[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18440-18442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9247]


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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: Notice of receipt of permit application and availability of 
Habitat Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Department of Natural 
Resources, State of Wisconsin (WDNR) has applied to the Fish and 
Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.).

Permit Number TE 010064

Applicant: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, State of 
Wisconsin, and Twenty-five Partners.

    The applicant requests a permit to authorize the incidental take 
associated with habitat modification (i.e., harm), of the Karner Blue 
Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) which is federally listed as 
endangered. The permit is requested for the State of Wisconsin, in its 
entirety, for a period of 10 years.
    The Service requests comments from the public on the incidental 
take permit application and the accompanying Wisconsin Statewide 
Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan). The Plan fully describes the proposed 
activities and the measures the WDNR and 25 HCP Partners will undertake 
to conserve the species while conducting otherwise lawful land use 
activities. These measures and associated impacts are also described in 
the background and summary information that follow.
    We also request comments from the public on our Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement Number DES 99-9, prepared in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act, and the Department of the Interior 
Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1).

DATES: Written comments on the permit application and Plan should be 
received on or before June 14, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Individuals wishing copies of the permit application, 
Habitat Conservation Plan, or Draft Environmental Impact Statement, may 
contact the office and personnel listed below. The Habitat Conservation 
Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement may be accessed through 
the internet at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Web Page (http://
www.fws.gov/r3pao) or the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Web 
Page (http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/publications/karner/
karner.htm). Documents also will be available for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours at the address below.
    Document Availability: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1015 
Challenger Court, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54311, (920) 465-7440; FAX (920) 
465-7410.
    Three public information meetings are scheduled to provide the 
public an additional forum to learn about the HCP/EIS and proposed 
activities. Representatives from the U.S. Fish and

[[Page 18441]]

Wildlife Service, the WDNR, and others will be available at these 
meetings. Meetings will begin at 5:00 with question and answer period, 
followed by presentations and gathering of comments at 6:00pm. Meeting 
locations are as follows:

Tuesday, May 11, 1999--Siren, Wisconsin, at the Burnett County 
Government Center, 7410 County Road K, Siren, WI 54872, (Room number to 
be posted)
Wednesday, May 12, 1999--Black River Falls, at the County Courthouse, 
307 Main Street, Black River Falls, WI 54615, (County Board Room)
Thursday, May 13, 1999--Wisconsin Rapids, at the Midstate Technical 
College, 500 32nd Street, N, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494, (L Building 
Auditorium)

    Written comments regarding the permit application, the HCP or Draft 
EIS should be addressed to the Regional Director, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111-4056. 
Comments must be submitted to this address to be considered by the 
Service in its final decision. Please refer to permit number TE 010064 
when submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lisa Mandell, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Fort Snelling, Minnesota, telephone 612-713-5343.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Section 9 of the Act and applicable 
federal regulations, the ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered 
or threatened is prohibited. However, the Service, under limited 
circumstances, may issue permits to ``take'' listed species, provided 
such take is incidental to, and not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful 
activity. Regulations governing permits for endangered species are 
promulgated in 50 CFR 17.22. Regulations governing permits for 
threatened species are promulgated in 50 CFR 17.32.

Background

    The Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) was 
federally-listed as endangered on December 14, 1992. Historically, the 
Karner blue butterfly occurred in a narrow band extending from eastern 
Minnesota, across portions of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Michigan, Ohio, Canada (Ontario), Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, 
Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. At the time of listing, the butterfly 
was considered to be extirpated from Illinois, Iowa, Maine, 
Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Ontario. To date, recovery 
efforts have included conservation of existing populations and 
reintroduction of the Karner blue butterfly into Ohio. At the time of 
listing, the primary threats to the Karner blue butterfly were habitat 
loss due to modification and destruction, habitat loss due to the 
absence of natural disturbances, silviculture and fragmentation of 
remaining habitat.
    The habitat of the Karner blue butterfly is characterized by the 
presence of wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), a member of the pea family. 
Wild lupine is the only known larval food plant for the species and is, 
therefore, closely tied to the butterfly's ecology and distribution. In 
the Midwest, the habitat is dry and sandy, including oak savanna and 
jack pine areas, and dune/sandplain communities. It is believed that 
the Karner blue butterfly originally occurred as shifting clusters of 
populations, or metapopulations, across a vast fire-swept landscape 
covering thousands of acres. While the fires resulted in localized 
extirpation, post-fire vegetational succession promoted colonization 
and rapid population buildups (Schweitzer 1989).
    In Wisconsin, Karner blue butterfly populations are concentrated 
across the central counties and in the northwest. The populations occur 
primarily on sandy soil areas that support wild lupine, although 
presence of this habitat alone does not indicate presence of Karner 
blue butterflies. It appears that other climatic and biological factors 
also influence suitability of habitat. Currently, abandoned 
agricultural fields, transportation corridors, rights-of way, managed 
forests, managed barrens, savannas, and prairies are areas where one 
might find Karner blue butterflies in Wisconsin.
    Following the listing of the butterfly, the Wisconsin Department of 
Natural Resources recognized the need to address take of the butterfly 
while conducting otherwise lawful land use activities, including forest 
management, savanna management, etc. A coalition was formed, and the 
result of the effort is the Habitat Conservation Plan summarized below, 
which is currently under consideration for an incidental take permit.

Summary of the Habitat Conservation Plan

    The WDNR is interested in administering the Incidental Take Permit 
for lands throughout the state. Twenty-six partners are included in the 
application. The WDNR has developed a Species and Habitat Conservation 
Agreement (SHCA) for state lands and twenty-five partners to the HCP 
have entered into an SHCA with the WDNR. New partners to the HCP that 
enter into the process after the proposed permit is issued will be 
provided with Certificates of Inclusion by the Service once they have 
signed an SHCA that meets Service and State criteria.
    The WDNR and partners have identified a variety of conservation 
activities that will be undertaken to minimize harm to the butterfly 
and mitigate unavoidable permanent take during otherwise lawful land 
use activities. Strategies are included for conservation in forestry 
management, right-of-way management, barrens management, transportation 
corridor management, and management of areas to benefit recovery of the 
species. WDNR proposes to be responsible to ensure compliance and 
supervise monitoring of take activities.
    The WDNR, in the HCP and application, is proposing a statewide 
Participation Plan that identifies the roles and responsibilities of 
the current partners and describes: (a) The process for incorporating 
new partners into the Permit, (b) articulates when and what activities 
require a separate, individual permit or authorization, and (c) 
encourages private landowner participation in conservation of the 
Karner blue butterfly throughout Wisconsin on a voluntary basis. The 
latter strategy involves encouraging conservation of the Karner blue 
butterfly through a geographically focused education and outreach 
program implemented by partners with no regulatory mandate attached to 
this group of landowners (conservation by this group is optional). This 
is an extremely innovative approach, but has been proposed based on an 
extensive, biologically justified analysis of the risk involved in 
terms of potential to take the butterfly, a rigorous outreach program, 
and conservation commitments by the WDNR and 25 partners. The WDNR 
developed the risk assessment associated with implementation of the 
Participation Plan, which graphically demonstrates (by county) the 
biological risk and mitigation potential associated with implementation 
of the Participation Plan. The expectation is that the combination of 
mitigation by the DNR and Partners, realized through their conservation 
and recovery commitments and efforts to maximize outreach in the areas 
most critical to survival and conservation of the species, will provide 
a net benefit to the species. The Service proposes to condition 
approval of this Participation Plan on a three year trial period for 
implementation of this strategy, along with a detailed and extensive 
reporting requirement

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designed to monitor the success of its implementation.
    The monitoring program includes three components: (1) An 
effectiveness monitoring protocol implemented yearly to detect 
statewide trends of the Karner blue butterfly habitat, presence and 
relative abundance, (2) self-monitoring to integrate partner survey and 
management information, and (3) an adaptive management approach. As 
part of an adaptive management approach, the partners have agreed that 
modified conservation measures and alternative management regimes will 
be implemented if monitoring indicates that conservation efforts do not 
produce the anticipated, desirable result for the butterfly.
    The stated biological goal of this HCP is no-net-loss of habitat 
for the Karner blue butterfly over the life of the plan. A primary 
objective is to maintain a shifting mosaic of habitat across the 
Wisconsin landscape over time, which will provide for the ecological 
needs of the species.
    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. The 
Service will evaluate the permit application, HCP, Implementation 
Agreement, Partners' Species and Habitat Conservation Agreements, and 
comments submitted relative to the proposed action to determine whether 
the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If 
it is determined that the requirements are met, a permit will be issued 
for the incidental take of Karner blue butterfly.

Reference Cited

Schweitzer, D.F. 1989. Fact sheet for the Karner blue butterfly with 
special reference to New York. The Nature Conservancy, internal 
document, 7 pp.

    Dated: April 6, 1999.
Marvin E. Moriarty,
Acting Regional Director, Region 3, Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
[FR Doc. 99-9247 Filed 4-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P