Common use of Phase 1 - Agreement Development Clause in Contracts

Phase 1 - Agreement Development. i. Initial Discussions Field and Regional Offices are strongly urged to conduct workshops in their communities to inform the public of the availability of and process associated with the development of CCAAs. Typical audiences might include other governmental agencies, civic groups, ranching, farming and forestry organizations, consultants, and/or environmental, conservation, or other non-profit groups. An aggressive and proactive effort to initiate contact with property owners and to distribute CCAA-related materials and guidance will help ensure consistent implementation of the CCAA Policy and reduce the chance that the public will receive conflicting, misperceived, or incorrect information. Furthermore, contacts with the landowner should be frequent and cooperative as this will facilitate information exchange and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ a working relationship with the property owner. Discussions with individual property owners should include the presentation of general outreach materials regarding the Act, the listing process, the Candidate Conservation program, and Candidate Conservation Agreements. In discussions with the property owner, the Service will be responsible for providing sufficient information about the candidate or proposed species, or species of concern, and the types of conservation measures that we believe would be necessary to meet the CCAA standard. However, the Service must strive to ensure that communication with potential partners is a two-way street. Service staff should be open to information provided by landowners that may illuminate additional needs of the species or suggest alternate methods of achieving the species’ conservation goals. The Service will provide property owners with information on the species, including threats, life history, population status, and benefits of potential conservation measures, and will inform them of any State conservation or management plans or other sources of information about the covered species. The Service will also discuss all candidates, proposed species, or other species that may become candidates in the future that may be present on the potential enrolled property. If other CCAAs have been completed in nearby areas or with related species, the Service, with that participating property owner’s permission, may share these CCAAs with property owners who are considering development of their own CCAA. It is imperative to ensure that the property owner clearly understands that a CCAA is not an assurance that the Service will not list the covered species. Instead, it is an agreement that if the covered species were to eventually be listed, the Service would not impose further land, water, or resource use restrictions on the property owner for the enrolled property. Furthermore, the Service will ensure that the property owner is aware of the CCAA permit’s corresponding authorization to take individuals of the covered species, as long as the level of take is consistent with the terms of the CCAA. If appropriate, Service discussions with property owners should include a brief description of section 7 and the jeopardy standard. Permits associated with a CCAA can be revoked under a jeopardy situation if the species becomes listed. Therefore, discussions of the jeopardy standard should be as specific as possible and done in the context of the species to be covered under the CCAA, making sure that the property owner clearly understands that the Service will do everything possible to avoid the need to revoke a permit (see “Permit Revocation” section of this document).