[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2975-2976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00752]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230; FXES1114020000-245-FF02ENEH00]
Application for an Amendment to an Incidental Take Permit; Cibolo
Canyon Master Phase II Environmental Assessment and Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Golden-Cheeked Warbler in Bexar County, Texas
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. Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service) for an amendment to their existing
incidental take permit (ITP) supported by the proposed amendment to the
Habitat Conservation Plan for a portion of the Cibolo Canyon Property
(Master Phase II) (HCP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The
requested amendment to the ITP, if approved, would continue
authorization of incidental take of the golden-cheeked warbler
(Setophaga chrysoparia). The application package includes the proposed
changes to the HCP and a draft screening form that has been prepared to
evaluate the ITP application in accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act. We invite the public and local,
State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these documents.
DATES: Submission of comments: We will accept comments received or
postmarked on or before February 16, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining documents: You may obtain copies of the ITP amendment
application, proposed revisions to the HCP, draft screening form, or
other related documents online in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230 at
https://www.regulations.gov. Other related information may be obtained
online at https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/texas-habitat-conservation-plans.
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-2023-0230; or
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Please note which documents your comment references. For more
information, see Public Availability of Comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Myers, Field Supervisor, Austin
Ecological Services Field Office, Austin, Texas; telephone (512) 937-
7371. 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 a proposed amendment to the
Habitat Conservation Plan for a portion of the Cibolo Canyon Property
(Master Phase II) (HCP) in Bexar County, Texas, and an associated draft
screening form. TF Cibolo Canyons, LP (applicant) has applied for an
amended incidental take permit (ITP) (TE102437-0) supported by the
proposed amendment to their HCP. If approved, the amended permit would
continue for the remainder of the 30 years of the original permit to
authorize incidental take of the federally listed, endangered golden-
cheeked warbler
[[Page 2976]]
(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 species 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 ITP issuance. We are
accepting comments on the proposed amendment to the HCP and draft NEPA
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 a 10(a)(1)(B) ITP
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 ITP.
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 17.21-22 and 50 CFR 17.31-32, respectively.
Proposed Action
The proposed action involves the issuance of an amended 10(a)(1)(B)
ITP to TF Cibolo Canyons, LP and approval of the proposed amendment to
the HCP. The ITP would cover incidental ``take'' of the species
associated with vegetation clearing and construction of homes,
apartments, and other such facilities as described in the ITP and HCP.
The existing ITP expires February 18, 2036, and no extension has
been requested. The original permit authorized incidental take of the
species on 846 acres (ac) and resulted in 768 ac of mitigation on site
(May 2, 2005; 70 FR 22682). The proposed amendment would add 144 ac of
the original development area to the mitigation lands in exchange for
an unoccupied 30-ac tract of the original preserve area, which would
reduce the development area from 846 ac to 732 ac and increase the
preserve area from 768 ac to 882 ac. The 144 acres being added to the
preserve has sufficient habitat to support warblers periodically, while
the 30 acres being removed does not contain warbler habitat and,
therefore, does not support warblers. The proposed swap will result in
less edge-to-area ratio in the preserve area, a reduction in the amount
of habitat loss and take of the warbler due to the implementation of
the HCP and will provide contiguity between two occupied portions of
the preserve.
To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the
applicant would continue to implement the amended HCP. The HCP
describes the conservation measures the applicant has agreed to
undertake to minimize and mitigate incidental take, to the maximum
extent practicable and ensures that incidental take will not
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of
species in the wild.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the ITP 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
amended ITP to the applicant under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA in
accordance with the terms of the HCP and specific terms and conditions
of the authorizing ITP. 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 (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).
Jeffrey Fleming,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-00752 Filed 1-16-24; 8:45 am]
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