[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48243-48244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19371]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R1-ES-2014-N155; FXES11120100000-145-FF01E00000]


Draft Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances and 
Receipt of Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the 
Greater Sage-Grouse on Private Rangelands, Baker and Malheur Counties, 
Oregon

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application for an enhancement of survival permit under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit application includes a 
draft candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) for the 
greater sage-grouse on private rangelands in Baker and Malheur 
Counties, Oregon. We invite comments from all interested parties on the 
application, including the draft CCAA, and a draft environmental action 
statement prepared pursuant to the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received from 
interested parties no later than September 15, 2014.

ADDRESSES: To request further information or submit written comments, 
please use one of the following methods, and note that your information 
request or comments are in reference to the Moore CCAA.
     Internet: Documents may be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/ToolsForLandowners/HabitatConservationPlans/.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Moore CCAA'' in the 
subject line of the message or comments.
     U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, La Grande Field 
Office, 3502 Highway 30, La Grande, OR 97850.
     Fax: 541-962-8581. Include ``Moore CCAA'' in the subject 
line of the message or comments.
     In-Person Viewing or Pickup: Documents will be available 
for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, La Grande Field Office, 3502 
Highway 30, La Grande, OR 97850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Miller or Marisa Meyer, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, La Grande Field Office (see ADDRESSES), 
telephone: 541-962-8584. If you use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf, please call the Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), have received an application from Mr. and Mrs. William Moore 
(applicants) for an enhancement of survival (EOS) permit under the 
Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit 
application includes a candidate conservation agreement with assurances 
(CCAA) between the applicants and the Service for the greater sage-
grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Baker and Malheur Counties, 
Oregon. The Service and the applicants prepared the CCAA to provide the 
applicants with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve the greater 
sage-grouse and its habitat while carrying out ranch operations. We 
have made a preliminary determination that the proposed CCAA and permit 
issuance are eligible for categorical exclusion under NEPA. The basis 
for our preliminary determination is contained in an environmental 
action statement (EAS). We invite comments from all interested parties 
on the application, including the CCAA and the EAS.

Background Information

    Private and other non-Federal property owners are encouraged to 
enter into CCAAs, in which they voluntarily undertake management 
activities on their properties to enhance, restore, or maintain habitat 
benefiting species that are proposed for listing under the ESA, 
candidates for listing, or species that may become candidates or 
proposed for listing. Through a CCAA and its associated EOS permit the 
Service provides assurances to property owners that they will not be 
subjected to increased land use restrictions if the covered species 
become listed under the ESA in the future, provided the CCAA is being 
properly implemented and the EOS permit conditions are met. Application 
requirements and issuance criteria for EOS permits for CCAAs are found 
in the Code of Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 17.32(d), 
respectively. See also our joint policy on CCAAs, which we published in 
the

[[Page 48244]]

Federal Register with the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (64 FR 
32726; June 17, 1999), as well as our revisions to that policy (69 FR 
24084; May 3, 2004).
    On March 23, 2010, the Service published a 12-month finding in the 
Federal Register (75 FR 13910) that the greater sage-grouse (rangewide) 
warrants listing under the ESA as threatened or endangered throughout 
its range, but this action was precluded by other higher priority 
listing actions. In anticipation of a future listing decision by the 
Service, the applicants requested assistance from the Service in 
developing a CCAA addressing the needs of sage-grouse on lands they own 
in Malheur County and lands they lease through a long-term lease in 
Baker County, Oregon. Under the proposed CCAA, the applicants will 
address threats to the sage-grouse through the implementation of 
conservation measures that are consistent with their land use 
activities and the CCAA. Through the EOS permit issued pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, the applicants would be authorized to 
incidentally take the sage-grouse in the course of implementing the 
CCAA if the species becomes listed under the ESA in the future, as long 
as the terms and conditions of the permit and the CCAA are followed.

Proposed Action

    Consistent with our CCAA Policy, the conservation goal of the 
proposed CCAA is to encourage enhancement and protection of suitable 
sage-grouse habitat on the enrolled lands by either maintaining or 
modifying existing land uses so that they are consistent with the 
conservation needs of the sage-grouse. We can facilitate this 
conservation goal by giving non-Federal landowners incentives to 
implement conservation measures, primarily through regulatory certainty 
concerning land-use restrictions that might otherwise apply should the 
sage-grouse become listed under the ESA. The Service proposes to 
approve the CCAA and to issue an EOS permit to the applicants for 
incidental take of the greater sage-grouse caused by covered 
activities, if permit issuance criteria are met. Both the CCAA and the 
permit would have a term of 30 years.
    The area to be addressed under this proposed CCAA (i.e., covered 
lands) is approximately 7,290 acres that are located in Baker and 
Malheur Counties, Oregon. Sage-grouse currently use suitable habitat on 
the covered lands for lekking (breeding displays), late brood-rearing, 
and wintering. The proposed CCAA describes all of the threats to the 
sage-grouse that have been identified on the enrolled lands, and the 
conservation measures the applicants will be implementing to address 
those threats. Implementation of the conservation measures identified 
in the CCAA is expected to benefit the sage-grouse by means of (1) 
maintenance of large tracts of unfragmented and undeveloped land; (2) 
management of fuels to help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires; 
(3) management of weeds and invasive plant species; and (4) maintenance 
of healthy, intact sage-grouse lekking, brood-rearing, and wintering 
habitats.
    We have made a preliminary determination that the proposed CCAA and 
permit issuance are eligible for categorical exclusion under the NEPA. 
The basis for our preliminary determination is contained in an EAS, 
which is available for public review (see ADDRESSES).

Public Comments

    We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the 
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this 
notice. We particularly seek comments on the following: (1) Biological 
information concerning the greater sage-grouse; (2) relevant data 
concerning this species; (3) additional information concerning the 
range, distribution, population size, and population trends of the 
greater sage-grouse; (4) current or planned activities in the covered 
area and their possible impacts on the species; (5) identification of 
any other environmental issues that should be considered with regard to 
the proposed permit action; and (6) information regarding the adequacy 
of the CCAA pursuant to the requirements for permits at 50 CFR parts 13 
and 17.

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments and materials we receive become part of the public 
record associated with this action. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information (PII) in your comments, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your PII--may be made publicly available at 
any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your PII 
from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. 
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation 
we used in preparing the draft EAS, will be available for public 
inspection by appointment, during normal business hours, at our La 
Grande Field Office (see ADDRESSES).

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the permit application, associated documents, and 
comments we receive to determine whether the permit application meets 
the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA and NEPA and their 
respective implementing regulations. We will also evaluate whether 
issuance of an EOS permit would comply with section 7 of the ESA by 
conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation on the proposed 
permit action. If we determine that all requirements are met, we will 
sign the proposed CCAA and issue an EOS permit under section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA to the applicants for take of sage-grouse caused 
by covered activities under the CCAA. We will not make our final 
decision until after the end of the 30-day public comment period, and 
we will fully consider all comments and information we receive during 
the public comment period.

Authority

    We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of 
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) and their implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 40 
CFR 1506.6, respectively).

    Dated: July 30, 2014.
Paul Henson,
State Supervisor, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2014-19371 Filed 8-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P