[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63598-63600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19936]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2023-0160; FXES11130200000-234-FF02ENEH00]
East Foundation Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for Ocelot
Reintroduction and Enhancement of Survival Permit Application; South
Texas
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of an application for an enhancement of survival permit
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act for the proposed East Foundation
Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for Ocelot Reintroduction in South
[[Page 63599]]
Texas. The application package includes the safe harbor agreement and a
draft screening form pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to
comment on these documents. Before issuing the requested permit, we
will take into consideration any information that we receive during the
public comment period.
DATES: Submission of comments: We will accept comments received on or
before October 16, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may obtain copies of the
enhancement of survival permit application, safe harbor agreement, and
draft National Environmental Policy Act screening form online in Docket
No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0160 at https://www.regulations.gov gov. Other related
information may be obtained online at https://www.eastfoundation.net/.
Submitting comments: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and
submit comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0160; or
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R2-ES-2023-0160; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Please note which document(s) your comment references. For more
information, see Public Availability of Comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chuck Ardizzone, Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Houston, Texas, Coastal Ecological
Services Field Office; telephone (281) 286-8282. 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), announce the availability of an application for an
enhancement of survival permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) for the proposed East Foundation Programmatic Safe Harbor
Agreement for Ocelot Reintroduction in South Texas. The application
package includes the safe harbor agreement (SHA) and a draft screening
form pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA;
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
If the requested enhancement of survival permit is approved, it
would authorize East Foundation (applicant) for incidental take of the
ocelot (Leopardus (=Felis) pardalis) resulting from conservation and
management activities covered by the SHA. With this notice, we also
announce the availability of a draft screening form supporting a
proposed categorical exclusion that has been prepared to evaluate the
enhancement of survival permit application in accordance with NEPA
requirements.
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 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
17.21-22 and 50 CFR 17.31-32, respectively.
Under an SHA, participating landowners voluntarily undertake
conservation and management activities on their properties to benefit
species listed under the ESA. Enhancement of survival permits are
issued to applicants in association with approved SHAs to authorize
take of the covered species from covered activities on the enrolled
lands that are identified in the SHA. Covered activities are those
otherwise lawful actions that cause take of a covered species and for
which take is authorized by a permit under 50 CFR 17.22(b)-(c) 50 CFR
17.32(b)-(c), as applicable. Under an SHA, the Service may authorize
incidental taking of a covered species at a level that enables the
participating landowner ultimately to return the enrolled property back
to agreed-upon baseline conditions. Through the SHA and the associated
enhancement of survival permit, the Service also provides assurances to
enrolled property owners that additional land, water, and/or natural
resource use restrictions will not be imposed as a result of their
voluntary conservation actions.
Application requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of
survival permits for SHAs are found at 50 CFR 17.22(d)(2)(ii) and
17.32(d)(2)(ii). See also the joint policy on SHAs, which was published
in the Federal Register with the Department of Commerce's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries
Service (June 17, 1999, 64 FR 32717).
Proposed Action
The proposed action involves the issuance of an enhancement of
survival permit to the East Foundation (applicant) in association with
the East Foundation Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for Ocelot
Reintroduction in South Texas. The ocelot is listed as an endangered
species throughout its range in South and Central America, Mexico, and
southern Texas and southern Arizona (37 FR 6476, 47 FR 31670). In
Texas, ocelots are currently known to occur in coastal South Texas in
two small, isolated breeding populations that total less than 100 known
individuals (Service 2016).
The purpose of the proposed SHA is to expand the ocelot's occupied
range in South Texas by reintroducing the species on the East
Foundation's San Antonio Viejo Ranch in Jim Hogg and Starr Counties and
to provide additional habitat for reintroduced ocelot dispersal onto
private lands proximate to the San Antonio Viejo Ranch in Brooks,
Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Starr, and Zapata Counties. It is estimated that
362.6 square kilometers (km\2\) (89,600 acres (ac)) of suitable ocelot
habitat exist within this area, with 124.3 km\2\ (30,715 ac) located on
the San Antonio Viejo Ranch. Pursuant to the SHA, the East Foundation
will enroll participating landowners through issuance of certificates
of inclusion. The enhancement of survival permit would authorize
incidental take that may result from the implementation of the proposed
conservation and management activities on the enrolled properties
during a 30-year permit term, with an option to return the properties
to the baseline condition at the conclusion of the permit.
Proposed conservation measures include ocelot reintroduction
activities, monitoring, habitat management, and research.
Reintroduction activities include the construction of release
enclosures, maintenance and monitoring of ocelots in these enclosures,
and the actual release of behaviorally and genetically suitable ocelots
from the enclosures. Such activities will be implemented in accordance
with the most up-to-date version of the Ocelot Breeding and
Reintroduction Manual (Ocelot
[[Page 63600]]
Reintroduction Study Captive Propagation Team 2023) cooperatively
developed by the East Foundation, Service, and other partners.
Monitoring of reintroduced ocelots and their descendants will occur via
geolocation devices and cameras and will allow the East Foundation to
evaluate the survival and behavior of individual ocelots on the San
Antonio Viejo Ranch and enrolled properties. Habitat management
activities are additional, optional measures to further benefit ocelot
survival in the reintroduction area. These activities may include
wildfire mitigation practices, minimization of brush clearing, habitat
restoration, construction of supplemental drinking sources, and
potential predator or competitor control. The East Foundation, with the
cooperation of partners as appropriate, may also pursue opportunities
for additional research in support of ocelot reintroduction.
Proposed management practices include otherwise lawful activities
such as cattle grazing, building and maintaining ranch infrastructure,
agriculture operations, agritourism, vegetation and wildlife
management, and energy development interests. Any negative impacts to
ocelots or their habitat due to management practices are anticipated to
be minimal and temporary. The ocelot reintroduction program is expected
to have a net conservation benefit and contribute to recovery by
supporting multiple recovery actions identified in the species' current
recovery plan (Service 2016), exceeding any possible negative impacts
that may occur on the San Antonio Viejo Ranch or other participating
properties due to the covered and otherwise legal activities.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the permit application, SHA, draft screening form,
and comments we receive to determine whether the SHA application meets
the requirements of the ESA, NEPA, and implementing regulations. If we
determine that all requirements are met, we will approve the SHA and
issue the enhancement of survival permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of
the ESA to the applicant in accordance with the terms of the SHA 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
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.
Authority
We provide this notice under the authority of section 10(c) of the
ESA 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. 2023-19936 Filed 9-14-23; 8:45 am]
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