[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61347-61349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21974]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0073; FXES11130800000-212-FF08ENVS00]


Spring Mountain Raceway and Motor Resort, Nye County, Nevada; 
Receipt and Availability for Public Comment: Incidental Take Permit 
Application, Draft Habitat Conservation Plan, and Draft NEPA 
Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
receipt and availability of an application for an incidental take 
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and an associated 
draft habitat conservation plan (HCP). Additionally, consistent with 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we 
have prepared a draft low-effect screening form and environmental 
action statement supporting our preliminary determination that the 
proposed permit action qualifies for a categorical exclusion under 
NEPA. The Spring Mountain Raceway and Motor Resort has applied for an 
ITP under the ESA for their HCP for a 56-acre go-kart project in Nye 
County, Nevada. The ITP would authorize the take of Mojave desert 
tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) incidental to development, construction, 
and operation of the project. We invite the public and local, State, 
Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on the permit application, 
proposed low-effect HCP, and NEPA categorical exclusion determination 
documentation. Before issuing the requested ITP, we will take into 
consideration any information that we receive during the public comment 
period.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 10, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: 

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    Obtaining Documents: The documents announced by this notice, as 
well as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be 
available for public inspection in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0073 at 
https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: To send written comments, please use one of 
the following methods and identify to which document your comments are 
in reference--the draft HCP or NEPA compliance documentation.
     Internet: Submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov 
under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0073.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R8-ES-2022-0073; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    For more information, see Public Comments and Public Availability 
of Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen W. Knowles, Field Supervisor, 
Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, by phone at 702-515-5244. 
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 receipt of a permit application from the Spring 
Mountain Raceway and Motor Resort (applicant), for a 2-year incidental 
take permit (ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species 
Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Application for the 
permit requires the preparation of a habitat conservation plan (HCP) 
with measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of 
incidental take of endangered, threatened, or candidate species to the 
maximum extent practicable. The applicant prepared a draft low-effect 
HCP for a 56-acre go-kart project pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the ESA.
    The Service's consideration of issuing an ITP also requires 
evaluation of its potential impacts on the natural and human 
environment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The Service has prepared a low-effect 
screening form and environmental action statement (categorical 
exclusion, or CatEx documentation), pursuant to NEPA and its 
implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 
CFR 1501.4, to preliminarily determine if the proposed HCP qualifies as 
a low-effect HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion.

Background

    Except for permitted exceptions, section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1538 et seq.) prohibits the taking of fish and wildlife species listed 
as endangered under section 4 of the ESA; by regulation, take of 
certain species listed as threatened is also prohibited (16 U.S.C. 
1533(d); 50 CFR 17.31). Regulations governing the permitted exception 
for allowable incidental take of endangered and threatened species are 
at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. For more about the Federal habitat 
conservation HCP program, go to: https://www.fws.gov/media/habitat-conservation-plans-under-endangered-species-act.

National Environmental Policy Act Compliance

    The proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with 
the NEPA. The draft CatEx documentation was prepared to determine if 
issuance of an ITP, based on the draft HCP, would only have 
individually or cumulatively minor or negligible effects on the species 
covered in the HCP, as well as on other environmental values or 
resources, and would therefore qualify as a low-effect HCP not subject 
to further environmental analysis under NEPA.

Proposed Action

    Under the proposed action, the Service would issue a permit to the 
applicant for a period of 2 years for covered activities (described 
below) related to the construction of a 56-acre go-kart facility. 
Covered species include the federally threatened Mojave desert tortoise 
(Gopherus agassizii).

Habitat Conservation Plan Area

    The geographic scope of this draft HCP area encompasses 56 acres in 
the town of Pahrump in Nye County, Nevada.

Covered Activities

    The proposed section 10(a) permit would allow incidental take of 
the federally threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) 
for covered activities in the proposed HCP area. The applicant is 
requesting incidental take authorization for covered activities 
pertaining to the construction of a go-kart facility, including desert 
tortoise and security fence installation, desert tortoise clearance 
surveys and translocation, cactus and yucca transplanting, blading, 
vegetation removal, grading and contouring, construction of go-kart 
tracks and associated features, and construction of facility buildings, 
lighting, and parking lots. For covered activities, the applicant has 
outlined best management practices and other measures in the HCP to 
minimize and mitigate for direct impacts to the Mojave desert tortoise. 
The proposed actions will result in the permanent loss of 56 acres of 
suitable Mojave desert tortoise habitat in Nye County, Nevada.

Public Comments

    We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the 
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on the draft 
HCP and associated documents. If you wish to comment, you may submit 
comments by either of the methods in ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of Comments

    Any comments we receive will become part of the decision record 
associated with this action. 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 request in your comment that we 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.

Next Steps

    Issuance of a permit is a Federal proposed action subject to 
compliance with NEPA and section 7 of the ESA. We will evaluate the 
permit application, the HCP, associated documents, and any public 
comments we receive during the comment period to determine whether the 
application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA. If we 
determine that those requirements are met, we will conduct an intra-
Service consultation under section 7 of the ESA for the Federal action 
and for the potential issuance of an ITP. If the intra-Service 
consultation confirms that

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issuance of the permit will not jeopardize the continued existence of 
any endangered or threatened species, or destroy or adversely modify 
critical habitat, we will issue a permit to the applicant for the 
incidental take of the covered species.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1539(c) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and NEPA (42 
U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR 1501.4).

Glen W. Knowles,
Field Supervisor, Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Las Vegas, Nevada.
[FR Doc. 2022-21974 Filed 10-7-22; 8:45 am]
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