[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 9 (Friday, January 12, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1048-1049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-71]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Endangered and Threatened Species Permit Application

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notices of Availability and Intent to Issue Permit.

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    Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) on Proposed Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit for Desert 
Tortoise in Washington County, Utah and Notice of Intent to Issue an 
Incidental Take Permit for Desert Tortoise to Washington County, Utah.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed issuance of an incidental take 
permit for desert tortoises in Washington County, Utah is available. 
Publication of the Record of Decision and issuance of the permit will 
occur no sooner than 30 days from this notice. This notice is provided 
pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and National Environmental Policy 
Regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

ADDRESSES: Requests for this final EIS should be sent to the Assistant 
Field Supervisor, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 145 East 
1300 South Street, Suite 404, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. The document 
will also be available for public inspection by appointment during 
business hours at the above address. A letter announcing availability 
of the Final EIS has been sent to all agencies and parties who 
previously received notice of availability of the Draft EIS, and/or who 
requested a copy of the Draft EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert D. Williams, Assistant Field Supervisor (see ADDRESSES above) 
(telephone (801) 524-5001, facsimile (801) 524-5021).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On April 2, 1990, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) 
issued a final rule (55 FR 12178) determining the desert tortoise 
(Gopherus agassizii) a threatened species under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Because of its listing as a threatened 
species, the desert tortoise is protected by the Act's prohibition 
against ``taking.'' The Act defines ``take'' to mean: to harass, harm, 
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to 
attempt to engage in such conduct. ``Harm'' is further defined by 
regulation as any act that kills or injures wildlife, including 
significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills 
or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral 
patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3).
    The Service, however, may issue permits to carry out otherwise 
lawful activities involving take of endangered and threatened wildlife 
under certain circumstances. Regulations governing permits are in 50 
CFR 17.22, 17.23, and 17.32. For threatened species, such permits are 
available for scientific purposes, enhancing the propagation or 
survival of the species, economic hardship, zoological exhibition or 
educational purposes, incidental taking, or special purposes consistent 
with the purposes of the Act.
    Washington County, Utah (Applicant) submitted an application to the 
Service for a permit to incidentally take desert tortoise, pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, in association with various private 
projects upcoming in Washington County, Utah. The proposed permit would 
allow incidental take of desert tortoise for a period of 20 years, 
resulting from development on up to 12,264 acres of private lands 
within desert tortoise habitat within Washington County, Utah. The 
permit application was received June 15, 1995, and is accompanied by 
the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which serves as 
the Applicant's habitat conservation plan and details their proposed 
measures to minimize, monitor, and mitigate impacts of the proposed 
take on desert tortoise.
    Under the Proposed Action, a section 10(a) permit would be issued 
subject to terms and conditions of the HCP developed and proposed by 
the Applicant. The incidental take estimated for this alternative is 
within 12,264 acres of desert tortoise habitat and for desert tortoise 
within 11,832 acres of potential habitat. Primary mitigation for take 
of desert tortoise habitat would be acquisition and management of lands 
that would be consolidated into a reserve primarily for desert tortoise 
conservation. The reserve would encompass 61,022 acres, over half of 
which would be desert tortoise habitat. The remaining acreage within 
the reserve would provide habitat for other wildlife and plant species. 
The reserve lands would be acquired through land purchases and 
exchanges. Management of the reserve would include fencing reserve 
boundaries; prohibiting specific activities in areas of high 
sensitivity; acquiring all grazing permits in zones; managing all free-
roaming dogs and feral animals within the reserve; and enforcing all 
Federal, State and local regulations within the reserve.
    Also under the Proposed Action, the Applicant would be responsible 
for conducting desert tortoise surveys in take areas prior to 
development. If desert tortoises were found in these areas, a number of 
them would be translocated by the Service during the first five years 
of permit and HCP implementation. In addition, an environmental 
education center would be created to help inform people about the 
function and value of ecosystems found within Washington County.
    Sources of permanent funding for the HCP would include a county-
wide fee assessed when building permits are issued. The fee would be 
equal to 0.2 percent of total construction costs. A second county-wide 
fee of $250.00 per acre would be assessed to developers of 
subdivisions, condominiums, town homes, or planned unit developments. 
It is estimated that over the 20-year period of the section 10(a) 
permit, revenues from these fees would exceed $9 million. Of this 
total, approximately $7 million would be expended on implementing 
measures for desert tortoise preservation. The balance would be 
expended on other threatened, endangered, and sensitive species within 
Washington County. The Applicant is pursuing possible cost-sharing 
agreements with the Utah Department of Transportation, Utah Division of 
Wildlife Resources, and Service for additional funding for HCP 
implementation. It is estimated that total cost of implementation of 
the HCP would be $11,555,000.
    To minimize impacts of take, the largest, contiguous reserve 
practicable for desert tortoise conservation within 

[[Page 1049]]
the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit has been proposed. The reserve has 
been designed to minimize take and to allow for implementation of 
measures outlined in the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan. Other methods 
proposed by the Applicant to minimize incidental take include fencing, 
law enforcement, environmental education, and desert tortoise 
translocation.

Development of the Final EIS

    The Final EIS has been developed by the Service. In the development 
of the Final EIS, the Service initiated action to assure compliance 
with the purpose and intent of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
a 1969, as amended. Scoping activities were undertaken preparatory to 
developing a Draft EIS with a variety of local, State, and Federal 
entities. A Notice of Intent to prepare a Draft EIS was published 
December 2, 1991 (56 FR 61259); a public Scoping meeting was held in 
December 1991 with a public update meeting held on February 22, 1995; 
and a Notice of Availability of a Draft EIS and Receipt of an 
Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Desert Tortoise in 
Washington County, Utah was published July 14, 1995 (60 FR 36305).
    Potential consequences, in terms of adverse impacts and benefits 
associated with the implementation of each alternative selected for 
detailed analysis, were described in the Draft EIS. The Service 
received 18 letters of comment on the Draft EIS which focused on 
impacts on: (1) Desert tortoise due to proposed mitigation and 
minimization measures, (2) threatened, endangered, and sensitive 
species, (3) Virgin River flows, (4) multiple-use activities in areas 
proposed as reserve, (5) private landowners, and (6) livestock grazing. 
Appendix A of the Final EIS contains copies of all comments received 
and responses to all comments received. The Final EIS was revised where 
appropriate based on public comment and review. Issues and potential 
consequences have remained identical from the Draft to the Final EIS.

Alternatives Analyzed in the Final EIS

    Three alternatives have been developed for analysis in this EIS. 
These alternatives include the NEPA-required No Action Alternative and 
two action alternatives based on issuance of a section 10(a) permit. 
Five other alternatives were eliminated from further analysis due to 
their lack of feasibility.
    Under the No Action Alternative (Alternative A), no HCP would be 
prepared, and the Applicant would not pursue a section 10(a) permit. 
Current project-by-project enforcement of the Act would continue, 
resulting in individual section 7 and 10(a) permits and section 9 
enforcement. No privately funded, large-scale implementation of the 
Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan would be undertaken, and State and 
Federal agencies would be responsible for implementing the proposed 
Upper Virgin River Desert Wildlife Management Area.
    Under the Proposed Action Alternative (Alternative B), a section 
10(a) permit would be issued subject to terms and conditions of the HCP 
that has been developed by the Applicant. See BACKGROUND for a 
discussion of the Proposed Action.
    Alternative C is similar to the Proposed Action; however, the 
expected incidental take of desert tortoise habitat would be greater 
and size of the reserve would be reduced. The area of incidental take 
of desert tortoise habitat would be 15,094 acres, and size of the 
reserve would be 44,504 acres. This smaller reserve does not meet 
requirements outline in the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan for the Upper 
Virgin River Desert Wildlife Management Area. As stated in the Desert 
Tortoise Recovery Plan, the proposed Desert Wildlife Management Area is 
considered to be ``* * * too small to ensure adequate probability of 
population persistence without careful management.'' The reserve would 
be managed following guidelines of the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan; 
however, more intensive management would be required to allow 
probability of desert tortoise population persistence within the 
reserve.
    The underlying goal of the proposed action is to develop and 
implement a program designed to ensure the continued existence of 
desert tortoise in the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit/Desert Wildlife 
Management Area/habitat reserve, while resolving potential conflicts 
that may arise from otherwise lawful private projects. The Washington 
County HCP creates an ongoing administration for the purposes of 
minimizing, mitigating, and monitoring impacts on the desert tortoise, 
as well as a framework for providing protection for candidate and 
sensitive species. The Service intends to issue a section 10 incidental 
take permit for desert tortoise to Washington County, Utah, as outlined 
in their permit applicant and HCP.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. et seq.) and the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

    Dated: December 15, 1995.
Ralph O. Margenweck,
Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 96-71 Filed 1-11-96; 8:45 am]
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