[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 56 (Friday, March 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15188-15189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5741]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2008-N0041; 30120-1122-0000 F2]


Notice: Receipt of application for an Enhancement of Survival 
Permit; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: The DuPage County Forest Preserve District (District) 
(Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) 
for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) 
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit 
application includes a draft Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) between 
the Applicant and the Service for the Hine's emerald dragonfly 
(Somatochlora hineana). Section 9 of the Act and its implementing 
regulations prohibit the take of animal species listed as endangered or 
threatened. The definition of take under the Act includes the following 
activities: to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 
capture, or collect listed animal species, or attempt to engage in such 
conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). Section 10 of the Act, 16 U.S.C. 1539, 
establishes a program whereby persons seeking to pursue activities that 
otherwise could give rise to liability for unlawful ``take'' of 
federally protected species may receive a permit, which protects them 
from such liability. The Hine's emerald dragonfly (HED) was listed as 
endangered by the Service in

[[Page 15189]]

January 1995. A Recovery Plan for the species was published in 
September 2001.
    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the proposed 
Agreement and permit application are eligible for categorical exclusion 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The basis 
for this determination is contained in an Environmental Action 
Statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for 
public review.

DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments 
on or before April 21, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments or request information by any of the 
following methods:
     U.S. Mail: Written comments should be addressed to the 
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago Field Office, 
1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington, IL 60010.
     Facsimile: Written comments may be faxed to (847) 381-
2285.
     E-Mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Mengler, Chicago Field 
Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: (847) 381-2253.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of Documents

    Individuals wishing copies of the permit application, copies of our 
preliminary Environmental Action Statement, and/or copies of the full 
text of the Agreement, including a map of the proposed permit area, 
should contact the office and personnel listed in the ADDRESSES section 
above. Copies of the draft Agreement are also available for public 
review during normal business hours (8-4:30) at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service's Regional Office, located at 1 Federal Drive, Fort 
Snelling, Minnesota 55111, and at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 
Chicago Field Office, located at 1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington, 
IL 60010. Documents are also available for review at the Service's 
Regional Web site at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/permits/hcp/index.html.

Public Availability of Comments

    Public requests for comments submitted will be handled in 
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Our practice is to make 
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available 
for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents 
may request we withhold their home address from the record, which we 
will honor to the extent allowable by law. If a respondent wishes us to 
withhold his/her name and/or address, this must be stated prominently 
at the beginning of the comment.

Draft Safe Harbor Agreement

    Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating landowners voluntarily 
undertake management activities on their property to enhance, restore, 
or maintain habitat benefiting species listed under the Act, Safe 
Harbor Agreements, and the subsequent enhancement of survival permits 
that are issued pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.), encourage private and other non-Federal property owners 
to implement conservation measures for federally listed species by 
assuring property owners that they will not be subjected to increased 
land use restrictions as a result of efforts to attract or increase the 
numbers or distribution of a listed species on their property. 
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of 
survival permits through Safe Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR 
17.22(c).
    Land subject to this Agreement (i.e., enrolled land) involve 
approximately 14 acres within the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve 
District in DuPage County, Illinois. The land consists of mowed turf 
grass, several buildings, a gravel driveway, several picnic shelters, 
septic systems, and a series of fish ponds that are groundwater fed via 
a system of pipes and artesian wells. Currently, the land does not 
provide any suitable habitat for HED.
    The purpose of this SHA is to facilitate management actions that 
results in an increased population of HED on land and water within 
Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois. 
Specifically, this refers to management actions proposed for the fish 
farm parcel and adjoining land within said preserve that is owned and 
managed by the District, a local public agency. Without the Agreement 
and proposed management actions, the enrolled land is unlikely to 
support any HED in the foreseeable future. The proposed duration of the 
Agreement and permit is 15 years.
    Upon approval of this Agreement, and consistent with the Service's 
Safe Harbor Policy published in the Federal Register on June 17, 1999 
(64 FR 32717), the Service would issue a permit to the District 
authorizing take of HED incidental to the implementation of the 
management activities specified in the Agreement and other lawful uses 
of the properties, including normal routine land management activities, 
and/or to return to pre-Agreement conditions (baseline).

Decisions

    We will evaluate this permit application, associated documents, and 
comments submitted thereon to determine whether the permit application 
meets the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act. If we 
determine that the requirements are met, we will sign the Agreement and 
issue an enhancement of survival permit to the Applicant for take of 
HED incidental to otherwise lawful activities, in accordance with the 
terms of the Agreement. We will not make our final decision until after 
the end of the 30-day comment period and we will fully consider all 
comments received during the comment period.

    Dated: February 15, 2008.
Lynn Lewis,
Assistant Regional Director, Acting, Ecological Services, Region 3, 
Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
 [FR Doc. E8-5741 Filed 3-20-08; 8:45 am]
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