 FR 75306; December 11,
2013), and intends to issue its final
determinations on the proposed listing
and 4(d) rule no later than March 30,
2014.
The Service has issued permits under
three other approved CCAAs for the
lesser prairie-chicken. A Statewide
umbrella CCAA has been in effect in
Texas since 2006, to enhance
conservation efforts in conjunction with
ranching, agricultural land use, and oil
and gas activities. In New Mexico, a
E:\FR\FM\18DEN1.SGM
18DEN1
ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2013 / Notices
combined umbrella CCAA and
Candidate Conservation Agreement with
the Bureau of Land Management,
approved in 2008, addresses
conservation efforts for oil and gas
impacts. Most recently, a CCAA was
finalized in 2013, for agricultural land
use in Oklahoma. An additional CCAA
was established with a single landowner
in southwestern Kansas; however, this
CCAA has since expired. The proposed
rule to list the lesser prairie-chicken
details several other conservation efforts
for the species (77 FR 73828).
WAFWA developed the draft rangewide CCAA for oil and gas activities to
facilitate implementation of the Rangewide Plan for conserving the lesser
prairie-chicken and restoring its habitat
on non-Federal lands throughout its
range. Implementation of conservation
measures in the proposed CCAA are
expected to benefit the lesser prairiechicken by establishing, augmenting
and maintaining populations.
Conservation measures that minimize
new surface disturbance would also
minimize habitat fragmentation and
preserve contiguous expanses of habitat.
Conservation measures that limit
activities and operations during lekking,
nesting, and brooding seasons would
minimize impacts to reproduction.
Furthermore, the conservation offsets
implemented with mitigation fees from
Participants are expected to further
enhance lesser prairie-chicken habitat
through the removal of infrastructure
and remediation of impacts to restore
habitat. Finally, the CCAA’s regulatory
assurances would act as an incentive for
participation by oil and gas companies,
thereby increasing conservation for the
species.
The Secretary of the Interior has
delegated to the Service the authority to
approve or deny a section 10(a)(1)(A)
permit in accordance with the ESA. To
act on WAFWA’s permit application, we
must determine that the CCAA meets
the issuance criteria specified in the
ESA and at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, as
well as 50 CFR part 13. These criteria
include a finding that the proposed
CCAA complies with the requirements
of our CCAA Policy (64 FR 32726, June
17, 1999).
The issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(A)
permit is a Federal action subject to
NEPA compliance, including the
Council on Environmental Quality
Regulations for Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
1500–1508). WAFWA’s draft CCAA and
application for the enhancement of
survival permit are not eligible for
categorical exclusion under NEPA. We
have prepared a draft EA to further
analyze the direct, indirect, and
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15:27 Dec 17, 2013
Jkt 232001
cumulative impacts of the CCAA on the
quality of the human environment and
other natural resources. In compliance
with NEPA, we analyzed the impacts of
implementing the CCAA, issuance of
the permit, and a reasonable range of
alternatives in the draft EA. Based on
these analyses and any new information
resulting from public comment on the
proposed action, we will determine if
issuance of the permit would cause any
significant impacts to the human
environment. After reviewing public
comments, we will evaluate whether the
proposed action and alternatives in the
draft EA are adequate to support a
Finding of No Significant Impact under
NEPA. We now make the draft EA
available for public inspection online or
in person at the Service offices listed in
ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive become part
of the public record. Requests for copies
of comments will be handled in
accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act, NEPA, and Department
of the Interior policies and procedures.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, 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 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, 17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR
46.305).
Dated: December 11, 2013.
Amelia Orton-Palmer,
Acting Assistant Regional Director—
Ecological Services, Mountain-Prairie Region,
Denver, CO.
[FR Doc. 2013–30196 Filed 12–17–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLWO300000.L14300000.xx0000]
Renewal of Approved Information
Collection
AGENCY:
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
PO 00000
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76641
30-Day notice and request for
comments.
ACTION:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has submitted an
information collection request to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to continue the collection of
information from individuals, private
entities, and State or local governments
seeking leases, permits, and easements
for the use, occupancy, or development
of public lands administered by the
BLM. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) previously approved this
information collection activity, and
assigned it control number 1004–0009.
DATES: The OMB is required to respond
to this information collection request
within 60 days but may respond after 30
days. For maximum consideration,
written comments should be received
on or before January 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments
directly to the Desk Officer for the
Department of the Interior (OMB #1004–
0009), Office of Management and
Budget, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, fax 202–395–5806,
or by electronic mail at OIRA_
submission@omb.eop.gov. Please
provide a copy of your comments to the
BLM. You may do so via mail, fax, or
electronic mail.
Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C
Street NW., Room 2134LM, Attention:
Jean Sonneman, Washington, DC 20240.
Fax: To Jean Sonneman at 202–245–
0050.
Electronic mail: Jean_Sonneman@
blm.gov.
Please indicate ‘‘Attn: 1004–0009’’
regardless of the form of your
comments.
SUMMARY:
Jeff
Holdren at 202–912–7335. Persons who
use a telecommunication device for the
deaf may call the Federal Information
Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339, to
leave a message for Mr. Holdren. You
may also review the information
collection request online at https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3501–3521) and OMB regulations at 5
CFR part 1320 provide that an agency
may not conduct or sponsor a collection
of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Until OMB approves a collection of
information, you are not obligated to
respond. In order to obtain and renew
an OMB control number, Federal
agencies are required to seek public
comment on information collection and
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
E:\FR\FM\18DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76639-76641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30196]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R6-ES-2013-N268; FF06E24000-XXX-FRES48010660150]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Enhancement of
Survival Permit Application; Draft Oil and Gas Candidate Conservation
Agreement With Assurances for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Draft
Environmental Assessment
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received an
application for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), for take associated
with implementation of a lesser prairie-chicken Candidate Conservation
Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) throughout the species' range in
Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The intent of the
CCAA is to provide the oil and gas industry with the opportunity to
voluntarily conserve the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat, in a
manner that would contribute to precluding the need to list the
species, while carrying out their oil and gas activities. The Western
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) is the permit
applicant and proposes to convey incidental take authorization to oil
and gas companies that enroll in the CCAA through certificates of
inclusion. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we
have prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the
potential impacts of issuance of the permit and implementation of the
proposed CCAA, as well as two alternatives to the proposed action. The
permit application, draft CCAA, and draft EA
[[Page 76640]]
are available for public review, and we seek public comment on these
documents and potential issuance of the permit.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted by January 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Field Supervisor, Colorado
Ecological Services Field Office, 134 Union Blvd., Ste. 670, Lakewood,
CO 80228; or via email to lesserprairiechicken@fws.gov. The draft CCAA
and EA are available for review on our Mountain-Prairie Region
Ecological Services Web site at https://www.fws.gov/coloradoes/.
You also may review copies of these documents by appointment during
regular business hours at the following offices: (a) Colorado
Ecological Services Field Office (ESFO) (see address above), (303) 236-
4773; (b) Kansas ESFO, 2609 Anderson Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502, (785)
539-3474; (c) Oklahoma ESFO, 9014 East 21 St., Tulsa, OK 74129, (918)
382-4501; (d) Austin, Texas ESFO, 10711 Burnet Rd., Suite 200, Austin,
TX 78758, (512) 490-0057; (e) Arlington, Texas ESFO, 2005 NE Green Oaks
Blvd., Suite 140, Arlington, TX 76006, (817) 277-1100; and (f) New
Mexico ESFO, 2105 Osuna NE., Albuquerque, NM 87113, (505) 346-2525.
If you do not have access to the Web site or cannot visit our
office, you may request copies by telephone at (303) 236-4773 or by
letter to the Colorado ESFO.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leslie Ellwood, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Colorado Ecological Services Field Office, (303) 236-4747;
leslie_ellwood@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A CCAA is an agreement in which private and
other non-Federal landowners voluntarily agree to undertake management
activities and conservation efforts on their properties to enhance,
restore, or maintain habitat to benefit species that are proposed for
listing under the ESA, that are candidates for listing, or that may
become candidates. If we approve the CCAA, we will issue an associated
enhancement of survival permit, under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), that authorizes incidental take resulting
from covered activities should the species addressed in the CCAA become
listed. Through the CCAA and permit, we also provide assurances to
participating landowners that we will not impose additional land,
water, or financial commitments or restrictions on land, water, or
resource use, as a result of efforts to attract or increase the numbers
or distribution of a species on their property if that species becomes
listed under the ESA in the future. Application requirements and
issuance criteria for enhancement of survival permits through a CCAA
are found in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d), as well as 50 CFR part 13.
Under the proposed range-wide CCAA, participating members of the
oil and gas industry (Participants) would implement conservation
measures that avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to the lesser
prairie-chicken and their habitat from oil and gas activities on
enrolled lands. The Service would issue the permit to WAFWA, who would
administer the CCAA and enroll the Participants. The CCAA would be in
effect for 30 years. The CCAA would cover non-Federal lands within the
current range of the lesser prairie-chicken, plus a 10-mile buffer
around the current range. Any non-Federal lands within lesser prairie-
chicken habitat in the covered area may be eligible for enrollment
under the proposed CCAA.
The CCAA proposes to implement WAFWA's Lesser Prairie-chicken
Range-wide Plan (Range-wide Plan), which the Service endorsed and WAFWA
finalized in October 2013. The Range-wide Plan's conservation framework
provides for financial incentives to landowners who voluntarily manage
their lands to benefit the species. It also includes conservation
measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts specific to current
and anticipated land-use activities within the species' range,
including oil and gas development. The Range-wide Plan contains a
detailed mitigation fee structure that incentivizes locating impact
activities outside of lesser prairie-chicken habitat or within lower
quality habitat rather than within medium or high quality habitat. The
proposed CCAA incorporates the Range-wide Plan's conservation measures
and mitigation fees pertaining to oil and gas activities. Enrollment of
lands with habitat impacted by oil and gas activities into the CCAA is
intended to generate mitigation fees that will significantly help fund
implementation of conservation actions under the Range-wide Plan for
the lesser prairie-chicken throughout its range.
With issuance of the enhancement of survival permit, the Service
would provide WAFWA and the Participants assurances that, should the
lesser prairie-chicken be listed, no further commitments or
restrictions than those they committed to under the CCAA would be
imposed, as long as the CCAA is properly implemented. Furthermore, if
the lesser prairie-chicken is listed, the permit would provide WAFWA
with incidental take authorization. Participants would also receive
take authorization through their certificates of inclusion under the
permit. The permit would become effective on the effective date of a
listing of the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered or threatened and
would continue through the end of the CCAA term.
Background
The lesser prairie-chicken currently inhabits rangelands dominated
primarily by shinnery oak-bluestem and sand sagebrush-bluestem
vegetation. Major factors affecting the status of the lesser prairie-
chicken are habitat fragmentation, overutilization of habitat by
domestic livestock, oil and gas development, wind energy development,
loss of native rangelands to cropland conversion, herbicide use, fire
suppression, and drought. On June 9, 1998, we determined that listing
of the lesser prairie-chicken under the ESA was warranted but precluded
by other higher priority actions (63 FR 31400). In the December 10,
2008, Candidate Notice of Review (73 FR 75176), we elevated the listing
priority of the lesser prairie-chicken from 8 to 2, because the overall
magnitude of threats to the lesser prairie-chicken were increasing and
occurring throughout almost all of its occupied range.
On December 11, 2012, the Service proposed to list the lesser
prairie chicken as threatened throughout its range (77 FR 73828). On
May 6, 2013, the Service proposed a special rule (78 FR 26302), under
section 4(d) of the ESA, that would allow for take of the lesser
prairie chicken incidental to activities conducted pursuant to a
Service-approved comprehensive conservation program developed by or in
coordination with a State agency. The rule also proposed authorizing
take incidental to agricultural activities included within a
conservation plan developed by the Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) for private agricultural lands in connection with the
NRCS's Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative. The Service has published the
revised proposed 4(d) rule for public comment (78 FR 75306; December
11, 2013), and intends to issue its final determinations on the
proposed listing and 4(d) rule no later than March 30, 2014.
The Service has issued permits under three other approved CCAAs for
the lesser prairie-chicken. A Statewide umbrella CCAA has been in
effect in Texas since 2006, to enhance conservation efforts in
conjunction with ranching, agricultural land use, and oil and gas
activities. In New Mexico, a
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combined umbrella CCAA and Candidate Conservation Agreement with the
Bureau of Land Management, approved in 2008, addresses conservation
efforts for oil and gas impacts. Most recently, a CCAA was finalized in
2013, for agricultural land use in Oklahoma. An additional CCAA was
established with a single landowner in southwestern Kansas; however,
this CCAA has since expired. The proposed rule to list the lesser
prairie-chicken details several other conservation efforts for the
species (77 FR 73828).
WAFWA developed the draft range-wide CCAA for oil and gas
activities to facilitate implementation of the Range-wide Plan for
conserving the lesser prairie-chicken and restoring its habitat on non-
Federal lands throughout its range. Implementation of conservation
measures in the proposed CCAA are expected to benefit the lesser
prairie-chicken by establishing, augmenting and maintaining
populations. Conservation measures that minimize new surface
disturbance would also minimize habitat fragmentation and preserve
contiguous expanses of habitat. Conservation measures that limit
activities and operations during lekking, nesting, and brooding seasons
would minimize impacts to reproduction. Furthermore, the conservation
offsets implemented with mitigation fees from Participants are expected
to further enhance lesser prairie-chicken habitat through the removal
of infrastructure and remediation of impacts to restore habitat.
Finally, the CCAA's regulatory assurances would act as an incentive for
participation by oil and gas companies, thereby increasing conservation
for the species.
The Secretary of the Interior has delegated to the Service the
authority to approve or deny a section 10(a)(1)(A) permit in accordance
with the ESA. To act on WAFWA's permit application, we must determine
that the CCAA meets the issuance criteria specified in the ESA and at
50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, as well as 50 CFR part 13. These criteria
include a finding that the proposed CCAA complies with the requirements
of our CCAA Policy (64 FR 32726, June 17, 1999).
The issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(A) permit is a Federal action
subject to NEPA compliance, including the Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA
(40 CFR 1500-1508). WAFWA's draft CCAA and application for the
enhancement of survival permit are not eligible for categorical
exclusion under NEPA. We have prepared a draft EA to further analyze
the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the CCAA on the quality
of the human environment and other natural resources. In compliance
with NEPA, we analyzed the impacts of implementing the CCAA, issuance
of the permit, and a reasonable range of alternatives in the draft EA.
Based on these analyses and any new information resulting from public
comment on the proposed action, we will determine if issuance of the
permit would cause any significant impacts to the human environment.
After reviewing public comments, we will evaluate whether the proposed
action and alternatives in the draft EA are adequate to support a
Finding of No Significant Impact under NEPA. We now make the draft EA
available for public inspection online or in person at the Service
offices listed in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive become part of the public record. Requests
for copies of comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom
of Information Act, NEPA, and Department of the Interior policies and
procedures. Before including your address, phone number, email address,
or other personal identifying information in your comment, 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 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, 17.32),
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40
CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).
Dated: December 11, 2013.
Amelia Orton-Palmer,
Acting Assistant Regional Director--Ecological Services, Mountain-
Prairie Region, Denver, CO.
[FR Doc. 2013-30196 Filed 12-17-13; 8:45 am]
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