[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64948-64950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17577]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2024-0126; FXES11140800000-245-FF08EVEN00]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Two Draft Habitat 
Conservation Plans and Associated Draft Categorical Exclusions for 
School Improvement Projects in San Benito and Monterey Counties, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received two applications for incidental take permits (ITPs) for the 
federally threatened Central California Distinct Population Segment 
(DPS) of the California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Each of the two 
applicants submitted a permit application which, if issued, would 
authorize take of the California tiger salamander and California red-
legged frog incidental to activities associated with the development 
and improvement of school facilities in the cities of San Juan Bautista 
and Salinas in San Benito and Monterey Counties, respectively, in 
California. As part of the application for an ITP, each applicant 
submitted a draft habitat conservation plan for their respective 
project. For each project, the Service prepared a draft screening form 
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to 
evaluate the potential effects to the natural and human environment 
resulting from issuing an ITP to each applicant for their project. We 
invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to 
comment on the draft screening forms and on the Service's preliminary 
determination that the proposed permitting actions may be eligible for 
categorical exclusions pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's NEPA regulations, the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA 
regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before September 9, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well 
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available 
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-

[[Page 64949]]

R8-ES-2024-0126 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Written Comments: Please send us your written comments 
using one of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2024-0126.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: FWS-R8-ES-
2024-0126; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg 
Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Sinclair, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, by email at [email protected] or via phone at (805) 644-
1766. 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 two applications for incidental take permits 
(ITPs) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicants have developed draft habitat 
conservation plans (HCPs) for the respective projects that include 
measures to minimize and mitigate impacts to the federally threatened 
Central California DPS of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma 
californiense) and California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii). Each of 
the permits, if granted, would authorize take of the California tiger 
salamander and California red-legged frog incidental to otherwise 
lawful activities associated with the development and improvement of 
school facilities in the cities of San Juan Bautista and Salinas in San 
Benito and Monterey Counties, respectively, in California. We invite 
public comment on the applications, which include the applicants' HCPs, 
and on the Service's preliminary determination that both proposed ITPs 
qualify as low effect, and may qualify for categorical exclusions 
pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the 
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and 
the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make these 
preliminary determinations, we prepared draft low-effect screening 
forms, which are also available for public review.

Background

    The Service listed the Central California DPS of the California 
tiger salamander as threatened on August 4, 2004 (69 FR 47212), and 
listed the California red-legged frog as threatened on May 23, 1996 (61 
FR 25813). Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife 
species listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538), where take is defined to 
include the following activities: ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, 
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage 
in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). The take prohibitions of 
section 9 are extended to species listed as threatened at the 
discretion of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior; in this 
case, they were extended to both species; however, this was done with 
exceptions for the California tiger salamander.
    Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), we 
may issue permits to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species 
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an 
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take 
permits for endangered and threatened species are in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively. 
Issuance of an ITP also must not jeopardize the existence of federally 
listed fish, wildlife, or plant species, pursuant to section 7 of the 
ESA and 50 CFR 402.02. The permittee would receive assurances under our 
``No Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).

Proposed Activities

    Each applicant has applied for a permit for incidental take of the 
California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog. The take 
would occur in association with development and improvement activities 
of school facilities.
    The respective HCPs include minimization measures for the 
California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog and 
mitigation for unavoidable take and loss of suitable habitat for these 
species. As mitigation for take and loss of suitable habitat, the 
applicants propose mitigation that will support the recovery goals of 
the species such as restoration and protection of habitat through the 
purchase of credits at a conservation bank.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicants' proposed projects, and proposed mitigation and minimization 
measures, would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on 
the species and the human environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily 
determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permits would be 
low-effect ITPs that individually or cumulatively would have a minor 
effect on the species and may qualify for application of categorical 
exclusions pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA 
regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. A 
low-effect ITP is one that would result in (1) minor or nonsignificant 
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 applications and the comments 
received to determine whether to issue the requested ITPs. We will also 
conduct an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA 
to evaluate the effects of the proposed covered activities on the 
Central California DPS of the California tiger salamander and 
California red-legged frog. 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 one or both ITPs.

Public Availability of Comments

    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 in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able 
to do so.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered 
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations 
(50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) and

[[Page 64950]]

its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508 and 43 CFR 46).

Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2024-17577 Filed 8-7-24; 8:45 am]
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