Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Document for Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit Associated With a Habitat Conservation Plan at the Fort Ord Military Installation, Monterey County, CA

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) advises the public that we intend to perform a scoping process to gather information necessary to help develop a NEPA document and determine whether to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the former Fort Ord Federal military installation in Monterey County, California. The decision to prepare an EIS or EA is, in part, contingent upon the complexity of issues identified during and following the scoping phase of the NEPA process. The proposed Fort Ord HCP is being prepared in compliance with the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The HCP is meant to support the issuance of incidental take permits to the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA), State Parks, University of California at Santa Cruz, California State University at Monterey Bay, and the County of Monterey (the Applicants) from the Service under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and from the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) under section 2081 of the California Fish and Game Code in compliance with the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). We provide this notice to: (1) Advise other Federal and State agencies, affected tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare an EA or an EIS; (2) Announce the initiation of a 30-day public scoping period; and (3) Obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to be considered in the scoping process.