66122 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2010 / Notices 

DEPARMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R5–ES–2010–N124; 50120–1113– 

0000–F4] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants: New Hampshire Fish and 

Game Department, Application for 

Enhancement of Survival Permit, New 

England Cottontail, Hillsborough, 

Rockingham, Merrimack, Cheshire, 

and Strafford Counties, NH 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

receipt of application; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The New Hampshire Fish and 

Game Department (NHFGD) has applied 

to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) for an Enhancement of 

Survival Permit under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. 

The requested permit would authorize 

take of the New England cottontail 

(Sylvilagus transitionalis; hereafter, 

NEC) resulting from certain habitat 

improvement and land use activities 

should the species be listed as 

endangered or threatened in the future. 

The permit application includes a 

proposed Candidate Conservation 

Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) 

between the NHFGD and the Service. In 

accordance with the requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), we have prepared a draft 

categorical exclusion of the impacts of 

the requested permit. We are accepting 

comments on the permit application, 

proposed CCAA, and draft NEPA 

document. 

DATES: Written comments on the permit 

application, draft CCAA, and draft 

NEPA document must be received on or 

before November 26, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Address any written 

comments concerning this notice to 

Anthony Tur, New England Field 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

70 Commercial Street, Suite 300, 

Concord, NH 03301; alternatively, fax 

written comments to 603–224–0104, or 

electronically mail comments to 

Anthony_Tur@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anthony Tur, at the New England Field 

Office (see ADDRESSES above), 603–223– 

2541; facsimile 603–223–0104, or 

Anthony_Tur@fws.gov. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD), you may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Document Availability 

Copies of the permit application, 

proposed CCAA, and draft NEPA 

document are available for public 

inspection, by appointment, at the New 

England Field Office (see ADDRESSES), or 

you may view them on the Internet at 

http://www.fws.gov/newengland/. 

Copies of these documents can also be 

obtained by contacting the office and 

personnel listed in the ADDRESSES

section. 

We furnish this notice to provide the 

public, other State and Federal agencies, 

and interested Tribes an opportunity to 

review and comment on the permit 

application, proposed CCAA, and draft 

NEPA document. We specifically 

request information, views, and 

opinions from the public on the 

proposed Federal action of issuing a 

permit. Further, we solicit information 

regarding the adequacy of the permit 

application, including the proposed 

CCAA, as measured against our permit 

issuance criteria found in 50 CFR 

17.22(d) and 17.32(d). 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, 

telephone number, electronic mail 

address, or other personal identifying 

information in your comment, be 

advised that your entire comment, 

including your personal identifying 

information, may be made publicly 

available at any time. While you can ask 

us in your comment to withhold from 

public review your personal identifying 

information, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. 

Background 

Permits for enhancement of survival 

through CCAAs encourage non-Federal 

property owners to implement 

conservation measures for species that 

are, or are likely to become, candidates 

for Federal listing as endangered or 

threatened by assuring property owners 

they will not be subjected to increased 

property use restrictions if the covered 

species becomes listed in the future. 

Application requirements and issuance 

criteria for permits for enhancement of 

survival through CCAAs are in the Code 

of Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22(d) 

and 17.32(d). See also our policy on 

CCAAs (64 FR 32726; June 17, 1999). 

The CCAA that is the subject of this 

notice is a programmatic agreement 

between the Service and the NHFGD to 

further the conservation of the NEC. 

Under the CCAA, the NHFGD would 

establish a program in which individual 

property owners can enroll. To enroll in 

the program, a property owner would 

enter into a cooperative agreement with 

the NHFGD that contains a site-specific 

management plan for the enrolled lands, 

and the NHFGD would then issue the 

property owner a Certificate of 

Inclusion. The site-specific management 

plan will specify conservation measures 

to address known threats to the NEC 

which may include, but are not limited 

to, cutting vegetation to promote 

establishment of shrubland habitat, 

maintaining existing shrubland habitat, 

planting seeds and seedlings, 

controlling invasive plants species, 

removing non-native eastern cottontails, 

and translocating NEC to newly created 

habitats. The plan will also specify 

measures to minimize the incidental 

take of NEC that might occur as a result 

of implementing the conservation 

measures or conducting other covered 

activities. The Certificate of Inclusion 

issued to the property owner will 

authorize this incidental take of the NEC 

if the species becomes listed under the 

ESA in the future. 

The NHFGD seeks to enroll in the 

program 3,000 to 5,000 acres of private 

and State-owned lands for NEC habitat 

management in Hillsborough, 

Rockingham, Merrimack, Cheshire, and 

Strafford Counties in southern New 

Hampshire. Lands targeted for NEC 

habitat management are generally those 

for which the current land use 

maintains or is capable of maintaining 

suitable NEC habitat with minimal take 

of NECs. Site potential for enrolled 

lands will be evaluated through a 

Habitat Suitability Index. Because 

resources for implementing 

conservation measures on enrolled 

lands are limited, sites with the highest 

potential value will be prioritized for 

enrollment based on proximity to 

existing occupied sites, along with other 

habitat parameters. Also eligible for 

enrollment are those lands under the 

same ownership that are adjacent to 

lands being managed for the benefit of 

NEC (hereafter referred to as ‘‘adjacent 

lands’’). These adjacent lands include 

areas where ongoing and future 

activities (e.g., hay production and 

timber harvesting) may result in 

inadvertent take of NEC. Although the 

amount of adjacent acreage that a 

property owner will enroll under this 

CCAA will depend on the 

circumstances specific to the property 

and property owner, we estimate that 

the typical property owner will enroll 

an area of adjacent lands about equal to 

twice the area of the lands managed for 

NEC. Therefore, about 10,000 acres of 

adjacent lands are associated with the 

5,000 acres targeted for NEC habitat 

management. If we were to reach our 

target of 5,000 acres managed for NEC 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2010 / Notices 66123 

under this CCAA, then we estimate a 

total of about 15,000 acres would be 

enrolled under this CCAA. 

As required by NEPA, we evaluated 

the effects to the environment that 

would result from issuance of the 

requested permit, and we do not foresee 

any significant effects. Therefore, we are 

proposing to categorically exclude this 

action from further analysis under 

NEPA. Entering into a cooperative 

agreement is strictly voluntary for 

property owners, and the activities to be 

covered under the permit are generally 

activities already occurring on these 

properties. 

We will evaluate the permit 

application, associated documents, and 

comments we receive to determine 

whether the permit application meets 

the requirements of the ESA, NEPA, and 

implementing regulations. If we 

determine that all requirements are met, 

we will sign the proposed CCAA and 

issue a permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) 

of the ESA to the NHFGD for take of 

NEC. We will not make our final 

decision until after the end of the 30- 

day public comment period, and we 

will fully consider all comments we 

receive during the public comment 

period. 

Dated: June 18, 2010. 

Sherry W. Morgan, 

Acting Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Hadley, Massachusetts. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27001 Filed 10–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2010–N231; 80221–1113– 

0000–F5] 

Endangered Species Recovery Permit 

Applications 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit 

applications; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, invite the public to 

comment on the following applications 

to conduct certain activities with 

endangered species. With some 

exceptions, the Endangered Species Act 

(Act) prohibits activities with 

endangered and threatened species 

unless a Federal permit allows such 

activity. The Act also requires that we 

invite public comment before issuing 

these permits. 

DATES: Comments on these permit 

applications must be received on or 

before November 26, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written data or comments 

should be submitted to the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Endangered 

Species Program Manager, Region 8, 

2800 Cottage Way, Room W–2606, 

Sacramento, CA 95825 (telephone: 916– 

414–6464; fax: 916–414–6486). Please 

refer to the respective permit number for 

each application when submitting 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Daniel Marquez, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist; see ADDRESSES (telephone: 

760–431–9440; fax: 760–431–9624). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following applicants have applied for 

scientific research permits to conduct 

certain activities with endangered 

species under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We seek 

review and comment from local, State, 

and Federal agencies and the public on 

the following permit requests. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

e-mail 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 ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Permit No. TE–20186A 

Applicant: Garret R. Huffman, 

Phoenix, Arizona. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

take (survey by pursuit) the Quino 

checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas 

editha quino) in conjunction with 

surveys throughout the range of the 

species in California for the purpose of 

enhancing its survival. 

Permit No. TE–006112 

Applicant: Gretchen E. Flohr, Los 

Altos Hills, California. 

The applicant requests an amendment 

to an existing permit (February 1, 1999, 

64 FR 4888) to take (biological samples) 

the California tiger salamander 

(Ambystoma californiense) in 

conjunction with disease research 

throughout the range of the species in 

California for the purpose of enhancing 

its survival. 

Permit No. TE–797315 

Applicant: Dr. Michael L. Morrison, 

College Station, Texas. 

The applicant requests an amendment 

to an existing permit (January 13, 2000, 

65 FR 2188) to take (survey, trap, 

capture, handle, mark, and release) the 

salt marsh harvest mouse 

(Reithrodontomys raviventris) in 

conjunction with presence/absence 

surveys, population/habitat studies, 

relocation, and research throughout the 

range of the species in California for the 

purpose of enhancing its survival. 

Permit No. TE–24281A 

Applicant: Todd A. Hoggan, 

Idyllwild, California. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

take (harass by survey and monitor 

nests) the southwestern willow 

flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus), 

least Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus), 

and Yuma clapper rail (Rallus 

longirostris yumanensis) in conjunction 

with surveys and population monitoring 

activities throughout the range of the 

species in California and Nevada for the 

purpose of enhancing their survival. 

Permit No. TE–24603A 

Applicant: Karen J. Carter, Running 

Springs, California. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

take (capture, handle, and release) the 

San Bernardino kangaroo rat 

(Dipodomys merriami parvus) and take 

(harass by survey) the Yuma clapper rail 

(Rallus longirostris yumanensis) and 

southwestern willow flycatcher 

(Empidonax traillii extimus) in 

conjunction with surveys and 

population monitoring activities 

throughout the range of the species in 

California and Nevada for the purpose 

of enhancing their survival. 

Permit No. TE–24582A 

Applicant: Russell C. Croel, Folsom, 

California. 

The applicant requests a permit to 

take (capture, collect, and kill) the 

vernal pool tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus 

packardi), the conservancy fairy shrimp 

(Branchinecta conservatio), and the 

longhorn fairy shrimp (Branchinecta 

longiantenna) in conjunction with 

surveys and research activities in 

Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, 

Fresno, Glenn, Kings, Merced, Placer, 

Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, 

Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, 

Tulare, Yolo, and Yuba Counties, in 

California for the purpose of enhancing 

their survival. 

Permit No. TE–007907 

Applicant: United States Geological 

Survey, Klamath Falls, Oregon. 

The applicant requests an amendment 

to an existing permit (May 3, 2010, 84 

FR 23287) to take (capture, mark, 

collect, transport, and release) the Lost 

River sucker (Deltistes luxatus) and the 

shortnose sucker (Chasmistes 

brevirostrum) in conjunction with 

surveys, research, population 


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