Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida, 89498-89499 [2016-29677]

Download as PDF 89498 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 238 / Monday, December 12, 2016 / Notices settlement, emphasizing the use of multiple habitat disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, grazing, mowing). These actions would maintain and increase the diversity of native vegetation and wildlife communities that mimic presettlement conditions. Management activities would be ‘‘focused’’ via a refuge prioritization effort to maximize the intended impacts on priority units, given reduced refuge staff and funding. Public use opportunities would continue with minimal changes. Staff time and funding would focus on improving opportunities for self-guided interpretation of refuge habitats and wildlife using existing infrastructure. Charles M. Wooley, Acting Regional Director. [FR Doc. 2016–29672 Filed 12–9–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4333–15–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS–R4–ES–2016–N093; FF04E00000– 1113–0000–178] Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. AGENCY: This notice advises the public that the Florida Department of Military Affairs, via the Florida Armory Board (applicant), has applied for an enhancement of survival permit associated with a candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit application includes a proposed CCAA between the applicant, the Service, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 22 species, including 2 Federal candidate species—the striped newt and the gopher tortoise—and 20 other at-risk species, including Florida State-listed species. The CCAA will cover 46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, which is located in Clay County, Florida. The duration of the CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application. DATES: We must receive written comments at our Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) on or before January 11, 2017. ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents for Review: You may obtain a copy of the application and associated documents by contacting Mr. Jay Herrington, Field mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:59 Dec 09, 2016 Jkt 241001 Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, North Florida Ecological Services Field Office, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 32256. Documents are also available for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345, or at the Service’s North Florida Ecological Services Field Office. Note that requests for application documents must be in writing to be processed. When requesting information about or submitting comments regarding this notice, please reference ‘‘Camp Blanding Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B’’ in your correspondence. Submitting Comments: See the Public Comments section under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Harris, At-Risk Species Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 404– 679–7066; or Ms. Lourdes Mena, Endangered Species Biologist, at the North Florida Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 904– 731–3119. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice advises the public that the Florida Department of Military Affairs via the Florida Armory Board (applicant) has applied for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) associated with a candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit application includes a proposed CCAA between the applicant, the Service, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 22 species, including 2 Federal candidate species—the striped newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)—and 20 other at-risk species, including Florida State-listed species (covered species). The CCAA will cover 46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, which is located in Clay County, Florida (enrolled lands). The duration of the CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application. Introduction CCAAs encourage private and other non-Federal property owners to implement conservation efforts for candidate and at-risk species while providing regulatory assurances to the property owners that they will not be subjected to increased property use PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 restrictions should the species become listed as threatened or endangered under the Act. Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of survival permits through CCAAs are found in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d). Under the CCAA, the applicant agrees to voluntarily undertake conservation practices on the enrolled lands to protect, enhance, restore, and/or maintain habitat benefiting the covered species. In turn, the applicant will receive regulatory assurances and incidental take authorization should a covered species be federally listed in the future. The conservation practices vary according to the six habitat types that support the covered species on the enrolled lands. These practices include use of prescribed fire and thinning to maintain forest habitats, protection of wetlands and streams through the maintenance of riparian zones and prohibition of impoundments and channelization, and other actions such as monitoring and control of invasive exotic species. Request for Information We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the public via this notice on our proposed Federal action, including our determination that the applicant’s proposal, including the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or negligible effects on the species covered in their CCAA. Therefore, our proposed issuance of the requested permit qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by Department of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215). A low-effect CCAA is one involving (1) Minor or negligible effects on federally listed or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. We also solicit information regarding the adequacy of the CCAA per 50 CFR parts 13 and 17. Public Comments 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 request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. E:\FR\FM\12DEN1.SGM 12DEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 238 / Monday, December 12, 2016 / Notices If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by one of the following methods. You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or comment via the internet to michael_harris@fws.gov. Please include your name and return address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation from us that we have received your email message, contact us directly at either of the telephone numbers listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. You also may hand-deliver comments to either of our offices listed under ADDRESSES. Please reference ‘‘Camp Blanding Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B’’ in any comments you submit. Next Steps We will evaluate the applicant’s enhancement of survival permit application, including the CCAA and any comments we receive, to determine whether the permit issuance requirements of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act are met. We will also evaluate via an intra-Service consultation on whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(A) permit would comply with section 7 of the Act. If we determine that the requirements are met, we will issue the requested permit to the applicant in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements. We will not make a final decision on whether to issue the permit until after the close of the 30-day comment period. Authority We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). Dated: December 2, 2016. Mike Oetker, Acting Regional Director. [FR Doc. 2016–29677 Filed 12–9–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4333–15–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES Land Acquisitions; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Notice of final agency determination. AGENCY: The Assistant Secretary— Indian Affairs made a final agency SUMMARY: 18:59 Dec 09, 2016 Legal Description The 165.81 acres, more or less, are located in the County of St. Joseph, State of Indiana, and are described as follows: Bill Marvin [178A2100DD/AAKC001030/ A0A501010.999900 253G] VerDate Sep<11>2014 determination to acquire 165.81 acres, more or less, of land in trust for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana, for gaming and other purposes on November 17, 2016. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Paula L. Hart, Director, Office of Indian Gaming, Bureau of Indian Affairs, MS– 3657 MIB, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240; telephone (202) 219–4066. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published in the exercise of authority delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant Secretary— Indian Affairs by 209 Departmental Manual 8.1, and is published to comply with the requirements of 25 CFR 151.12(c)(2)(ii) that notice of the decision to acquire land in trust be promptly provided in the Federal Register. On November 17, 2016, the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs issued a decision to accept approximately 165.81 acres, more or less, of land in trust for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana (Band), under the authority of the Pokagon Restoration Act, Public Law No. 103– 323 (Sept. 21, 1994), 108 Stat. 2152. The Department previously determined that land acquired for the Band pursuant to the Pokagon Restoration Act was eligible for gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s ‘‘restored lands’’ exception, 25 U.S.C. 2719 (b)(1)(B)(iii), to the general prohibition contained in 25 U.S.C. 2719(a) on gaming on lands acquired in trust after October 17, 1988. The Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, will immediately acquire title in the name of the United States of America in trust for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians upon fulfillment of Departmental requirements. Jkt 241001 Parcel I Lot 2A, as shown on the Plat of Locust Meadows First Replat recorded May 19, 2006 in the Office of the Recorder of St. Joseph County, Indiana, as Instrument No. 0620937, together with the west half of vacated Maple Road as adopted by South Bend City Ordinance 10093–11 which lies east of the portion of Lot 2A lying west of the vacated Maple Road and also together with the east half of the vacated Maple Road lying within PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 89499 said lot 2A and west of and adjacent to the west line of said lot 2A. Parcel II All that part of the West Half of the Northwest Quarter of Section 27, Township 37 North, Range 2 East that lies north and east of the U.S. 31/U.S. 20 Bypass. Said Parcel II also described in survey as follows: That part of the West Half of the Northwest Quarter of Section 27, Township 37 North, Range 2 East, City of South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana, that lies north and east of the U.S. 31/U.S. 20 Bypass, more particularly described as: Beginning at a found rebar with Cap #22436 at the southeast corner of Lot 2A, Plat of Locust Meadows First Replat recorded May 19, 2006 in the Office of the Recorder of St. Joseph County, Indiana, as Instrument No. 0620937, said point being on the north line of said Section 27 a distance of 1305.58 feet South 89°43′47″ West of the North Quarter corner of said Section 27; thence South 00°25′21″ East on the east line of the West Half of the Northwest Quarter of said Section 27 a distance of 102.16 feet to a 5⁄8″ rebar with Cap #20800148 on the northeasterly right of way line of U.S. Highway 31; thence North 51°54′48″ West on said northeasterly right of way line 164.63 feet to a 5⁄8″ rebar with Cap #20800148 on the south line of said Lot 2A, said line also being the north line of said Section 27; thence North 89°43′47″ East (platted North 89°26′43″ East) 128.83 feet (platted 119.82 feet) to the point of beginning. TPN: 018–8155–5574 Bova Lot Numbered One (1) as shown on the plat of CATALDO’S LOCUST ROAD MINOR SUBDIVISION recorded June 23, 2008 in the Office of the Recorder of St. Joseph County, Indiana as Instrument No. 0820866. TPN: 018–8153–5528 Cataldo Lot 2 as shown on the plat of Cataldo’s Locust Road Minor Subdivision recorded June 23, 2008 in the Office of the Recorder of St. Joseph County, Indiana as Instrument No. 0820866. Also, the easterly fifty (50) feet of the southerly two hundred (200) feet of Lot 1 as shown on the plat of Hollingsworth Prairie Avenue Minor Subdivision recorded December 26, 2006 in the Office of the Recorder of St. Joseph County, Indiana as Instrument No. 0654912. TPN: 018–8153–551404 and 018–8153– 551406 E:\FR\FM\12DEN1.SGM 12DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 238 (Monday, December 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89498-89499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29677]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N093; FF04E00000-1113-0000-178]


Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for 
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Florida Department of 
Military Affairs, via the Florida Armory Board (applicant), has applied 
for an enhancement of survival permit associated with a candidate 
conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) pursuant to the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit application 
includes a proposed CCAA between the applicant, the Service, and the 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 22 species, 
including 2 Federal candidate species--the striped newt and the gopher 
tortoise--and 20 other at-risk species, including Florida State-listed 
species. The CCAA will cover 46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint 
Training Center, which is located in Clay County, Florida. The duration 
of the CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application.

DATES: We must receive written comments at our Regional Office (see 
ADDRESSES) on or before January 11, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents for Review: You may obtain a copy of the 
application and associated documents by contacting Mr. Jay Herrington, 
Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, North Florida Ecological 
Services Field Office, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 
32256. Documents are also available for public inspection by 
appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345, 
or at the Service's North Florida Ecological Services Field Office. 
Note that requests for application documents must be in writing to be 
processed. When requesting information about or submitting comments 
regarding this notice, please reference ``Camp Blanding Candidate 
Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B'' in your 
correspondence.
    Submitting Comments: See the Public Comments section under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Harris, At-Risk Species 
Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 
404-679-7066; or Ms. Lourdes Mena, Endangered Species Biologist, at the 
North Florida Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES), 
telephone: 904-731-3119.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice advises the public that the 
Florida Department of Military Affairs via the Florida Armory Board 
(applicant) has applied for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) 
associated with a candidate conservation agreement with assurances 
(CCAA) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit application includes a proposed CCAA 
between the applicant, the Service, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife 
Conservation Commission for 22 species, including 2 Federal candidate 
species--the striped newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and the gopher 
tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)--and 20 other at-risk species, including 
Florida State-listed species (covered species). The CCAA will cover 
46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, which is 
located in Clay County, Florida (enrolled lands). The duration of the 
CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application.

Introduction

    CCAAs encourage private and other non-Federal property owners to 
implement conservation efforts for candidate and at-risk species while 
providing regulatory assurances to the property owners that they will 
not be subjected to increased property use restrictions should the 
species become listed as threatened or endangered under the Act. 
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of 
survival permits through CCAAs are found in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 
17.32(d).
    Under the CCAA, the applicant agrees to voluntarily undertake 
conservation practices on the enrolled lands to protect, enhance, 
restore, and/or maintain habitat benefiting the covered species. In 
turn, the applicant will receive regulatory assurances and incidental 
take authorization should a covered species be federally listed in the 
future. The conservation practices vary according to the six habitat 
types that support the covered species on the enrolled lands. These 
practices include use of prescribed fire and thinning to maintain 
forest habitats, protection of wetlands and streams through the 
maintenance of riparian zones and prohibition of impoundments and 
channelization, and other actions such as monitoring and control of 
invasive exotic species.

Request for Information

    We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the 
public via this notice on our proposed Federal action, including our 
determination that the applicant's proposal, including the proposed 
mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or negligible 
effects on the species covered in their CCAA. Therefore, our proposed 
issuance of the requested permit qualifies as a categorical exclusion 
under the National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by Department 
of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215). A low-
effect CCAA is one involving (1) Minor or negligible effects on 
federally listed or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor 
or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. We 
also solicit information regarding the adequacy of the CCAA per 50 CFR 
parts 13 and 17.

Public Comments

    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 
request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

[[Page 89499]]

    If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by one of the 
following methods. You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or comment via the 
internet to michael_harris@fws.gov. Please include your name and return 
address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation 
from us that we have received your email message, contact us directly 
at either of the telephone numbers listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. You also may hand-deliver comments to either of our offices 
listed under ADDRESSES. Please reference ``Camp Blanding Candidate 
Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B'' in any comments you 
submit.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the applicant's enhancement of survival permit 
application, including the CCAA and any comments we receive, to 
determine whether the permit issuance requirements of section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act are met. We will also evaluate via an intra-
Service consultation on whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(A) 
permit would comply with section 7 of the Act. If we determine that the 
requirements are met, we will issue the requested permit to the 
applicant in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements. We 
will not make a final decision on whether to issue the permit until 
after the close of the 30-day comment period.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: December 2, 2016.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-29677 Filed 12-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P

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