Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact, and Receipt of Applications for an Incidental Take Permit and an Enhancement of Survival Permit for a State-wide Conservation Plan for the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker on Private Lands in the State of Georgia

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Preliminary

Finding of No Significant Impact, and Receipt of Applications for an

Incidental Take Permit and an Enhancement of Survival Permit for a

State-wide Conservation Plan for the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker on Private

Lands in the State of Georgia

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior

ACTION: Notice

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) (Applicant)

has applied for an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) and an Enhancement of

Survival Permit (ESP) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)

pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) and Section 10(a)(1)(A), respectively,

of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The proposed

action would involve approval of the Applicant's Conservation Plan (CP)

which will be administered by the Applicant to eligible landowners,

which is defined in the Applicant's CP, and involves two conservation

options termed the Mitigated Incidental Take (MIT) and Safe Harbor

Management Agreement (SHMA) options. The subject permits would

authorize take of the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

(RCW), a federally listed endangered species, on private lands in

Georgia that (1) are isolated, remnant groups of RCWs (for ITP

issuance) or (2) are new RCW groups created above SHMA baselines (for

ESP issuance). Under the authority of the issued permits from the

Service, the Applicant would encourage eligible landowners to

participate in the two RCW conservation options via ``Certificates of

Inclusion'' (or CI). Eligible landowners can be issued a CI in one or

both of the CP's options with the goal to provide landowners with land

management flexibility that balances each landowner's economic

expectations with RCW conservation and recovery. The proposed taking

would be incidental to otherwise lawful activities including typical

forest management actions, land development activities, and other

actions on private land and other non-federal lands in Georgia. The

mitigation and minimization measures outlined in the Applicant's CP to

address the effects of the CP to protected species are described

further in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

This notice advises the public that the Service has opened the

comment period on the permit applications, the draft environmental

assessment (EA), and the preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact

(FONSI). The permit applications include the Applicant's CP (with

appendices). This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10(a) of the

Act and National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) regulations

(40 CFR 1506.6) and advises the public that the Service has made a

preliminary determination that issuing the ITP and ESP is not a major

Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human

environment within the meaning of Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. The FONSI

is based on information contained in the draft EA and CP. The final

determination on this action will be made no sooner than 30 days from

the date of this notice.

The Service will evaluate the application, associated documents,

and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the application

meets the requirements of NEPA regulations and Section 10(a) of the

Act. If it is determined that the requirements are met, the requested

permits will be issued for the incidental take of RCW groups subject to

the provisions of the Applicant's CP. The final NEPA and permit

determinations will not be completed until after the end of a 30-day

comment period and will fully consider all comments received. The

Service will also evaluate whether the issuance of the requested

permits complies with Section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-

Service Section 7 consultation. The resulting Section 7 biological

opinion, in combination with the above types of evaluation

requirements, will be used in the final analysis to determine whether

or not to issue the requested permits.

DATES: Written comments on the permit applications, CP, and draft EA

should be sent to the Service's Southeast Regional Office (see

ADDRESSES) and should be received on or before August 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the permit applications, CP, draft

EA, and preliminary FONSI may obtain a copy by writing the Service's

Southeast Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,

Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered Species Permits), or Field Supervisor,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 52560, Fort Benning, Georgia

31995-2560. Documents will also be available for public inspection by

appointment during normal business hours at the Regional Office.

Written data or comments concerning the permit

[[Page 40617]]

applications, CP, or EA should be submitted to the Regional Office.

Comments or requests for the documentation must be in writing to be

processed. Please reference permit number TE014977-0 in such comments,

or in requests for the documents discussed herein. All comments

received, including names and addresses, will become part of the

official administrative record and may be made available to the public,

subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act and Freedom of

Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lee Andrews, Supervisory Fish and

Wildlife Biologist, at either address listed above (see ADDRESSES) or

telephone (706) 544-6428.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Georgia state-wide RCW CP is intended to

establish mechanisms to allow incidental take of: (1) MIT option RCW

groups that will minimize and mitigate loss of isolated RCW groups and

(2) SHMA option RCW groups that represent population expansions

resulting from voluntary RCW habitat development and maintenance. The

Applicant's CP estimates that there are approximately 11 private

landowners and 19 groups of RCWs occupying the habitat of those

landowners that will be initially eligible for incidental take under

the MIT option. However, it is important to note that all incidental

take proposed under the Applicant's CP may or may not ever occur. While

landowners will be permitted to carry out activities under this plan

that could result in the incidental taking of RCWs, they may choose not

to do so or not to do so for many decades. The Applicant and the

Service believe that the implementation of this program will result in

maintenance of the RCW population levels on private lands in Georgia

and an increase in the amount of available and potentially-suitable RCW

habitat. Further, all translocation of RCW groups will be to other

suitable private or state lands.

The geographic scope of the Applicant's CP is the entire State of

Georgia but would only authorize incidental take on specific lands

enrolled in the CP for which a respective CI has been signed. Lands

potentially eligible for inclusion in the CP include (1) all privately-

owned lands and public lands owned by cities, counties, and

municipalities where isolated, remnant groups of RCWs exist and (2)

lands covered under the SHMA option of the CP. Priority will be placed

on developing CIs with landowners where loss of RCW groups is likely

due to isolation from other RCW populations and where development of

SHMA CIs would enroll land that has potential to benefit RCWs,

particularly land with abandoned or inactive clusters or land that is

near existing RCW populations.

Landowners with RCWs on their property will apply to GDNR for

inclusion under the permit. If a RCW group meets the criteria of

isolation and non-viability described in the Applicant's CP, the

landowner will be eligible to participate under the MIT option ITP.

These landowners will select from several mitigation alternatives to

minimize and mitigate the effects of incidental take, and, once all

mitigation criteria have been met, the landowner will be allowed to

commence with RCW habitat alterations. Any landowner with potentially

suitable RCW habitat can participate in SHMA option.

The duration of the ITP is 30 years and it would allow incidental

take of up to 19 RCW groups; the ESP will be valid for 99 years and

would allow incidental take of up to 38 RCW groups. This CP may be

amended in the future to cover a higher level of incidental take if

additional RCW groups are located that are eligible for coverage in the

CP, although it is unlikely that additional landowners will

significantly add to the number of those already identified as

eligible. Landowners who are identified as having RCWs in the future

will have the option, if eligible under the CP, to be included through

CP modification with Service approval, or landowners may elect to

pursue the development of landowner-specific conservation plans.

The proposed RCW conservation options complement the ongoing

development of an overall conservation strategy for RCW populations in

Georgia by representatives from the Service, U.S. Forest Service, GDNR,

and private industry. Implementation of this plan should alleviate many

of the concerns about endangered species conservation efforts on

private lands by providing private landowners with relief from

potential regulatory burdens while promoting voluntary enhancement and

restoration of RCW habitat. RCW groups determined to be isolated from

other RCW populations will be used for augmentation of or translocation

to non-federal mitigation sites. Among the minimization measures

proposed by the Applicant are no take of RCWs during the breeding

season, consolidation of small, isolated RCW populations at identified

sites capable of supporting a viable RCW population, and measures to

improve current and potential habitat for the species.

Several alternatives to the proposed action were evaluated by

Service. The alternative of the Service paying landowners for desired

management practices was evaluated and could be accomplished without

incidental take occurring. However, such a program would be expensive,

and funding is not currently available. An alternative where RCW

mitigation would occur on federal lands was investigated but determined

to be inappropriate, because federal lands are already mandated to

recover the species. A no action alternative was also explored, but

this alternative would not increase the probability of isolated RCW

group survival nor would it alleviate landowner conflicts. Instead, the

incentive proposed here, although it authorizes future incidental take,

is expected to attract sufficient interest among Georgia landowners to

generate significant benefits for the RCW. The Applicant's CP was

developed in an adaptive management framework to allow changes in the

program based on new scientific information including, but not limited

to, biological needs and management actions proven to benefit the

species or its habitat.

The CP was prepared by GDNR and sent to the Service for

authorization of the CP's ITP and ESP as per Section 10(a)(1)(B) and

Section 10(a)(1)(A), respectively, of the Act. Section 10(a)(1)(B), a

1982 Act amendment, was created to help resolve land use conflicts

resulting from the presence of listed species on private land by

issuance of a permit authorizing take for those species. As specified

by the ESA, permitted take must be ``incidental to, and not the purpose

of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity.'' In order to

obtain an ITP, the applicant must submit, in part, a conservation plan

specifying ``the impact which will likely result from such taking; what

steps the applicant will take to minimize and mitigate such impacts;

and the funding that will be available to implement such steps; what

alternative actions to such taking the applicant considered and the

reasons why such alternatives are not being utilized; and such other

measures the Secretary {of the U.S. Department of the Interior} may

require as being necessary or appropriate for purposes of the plan.''

These requirements are addressed in this document. Section 10(a)(1)(A)

authorizes ESPs related to the Service's recently-implemented Safe

Harbor policy (Federal Register, Vol. 64, No. 116, 32717-32726).

The Service continues to critically evaluate any potential or real

biological costs and conservation benefits of current RCW management

and research programs. This ensures continuation of

[[Page 40618]]

activities proven to directly benefit or contribute to species

conservation and recovery. Currently acceptable management activities

may be modified or eliminated based upon research findings and/or

evaluation of the biological costs versus the conservation benefits.

The 1985 Red-cockaded Woodpecker Recovery plan is currently undergoing

revision to reflect advances in red-cockaded woodpecker management in

the last 12 years. All interested agencies, organizations, and

individuals are urged to provide comments on the permit applications

and NEPA documents. All comments received by the closing date will be

considered in finalizing NEPA compliance and permit issuance or denial.

The Service will publish a record on its final action in the Federal

Register.

Dated: July 21, 1999.

H. Dale Hall,

Deputy Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 99-19087 Filed 7-26-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-P