Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 181 / Tuesday, September 20, 2005 / Notices 55159 

application includes a draft Safe Harbor 

Agreement (SHA) between the 

Applicant and the Service. The 

proposed SHA and permit would 

become effective upon signature of the 

SHA and issuance of the permit and 

would remain in effect for 15 years. We 

are requesting comments on the permit 

application and on the Service’s 

preliminary determination that the 

proposed SHA qualifies as a categorical 

exclusion (516 DM 6 Appendix 1, 

1.4C(1)) under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended. Further, the Service 

is specifically soliciting information 

regarding the adequacy of the SHA as 

measured against the Service’s Safe 

Harbor Policy and the implementing 

regulations. 

DATES: Written data or comments must 

be received on or before October 20, 

2005. 

ADDRESSES: 1. Regional Director, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological 

Services, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, 

Minnesota 55111–4056. 

2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Ecological Services, 620 South Walker 

Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47403–

2121. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Peter Fasbender, (612) 713–5343. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of Documents 

Individuals requesting copies of the 

enhancement of survival permit 

application and SHA should contact the 

Service by telephone at (612) 713–5343 

or by letter (see ADDRESSES). Copies of 

the proposed SHA also are available for 

public inspection during regular 

business hours at the Bloomington, 

Indiana, Field Office (see ADDRESSES) or 

at the Service’s Regional Web site at: 

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/NEPA. All 

comments received from individuals 

become part of the official public 

record. Requests for such comments will 

be handled in accordance with the 

Freedom of Information Act and the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

NEPA regulations [40 CFR 1506.6(f)]. 

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home address from 

the record, which we will honor to the 

extent allowable by law. If a respondent 

wishes us to withhold his/her name 

and/or address, this must be stated 

prominently at the beginning of the 

comment. 

Background 

The Karner blue butterfly was once a 

locally common species ranging from 

New England across the Great Lakes 

Region, extending as far west as eastern 

Minnesota. In Indiana, the Karner was 

originally distributed across the 

northern tier of counties on outwash 

and lake deposited sands. Currently 

there are approximately 1,000 acres of 

dune and swale topography remaining 

in the West Gary Recovery Unit, of this 

approximately 650 acres is potential 

habitat. By 1990, the Karner blue 

butterfly survived at only two dune and 

swale remnants: Ivanhoe Nature 

Preserve and Tolleston Ridges Nature 

Preserve. At Ivanhoe Nature Preserve, 

the butterfly was found within scattered 

openings until it disappeared there in 

1998. After several years of habitat 

restoration effort, the Nature 

Conservancy began a re-introduction 

program in 2001. Despite recent success, 

the Karner blue butterfly continues to 

persist at limited habitat patches within 

three relatively isolated natural areas. 

Ecological fragmentation, combined 

with complex landownership and land 

use patterns, has created a difficult 

landscape for developing and 

implementing conservation strategies in 

the West Gary Recovery Unit. 

The purpose of the SHA is to allow 

the Applicant and the Service to address 

the regional needs of the species by 

working with individual landowners to 

develop site specific restoration and 

management plans for a variety of 

properties. These plans will be designed 

to maximize Karner blue butterfly 

habitat within the constraints of the 

site’s landscape setting and current land 

use and management needs. In addition 

they will document baseline conditions, 

monitoring protocols, timeframes, legal 

and regulatory responsibilities of 

participants, and will serve as a 

framework for coordinating 

conservation work in the West Gary 

Recovery Unit. 

The SHA will allow willing property 

owners to enroll private and non-federal 

governmental lands into a regional 

program under an umbrella section 

10(a)(1)(A) permit issued to the 

Applicant by means of a Certification of 

Inclusion. In addition, the Applicant 

will develop individual restoration and 

management plans to address the 

specific conservation benefits that 

enrolled properties contribute to 

establishing a viable metapopulation. 

The area encompassed by the SHA 

may contain facilities eligible to be 

listed on the National Register of 

Historic Places. Additionally, other 

historical or archeological resources 

may be present. The National Historic 

Preservation Act and other laws require 

these properties and resources be 

identified and considered in project 

planning. The public is requested to 

inform the Service of concerns about 

archeological sites, buildings, and 

structures; historic events; sacred and 

traditional areas; and other historic 

preservation concerns. 

Dated: August 23, 2005. 

Wendi Weber, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services, Region 3, Fort Snelling, Minnesota. 

[FR Doc. 05–18682 Filed 9–19–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources 

Candidate Conservation Agreement 

With Assurances and Enhancement of 

Survival Permit Application for the 

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) has received an application 

from the Ohio Department of Natural 

Resources (Applicant) for an 

enhancement of survival permit (ESP) 

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

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.), as amended (Act). The 

Applicant proposes to implement 

conservation measures for the Eastern 

Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus 

sistrurus catenatus) by removing the 

threats to the survival and protecting 

and managing its habitat within the 

Rome State Nature Preserve. The 

Service announces receipt of the ESP 

application as well as the availability of 

a proposed Candidate Conservation 

Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) 

intended to facilitate the 

implementation of conservation 

measures for the species by the 

Applicant. Compliance under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) for the proposed action was 

addressed in an Environmental 

Assessment (EA) approved July 26, 

2005. A copy of the final EA and 

Finding of No Significant Impact 

(FONSI) is available at: http:// 

www.fws.gov/midwest/NEPA. 

DATES: Written data or comments must 

be received on or before October 20, 

2005. 

ADDRESSES: 1. Regional Director, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological 

55160 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 181 / Tuesday, September 20, 2005 / Notices 

Services, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, 

Minnesota 55111–4056. 

2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Ecological Services Field Office, 6950 

Americana Pkwy, Suite H, 

Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068–4127. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Peter Fasbender, (612) 713–5343, or 

peter_fasbender@fws.gov.; or Ms. 

Angela Zimmerman, telephone: (614) 

469–6923. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Availability of Documents 

We provide this notice pursuant to 

section 10(c) of the Act and pursuant to 

implementing regulations for the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) found at (40 CFR 1506.6). All 

comments received on the permit 

application and proposed Agreement, 

including names and addresses, will 

become part of the administrative record 

and may be released to the public. If you 

wish us to withhold your name and/or 

address, you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comment. All submissions from 

organizations or companies, or from 

individuals representing organizations 

or companies, are available for public 

inspection in their entirety. 

Background 

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake, 

also known as the swamp rattler or 

black snapper, is a resident of many 

glaciated areas of Ohio. The massasauga 

was once common throughout much of 

the Great Lakes basin, but now is 

restricted to scattered, often isolated 

populations. Extensive farming, 

draining of their wetland habitats, 

vegetation succession and other forms of 

habitat fragmentation has contributed to 

their reduced numbers. Loss of habitat 

and persecution by humans are thought 

to be the primary causes of decline. 

Current records from the Heritage 

Database (Division of Natural Areas and 

Preserves) place the snake in only 15 

Ohio counties. At least eight of these 

populations occur on state-owned and/ 

or managed land. The Division of 

Natural Areas and Preserves (the 

Division) manages three sites, the 

Division of Wildlife manages four sites 

and the Ohio Historical Society manages 

another. The massasauga was listed as 

an endangered species in Ohio in 1996. 

In October 1999, the Service designated 

it a candidate species for Federal 

protection by the Endangered Species 

Act. 

The Rome State Nature Preserve is 

located within Ashtabula County, Ohio. 

Containing approximately 105 acres, the 

preserve is located between Rome and 

Hartsgrove Townships and lies within 

the Grand River watershed. Under the 

CCAA, the Applicant has agreed to 

implement several conservation 

measures that will reduce and/or 

eliminate potential threats to the 

species. The Applicant will: (1) 

Maintain and manage the Rome State 

Nature Preserve in a mosaic of habitats 

essential for the massasauga; (2) control 

the spread of invasive vegetation 

species; and (3) implement protective 

measures to reduce losses from human 

and natural predators. 

Implementation of the CCAA is 

expected to protect and conserve habitat 

for the covered species, eliminate 

unauthorized human disturbances 

within Rome State Nature Preserve that 

are believed to impact the covered 

species, and provide important 

monitoring data that can be used to 

develop and/or improve management 

strategies for the massasauga. These 

benefits will be obtained through 

restoration and protection of habitats on 

the enrolled property. 

We will make our final determination 

after the end of the 30-day comment 

period and will fully consider all 

comments received. If the final analysis 

shows the CCAA to be consistent with 

our policies and applicable regulations, 

we will sign the CCAA and issue the 

ESP. The proposed ESP would, in 

compliance with the CCAA policy, only 

become valid on such date as the 

eastern massasauga rattlesnake is listed 

as a threatened or endangered species 

under the Act. 

Written data or comments concerning 

the CCAA or ESP application should be 

submitted to the Regional Director. (see 

ADDRESSES section). Further, persons 

wishing to review the CCAA and ESP 

application may obtain copies by 

writing to the same address or they can 

be viewed on the Service’s Regional 

Web site at: http://www.fws.gov/ 

midwest/NEPA. Comments must be 

submitted in writing to be adequately 

considered in the Service’s decisionmaking process. Please reference permit 

number TE–101451 in your comments, 

or in requests of the documents 

discussed herein. Documents will also 

be available for public inspection by 

appointment during normal business 

hours at the Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 

Ecological Services Field Office (see 

ADDRESSES section). 

Dated: August 29, 2005. 

Wendi Weber, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services, Region 3, Fort Snelling, Minnesota. 

[FR Doc. 05–18683 Filed 9–19–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[WO–310–1310–PB–24 1A] 

Extension of Approved Information 

Collection, OMB Control Number 1004–

0185 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is 

requesting the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) to extend existing 

approvals to collect certain information 

from lessees, operators, record title 

holders, operating rights owners, and 

the general public on oil and gas and 

operations on Federal lands. 

DATES: You must submit your comments 

to BLM at the address below on or 

before November 21, 2005. BLM will not 

necessarily consider any comments 

received after the above date. 

ADDRESSES: You may mail comments to: 

Bureau of Land Management, (WO–

630), Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston 

Blvd., Springfield, Virginia 22153. 

You may send comments via e-mail 

to: comments_washington@blm.gov. 

Please include ‘‘Attn: 1004–0185’’ and 

your name and return address in your 

Internet message. 

You may deliver comments to the 

Bureau of Land Management, 

Administrative Record, Room 401, 1620 

L Street, NW., Washington, DC. 

All comments will be available for 

public review at the L Street address 

during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. 

to 4:15 p.m.), Monday through Friday 

except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You 

may contact Barbara Gamble, on (202) 

452–0338 (Commercial or FTS). Persons 

who use a telecommunication device for 

the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) on 1–

800–877–8330, 24 hours a day, seven 

days a week, to contact Ms. Gamble. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 5 CFR 

1320.12(a) requires that we provide a 

60-day notice in the Federal Register 

concerning a collection of information 

to solicit comments on: 

(1) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

functioning of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(2) The accuracy of our estimates of 

the information collection burden, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions we use;