71598 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 

and associated documents from 

agencies, Tribes, and the public. 

Background 

The Service listed the California redlegged frog as threatened on May 23, 

1996 (61 FR 25813), the California tiger 

salamander as threatened on August 4, 

2004 (69 FR 47212), and the Santa Cruz 

long-toed salamander as endangered on 

March 11, 1967 (32 FR 4001). Section 9 

of the Act and its implementing 

regulations prohibit the take of fish or 

wildlife species listed as endangered or 

threatened. ‘‘Take’’ is defined under the 

Act to include the following activities: 

‘‘[T]o 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); however, 

under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we 

may issue permits to authorize 

incidental take of listed species. 

‘‘Incidental take’’ is defined by the Act 

as take that is incidental to, and not the 

purpose of, carrying out of an otherwise 

lawful activity. Regulations governing 

incidental take permits for threatened 

and endangered species are, 

respectively, in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32 and 

17.22. Issuance of an incidental take 

permit also must not jeopardize the 

existence of federally listed fish, 

wildlife, or plant species. All species 

included in an incidental take permit 

would receive assurances under our 

‘‘No Surprises’’ regulations (50 CFR 

17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)). 

The proposed action is approval of 

the GCP and subsequent issuance of 

incidental take permits. The Service 

prepared the GCP to provide a more 

efficient and standardized mechanism 

for proponents engaged in activities 

associated with the construction and 

maintenance of residential dwellings 

and associated infrastructure, 

construction and maintenance on public 

lands such as roads, drainages, and 

parks, and habitat restoration on nonFederal lands. The GCP meets permit 

issuance criteria as required by section 

10(a)(2)(B) of the Act and enables 

implementation of a programmatic 

permitting and conservation process to 

address a suite of proposed activities 

over a defined planning area. The 

proposed GCP would allow private 

individuals, local and State agencies, 

and other non-Federal entities to meet 

the statutory and regulatory 

requirements of the Act by applying for 

permits and complying with the 

requirements of the GCP, including all 

applicable avoidance, minimization, 

and mitigation actions. 

Our Preliminary Determination Under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that GCP issuance and 

the subsequent issuance of permits 

under the GCP is neither a major 

Federal action that will significantly 

affect the quality of the human 

environment within the meaning of 

section 102(2)(C) of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), nor 

will it individually or cumulatively 

have more than a negligible effect on the 

species covered in the GCP. Therefore, 

the Service anticipates GCP issuance 

qualifies 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’s (DOI) NEPA 

regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI’s 

Departmental Manual (516 DM 

8.5(C)(2)). 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the GCP 

and associated documents, you may 

submit comments by any one of the 

methods in ADDRESSES. 

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 

The Service provides 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 

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. 2023–22808 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2023–0202; 

FXES11130800000–178–FF08EVEN00] 

Application for Renewal of Incidental 

Take Permit; Interim Programmatic 

Habitat Conservation Plan for the 

Mount Hermon June Beetle and Ben 

Lomond Spineflower, Santa Cruz 

County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit 

renewal application; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce 

receipt of an application from the 

County of Santa Cruz (applicant) for 

renewal of an existing incidental take 

permit under the Endangered Species 

Act. The applicant has requested a 

renewal that will extend permit 

duration by 20 years from the date the 

permit is reissued. The permit would 

continue to authorize take of the 

federally endangered Mount Hermon 

June beetle that is incidental to 

otherwise lawful activities associated 

with the approved Interim 

Programmatic Habitat Conservation Plan 

for the Endangered Mount Hermon June 

Beetle and Ben Lomond Spineflower. 

We invite comment on the application 

and associated documents from 

agencies, Tribes, and the public. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

received on or before November 16, 

2023. 

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– 

R8–ES–2023–0202 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–R8–ES–2023–0202. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing; Attn: Docket No. FWS–R8– 

ES–2023–0202; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg 

Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, by email at chad_mitcham@

fws.gov, or by telephone at 805–644– 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 71599 

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-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

announce receipt of an application from 

the County of Santa Cruz (applicant) for 

renewal by 20 years of an existing 

incidental take permit under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. et seq.). If 

approved for renewal, the permit would 

continue to authorize take of the 

federally endangered Mount Hermon 

June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) that is 

incidental to otherwise lawful activities 

associated with the approved Interim 

Programmatic Habitat Conservation Plan 

for the Endangered Mount Hermon June 

Beetle and Ben Lomond Spineflower 

(HCP). The applicant has agreed to 

update mitigation measure 5.2.2.2 in the 

HCP to ensure that impacts to the 

species’ habitat are commensurately 

offset through the protection of habitat 

at a 3 to 1 ratio (i.e., habitat protected 

to habitat disturbed). The applicant also 

agreed to follow all other existing HCP 

conditions. If the permit is renewed, no 

additional take above the original 

authorized limit of 139 acres of habitat, 

using habitat as a surrogate for take, will 

be authorized. We invite comment on 

the application, HCP, and associated 

documents from the public and local, 

State, Tribe, and Federal agencies. 

Background 

The Mount Hermon June beetle was 

listed by the Service as endangered on 

January 24, 1997 (62 FR 3616). The Ben 

Lomond spineflower (Chorizanthe 

pungens var. hartwegiana) was listed by 

the Service as endangered on February 

4, 1994 (59 FR 5499). Section 9 of the 

Act and its implementing regulations 

prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of fish or wildlife 

species listed as endangered or 

threatened. ‘‘Take’’ is defined under the 

Act to include the following activities: 

‘‘[T]o 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); however, 

under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we 

may issue permits to authorize 

incidental take of listed wildlife species. 

‘‘Incidental take’’ is defined by the Act 

as take that is incidental to, and not the 

purpose of, carrying out of an otherwise 

lawful activity. Regulations governing 

incidental take permits for threatened 

and endangered species are, 

respectively, in the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32 and 

17.22. Under the Act, protections for 

federally listed plants differ from the 

protections afforded to federally listed 

animals. Take of listed plant species is 

not prohibited under the Act and cannot 

be authorized under a section 10 permit. 

However, listed plant species may be 

included on an incidental take permit in 

recognition of the conservation benefit 

provided to them under an HCP. 

Issuance of an incidental take permit 

also must not jeopardize the existence of 

federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant 

species. All species included in the 

incidental take permit would receive 

assurances under our ‘‘No Surprises’’ 

regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 

17.32(b)(5)). 

The applicant has applied for renewal 

of their permit for incidental take of the 

endangered Mount Hermon June beetle. 

The potential taking would occur by 

activities associated with the 

construction of certain eligible small 

development projects in densely 

developed residential neighborhoods (as 

defined in the HCP) that support 

suitable habitat for the covered species. 

The 10 project units within the HCP 

boundary were identified within the 

communities of Ben Lomond, Felton, 

Mount Hermon, and Scotts Valley in 

Santa Cruz County, California. 

Incidental take permits were first issued 

for the HCP on October 27, 2011 (76 FR 

17664; March 30, 2011), and renewed 

on June 30, 2018 (83 FR 17837; April 24, 

2018). 

Our Preliminary Determination Under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

Based on a preliminary review, the 

Service anticipates the original National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

review for the HCP permit in 2011 

remains valid and accurate. That 

analysis concluded that issuance of the 

permit is not a major Federal action that 

will significantly affect the quality of 

the human environment within the 

meaning of section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. 

Therefore, the Service anticipates the 

permit renewal is consistent with our 

original analysis pursuant to the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) regulations, the Department of 

the Interior’s (DOI) NEPA regulations 

(43 CFR 46), and the DOI’s 

Departmental Manual (516 DM 

8.5(C)(2)). 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

application, HCP, and associated 

documents, you may submit comments 

by any one of the methods in 

ADDRESSES. 

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 

The Service provides 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 

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. 2023–22807 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_AK_FRN_MO4500175759] 

Filing of Plats of Survey: Alaska 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of official filing. 

SUMMARY: The plats of survey of lands 

described in this notice are scheduled to 

be officially filed in the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), Alaska State Office, 

Anchorage, Alaska. The surveys, which 

were executed at the request of the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs and BLM, are 

necessary for the management of these 

lands. 

DATES: The BLM must receive protests 

by November 16, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may buy a copy of the 

plats from the BLM Alaska Public 

Information Center, 222 W 7th Avenue, 

Mailstop 13, Anchorage, AK 99513. 

Please use this address when filing 

written protests. You may also view the 

plats at the BLM Alaska Public 

Information Center, Fitzgerald Federal 

Building, 222 W 7th Avenue, 

Anchorage, Alaska, at no cost. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas B. O’Toole, Chief, Branch of 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1