[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 152 (Friday, August 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47510-47511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19469]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2015-N124: FF08ENVD00-FXES11130800000-156]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Enhancement of 
Survival Permit Application; Greater Sage-Grouse Candidate Conservation 
Agreement With Assurances for Smith Creek Ranch LTD

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received from 
interested parties no later than September 8, 2015.

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 Smith Creek Ranch LTD CCAA.
    Internet: Documents may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/nevada.
    Email: [email protected]. Include ``Smith Creek Ranch CCAA'' in 
the subject line of the message or comments.
    U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno Fish and Wildlife 
Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Suite 234, Reno, NV 89502.
    Fax: 775-861-6301. Include ``Smith Creek Ranch 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 Reno Fish 
and Wildlife Office (address above).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward D. Koch, Field Supervisor, Reno 
Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); by telephone (775-861-6300), 
or by facsimile (775-861-6301). If you use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay Service 
at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from Smith 
Creek Ranch LTD for an EOS permit under the ESA. The permit application 
includes a CCAA between the applicant and the Service for the greater 
sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Churchill and Lander 
Counties, Nevada. The Service and the applicant prepared the CCAA to 
provide the applicant 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 
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 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 warrants 
listing under the ESA as threatened or endangered throughout is range, 
but this action was precluded by other higher priority listing actions. 
In anticipation of a future listing decision by the Service, the 
applicant requested assistance from the Service in developing a CCAA 
addressing the needs of the greater sage-grouse on lands owned in 
Churchill and Lander Counties, Nevada. Under the proposed CCAA, the 
applicant will address threats to the greater sage-grouse through 
implementation of conservation measures that are consistent with their 
land use activities and the CCAA. Through the issuance of an EOS 
permit, pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, the applicant would 
be authorized to incidentally take greater sage-grouse in the course of 
implementing the CCAA if the species becomes listed under the ESA in 
the future, as long as

[[Page 47511]]

the terms and conditions of the permit and the CCAA are followed.

Proposed Action

    The Service proposes to approve the CCAA and to issue an EOS 
permit, both with a term of 20 years, to Smith Creek Ranch LTD for 
incidental take of greater sage-grouse caused by covered activities, if 
permit issuance criteria are met. The area to be addressed under this 
proposed CCAA (i.e., covered lands) includes approximately 2,200 acres 
in Churchill and Lander Counties, Nevada. Greater sage-grouse currently 
use suitable habitat on the covered lands for nesting, early and late 
brood-rearing, and wintering. The proposed CCAA describes the threats 
to the greater sage-grouse that have been identified on the enrolled 
lands, and the conservation measures the applicant will implement to 
address these threats. Implementation of the conservation measures 
identified in the CCAA is expected to benefit the greater sage-grouse 
by (1) Maintaining tracts of unfragmented and undeveloped land; (2) 
managing weeds and invasive plant species; and (3) maintaining healthy, 
intact nesting, brood-rearing and wintering habitats. The CCAA has been 
developed in support of a EOS permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 
ESA.
    Consistent with our CCAA Policy (64 FR 32726), the conservation 
goal of the proposed CCAA is to encourage enhancement and protection of 
greater sage-grouse habitat on non-Federal lands by either maintaining 
or modifying existing land uses so that they are consistent with the 
conservation needs of the greater sage-grouse. We can meet this 
conservation goal with the use of a CCAA by giving non-Federal 
landowners incentives to implement conservation measures, primarily 
through regulatory certainty concerning land-use restrictions that 
might otherwise apply should the greater sage-grouse become listed 
under the ESA.
    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 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 personal identifiable information 
(PII) in your comments, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your PII--may be made publically available at any time. While 
you can ask us in your comment to withhold your PII from public review, 
we cannot guarantee 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 Reno Fish and Wildlife 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)(1)(A) of the ESA and NEPA and their 
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 
Smith Creek Ranch LTD for incidental take of greater sage-grouse that 
is likely to occur with implementation of 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 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).

Edward D. Koch,
Field Supervisor, Reno Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Reno, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 2015-19469 Filed 8-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P