[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17614-17615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05949]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0029; FXES11140400000-212-FF04EF4000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Caracara, Brevard County, FL; 
Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group (applicant) for 
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened Audubon's 
crested caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii), a raptor, incidental to 
the construction of a proposed residential development in Brevard 
County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which 
includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and 
on the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting 
action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the 
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA 
regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary 
determination, we prepared a draft environmental action statement and 
low-effect screening form, both of which are also available for public 
review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and 
Federal agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before April 24, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents 
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0029 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-R4-ES-2023-0029.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0029; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin M. Gawera, by U.S. mail (see 
ADDRESSES), via phone at 904-731-312, or by email at 
[email protected]. 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

[[Page 17615]]

international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from Forestar (USA) Real Estate 
Group (Cypress Bay West @Waterstone Phase III) (applicant) for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant requests the 
ITP to take the federally threatened Audobon's crested caracara 
(Polyborus plancus audubonii) (caracara) incidental to the construction 
of a residential development (project) in Brevard County, Florida. We 
request public comment on the application, which includes the 
applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's 
preliminary determination that this proposed ITP qualifies as ``low 
effect,'' and may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the 
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the Interior 
(DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI Departmental Manual 
(516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared 
a draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, 
both of which are also available for public review.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 10-year ITP to take caracaras through the 
conversion of approximately 27.6 acres (ac) of occupied caracara 
primary buffer zone habitat incidental to the construction of a 
residential development on a 190.28-ac parcel in Sections 4 and 5, 
Township 30 South, Range 37 East, Brevard County, Florida, identified 
by Tax Account Numbers 3000217 and 3000219. The applicant proposes to 
mitigate for take of the caracaras by donating $80,000.00 to the Allen 
Broussard Conservancy (ABC) Land Acquisition Fund; these funds will be 
used to purchase and permanently conserve approximately 27.6 ac to 
support known territories of two breeding/nesting pairs of caracaras 
within the limits of the ABC. The applicant will also make a $20,000.00 
monetary donation to the ABC to aid in financing habitat management and 
enhancement activities that will occur on the same 27.6-ac area, for a 
period of 10 years. The Service would require the applicant to purchase 
the credits prior to engaging in construction activities associated 
with the project on the parcel.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, 
may be made available to the public. While you may request that we 
withhold your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee 
that we will be able to do so.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project--including land clearing, infrastructure building, 
landscaping, and other ground disturbance and site preparation 
activities--and the proposed mitigation measures would individually and 
cumulatively have a minor effect on the human environment. We have 
preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) 
permit would be a ``low-effect'' ITP that individually or cumulatively 
would have a minor effect on the caracara and may qualify for 
application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on 
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), DOI's NEPA 
regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). A 
``low-effect'' incidental take permit is one that would result in (1) 
minor or negligible effects on species covered in the HCP; (2) 
nonsignificant effects on the human environment; and (3) impacts that, 
when added together with the impacts of other past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable actions, would not result in significant 
cumulative effects to the human environment.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to 
determine whether to issue the requested ITP. We will also conduct an 
intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate 
the effects of the proposed take. After considering the preceding and 
other matters, we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria 
of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service 
will issue ITP number PER0046193 to Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) 
and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 
CFR 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Robert L. Carey,
Division Manager, Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services 
Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-05949 Filed 3-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P