[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62526-62527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24678]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2008-N0177; 20124-1115-0000-F4]


Draft Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances and 
Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the Lesser 
Prairie-Chicken and Sand Dune Lizard (Center of Excellence for 
Hazardous Materials Management)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft candidate conservation 
agreement with assurances and draft environmental assessment; receipt 
of application.

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SUMMARY: The Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management 
(CEHMM) (Applicant) has applied for an enhancement of survival permit 
under Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, 
as amended. The permit application includes a draft Candidate 
Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) between the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (Service) and CEHMM for the lesser prairie-chicken 
(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) (LPC) and the dunes sagebrush lizard 
(Sceloporus arenicolus), commonly known as the sand dune lizard (SDL) 
throughout their range in New Mexico. The Applicant proposes to 
implement conservation measures for the LPC and SDL by removing threats 
to the survival of these species and protecting their habitat. We 
invite public comment.

DATES: To ensure consideration, we must receive written comments on or 
before November 20, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application may obtain a copy 
by writing to the Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
P.O. Box 1306, Room 4102, Albuquerque, NM 87103. Persons wishing to 
review the draft CCAA or the draft environmental assessment may obtain 
a copy by written or telephone request to Nancy Riley, New Mexico 
Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2105 
Osuna NE., Albuquerque, NM 87113 (505/761-4707). Documents will be 
available for public inspection by written request, or by appointment 
only during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), at the above 
Albuquerque address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Riley, New Mexico Ecological 
Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2105 Osuna NE., 
Albuquerque, NM 87113 (505/761-4707).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With the assistance of the Service, the 
Applicant proposes to implement conservation measures for the LPC and 
SDL by removing threats to the survival of these species and protecting 
their habitat. The proposed CCAA would be in effect for 20 years in 
southeastern New Mexico. This area constitutes the CCAA's Planning 
Area, with Covered Areas being private lands and state trust lands that 
provide suitable habitat or are being improved or restored to provide 
suitable habitat for the LPC and/or SDL. This CCAA is part of a larger 
conservation effort for the LPC and SDL within New Mexico in the form 
of a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) among the Service, the 
Bureau of Land Management, and CEHMM that would address conservation 
measures on Federal lands. The CCA contains more information regarding 
both species, including the life history, historic ranges, threats to 
the species, and conservation measures to reduce and/or eliminate those 
threats. There are no assurances associated with the CCA.
    Under the CCAA, LPC and SDL conservation will be enhanced by 
providing assurances such that, should the Participating Landowner or 
Other Cooperator have or attract LPCs or SDLs to their property, the 
Participating Landowner or Other Cooperator will not incur additional 
land use restrictions in the event either species is listed. Without 
regulatory assurances, landowners may be unwilling to initiate 
conservation measures for these species.

Background

    The historic range of the LPC encompassed habitats with sandy soils 
supporting shinnery oak-bluestem and sand sage-bluestem communities in 
the high plains of southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, western 
Oklahoma, west Texas, the Texas panhandle, and eastern New Mexico. The 
Service was petitioned to list the LPC as threatened in 1995. The 
Service ruled that listing of the LPC was warranted, but precluded 
because of other higher priority species. The LPC was designated as a 
candidate for listing in 1997.
    The SDL is native to a small area of southeastern New Mexico and 
west Texas. The species only occurs in sand dune complexes associated 
with shinnery oak. Oil and gas development near dunal complexes along 
with shinnery oak removal for the enhancement of forage production for 
grazing has increased fragmentation of SDL habitat and gaps in the 
species' range. In 2001, the Service determined that listing of the SDL 
was warranted, but precluded because of other higher priority species, 
and the species was designated a candidate for listing under the Act.
    This CCAA was initiated in order to facilitate conservation and 
restoration of the LPC and SDL on private lands and state trust lands. 
Conservation benefits for both species are expected in the form of 
habitat enhancement and restoration. The Applicant also proposes to 
encourage creative partnerships among public, private, and government 
entities to conserve the LPC and SDL and their habitats. In addition to 
habitat enhancement and restoration activities, release of captive-
reared or trans-located LPCs will be conducted in order to establish 
viable populations within the Planning Area. The Applicant has 
committed to guiding the implementation of these conservation measures 
and requests issuance of the permit in order to address the take 
prohibitions of Section 9 of the Act

[[Page 62527]]

should the species become listed in the future.
    The draft CCAA and permit application are not eligible for 
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969. A draft Environmental Assessment has been prepared to 
further analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the 
CCAA on the quality of the human environment or other natural 
resources.
    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22), and the 
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR part 1506.6).

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments we receive become part of the public record. Requests 
for copies of comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom 
of Information Act, NEPA, and Service and Department of the Interior 
policies and procedures. Before including your address, phone number, 
e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee we will be able to 
do so.

Brian Millsap,
Acting Regional Director, Region 2, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[FR Doc. E8-24678 Filed 10-20-08; 8:45 am]
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