[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77875-77877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27611]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2022-N056; FXES1114020000-234-FF02ENEH00]


Application for Amendment of Incidental Take Permit; Cibolo 
Canyon Master Phase II Environmental Assessment and Habitat 
Conservation Plan for Golden-Cheeked Warbler; Bexar County, TX

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. and 
Wildlife Service (Service) to amend their existing incidental take 
permit (ITP), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. In support of the 
application, the applicant submitted a proposed amendment to their 
Cibolo Canyon Master Phase II Environmental Assessment and Habitat 
Conservation Plan (HCP). The requested amendment, if approved, would 
continue authorization of incidental take of the golden-cheeked 
warbler. We also announce the availability of a draft screening form 
that has been prepared to evaluate the ITP application in accordance 
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 
We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to 
comment on the ITP application, as well as the amended HCP and draft 
NEPA screening form.

DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before 
January 19, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining documents: You may obtain copies of the proposed 
HCP,

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draft NEPA screening form, and other related documents at the Service's 
website at https://www.fws.gov/office/austin-ecological-services. You 
may obtain copies of the ITP application by contacting the Service's 
Austin Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). Submitting comments: You may submit written comments by email 
to [email protected]. Please note that your comment is in 
reference to the Cibolo Canyon HCP. For more information, see Public 
Availability of Comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Myers, Acting Project Leader, 
Austin Ecological Services Field Office; telephone 512-490-0057. 
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 for public review a 
proposed amendment to the Cibolo Canyon Master Phase II Environmental 
Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan in Bexar County, Texas, ITP 
application, and an associated draft screening form. TF Cibolo Canyons 
LP (applicant) has applied for an amended ITP supported by the proposed 
amendment to their HCP. If approved, their already issued 30-year 
permit would continue authorization of incidental take of the federally 
listed, endangered golden-cheeked warbler (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 warbler 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 permit issuance. We are 
accepting comments on the proposed amendment to the HCP and draft 
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 an ESA section 
10(a)(1)(B) permit 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 permit.
    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 and 50 CFR 22, and 50 CFR 17.31 and 
50 CFR 32, respectively.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves the issuance of an amended 10(a)(1)(B) 
incidental take permit (ITP) to TF Cibolo Canyons LP (applicant) and 
approval of the proposed amendment to the Cibolo Canyon Master Phase II 
Environmental Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan. The ITP would 
cover incidental ``take'' of the warbler associated with vegetation 
clearing and construction of homes, apartments, and other such 
facilities, as described in ITP TE102437-0 and the HCP.
    The existing ITP expires February 18, 2036, and, prior to now, no 
extension has been requested. The original permit authorized incidental 
take of warbler on 846 acres (ac) and resulted in 768 ac of mitigation 
on site (70 FR 22682, May 2, 2005). The primary purpose of the 
amendment request is to revise the boundaries of the original 768-acre 
GCWA preserve. The 768-acre preserve was placed under conservation 
easement as mitigation for the EA/HCP. Cibolo requests to exchange 63 
acres of preserve for 144 acres of Master Phase II development area. 
This boundary modification will result in an overall reduction of the 
development area from 846 to 765 acres, an increase of the conservation 
easement from 768 acres to 849 acres, and reduce the amount of habitat 
loss and take of the GCWA due to implementation of the EA/HCP. The 
proposed swap would result in less edge-to-area ratio in the preserve 
area.
    To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the 
applicant would implement their amended HCP. The HCP describes the 
conservation measures the applicant has agreed to undertake to minimize 
and mitigate incidental take and ensures that incidental take will not 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of 
warbler in the wild.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the permit 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 
permit to the applicant under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, in 
accordance with the terms of the amended HCP 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 until 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.

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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).

Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-27611 Filed 12-19-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P