Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit of the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover in Massachusetts

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Receipt of

an Application for an Incidental Take Permit of the Atlantic Coast

Piping Plover in Massachusetts

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has

applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an

incidental take permit pursuant to Section 10(a) of the Endangered

Species Act (Act). The requested permit, which is for a period of two

years, would authorize the incidental take of the threatened piping

plover (Charadrius melodus) in Massachusetts. The proposed take would

occur as a result of specific actions relating to the management of

recreational use of beaches where breeding piping plovers are found.

The Service has prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) for

the incidental take application. 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 and EA should be received on

or before March 14, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the application and requests for

copies of the draft EA and the conservation plan should be addressed to

Field Supervisor, New England Field Office, 22 Bridge St., Unit 1,

Concord, New Hampshire 03301-4986, telephone (603) 225-1411. Comments

regarding the conservation plan will be forwarded to the Massachusetts

Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for review and response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susanna L. von Oettingen at the above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Coast piping plover was listed

as a threatened species on January 10, 1986. Because of its listing as

threatened, the piping plover is protected by the Act's prohibitions

against ``take''. However, the Service may issue permits to carry out

otherwise prohibited activities involving endangered and threatened

wildlife

[[Page 5569]]

under certain circumstances. Regulations governing permits are at 50

CFR 17.22, 17.23 and 17.32. For threatened species, such permits are

available for scientific purposes, incidental take, or special purposes

consistent with the purposes of the Act.

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Division) has

applied to the Service for an incidental take permit pursuant to

Section 10(a) of the Act. This permit would authorize the incidental

take of piping plovers through otherwise lawful activities occurring on

plover breeding beaches. 0.Included in the application is a

conservation plan prepared by the Division detailing the activities

that would result in incidental take and describing measures that

mitigate, minimize and monitor the amount of take.

The draft revised recovery plan for the Atlantic Coast piping

plover (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1995. Piping Plover (Charadrius

melodus), Atlantic Coast Population, Revised Recovery Plan. Technical/

Agency Draft. Hadley, MA. 238pp) identified New England (which includes

Massachusetts) as a recovery unit. Guidelines in the draft recovery

plan state that permits for incidental take that will reduce the

productivity of breeding piping plovers should only be allowed in

recovery units where the subpopulation has achieved at least 70% of its

portion of the recovery goal. As of 1995, the piping plover population

in the New England recovery unit had reached 89% of the recovery goal

(555 pairs) specified in the draft recovery plan. Furthermore, under an

intensive management program, the Massachusetts piping plover

population has increased more than three-fold over the last eight

years, from 126 pairs in 1987 to 445 pairs in 1995.

The purpose of the proposed incidental take permit is to provide

increased flexibility in managing Massachusetts beaches for use by

recreationists and homeowners, while assuring continued progress toward

the recovery of the Massachusetts and Atlantic Coast populations of the

piping plover. The additional flexibility in managing beaches will

prevent a disproportionate expenditure of resources directed at the

protection of a few nests or broods in areas where they may

significantly disrupt beach access by large numbers of people and be

highly vulnerable to disturbance and/or mortality. Management

flexibility also will create incentives for the continued participation

by beach management agencies and organizations involved in protecting

piping plovers.

The proposed action establishes strict eligibility criteria for

landowners seeking to participate in permitted activities, and requires

that these landowners make additional plover protection commitments,

including the use of predator exclosures, prohibition of dogs, and

plover monitoring and reporting. The proposed permit would be effective

during the 1996 and 1997 plover breeding seasons. Authorized take would

only affect piping plovers; take of other federally-listed species is

specifically excluded from the proposed action.

Incidental take likely to occur on eligible sites may result from

several management options outlined in the conservation plan.

Landowners that choose to undertake such actions may apply to be

included under the Division's proposed permit that will authorize the

incidental take. Proposed authorized activities are (1) reduction of

symbolically-fenced buffer areas around plover nests, applicable to one

plover nest per site per year; (2) limited use of escorted off-road

vehicle caravans or beach taxis for recreational access during periods

when unfledged chicks are present on the beach; (3) use of essential

vehicles during daylight hours without shorebird monitor escorts; (4)

limited use of vehicles for homeowner access after dark through areas

with unfledged chicks; and (5) moving eggs from heavily-used pedestrian

or vehicle access points.

Take of piping plovers primarily will occur either through direct

mortality of chicks, harassment of chicks or adults, or mortality of

eggs that occurs as the result of nest abandonment or inadequate

incubation or nest defense. As a result of these takings, overall

reproductive success will be reduced at individual sites, and adverse

effects may occur to immediate habitats of individual pairs or broods.

However, the level of incidental take likely to occur will not reduce

productivity enough to substantially slow progress toward recovery.

Take that occurs as a result of a permit issued to the Division will

not include mortality of adults, nor will actions undertaken within the

scope of such a permit permanently degrade otherwise suitable habitat.

The Division has proposed to minimize and monitor the level of

incidental take through a number of measures. Continued population

growth over the duration of the permit should be ensured by

conditioning the authorization of incidental take on maintaining

average productivity of 1.5 chicks fledged per pair for the entire

state, individual Management Units and individual sites. The

conservation plan encompasses a sufficiently large geographic area that

should some sites experience adverse effects from environmental or

demographic stochasticity, unsuccessful management, or larger

incidental take than predicted, those set-backs may be balanced by more

favorable conditions or results of management elsewhere in the planning

unit. Finally, the proposed permit duration of 2 years will allow for a

relatively rapid evaluation of the conservation plan in light of

management results and changes in the overall status of the

Massachusetts and New England plover populations that may occur in 1996

and 1997.

Alternatives presented by the Division in the conservation plan are

limited to the proposed action and the no-action alternative

(continuation of current management recommendations without increased

flexibility for limited take). In the draft EA, the Service considers

four additional alternatives limitation of authorized take to

pedestrian activities, limitation of authorized take to motorized

activities, issuance of the permit for a duration of one year, and

issuance of the permit for a duration of five years.

(Notice: Availability of a draft environmental assessment and

receipt of an application for an incidental take permit of the

Atlantic Coast piping plover in Massachusetts)

Dated: February 2, 1996.

Cathy Short,

Acting Regional Director, Region 5.

[FR Doc. 96-3145 Filed 2-12-96; 8:45 am]

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