24222 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Notices

Dated: April 18, 2000.

Richard A. Coleman,

Acting Regional Director, Acting Region 1,

Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 00–10240 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of an

Environmental Assessment and

Receipt of a Safe Harbor Application

To Enhance the Propagation and

Survival of the Black-Capped Vireo and

the Golden-Cheeked Warbler in the Hill

Country of Texas

SUMMARY: Environmental Defense, Inc.

(Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service (Service) for an

enhancement of survival permit

pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the

Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973,

as amended. The Applicant has been

assigned permit number TE–024875–0.

The requested permit, which is for a

period of 30 years, would authorize the

Applicant to issue certificates of

inclusion under a Safe Harbor

agreement to private landowners who

voluntarily agree to carry out habitat

improvements for the black-capped

vireo (Vireo atricapillus) and/or the

golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica

chrysoparia) in various counties in

central Texas Hill Country.

Habitat enhancement activities could

occur in any or all of the following 25

counties: Bandera, Bell, Blanco, Bosque,

Brown, Burnet, Comal, Comanche,

Coryell, Edwards, Gillespie, Hays,

Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Lampasas, Llano,

Mason, Medina, Real, San Saba,

Somervell, Sutton, Uvalde, and

Williamson. Habitat enhancement

activities could include, but are not

limited to, prescribed burning, selective

Ashe juniper thinning, rotational

grazing, cowbird trapping, and

hardwood regeneration.

The Service has prepared an

Environmental Assessment (EA) for the

application. A determination of

jeopardy to the species or a Finding of

No Significant Impact (FONSI) will not

be made until at least 30 days from the

date of publication of this notice. This

notice is provided pursuant to Section

10(c) of the Act and National

Environmental Policy Act regulations

(40 CFR 1506.6).

DATES: Written comments on the

application should be received by the

Service on or before May 25, 2000. The

application, along with any supporting

documentation, is available for public

review, subject to the requirements of

the Privacy Act and Freedom of

Information Act, by any party who

submits a written request for a copy of

such documents within the comment

period to the address specified below.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the application may obtain copies by

written request to the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological

Service Field Office, 10711 Burnet

Road, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78758

(512/490–0057). The application will

also be available for public inspection,

by appointment, during normal business

hours (8:00 am to 4:30 pm) at the

Service’s Austin Ecological Services

Field Office. During the 30-day public

comment period, written comments or

data should be submitted to the Field

Supervisor at the above address. Please

refer to the application for the Texas

Hill Country and reference permit

number TE–024875–0 when submitting

comments. All comments received,

including names and addresses, will

become a part of the official

administrative record and may be made

available to the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Krishna Costello at the above Austin

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field

Office.

Background

The black-capped vireo (vireo) and

the golden-cheeked warbler (warbler)

were listed as endangered in November

1987 and May 1990, respectively. The

vireo and warbler are migratory

songbirds that occupy breeding habitat

in Texas from about March 1–August

31. The vireo requires early successional

stage, patchy-island habitat of wooded

areas with shrubs up to about 6 feet tall

surrounded by grasslands. Warbler

habitat is mixed, closed-canopy

woodland with mature Ashe juniper

and oaks.

Approximately ninety-seven percent

of the land in Texas is privately owned,

and a large majority of existing and

restorable vireo and warbler habitat falls

into this category. Therefore, the

participation of private landowners in

the recovery of these two species is very

important.

Landowners having currently

unoccupied and/or unsuitable, but

restorable, habitat and thus a zero

baseline condition for the Safe Harbor,

would be eligible for certificates of

inclusion. Exceptions to the zero

baseline may also be included for

certificates under very limited

circumstances with concurrence from

the Service. Upon completion and

maintenance of the habitat

improvements for at least four breeding

seasons, the landowners would be

permitted to conduct any otherwise

lawful activity on their property,

including activities that result in the

partial or total elimination of the

restored habitat and the incidental

taking of either of these species as a

result of such habitat elimination.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9

of the Act prohibits the ‘‘taking’’ of

endangered species, such as the blackcapped vireo and golden-cheeked

warbler. However, the Service, under

limited circumstances, may issue

permits to take endangered wildlife

species incidental to, and not the

purpose of, otherwise lawful activities.

Regulations governing permits for

endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.22.

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended, through its permitting

provisions (50 CFR parts 13 & 17).

Geoffrey L. Haskett,

Regional Director, Region 2, Albuquerque,

New Mexico.

[FR Doc. 00–9357 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of an Environmental Action

Statement and Receipt of an

Application for a Permit to Enhance

the Survival of Hawaiian Goose or

Nene Through a Safe Harbor

Agreement for Reintroduction of the

Species to Puu O Hoku Ranch, Molokai

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: Puu O Hoku Ranch, Limited

has applied to the Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) for an enhancement of

a survival permit pursuant to section

10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species

Act of 1973, as amended. The permit

application includes a Safe Harbor

Agreement (Agreement) between the

Ranch, the Service, and the Hawaii

Department of Land and Natural

Resources. The proposed Agreement

and permit application are available for

public comment.

The proposed Agreement allows for

reintroduction and management of the

endangered Hawaiian goose or nene

(Branta sandvicensis) onto private land

owned and managed by the Ranch on

the island of Molokai. Nene historically

occurred on Molokai, but do not

currently exist in the wild on the island.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Notices 24223

The proposed duration of the proposed

Agreement is 7 years.

The proposed permit would allow the

Ranch to return to existing baseline

conditions of zero nene; however, we

anticipate that any nene taken would

not be injured or harmed, but would be

relocated to other suitable lands. We

expect this proposed Agreement to

result in a net conservation benefit by

establishing a self-sustaining population

of nene on Molokai.

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. We explain the basis for this

determination in an Environmental

Action Statement, which also is

available for public review.

We request comments from the public

on the permit application, proposed

Agreement, and an Environmental

Action Statement. All comments we

receive, including names and addresses,

will become part of the administrative

record and may be released to the

public.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before May 25, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to Mr. Paul Henson, Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, P.O. Box 50088, Honolulu,

Hawaii 96850, facsimile (808) 541–3470.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Paul Henson at the above address or

telephone 808–541–3470.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Document Availability

You may obtain copies of the

documents for review by contacting the

office named above. You also may make

an appointment to view the documents

at the above address during normal

business hours.

Background

Under a Safe Harbor Agreement,

participating property owners

voluntarily undertake management

activities on their property to enhance,

restore, or maintain habitat benefitting

species listed under the Endangered

Species Act. Safe Harbor Agreements

encourage private and other non-Federal

property owners to implement

conservation efforts for listed species by

assuring property owners they will not

be subjected to increased property use

restrictions if their efforts attract listed

species to their property or increase the

numbers or distribution of listed species

already on their property. Application

requirements and issuance criteria for

enhancement of survival permits

through Safe Harbor Agreements are

found in 50 CFR 17.22(c).

We have worked with Puu O Hoku

Ranch and the Hawaii Department of

Land and Natural Resources to develop

the proposed Agreement for the

reintroduction and management of the

endangered Hawaiian goose or nene

onto Cape Halawa at Puu O Hoku

Ranch, Molokai. Prime habitat

conditions for nene currently exist on

more than 700 acres of Puu O Hoku

Ranch. Under the proposed Agreement,

the Ranch will: (1) Maintain or improve

significant amounts of nene habitat by

continuing cattle ranching operations

that are compatible with maintenance of

open, short grass habitat; (2) assist the

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural

Resources to establish and maintain

release sites; (3) assist the Department to

control predators at breeding and

release sites; and (4) prohibit hunting in

nene breeding areas.

We anticipate that this proposed

Agreement will result in the following

benefits: (1) Establishment of a new

population of nene in a remote area of

Molokai, within their historic range,

where they do not currently exist; (2)

reduced risk of catastrophic loss of nene

due to their increased range in the wild;

(3) increased genetic diversity of nene;

(4) increased number of nene in the

wild (anticipated 75 individuals on the

ranch and 200 individuals island-wide);

(5) greater understanding of the

effectiveness of management techniques

for nene; (6) and additional sources of

nene for future management activities.

Consistent with Safe Harbor policy,

we propose to issue a permit to Puu O

Hoku Ranch authorizing incidental take

of all nene introduced to the enrolled

lands, and their progeny, as a result of

lawful activities at the Ranch. These

activities include unintentional

incidental take of nene from: (1) Cattle

ranching; (2) eco-tourism; (3)

recreational hunting of game birds on

the ranch outside of Cape Halawa; and

(4) cultivation of agricultural crops. We

expect that the maximum level of

incidental take authorized under the

proposed Agreement will never be

realized. The Ranch has no plans to

change land uses. Further, we anticipate

that any nene taken when the proposed

Agreement expires will not be injured or

harmed, but will be relocated, with

permission from landowners, to other

suitable lands. We fully expect that the

release of nene on Puu O Hoku Ranch

will result in the establishment of a selfsustaining, permanent population of

nene on Molokai. Therefore, the

cumulative impact of the proposed

Agreement and the activities it covers,

which are facilitated by the allowable

incidental take, will provide a net

conservation benefit to the nene.

We provide this notice pursuant to

section 10(c) of the Endangered Species

Act and pursuant to implementing

regulations for the National

Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR

1506.6). We will evaluate the permit

application, associated documents, and

comments submitted thereon to

determine whether the permit

application meets the requirements of

section 10(a) of the Endangered Species

Act and National Environmental Policy

Act regulations. If we determine that the

requirements are met, we will sign the

proposed Agreement and issue an

enhancement of survival permit under

section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered

Species Act to Puu O Hoku Ranch for

take of nene 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

received during the comment period.

Dated: April 19, 2000.

Richard A. Coleman,

Deputy Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife

Service, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 00–10239 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Issuance of Permit for Marine

Mammals

On, January 6, 2000 a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

65, No. 4, Page 787, that an application

had been filed with the Fish and

Wildlife Service by Toledo Zoological

Gardens, Toledo, OH, for a permit

(PRT–014704) to import one captive

born polar bear (Ursus maritimus) for

the purpose of public display.

Notice is hereby given that on March

16, 2000, as authorized by the

provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

Dated: April 20, 2000.

Kristen Nelson,

Chief, Branch of Permits, Office of

Management Authority.

[FR Doc. 00–10279 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

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