Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 171 / Tuesday, September 5, 2006 / Notices 52337 

cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl 

(Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum), 

golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica 

chrysoparia), interior least tern (Sterna 

antillarum), lesser long-nosed bat 

(Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae), 

northern aplomado falcon (Falco 

femoralis septentrionalis), piping plover 

(Charadrius melodus), red-cockaded 

woodpecker (Picoides borealis), 

southwestern willow flycatcher 

(Empidonax traillii extimus), Yuma 

clapper rail (Rallus longirostris 

yumanensis), and Houston toad (Bufo 

houstonensis). 

Permit No. TE–009792 

Applicant: The Arboretum at Flagstaff, 

Flagstaff, Arizona. 

Applicant requests an amendment to 

an existing permit to conduct presence/ 

absence surveys and to collect seed and/ 

or cuttings for Astragalus humillimus 

(Mancos milk-vetch) within New 

Mexico and Colorado. 

Permit No. TE–028605 

Applicant: SWCA Environmental 

Consultants, Flagstaff, Arizona. 

Applicant requests an amendment to 

an existing permit to allow presence/ 

absence surveys for the following 

species throughout their respective 

ranges in Arizona, New Mexico, and 

Texas: black-footed ferret (Mustela 

nigripes), Hualapai Mexican vole 

(Microtus mexicanus hualpaiensis), 

lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris 

curasoae yerbabuenae), Mexican longnosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis), Mount 

Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus 

hudsonicus grahamensis), Yuma 

clapper rail (Rallus longirostris 

yumanensis), Gila chub (Gila 

intermedia), Sonoran tiger salamander 

(Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi), and 

Virgin River chub (Gila robusta 

semidnuda). 

Permit No. TE–088197 

Applicant: High Mesa Research, Arroyo 

Seco, New Mexico. 

Applicant requests an amendment to 

an existing permit to conduct presence/ 

absence surveys for southwestern 

willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii 

extimus) within New Mexico. 

Permit No. TE–814933 

Applicant: Texas Parks and Wildlife 

Department, Austin, Texas. 

Applicant requests an amendment to 

an existing permit for research and 

recovery purposes to conduct surveys, 

mist-net and collect tissue samples for 

Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris 

nivalis) within Big Bend National Park, 

Texas. 

Permit No. TE–127287 

Applicant: Loren K. Ammerman, San 

Angelo, Texas. 

Applicant requests a new permit for 

research and recovery purposes to 

conduct surveys, mist-net and collect 

tissue samples for Mexican long-nosed 

bat (Leptonycteris nivalis) within Big 

Bend National Park, Texas. 

Permit No. TE–039139 

Applicant: Bat Conservation 

International, Austin, Texas. 

Applicant requests an amendment to 

an existing permit for research and 

recovery purposes to conduct surveys, 

capture, light tag and zip-line for lesser 

long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae 

yerbabuenae) within Texas. 

Permit No. TE–129406 

Applicant: Gill Michael Sorg, Las 

Cruces, New Mexico. 

Applicant requests a new permit for 

research and recovery purposes to 

conduct presence/absence surveys for 

northern aplomado falcon (Falco 

femoralis septentrionalis) within 

Arizona and New Mexico. 

Permit No. TE–006655 

Applicant: Logan Simpson Design, 

Tempe, Arizona. 

Applicant requests an amendment to 

an existing permit to conduct presence/ 

absence surveys and enhance 

propagation for Gila Chub (Gila 

intermedia) within Arizona. 

Permit No. TE–130663 

Applicant: Hermosa Montessori Charter 

School, Tucson, Arizona. 

Applicant requests a new permit for 

research and recovery purposes to 

monitor and enhance propogation for 

Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis 

occidentalis) and desert pupfish 

(Cyprinodon macularius) as well as 

providing management of holding 

facilities within Arizona. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq. 

Dated: August 25, 2006. 

Christopher T. Jones, 

Acting Regional Director, Region 2, 

Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

[FR Doc. 06–7400 Filed 9–1–06 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for 

the California Red-Legged Frog for 

Landowners Restoring Aquatic and 

Riparian Habitat in the Cottonwood 

Creek Watershed in Shasta and 

Tehama Counties, California 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; receipt of 

application. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the Cottonwood Creek Watershed 

Group (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 of 1973, as 

amended (Act). The permit application 

includes a proposed Safe Harbor 

Agreement (Agreement) between the 

Applicant and the Service for the 

threatened California red-legged frog 

(CRLF) (Rana aurora draytonii). The 

Agreement and permit application are 

available for public comment. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before October 5, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Shannon Holbrook, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento 

Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage 

Way, W–2605, Sacramento, California 

95825. Written comments may be sent 

by facsimile to (916) 414–6712. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Shannon Holbrook, Sacramento Fish 

and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); 

telephone: (916) 414–6600. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of Documents 

You may obtain copies of the 

documents for review by contacting the 

individual named above. You may also 

make an appointment to view the 

documents at the above address during 

normal business hours. 

Background 

Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, 

participating landowners voluntarily 

undertake management activities on 

their property to enhance, restore, or 

maintain habitat benefiting species 

listed under the Act. Safe Harbor 

Agreements, and the subsequent 

enhancement of survival permits that 

are issued pursuant to Section 

10(a)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.), encourage private and other nonFederal property owners to implement 

conservation efforts for listed species by 

assuring property owners that they will 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
52338 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 171 / Tuesday, September 5, 2006 / Notices 

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 enhancement of 

survival permits through Safe Harbor 

Agreements are found in 50 CFR 

17.22(c). 

We have worked with the Applicant 

to develop this proposed Programmatic 

Agreement for the conservation of the 

CRLF in the 603,854-acre Cottonwood 

Creek Watershed in Shasta and Tehama 

Counties, California. The properties 

subject to this Agreement consist of 

approximately 500,000 acres of nonFederal properties within the 

boundaries of the Cottonwood Creek 

Watershed, on which habitat for the 

California red-legged frog will be 

restored, enhanced, and managed 

pursuant to a written agreement 

between the Cottonwood Creek 

Watershed Group (CCWG) and a 

property owner. 

This Agreement provides for the 

creation of a Program in which private 

landowners (Program Participants) enter 

into written cooperative agreements 

with the Applicant pursuant to the 

terms of the Agreement, to restore, 

enhance, and maintain aquatic and 

riparian habitat in ways beneficial to the 

CRLF. Such cooperative agreements will 

be for a term of at least 10 years. The 

proposed duration of the Agreement is 

30 years, and the proposed term of the 

enhancement of survival permit is 32 

years. The permit would run the 

additional 2 years following a 

determination by the Service that the 

actions identified in the Agreement 

were implemented prior to the 

Agreement’s expiration. The Agreement 

fully describes the proposed 

management activities to be undertaken 

by Program Participants and the 

conservation benefits expected to be 

gained for the CRLF. 

Upon approval of this Agreement, 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 

Cottonwood Creek Watershed Group 

authorizing take of CRLF by Program 

Participants incidental to the 

implementation of the management 

activities specified in the cooperative 

agreements, incidental to other lawful 

uses of the properties, including normal 

routine land management activities, 

and/or to return to pre-Agreement 

conditions. 

To benefit the CRLF, Program 

Participants will agree to undertake sitespecific management activities, which 

will be specified in their written 

cooperative agreements. Management 

activities that could be included in the 

Cooperative Agreements will provide 

for the enhancement, restoration, and/or 

maintenance of aquatic and riparian 

habitat. These activities have been 

designed to enhance populations of 

CRLF by improving breeding habitat, 

managing vegetation and grazing as 

appropriate, controlling non-native 

predators, and managing agriculture and 

recreation as appropriate to benefit 

populations of CRLF. Take of CRLF 

incidental to the aforementioned 

activities is unlikely; however, it is 

possible that in the course of such 

activities or other lawful activities on 

the enrolled property, a Program 

Participant could incidentally take a 

CRLF, thereby necessitating take 

authority under the permit. 

The CRLF relies on a variety of 

habitats for various stages of its life 

cycle, including pond and riparian 

habitat, upland habitat and moist 

refuges. Pre-Agreement conditions 

(baseline), consisting of a description 

and survey to determine the quantity 

and location of suitable CRLF habitat, 

shall be determined for each enrolled 

property as provided in the Agreement. 

In order to receive the above assurances 

regarding incidental take of CRLF, a 

Program Participant must maintain 

baseline on the enrolled property. The 

Agreement and requested enhancement 

of survival permit will allow each 

Program Participant to return to baseline 

conditions after the end of the term of 

the 10-year cooperative agreement and 

prior to the expiration of the 32-year 

permit, if so desired by the Applicants. 

Consistent with the Service’s Safe 

Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717), the 

proposed Agreement and requested 

permit also extend certain assurances to 

those lands that are immediately 

adjacent to lands on which restoration 

activities occur. To receive such 

assurances, a neighboring landowner 

must enter into a written agreement 

with the Service that specifies the 

baseline conditions on the property. 

This written agreement remains in effect 

until the expiration of the 30-year 

Agreement between the Applicant and 

the Service and requires the neighboring 

landowner to maintain the baseline 

conditions established at the start of the 

agreement. 

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). We explain the basis 

for this determination in an 

Environmental Action Statement, which 

is also available for public review. 

Individuals wishing copies of the 

permit application, copies of our 

preliminary Environmental Action 

Statement, and/or copies of the full text 

of the Agreement, including a map of 

the proposed permit area, references, 

and legal descriptions of the proposed 

permit area, should contact the office 

and personnel listed in the ADDRESSES

section above. 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

application or the Agreement, you may 

submit your comments to the address 

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, pursuant to section 

10(c) of the Act. Individual respondents 

may request that we withhold their 

home address from the record, which 

we will honor to the extent allowable by 

law. There also may be circumstances in 

which we would withhold from the 

record a respondent’s identity, as 

allowable by law. If you wish us to 

withhold your name and/or address, 

you must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your comment. 

Anonymous comments will not be 

considered. All submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, are 

available for public inspection in their 

entirety. 

We will evaluate this permit 

application, associated documents, and 

comments submitted thereon to 

determine whether the permit 

application meets the requirements of 

section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA 

regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6. 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 Act to the Applicants 

for take of the CRLF 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. 

The Service provides this notice 

pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 171 / Tuesday, September 5, 2006 / Notices 52339 

pursuant to implementing regulations 

for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Susan Moore, 

Acting Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and 

Wildlife Office, Sacramento, California. 

[FR Doc. 06–7402 Filed 9–1–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Proposed Safe Harbor Agreement for 

the California Red-Legged Frog and 

the California Tiger Salamander for 

Landowners Restoring and Enhancing 

Stock Ponds in Alameda County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability: receipt of 

application; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the Alameda County Resource 

Conservation District (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 of 1973, as amended (Act). The 

permit application includes a proposed 

Safe Harbor Agreement (Agreement) 

between the Applicant and the Service 

for the threatened California red-legged 

frog (CRLF) (Rana aurora draytonii) and 

the California tiger salamander (CTS) 

(Ambystoma californiense). The 

Agreement and permit application are 

available for public comment. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before October 5, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Shannon Holbrook, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento 

Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage 

Way, W–2605, Sacramento, CA 95825, 

or sent by facsimile to (916) 414–6712. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Shannon Holbrook, Sacramento Fish 

and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES); 

telephone: (916) 414–6600. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of Documents 

You may obtain copies of the 

documents for review by contacting the 

individual named above. You may also 

make an appointment to view the 

documents at the above address during 

normal business hours. 

Background 

Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, 

participating landowners voluntarily 

undertake management activities on 

their property to enhance, restore, or 

maintain habitat benefiting species 

listed under the Act. Safe Harbor 

Agreements, and the subsequent 

enhancement of survival permits that 

are issued pursuant to Section 

10(a)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.), encourage private and other nonFederal property owners to implement 

conservation efforts for listed species by 

assuring property owners that they will 

not be subjected to increased property 

use restrictions as a result of their efforts 

to attract listed species to their property, 

or to 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 the Applicant 

to develop this proposed Agreement for 

the conservation of the CRLF and CTS 

on private ranches in Alameda County, 

California. The properties subject to this 

Agreement consist of those non-Federal 

lands in Alameda County, California, on 

which existing stock ponds will be 

restored and maintained pursuant to a 

written agreement between the Natural 

Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 

and the landowner. 

This Agreement provides for the 

creation of a Program in which private 

landowners (Program Participants), who 

enter into written cooperative 

agreements with the Applicant pursuant 

to the terms of the Agreement, will 

restore, enhance, and maintain stock 

ponds in ways beneficial to the CRLF 

and CTS. Such cooperative agreements 

will be for a term of at least 10 years. 

The proposed duration of the 

Agreement is 50 years, and the proposed 

term of the enhancement of survival 

permit is 50 years. The Agreement fully 

describes the proposed Program, 

management activities to be undertaken 

by Program Participants, and the 

conservation benefits expected to be 

gained for the CRLF and CTS. 

Upon approval of this Agreement, 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 

Applicants authorizing take of CRLF 

and CTS incidental to the 

implementation of the management 

activities specified in the cooperative 

agreements, incidental to other lawful 

uses of the properties, including normal, 

routine land management activities, or 

to return to pre-Agreement conditions. 

To benefit the CRLF and CTS, 

Program Participants will agree to 

undertake management activities 

specified in their written cooperative 

agreements with the Applicant. Such 

management activities shall provide for 

the restoration and maintenance of an 

existing stock pond. These practices 

have been designed to achieve a high 

degree of likelihood that the pond will 

retain water through the rearing season 

of the CRLF and CTS so as to allow 

metamorphosis of their larvae, 

vegetation and grazing management 

appropriate to the conservation needs of 

the species, effective control of nonnative predators, and related measures. 

The object of such measures is to 

enhance the potential of existing stock 

ponds to serve as effective breeding sites 

for the CRLF and CTS while 

simultaneously providing water for use 

by livestock. Take of CRLF or CTS 

incidental to the aforementioned 

activities is unlikely; however, it is 

possible that in the course of such 

activities or other lawful activities on 

the enrolled property, a Program 

Participant could incidentally take a 

CRLF or CTS, thereby necessitating take 

authority under the permit. 

Both the CRLF and CTS rely on a 

variety of habitats for various stages of 

their life cycle, including pond and 

riparian habitat, upland habitat, and 

moist refuges. Pre-Agreement conditions 

(baseline), consisting of the size of 

existing ponds and riparian habitat, 

acreage of appropriate upland habitat 

and a characterization and location of 

moist refuges associated with ponds, 

shall be determined for each enrolled 

property as provided in the Agreement. 

In order to receive the above assurances 

regarding incidental take of CRLF and 

CTS, a Program Participant must 

maintain baseline on the enrolled 

property. The Agreement and requested 

enhancement of survival permit will 

allow each Program Participant to return 

to baseline conditions after the end of 

the term of the 10-year cooperative 

agreement and prior to the expiration of 

the 50-year permit, if so desired by the 

Applicants. 

Consistent with the Service’s Safe 

Harbor Policy (64 FR 32717 et seq.), the 

proposed Agreement and requested 

permit also extend certain assurances to 

those lands that are immediately 

adjacent to lands on which restoration 

activities occur. To receive such 

assurances, a neighboring landowner 

must enter into a written agreement 

with the Service that specifies the 

baseline conditions on the property. 

This written agreement remains in effect 

until the expiration of the 50-year 

Agreement between the Applicant and 

the Service and requires the neighboring 

landowner to maintain the baseline 

conditions established at the start of the 

agreement. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES