Fish and Wildlife Service December 29, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, the Service) has received applications for enhancement of survival permits pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), from four Resource Conservation and Development councils (RC&Ds, Applicants) in the State of Hawaii: Garden Island RC&D, Kauai County; Tri-Isle RC&D, Maui County; Big Island RC&D, Hawaii County; and Oahu RC&D, Honolulu County. The permit applications include a proposed programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) between the Applicants and the Service. The proposed SHA provides for voluntary habitat restoration, maintenance, enhancement, or creation activities to enhance the habitat and recovery of Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis), Hawaiian duck (Anas wyvilliana), Hawaiian moorhen (Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis), Hawaiian coot (Fulica alai), and Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) (collectively ``Covered Species'') on non-Federal lands in the State of Hawaii. The proposed duration of both the SHA and permits is 50 years. The Service believes that the proposed SHA and permit applications may be eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The basis for this is contained in a draft Environmental Action Statement, which also is available for public review. The Service and the State of Hawaii's Department of Fish and Wildlife (DOFAW) hold concurrent processes for the review of both Federal and State permit applications and draft Safe Harbor Agreements. As part of the DOFAW process, public meetings will take place to allow for discussion and comment. Dates and locations for which DOFAW has scheduled public meetings are: December 5, 2006, Lanai High School, Lanai City; December 7, 2006, Kalanimoku Building, Room 132, Honolulu; December 12, 2006, Lihue Neighborhood Community Center, Lihue; December 13, 2006: Mitchell Pauole Community Center, Kaunakakai; December 19, 2006, Velma McWayne Santos Community Center, Wailuku; December 21, 2006, Hilo Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office, Hilo. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The Secretary of the Interior has designated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to act on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) as natural resource trustee (Trustee) with respect to the February 2004 oil spill in the Bradley Beach, NJ, area (the incident). The Service has determined that the impacts of the incident warrant conducting a natural resource damage assessment that will include restoration planning. The incident has been referred to by a number of names, including the Bradley Beach Mystery Spill, the Monmouth County Mystery Spill, the Monmouth and Ocean Counties Mystery Spill, the Brick Township Mystery Spill, and the Brick Township Tarball Mystery Spill. The DOI is hereby providing notice of efforts to plan restoration actions for injuries resulting from the incident. The purpose of this restoration planning is to evaluate potential injuries to natural resources and lost services and use that information to determine the need for and scale of restoration actions.