[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77875-77877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27611]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2022-N056; FXES1114020000-234-FF02ENEH00]
Application for Amendment of Incidental Take Permit; Cibolo
Canyon Master Phase II Environmental Assessment and Habitat
Conservation Plan for Golden-Cheeked Warbler; Bexar County, TX
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: TF Cibolo Canyons LP (applicant) has applied to the U.S. and
Wildlife Service (Service) to amend their existing incidental take
permit (ITP), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. In support of the
application, the applicant submitted a proposed amendment to their
Cibolo Canyon Master Phase II Environmental Assessment and Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP). The requested amendment, if approved, would
continue authorization of incidental take of the golden-cheeked
warbler. We also announce the availability of a draft screening form
that has been prepared to evaluate the ITP application in accordance
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to
comment on the ITP application, as well as the amended HCP and draft
NEPA screening form.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
January 19, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may obtain copies of the proposed
HCP,
[[Page 77876]]
draft NEPA screening form, and other related documents at the Service's
website at https://www.fws.gov/office/austin-ecological-services. You
may obtain copies of the ITP application by contacting the Service's
Austin Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT). Submitting comments: You may submit written comments by email
to FW2_AUES_Consult@fws.gov. Please note that your comment is in
reference to the Cibolo Canyon HCP. For more information, see Public
Availability of Comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Myers, Acting Project Leader,
Austin Ecological Services Field Office; telephone 512-490-0057.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), have received and make available for public review a
proposed amendment to the Cibolo Canyon Master Phase II Environmental
Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan in Bexar County, Texas, ITP
application, and an associated draft screening form. TF Cibolo Canyons
LP (applicant) has applied for an amended ITP supported by the proposed
amendment to their HCP. If approved, their already issued 30-year
permit would continue authorization of incidental take of the federally
listed, endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia;
warbler) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The permit would continue to authorize incidental
take of the warbler resulting from vegetation clearing for construction
of homes, apartments, and other such facilities.
In addition, in accordance with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we
advise the public that:
1. We have prepared a draft NEPA screening form to evaluate the
proposed amendment to the HCP and potential permit issuance. We are
accepting comments on the proposed amendment to the HCP and draft
screening form.
2. The applicant and the Service have developed the proposed
amendment to the HCP, which describes the measures the applicant has
volunteered to take to meet the issuance criteria for an ESA section
10(a)(1)(B) permit associated with the HCP. The issuance criteria are
found at 50 CFR 17.22(b)(2).
3. The HCP would be implemented by the applicant and would remain
effective until the expiration of the HCP and associated permit.
4. As described in the HCP, the potential incidental take of the
warbler could result from otherwise lawful activities covered by the
HCP.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA and our implementing regulations at 50 CFR
part 17 prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take is defined under the ESA as to ``harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect
listed animal species, or to attempt to engage in such conduct'' (16
U.S.C. 1538(19)). However, under section 10(a) of the ESA, we may issue
permits to authorize incidental take of listed species. ``Incidental
take'' is defined by the ESA as take that is incidental to, and not the
purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity.
Regulations governing such take of endangered and threatened
species are found at 50 CFR 17.21 and 50 CFR 22, and 50 CFR 17.31 and
50 CFR 32, respectively.
Proposed Action
The proposed action involves the issuance of an amended 10(a)(1)(B)
incidental take permit (ITP) to TF Cibolo Canyons LP (applicant) and
approval of the proposed amendment to the Cibolo Canyon Master Phase II
Environmental Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan. The ITP would
cover incidental ``take'' of the warbler associated with vegetation
clearing and construction of homes, apartments, and other such
facilities, as described in ITP TE102437-0 and the HCP.
The existing ITP expires February 18, 2036, and, prior to now, no
extension has been requested. The original permit authorized incidental
take of warbler on 846 acres (ac) and resulted in 768 ac of mitigation
on site (70 FR 22682, May 2, 2005). The primary purpose of the
amendment request is to revise the boundaries of the original 768-acre
GCWA preserve. The 768-acre preserve was placed under conservation
easement as mitigation for the EA/HCP. Cibolo requests to exchange 63
acres of preserve for 144 acres of Master Phase II development area.
This boundary modification will result in an overall reduction of the
development area from 846 to 765 acres, an increase of the conservation
easement from 768 acres to 849 acres, and reduce the amount of habitat
loss and take of the GCWA due to implementation of the EA/HCP. The
proposed swap would result in less edge-to-area ratio in the preserve
area.
To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the
applicant would implement their amended HCP. The HCP describes the
conservation measures the applicant has agreed to undertake to minimize
and mitigate incidental take and ensures that incidental take will not
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of
warbler in the wild.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the permit application, proposed amendment to the
HCP, draft NEPA screening form, and comments we receive to determine
whether the HCP application meets the requirements of the ESA, NEPA,
and implementing regulations. If we determine that all requirements are
met, we will approve the proposed amendment to the HCP and issue the
permit to the applicant under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, in
accordance with the terms of the amended HCP and specific terms and
conditions of the authorizing permit. We will not make our final
decision until after the 30-day comment period ends, and until we have
fully considered all comments received during the public comment
period.
Public Availability of Comments
All comments we receive become part of the public record associated
with this action. Requests for copies of comments will be handled in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, NEPA, and Service and
Department of the Interior policies and procedures. Before including
your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us to withhold
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
[[Page 77877]]
Authority
We provide this notice under the authority of section 10(c) of the
ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR
17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-27611 Filed 12-19-22; 8:45 am]
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