Termination of a Landowner Agreement or Neighboring Landowner Agreement by a Cooperator. A Cooperator may terminate his/her SHA or CCAA Landowner Agreement or Neighboring Landowner Agreement before the expiration date. In such instances, the Cooperator will, if possible, provide ninety (90) days prior written notice to the KDWP, which shall, in turn, provide written notice to the Service. The Cooperator may return the property to baseline conditions (for SHA species) even if the expected net conservation benefit has not been realized, provided the landowner is in compliance with the Landowner Agreement or Neighboring Landowner Agreement. For Cooperators terminating their Landowner Agreement prior to species listing, the Cooperator may return the property to existing conditions because there are no take prohibitions prior to listing. The Cooperator will, if possible, provide KDWP the opportunity to relocate the covered species within sixty (60) days of receipt of the termination notice. If a property is being returned to baseline conditions, this return must be completed within the SHA/CCAA Agreement’s permit term. Once the SHA or CCAA Landowner Agreement and the associated COI are terminated, the Cooperator will no longer have the authority to incidentally take the covered species. Enrolled Neighboring Landowners may choose to maintain their existing agreements, especially if the reintroduced species was not removed from the neighboring property. A return to baseline conditions for species in the SHA may result in incidental take of ESA-listed species. The following conditions are required for a return to baseline conditions. • A Cooperator will not be authorized to directly take (for example, intentionally kill, injure, capture, or transport) the SHA covered species in an effort to return the property to baseline conditions or for any other purpose. • Cooperators will notify KDWP at least 60 calendar days before returning to baseline conditions. • Cooperators will allow KDWP access to their enrolled properties to capture SHA covered species and move them off the property, if deemed advisable, prior to the return to baseline conditions. If a property is being returned to initial habitat conditions, this return must be completed within the KDWP permit term.
