Zasoby i środowisko · 4.03.2013

Final Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances, Final Environmental Assessment, and Finding of No Significant Impact; Lesser Prairie Chicken, Oklahoma

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make available the final Agricultural Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) (LEPC) in Oklahoma, as well as the final environmental assessment (EA) and the draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) applied for an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The permit application included a draft CCAA between the Service and ODWC for the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LEPC) in 14 Oklahoma counties. Our decision is to authorize the issuance of an enhancement of survival permit to the ODWC for implementation of the CCAA (Preferred Alternative described below).