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Safe Harbor Agreement and Receipt of Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit Associated With the Restoration of Habitat for Utah Prairie Dogs on Private Land in Piute County, UT

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: February 27, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 38)]
[Notices]
[Page 8766-8767]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27fe07-110]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Safe Harbor Agreement and Receipt of Application for an
Enhancement of Survival Permit Associated With the Restoration of
Habitat for Utah Prairie Dogs on Private Land in Piute County, UT

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Mr. Val Norman (Applicant/Cooperator) has applied to the Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service) for an Enhancement of Survival Permit
(ESP) for the Utah prairie dog (UPD) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This permit
application includes a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) between the
Applicant and the Service. The Service requests information, views, and
opinions from the public via this notice. Further, the Service is
soliciting information regarding the adequacy of the SHA as measured
against the Service's Safe Harbor Policy and the regulations that
implement it.

DATES: Written comments on the permit application must be received on
or before March 29, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the SHA and the ESP application
may obtain a copy by writing the Service's Mountain-Prairie Regional
Office, Denver, Colorado. Documents also will be available for public
inspection during normal business hours at the Regional Office, 134
Union Boulevard, Denver, Colorado 80228-1807, or the Utah Field Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2369 West Orton Circle, Suite 50, West
Valley City, Utah 84119. Written data or comments concerning the SHA or
ESP application should be submitted to the Regional office and must be
in writing to be processed. Comments must be submitted in writing to be
adequately considered in the Service's decision-making process. Please
reference permit number TE131545-0 in your comments, or in the request
for the documents discussed herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Mehlhop, Regional Safe Harbor
Coordinator (see Denver address above), telephone 303-236-4215, or
Larry Crist, Utah Field Office Supervisor (see West Valley City address
above), telephone 801-975-3330.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The UPD is the westernmost member of the
genus Cynomys. The species' range, which is limited to the southwestern
quarter of Utah, is the most restricted of all prairie dog species in
the United States. Distribution of the UPD has been greatly reduced due
to disease (plague), poisoning, drought, and human-related habitat
alteration. Protection of this species and enhancement of its habitat
on private land will benefit recovery efforts.
    The primary objective of a SHA is to encourage voluntary
conservation measures to benefit the species and the landowner. Through
this agreement, the landowner will receive relief from any additional
section 9 liability under the Act beyond that which exists at the time
the agreement is signed (``regulatory baseline''). There are no
buildings or residences on the property; however it is currently used
to house hunting dogs in an enclosed area less than 0.4 hectare (1
acre) in size. The rest of the property is unused and is not currently
suitable for livestock grazing due to the high density of invasive
weeds. The property is bordered on four sides by private lands. At the
present time, the property supports an active prairie dog colony with
many unoccupied burrows. In addition, active UPD colonies are known to
exist on private property east and south of the Norman property.
Foraging habitat and habitat that offers visual surveillance for the
prairie dogs will be further enhanced by implementing a prescribed
grazing plan, seeding to improve the forage quality for UPD, and
installing irrigation improvements.
    Habitat improvements will occur throughout the term of the
agreement through managed grazing. The Cooperator will receive an ESP
that authorizes implementation of the conservation actions and other
provisions of this Agreement and authorizes incidental take of the
covered species above the Cooperator's baseline responsibilities, as
defined in the SHA. The proposed SHA would become effective upon
signature of the SHA and issuance of the permit, and would remain in
effect for 15 years. The requested permit would remain in effect for 35
years. We have made the determination that the proposed activities
described in the application

[[Page 8767]]

and SHA will increase available prairie dog habitat and will
potentially expand an existing active colony of UPDs on the Norman
property. The action is categorically excluded under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This notice is provided pursuant to
section 10 of the Act, and the Service's Safe Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717).
    The Service has evaluated the impacts of this action under the NEPA
and determined that it warrants categorical exclusion as described in
516 DM 8, 8.5 C. (1). The Service will evaluate whether the issuance of
the ESP complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-
Service section 7 consultation on the issuance of the permit. The
result of the biological opinion, in combination with the above finding
and any public comments, will be used in the final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue the requested ESP, pursuant to the
regulation that guide issuance of the type of permit.

(Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).)

    Dated: January 11, 2007.
James J. Slack,
Deputy Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.
[FR Doc. E7-3378 Filed 2-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P

 
 

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