[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71598-71599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22807]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2023-0202; FXES11130800000-178-FF08EVEN00]
Application for Renewal of Incidental Take Permit; Interim
Programmatic Habitat Conservation Plan for the Mount Hermon June Beetle
and Ben Lomond Spineflower, Santa Cruz County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit renewal application; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce
receipt of an application from the County of Santa Cruz (applicant) for
renewal of an existing incidental take permit under the Endangered
Species Act. The applicant has requested a renewal that will extend
permit duration by 20 years from the date the permit is reissued. The
permit would continue to authorize take of the federally endangered
Mount Hermon June beetle that is incidental to otherwise lawful
activities associated with the approved Interim Programmatic Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Endangered Mount Hermon June Beetle and Ben
Lomond Spineflower. We invite comment on the application and associated
documents from agencies, Tribes, and the public.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before November 16,
2023.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0202 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0202.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2023-0202; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by email at [email protected], or by telephone at 805-
644-
[[Page 71599]]
1766. 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 receipt of an application from the County of Santa
Cruz (applicant) for renewal by 20 years of an existing incidental take
permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16
U.S.C. et seq.). If approved for renewal, the permit would continue to
authorize take of the federally endangered Mount Hermon June beetle
(Polyphylla barbata) that is incidental to otherwise lawful activities
associated with the approved Interim Programmatic Habitat Conservation
Plan for the Endangered Mount Hermon June Beetle and Ben Lomond
Spineflower (HCP). The applicant has agreed to update mitigation
measure 5.2.2.2 in the HCP to ensure that impacts to the species'
habitat are commensurately offset through the protection of habitat at
a 3 to 1 ratio (i.e., habitat protected to habitat disturbed). The
applicant also agreed to follow all other existing HCP conditions. If
the permit is renewed, no additional take above the original authorized
limit of 139 acres of habitat, using habitat as a surrogate for take,
will be authorized. We invite comment on the application, HCP, and
associated documents from the public and local, State, Tribe, and
Federal agencies.
Background
The Mount Hermon June beetle was listed by the Service as
endangered on January 24, 1997 (62 FR 3616). The Ben Lomond spineflower
(Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana) was listed by the Service as
endangered on February 4, 1994 (59 FR 5499). Section 9 of the Act and
its implementing regulations prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened. ``Take'' is defined under
the Act to include the following activities: ``[T]o harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to
attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532); however,
under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue permits to authorize
incidental take of listed wildlife species. ``Incidental take'' is
defined by the Act as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose
of, carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing
incidental take permits for threatened and endangered species are,
respectively, in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32
and 17.22. Under the Act, protections for federally listed plants
differ from the protections afforded to federally listed animals. Take
of listed plant species is not prohibited under the Act and cannot be
authorized under a section 10 permit. However, listed plant species may
be included on an incidental take permit in recognition of the
conservation benefit provided to them under an HCP. Issuance of an
incidental take permit also must not jeopardize the existence of
federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant species. All species included
in the incidental take permit would receive assurances under our ``No
Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).
The applicant has applied for renewal of their permit for
incidental take of the endangered Mount Hermon June beetle. The
potential taking would occur by activities associated with the
construction of certain eligible small development projects in densely
developed residential neighborhoods (as defined in the HCP) that
support suitable habitat for the covered species. The 10 project units
within the HCP boundary were identified within the communities of Ben
Lomond, Felton, Mount Hermon, and Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County,
California. Incidental take permits were first issued for the HCP on
October 27, 2011 (76 FR 17664; March 30, 2011), and renewed on June 30,
2018 (83 FR 17837; April 24, 2018).
Our Preliminary Determination Under the National Environmental Policy
Act
Based on a preliminary review, the Service anticipates the original
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review for the HCP permit in
2011 remains valid and accurate. That analysis concluded that issuance
of the permit is not a major Federal action that will significantly
affect the quality of the human environment within the meaning of
section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. Therefore, the Service anticipates the
permit renewal is consistent with our original analysis pursuant to the
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA
regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM
8.5(C)(2)).
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit application, HCP, and
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods
in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
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 in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508 and 43 CFR 46).
Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2023-22807 Filed 10-16-23; 8:45 am]
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