[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 214 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68555-68557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28200]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2015-N176; FXES11130800000-156-FF08EVEN00]


Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for the Reestablishment of the 
California Red-Legged Frog in the Santa Monica Mountains, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of permit application.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received, from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, 
Angeles District (applicant), an application for an enhancement of 
survival permit for the federally threatened California red-legged 
frog, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This 
permit application includes a proposed safe harbor agreement 
(agreement) between the applicant and the Service. The agreement and 
permit application are available for public comment.

DATES: To ensure we are able to consider your comments, please send 
them to us by December 7, 2015.

ADDRESSES: The documents are available on our Web site, at http://www.fws.gov/ventura. A limited number of printed copies are available 
by request. You may request the documents or submit comments by any of 
the following methods.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``SAMO SHA'' in the 
subject line of the message.
     U.S. Mail: Field Supervisor; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office; 2493 Portola Road, Suite B; 
Ventura, CA 93003.
     Fax: Attn: Field Supervisor, (805) 644-3958.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Morrissette, Senior Biologist, 
Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, at the address above or by telephone 
at (805) 644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application for an 
enhancement of survival permit for the threatened California red-legged 
frog (Rana draytonii) under the Act. This permit application includes a 
proposed safe harbor agreement (agreement) between the applicant and 
the Service. The agreement and permit application are available for 
public comment.

Availability of Documents

    You may obtain copies of the documents for review by using one of 
the methods in ADDRESSES, or by contacting the individual named in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. You also may make an 
appointment to view the documents at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife 
Office (see ADDRESSES) during normal business hours.

Background

    Under a safe harbor agreement, participating landowners voluntarily 
undertake management activities on their property to benefit species 
listed under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Safe harbor agreements, 
and the subsequent permits that are issued under section 10(a)(1)(A) of 
the Act, encourage private and other non-Federal property owners to 
implement conservation efforts for 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 permits through safe harbor 
agreements are found in 50 CFR 17.22(c) and 17.32(c).

Proposed Agreement

    We have worked with the applicant to develop this proposed 
agreement for the

[[Page 68556]]

conservation of the California red-legged frog on the properties 
subject to the agreement (enrolled properties), which are owned and 
managed by the applicant. The four enrolled properties are: (1) Point 
Mugu State Park, La Jolla Canyon Watershed, Ventura County; (2) Leo 
Carrillo State Park, Arroyo Sequit Watershed, Los Angeles County; (3) 
Malibu Creek State Park, Monte Nido Watershed, Los Angeles County; and 
(4) Topanga State Park, Temescal Creek, Santa Monica Watershed, Los 
Angeles County. The area of each enrolled property follows: The area of 
La Jolla Canyon Watershed within Point Mugu State Park is 2,790 acres; 
the area of Arroyo Sequit Watershed within Leo Carrillo State Park is 
1,803 acres; the area of Monte Nido Watershed within Malibu Creek State 
Park is 5,420 acres; and the area of Temescal Creek, Santa Monica 
Watershed within Topanga State Park is 6,917 acres. The total combined 
area of the enrolled properties is 16,930 acres. The enrolled 
properties occur within the historic range of the California red-legged 
frog. Within the 16,930 acres of land comprising the enrolled 
properties, approximately 135 acres contain suitable habitat for the 
California red-legged frog. California red-legged frogs will be 
translocated and reestablished into suitable habitat at the enrolled 
properties according to a written agreement between the applicant and 
Service. Under this written agreement, the existing habitat for the 
California red-legged frog will be managed for the species, and 
additional habitat for the species may be created in the future. We 
expect that the activities proposed in the agreement will result in the 
reestablishment of the California red-legged frog in suitable habitat 
that will be maintained and remain relatively undisturbed, thus 
resulting in a net conservation benefit for the species.
    The agreement provides for the translocation and reestablishment of 
the California red-legged frog at the enrolled properties, and the 
management of its suitable habitat. The proposed duration of the 
agreement and term of the enhancement of survival permit is 50 years. 
The agreement fully describes the proposed management activities to be 
undertaken by the applicant and the net conservation benefits expected 
to be gained for the California red-legged frog.

What Would Happen Upon Approval of Agreement

    Upon approval of this agreement and satisfactory completion of all 
other applicable legal requirements, 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 applicant 
authorizing take of the California red-legged frog incidental to the 
implementation of the management activities specified in the agreement, 
including translocation and reestablishment of California red-legged 
frogs to the enrolled properties, incidental to other lawful uses of 
the enrolled property, including normal, routine land management 
activities and recreation, including hiking, horseback riding, 
bicycling, camping, and picnicking; incidental to monitoring and 
surveying activities; and incidental to the return to pre-agreement 
conditions (baseline).
    Management activities included in the agreement will provide for 
the translocation and reestablishment of the California red-legged frog 
and management of its habitat within the enrolled properties. The 
objective of such activities is to reestablish self-sustaining 
populations of the California red-legged frog within its historic range 
in the suitable habitat at the enrolled properties. Take of California 
red-legged frogs in the form of capture would occur during 
translocation activities, thereby necessitating take authority under 
the permit. Take incidental to activities associated with the 
management of California red-legged frog habitat is unlikely; however, 
it is possible that in the course of such activities or other lawful 
activities on the enrolled property, the applicant could incidentally 
take individual California red-legged frogs, thereby necessitating take 
authority under the permit.
    Baseline conditions at the enrolled properties, as described in the 
agreement, have been established, consisting of two elements, the 
current area of suitable habitat for the California red-legged frog and 
the elevated presence of California red-legged frog populations. Under 
the agreement, an elevated baseline for the California red-legged frog 
populations means that, in anticipation that translocation and 
reestablishment of the California red-legged frog is successful, the 
populations of California red-legged frogs would remain at the enrolled 
properties at the end of the agreement term where there currently are 
no California red-legged frog populations and under other circumstances 
the baseline for the species presence could be zero. The elevated 
baseline has been established to aid in reaching recovery objectives 
for the California red-legged frog by implementing recovery activities 
with the intent to create and maintain self-sustaining populations of 
California red-legged frogs at the enrolled properties post-
translocation. The applicant must maintain baseline on the enrolled 
properties in order to receive coverage regarding incidental take of 
California red-legged frogs. The agreement and requested permit would 
allow the applicant to return the enrolled property to baseline 
conditions for habitat, and to the elevated baseline for the California 
red-legged frog populations, after the end of the term of the agreement 
and prior to the expiration of the 50-year permit, if so desired by the 
applicant.

Public Review and Comments

    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) (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.). We explain the basis for this determination in an 
Environmental Action Statement, which also is available for public 
review.
    Individuals wishing copies of the permit application, copies of our 
draft Environmental Action Statement, and copies of the agreement, 
including a map of the proposed permit area, should contact the Ventura 
Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).
    If you wish to comment on the permit application or the agreement, 
you may submit your comments to one of the addresses listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this document. Comments and materials received, 
including names and addresses of respondents, will be available for 
public review, by appointment, during normal business hours at the 
address in the ADDRESSES section above and will become part of the 
public record, under section 10(c) of the Act.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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 in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate this permit application, associated documents, and 
comments we receive to determine whether the permit application meets 
the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA regulations. If 
we determine that the requirements are met, we will sign the proposed 
agreement and issue an enhancement of

[[Page 68557]]

survival permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the applicant 
for take of the California red-legged frog 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 will fully consider all comments we receive during 
the comment period.
    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and 
under implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).

Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office.
[FR Doc. 2015-28200 Filed 11-4-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4313-15-P