Determining Baseline Conditions. The first step in determining the baseline conditions is to determine if suitable RCW habitat exists on the landowner’s property or if a known RCW group exists within one-half-mile of the property (landowner knowledge and LNHP database can be used to determine the distance to known sites). Suitable foraging habitat consists of pine or pine-hardwood (50 percent or more pine) stands thirty (30) years of age or older (USFWS 2003). If this type of habitat is not present, and there are no RCW groups within one-half-mile of the property, further assessment of the property is not necessary, and the landowner’s baseline will be zero. If a RCW group exists within one-half-mile of the landowner’s property and the landowner has the responsibility of maintaining a portion of the foraging habitat for the RCW cluster, as required by the RCW Recovery Plan, 2nd Revision (USFWS 2003), the portion of the foraging habitat that the landowner is required to maintain will be incorporated into the landowner’s baseline. If suitable nesting habitat is present on a property, the landowner will be required to determine whether RCW groups exist on the property by conducting surveys for cavity trees in stands that contain suitable nesting habitat. The RCW Recovery Plan, 2nd Revision (USFWS 2003), identifies the following as the types of forested stands that must be surveyed for RCW cavity trees:
1. Pine and pine-hardwood stands over sixty (60) years of age;
2. Pine and pine-hardwood stands under sixty (60) years of age containing scattered or clumped pine trees over sixty (60) years of age;
3. Hardwood-pine over sixty (60) years of age adjacent to pine and pine-hardwood stands over thirty (30) years of age; and
4. Pine stands containing sawtimber, including stands thought to be generally less than sixty
Determining Baseline Conditions. For a landowner to participate in this Agreement, the baseline conditions on his or her property must be determined. Under the USFWS’s Safe Harbor Agreement policy (USFWS and NMFS 1999b, USFWS 2004), baseline conditions are defined as “…population estimates and distribution and/or habitat characteristics and determined area of the enrolled property that sustain seasonal or permanent use by the covered species at the time the Safe Harbor Agreement is executed between the Services and the property owner” (64 FR 32717). The baseline condition in this agreement will be based upon presence or absence of Chiricahua leopard frogs at a site, and will not require quantification of the Chiricahua leopard frogs at a site. A baseline condition above zero will have Chiricahua leopard frogs present at the time of enrollment. A baseline condition of zero will have no Chiricahua leopard frogs present at the time of enrollment. If recent Chiricahua leopard frog use of an aquatic site has been documented, and Chiricahua leopard frogs are absent at the time of enrollment a baseline condition above zero may be appropriate. However, as this is a voluntary Agreement, the landowner, the Department and the USFWS may negotiate the appropriate baseline under which the landowner agrees to enroll. Because the Chiricahua leopard frog has experienced significant declines in numbers and distribution (Section 1.3), it is expected that baseline conditions for many properties enrolled under the Agreement will be zero—that is, that no Chiricahua leopard frogs considered part of the baseline conditions will inhabit the property at the time of enrollment. Any Chiricahua leopard frog populations inhabiting a landowner’s property prior to the date of enrollment in this agreement will be considered part of a baseline condition greater than zero. Populations that are part of the baseline condition greater than zero have full protection of the prohibition of take in Section 9 of the Act and are not covered by the Agreement and its associated Section 10(a)(1)(A) permit. Specific measures for determining baseline conditions under this Agreement are as follows:
(1) Baseline conditions shall be determined through the joint efforts of the Department; USFWS; or other agency or contracted biologist, when appropriate; and Participants, as applicable, and as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) below. Baseline condition determinations will be made at the time of enrollment in the Agreement. In unusual circu...
