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Draft Template Safe Harbor Agreement, Draft Environmental Assessment, and Receipt of Applications for Enhancement of Survival Permits
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: September 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 173)]
[Notices]
[Page 52816-52818]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07se06-84]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Draft Template Safe Harbor Agreement, Draft Environmental Assessment,
and Receipt of Applications for Enhancement of Survival Permits
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of applications; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of ongoing recovery efforts for the endangered
Columbia Basin distinct population segment of the pygmy rabbit
(Brachylagus idahoensis), this notice advises the public that the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we), in cooperation with the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), is making available
for public review and comment a draft Template Safe Harbor Agreement
(Agreement). The proposed Agreement addresses incidental take of
Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits (CBPR) that could result from activities
associated with ranching, farming, recreation, residential upkeep,
conservation programs, and shrub steppe maintenance, restoration, and
enhancement on an undeterminable number of non-Federal properties. The
area covered by the proposed Agreement (Covered Area) includes portions
of 6 counties in central Washington and totals approximately 2,650,000
acres. However, eligible properties that occur within the Covered Area
and are most likely to be enrolled under the Agreement would primarily
include those that have existing shrub steppe habitat and/or soil
conditions that may be capable of supporting the species, either
currently or in the foreseeable future. These lands, as well as
adjacent properties that may receive intermittent use by CBPRs, such as
for exploratory behavior or dispersal between suitable habitats, total
approximately 750,000 acres. Implementation of the proposed Agreement
would provide the opportunity for interested non-Federal and non-WDFW
landowners and managers to voluntarily enroll their lands under the
Agreement and receive an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(ESA). In exchange for the incidental take authority that would be
provided by issuance of permits, participants who enroll their lands
under this Agreement would implement conservation measures that would
be expected to provide a net conservation benefit to the CBPR. The
duration of the proposed Agreement is 20 years. The duration of
associated permits could be for shorter periods, but would not exceed
the duration of the Agreement. More detailed descriptions of the
background biological information, Covered Area, proposed covered
activities, conservation measures, and expected net conservation
benefits are provided in the draft Agreement and in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
This also announces the receipt and availability for public review
and comment three applications for incidental take permits for the
enhancement of survival for the CBPR in conjunction with the Agreement.
These applications have been received from The Nature Conservancy, Mr.
Dave Billingsley and Mr. Peter Lancaster (Applicants). Issuance of
these permits would authorize incidental take of CBPRs above the
existing baseline conditions of enrolled properties that
[[Page 52817]]
may result from the Applicants' proposed activities. Additional
applications are expected in the near future from other non-Federal and
non-WDFW landowners and managers who propose to enroll their lands
under the Agreement. Future applications received by the Service from
other prospective participants to the Agreement will be provided for
public review in future notices.
In accordance with Service responsibilities pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this notice also announces
the availability, for public review, of a draft Environmental
Assessment (EA) developed in conjunction with the proposed Agreement.
We request comments from the public on the proposed Agreement,
current permit applications, and the draft EA, all of which are
available for public review and comment. To review the documents, see
``Availability of Documents'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below.
DATES: All comments from interested parties must be received on or
before October 10, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning this notice should be addressed
to Susan Martin, Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Upper
Columbia Fish and Wildlife Office, 11103 East Montgomery Drive,
Spokane, Washington 99206. You may also send comments by facsimile at
(509) 891-6748, or by electronic mail at fw1cbprabbit@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Warren at (509) 893-8020, or
Michelle Eames at (509) 893-8010.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Copies of the draft documents and permit applications are available
for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at
the Upper Columbia Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES), or they
may be viewed on the internet at the following address: http://
www.fws.gov/easternwashington/. You may also request copies of the
documents by contacting the Service's Upper Columbia Fish and Wildlife
Office [see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT]. The Service is furnishing
this notice to provide the public, other State and Federal agencies,
and tribes an opportunity to review and comment on these documents. All
comments received will become part of the public record. If you wish us
to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently
at the beginning of your comment. All comments received from
organizations, businesses, or individuals representing organizations or
businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety.
Background
The pygmy rabbit is the smallest rabbit species, and one of only
two rabbit species that digs its own burrows, in North America. They
are typically found in shrub-steppe habitats that include tall, dense
stands of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and that occur in relatively deep,
loose soils suitable for the species' burrowing behavior. Pygmy rabbits
are highly dependent on sagebrush for food, particularly during the
winter, and, along with their burrows, for shelter and escape
throughout the year.
The historic distribution of the pygmy rabbit included portions of
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and
Washington. The pygmy rabbit has been present within the Columbia
Basin, a geographic area that extends from northern Oregon through
eastern Washington, for over 100,000 years. This population segment,
referred to as the CBPR and which is the subject of the Agreement,
historically occurred only in central Washington and is believed to
have been disjunct from the remainder of the species' range for at
least 10,000 years. The distribution and abundance of the CBPR has
declined dramatically since the mid-1990s. Surveys of the last known
occupied site, located in southern Douglas County, have not detected
any animals since mid-2004, indicating that the population may now be
extirpated from the wild.
In 2001, WDFW captured as many of the remaining CBPRs as possible
from the last known subpopulation and began a captive breeding program.
The Service emergency-listed the CBPR under the ESA in 2001, and fully
listed it as endangered in 2003. Major past threats to the CBPR include
the loss and fragmentation of suitable shrub-steppe habitats. Major
current threats are associated with the extremely small size of the
remaining population, which has made it vulnerable to loss of genetic
diversity and inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression was
evidenced in the captive population by the poor reproductive
performance, declining genetic diversity, increased susceptibility to
disease, and, possibly, skeletal abnormalities in the purebred animals.
Intercrossing CBPRs with pygmy rabbits of the same taxonomic
classification from Idaho helped to restore the genetic diversity and
reduce the effects of inbreeding depression in the captive population.
The inclusion of intercrossed animals with some minor level of non-
Columbia Basin ancestry is considered necessary to achieve Federal
recovery objectives for the CBPR in the wild.
WDFW, in conjunction with the Service, proposes to reintroduce
captive CBPRs into suitable habitats at two recovery emphasis areas:
one in southern Douglas County; and one in northern Grant County,
Washington. The Service and WDFW anticipate that, as a likely result of
planned reintroduction efforts, CBPRs may become established on non-
Federal and/or non-WDFW properties, which prompted development of the
proposed Agreement.
The primary objective of the Agreement is to facilitate
collaboration between the Service, WDFW, and prospective participants
to voluntarily implement conservation measures to benefit the CBPR. An
additional objective of the Agreement is to provide incidental take
coverage to participants through issuance of enhancement of survival
permits, which will relieve them of additional section 9 liability
under the ESA if implementation of the conservation measures results in
increased numbers or distribution of CBPRs on their enrolled properties.
The proposed Agreement is a ``template'' in that it establishes
general guidelines and identifies minimum management responsibilities
for non-Federal/non-WDFW landowners and managers to participate in the
Agreement. In addition, the proposed Agreement documents background
biological information on the CBPR, ongoing conservation actions and
Federal recovery objectives for the species, expected net conservation
benefits, and the types of land use activities and eligible properties
that may be covered by the Agreement. If the Agreement is signed by the
Service and WDFW following public review and comment, the process to
consider subsequent permit applications in the future will be
significantly streamlined as permit applicants will be able to
reference the approved Agreement. NEPA compliance also may be tiered.
By streamlining the process and minimizing the time it requires to
process additional ESA section 10(a)(1)(A) permit applications
consistent with the Agreement, the Service and WDFW anticipate that
more private landowners will be likely to participate and implement
proactive conservation measures, which will enhance State and Federal
recovery efforts for the CBPR.
[[Page 52818]]
The proposed Agreement clarifies management responsibilities and
expectations of the Service, WDFW, and prospective participants. When
signed, the Agreement may serve as the basis for additional enhancement
of survival permit applications. To be considered for a permit, each
participant will need to complete and submit to the Service a Federal
Fish and Wildlife Permit Application Form. An issued permit would
authorize incidental take of CBPRs that are above the baseline
conditions of their enrolled property.
In addition to submitting a Permit application, prospective
participants would also need to develop a Site Plan, in cooperation
with the Service, that identifies the specific properties to be
enrolled and documents the baseline conditions, existing and proposed
future land-use activities, and agreed-upon conservation measures that
would be expected to provide a net conservation benefit for the CBPR on
the enrolled properties. Each prospective participant and the Service
would need to sign the completed Site Plan, which will remain within
the scope of, and tiered to, the proposed Agreement.
We anticipate that the proposed Agreement would result in the
following benefits to the CBPR: (1) Appropriate habitats will be
maintained on enrolled properties and be available for use by CBPRs
released at the recovery emphasis areas; (2) habitats on enrolled
properties will facilitate dispersal of newly released CBPRs and
enhance connectivity of recovery emphasis areas; (3) new subpopulations
of CBPRs may form on enrolled properties through natural population
expansion; (4) additional wild CBPRs may be located on properties being
considered for enrollment and be secured for captive breeding and/or
translocation efforts, which will improve the overall recovery outlook
for the species; (5) monitoring and future collection of biological
information concerning the CBPR (e.g., dispersal, survival,
productivity) will be improved through cooperative management efforts
on enrolled properties; (6) research and adaptive management for the
CBPR can be made more comprehensive if implemented at a broader scale
through facilitated access to enrolled properties; and (7) successful
implementation of cooperative, voluntary conservation measures will
increase public awareness and support for CBPR recovery efforts.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA and
NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). The Service will evaluate the permit
applications, associated documents, and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the proposed Agreement and permit applications meet
the requirements of NEPA regulations and section 10(a) of the ESA. If
it is determined that the requirements are met, the Agreement will be
finalized and signed and these permits will be issued to the Applicants
for incidental take of the covered species. The final NEPA and permit
determinations will not be completed until after the end of the 30-day
comment period, and will fully consider all public comments received
during the comment period.
Dated: August 14, 2006.
Carolyn A. Bohan,
Acting Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1,
Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E6-14773 Filed 9-6-06; 8:45 am]
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