Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 48 / Tuesday, March 13, 2007 / Notices 11375 

The Applicant proposes to mitigate 

the effects to QCB by fully 

implementing the Plan. The Plan 

emphasizes protection of habitat 

through impact avoidance and use of 

operational protocols, designed to avoid 

or minimize impact to QCB. The 

Applicant will supplement these 

operational protocols, or avoidance and 

minimization measures, with habitat 

restoration and enhancement measures, 

and other mitigation. The Applicant 

proposes to implement general and 

QCB-specific operational protocols, 

designed to avoid or minimize take of 

QCB. To mitigate temporary impacts, 

QCB habitat will be enhanced or 

restored, where appropriate. To mitigate 

for permanent impacts, the Applicant 

will implement one of the following 

mitigation measures: (1) Pay into a QCB 

habitat fund; the money will be used to 

benefit QCB through the acquisition, 

restoration, or enhancement of QCB 

habitat; (2) Enhance an unallocated 

portion of the Applicant’s existing 

mitigation parcel for the benefit of QCB; 

(3) Purchase credits from a to-beestablished Quino checkerspot butterfly 

bank, should one be approved by the 

Service in the future; or (4) Acquire a 

mitigation parcel that supports or could 

support QCB. Specific details regarding 

these mitigation measures may be found 

in the Plan. 

The Proposed Action consists of the 

issuance of an incidental take permit 

and implementation of the proposed 

Plan, which includes measures to 

mitigate impacts of the proposed 

activities on QCB. Two alternatives to 

the proposed action are considered in 

the Plan. Under the No Action 

Alternative, no permit would be issued 

and the Applicant would avoid take of 

QCB; however, avoidance of impacts 

will not be possible for some of the 

Applicant’s projects, which would 

preclude some critical projects from 

being completed or require the 

Applicant to seek individual take 

authorizations. Under this alternative, 

conservation measures would likely be 

developed on a case-by-case basis at the 

time that a project required take 

authorization. Under the Project-byProject Alternative, take of QCB would 

be addressed either through section 7 or 

10 of the Act on a project-by-project 

basis, but with a common set of 

minimization and mitigation measures 

developed in advance. The proposed 

Plan provides more comprehensive 

conservation of QCB than either of the 

two alternatives. In addition, the 

proposed Plan would be more efficient 

and would provide the Applicant with 

long-term predictability concerning the 

nature of its operations for which 

incidental takings are permitted, 

avoiding potential facilitycompromising delays. 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that approval of the 

proposed Plan qualifies as a categorical 

exclusion under NEPA, as provided by 

the Department of the Interior Manual 

(516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, 

Appendix 1) and as a ‘‘low-effect’’ plan 

as defined by the Habitat Conservation 

Planning Handbook (November 1996). 

Determination of Low-effect Habitat 

Conservation Plans is based on the 

following three criteria: (1) 

Implementation of the proposed Plan 

would result in minor or negligible 

effects on federally listed, proposed, and 

candidate species and their habitats; (2) 

Implementation of the proposed Plan 

would result in minor or negligible 

effects on other environmental values or 

resources; and (3) Impacts of the 

proposed Plan, considered together with 

the impacts of other past, present, and 

reasonably foreseeable similarly situated 

projects, would not result, over time, in 

cumulative effects to environmental 

values or resources that would be 

considered significant. 

Based upon this preliminary 

determination, we do not intend to 

prepare further NEPA documentation. 

We will consider public comments in 

making the final determination on 

whether to prepare such additional 

documentation. 

Public Review 

Written comments from interested 

parties are welcome to ensure that the 

issues of public concern related to the 

proposed action are identified. 

Comments and materials received will 

be available for public inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at the office listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. All 

comments and materials received, 

including names and addresses, will 

become part of the administrative record 

and may be released to the public. 

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names, home addresses, home 

phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of 

respondents, available for public 

review. Individual respondents may 

request that we withhold their names 

and/or homes addresses, etc., but if you 

wish us to consider withholding this 

information you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comments. In addition, you must 

present a rationale for withholding this 

information. This rationale must 

demonstrate that disclosure would 

constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of privacy. Unsupported 

assertions will not meet this burden. In 

the absence of exceptional, 

documentable circumstances, this 

information will be released. We will 

always make submissions from 

organization or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives of or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

section 10(c) of the Act. We will 

evaluate the permit application, the 

proposed Plan, and comments 

submitted thereon to determine whether 

the application meets the requirements 

of section 10(a) of the Act. If the 

requirements are met, we will issue a 

permit to the Applicant for the 

incidental take of the Quino checkerspot 

butterfly associated with the operation 

and maintenance of the existing gas and 

electric system and construction of new 

facilities within San Diego, Riverside 

and Orange Counties, California. 

Dated: March 7, 2007. 

Jim A. Bartel, 

Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Carlsbad, California. 

[FR Doc. E7–4531 Filed 3–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Receipt of Applications for Permit 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications 

for permit. 

SUMMARY: The public is invited to 

comment on the following applications 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered species. 

DATES: Written data, comments or 

requests must be received by April 12, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Documents and other 

information submitted with these 

applications are available for 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 30 days of the date of publication 

of this notice to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Division of Management 

Authority, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 

Room 700, Arlington, Virginia 22203; 

fax 703/358–2281. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Division of Management Authority, 

telephone 703/358–2104. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


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11376 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 48 / Tuesday, March 13, 2007 / Notices 

Endangered Species 

The public is invited to comment on 

the following applications for a permit 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered species. This notice is 

provided pursuant to section 10(c) of 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Written data, comments, or requests for 

copies of these complete applications 

should be submitted to the Director 

(address above). 

Applicant: New York State Museum, 

Albany, NY, PRT–146078. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import from the Smithsonian Tropical 

Research Institute, Panama, salvaged 

skeletons and skulls from animals found 

dead on Barro Colorado Island, Panama 

of the following species: howler monkey 

(Alouatta palliata), Baird’s tapir 

(Tapirus bairdii), and ocelot (Leopardus 

pardalis) for the purpose of scientific 

research. 

Applicant: Dr. Mary K. Gonder, 

University of Maryland, Dept. of 

Biology, College Park, MD, PRT–

146529. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import DNA samples taken from the 

blood of captive-held chimpanzees (Pan 

troglodytes) at the Limbe Wildlife 

Centre, Limbe, Cameroon, for the 

purpose of scientific research. 

Applicant: Tom W. Veurink, Alto, MI, 

PRT–145874. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import the sport-hunted trophy of one 

cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) taken in 

Namibia for the purpose of 

enhancement of the survival of the 

species. 

Applicant: Gary F. Bogner, N. 

Muskeyon, MI, PRT–120003. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import the sport-hunted trophy of one 

male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus 

pygargus) culled from a captive herd 

maintained under the management 

program of the Republic of South Africa, 

for the purpose of enhancement of the 

survival of the species. 

Dated: February 16, 2007. 

Monica Farris, 

Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits, 

Division of Management Authority. 

[FR Doc. E7–4519 Filed 3–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Final Conservation 

Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the 

Greater Yellowstone Area 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), announce the 

availability of the Final Conservation 

Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the 

Greater Yellowstone Area (Final 

Conservation Strategy). This document 

will guide management decisions for the 

Yellowstone grizzly bear population 

upon delisting. 

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of 

the Final Conservation Strategy by any 

of the following means: 

1. World Wide Web: http://mountainprairie.fws.gov/species/mammals/ 

grizzly/yellowstone.htm. 

2. U.S. mail or in-person pickup: By 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

University Hall, Room 309, University 

of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812. Call 

(406) 243–4903 to make arrangements. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Christopher Servheen, Grizzly Bear 

Recovery Coordinator (see ADDRESSES

above), (406) 243–4903. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Restoring an endangered or 

threatened animal or plant to the point 

where it is no longer in need of the 

protections under the Endangered 

Species Act is a primary goal of our 

endangered species program. Recovery 

plans help guide the recovery effort by 

describing actions considered necessary 

for the conservation of the species, 

establishing criteria for downlisting and 

delisting listed species, and estimating 

time and cost for implementing the 

measures needed for recovery measures. 

Under the provisions of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) 

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., we approved the 

first Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan on 

January 29, 1982 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service 1982). In 1993, we approved a 

revision to the Grizzly Bear Recovery 

Plan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

1993), which included additional tasks 

and new information that increased the 

focus and effectiveness of recovery 

efforts. Since the 1993 revision, we have 

approved three additional supplements 

to the Recovery Plan (U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service 1997, 1998, 2007). 

The Recovery Plan stated that a 

conservation strategy should be 

developed for each ecosystem before 

delisting. The purpose of the Final 

Conservation Strategy (U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service 2007) is to serve as the 

regulatory mechanism guiding our 

management as we delist and establish 

the monitoring approach that will be 

taken for the Yellowstone grizzly bear 

population. The Final Conservation 

Strategy satisfies the requirements for 

post-delisting monitoring required by 

section 4(g) of the Act for species 

delisted due to recovery. 

Considering all of the comments 

received, we finalized the Final 

Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly 

Bear in the Greater Yellowstone Area. 

References Cited 

For a complete list of all references 

cited herein, contact the Grizzly Bear 

Recovery Coordinator (see ADDRESSES

above). 

Authority 

The authority for this Notice is 

section 4(f) of the Endangered Species 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f). 

Dated: January 10, 2007. 

James J. Slack, 

Deputy Regional Director, Denver, Colorado. 

[FR Doc. E7–4566 Filed 3–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Supplements to the Grizzly Bear 

Recovery Plan 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), announce the 

availability of two supplements to the 

Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) 

Recovery Plan. The supplements, 

appended to the Grizzly Bear Recovery 

Plan, present revised methods to 

estimate population size and sustainable 

mortality limits for the Yellowstone 

grizzly bear population, and establish 

habitat-based recovery criteria for the 

Yellowstone grizzly bear population. 

ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of 

the recovery plan, including these 

supplements, by any of the following 

means: 

1. World Wide Web: http:// 

endangered.fws.gov/recovery/ 

index.html#plans or http://mountainprairie.fws.gov/species/mammals/ 

grizzly/yellowstone.htm; or 


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