[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 238 (Monday, December 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89498-89499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29677]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N093; FF04E00000-1113-0000-178]


Proposed Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances for 
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Florida Department of 
Military Affairs, via the Florida Armory Board (applicant), has applied 
for an enhancement of survival permit associated with a candidate 
conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) pursuant to the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit application 
includes a proposed CCAA between the applicant, the Service, and the 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 22 species, 
including 2 Federal candidate species--the striped newt and the gopher 
tortoise--and 20 other at-risk species, including Florida State-listed 
species. The CCAA will cover 46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint 
Training Center, which is located in Clay County, Florida. The duration 
of the CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application.

DATES: We must receive written comments at our Regional Office (see 
ADDRESSES) on or before January 11, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents for Review: You may obtain a copy of the 
application and associated documents by contacting Mr. Jay Herrington, 
Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service, North Florida Ecological 
Services Field Office, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 
32256. Documents are also available for public inspection by 
appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345, 
or at the Service's North Florida Ecological Services Field Office. 
Note that requests for application documents must be in writing to be 
processed. When requesting information about or submitting comments 
regarding this notice, please reference ``Camp Blanding Candidate 
Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B'' in your 
correspondence.
    Submitting Comments: See the Public Comments section under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Harris, At-Risk Species 
Coordinator, at the Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 
404-679-7066; or Ms. Lourdes Mena, Endangered Species Biologist, at the 
North Florida Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES), 
telephone: 904-731-3119.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice advises the public that the 
Florida Department of Military Affairs via the Florida Armory Board 
(applicant) has applied for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) 
associated with a candidate conservation agreement with assurances 
(CCAA) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit application includes a proposed CCAA 
between the applicant, the Service, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife 
Conservation Commission for 22 species, including 2 Federal candidate 
species--the striped newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and the gopher 
tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)--and 20 other at-risk species, including 
Florida State-listed species (covered species). The CCAA will cover 
46,494 acres of the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, which is 
located in Clay County, Florida (enrolled lands). The duration of the 
CCAA is 15 years. We invite public comments on the application.

Introduction

    CCAAs encourage private and other non-Federal property owners to 
implement conservation efforts for candidate and at-risk species while 
providing regulatory assurances to the property owners that they will 
not be subjected to increased property use restrictions should the 
species become listed as threatened or endangered under the Act. 
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of 
survival permits through CCAAs are found in 50 CFR 17.22(d) and 
17.32(d).
    Under the CCAA, the applicant agrees to voluntarily undertake 
conservation practices on the enrolled lands to protect, enhance, 
restore, and/or maintain habitat benefiting the covered species. In 
turn, the applicant will receive regulatory assurances and incidental 
take authorization should a covered species be federally listed in the 
future. The conservation practices vary according to the six habitat 
types that support the covered species on the enrolled lands. These 
practices include use of prescribed fire and thinning to maintain 
forest habitats, protection of wetlands and streams through the 
maintenance of riparian zones and prohibition of impoundments and 
channelization, and other actions such as monitoring and control of 
invasive exotic species.

Request for Information

    We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the 
public via this notice on our proposed Federal action, including our 
determination that the applicant's proposal, including the proposed 
mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or negligible 
effects on the species covered in their CCAA. Therefore, our proposed 
issuance of the requested permit qualifies as a categorical exclusion 
under the National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by Department 
of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215). A low-
effect CCAA is one involving (1) Minor or negligible effects on 
federally listed or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor 
or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. We 
also solicit information regarding the adequacy of the CCAA per 50 CFR 
parts 13 and 17.

Public Comments

    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 
request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

[[Page 89499]]

    If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by one of the 
following methods. You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Atlanta Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) or comment via the 
internet to [email protected]. Please include your name and return 
address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation 
from us that we have received your email message, contact us directly 
at either of the telephone numbers listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. You also may hand-deliver comments to either of our offices 
listed under ADDRESSES. Please reference ``Camp Blanding Candidate 
Conservation Agreement with Assurances; TE 72196B'' in any comments you 
submit.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the applicant's enhancement of survival permit 
application, including the CCAA and any comments we receive, to 
determine whether the permit issuance requirements of section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the Act are met. We will also evaluate via an intra-
Service consultation on whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(A) 
permit would comply with section 7 of the Act. If we determine that the 
requirements are met, we will issue the requested permit to the 
applicant in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements. We 
will not make a final decision on whether to issue the permit until 
after the close of the 30-day comment period.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: December 2, 2016.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-29677 Filed 12-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P