[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2975-2976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00752]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230; FXES1114020000-245-FF02ENEH00]


Application for an Amendment to an Incidental Take Permit; Cibolo 
Canyon Master Phase II Environmental Assessment and Habitat 
Conservation Plan for the Golden-Cheeked Warbler in Bexar County, Texas

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. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (Service) for an amendment to their existing 
incidental take permit (ITP) supported by the proposed amendment to the 
Habitat Conservation Plan for a portion of the Cibolo Canyon Property 
(Master Phase II) (HCP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The 
requested amendment to the ITP, if approved, would continue 
authorization of incidental take of the golden-cheeked warbler 
(Setophaga chrysoparia). The application package includes the proposed 
changes to the HCP and a draft screening form that has been prepared to 
evaluate the ITP application in accordance with the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. We invite the public and local, 
State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these documents.

DATES: Submission of comments: We will accept comments received or 
postmarked on or before February 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining documents: You may obtain copies of the ITP amendment 
application, proposed revisions to the HCP, draft screening form, or 
other related documents online in Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230 at 
https://www.regulations.gov. Other related information may be obtained 
online at https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/texas-habitat-conservation-plans.
    Submitting comments: You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:
    <bullet> Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and 
submit comments on Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230; or
    <bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R2-ES-2023-0230; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    Please note which documents your comment references. For more 
information, see Public Availability of Comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Myers, Field Supervisor, Austin 
Ecological Services Field Office, Austin, Texas; telephone (512) 937-
7371. 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 a proposed amendment to the 
Habitat Conservation Plan for a portion of the Cibolo Canyon Property 
(Master Phase II) (HCP) in Bexar County, Texas, and an associated draft 
screening form. TF Cibolo Canyons, LP (applicant) has applied for an 
amended incidental take permit (ITP) (TE102437-0) supported by the 
proposed amendment to their HCP. If approved, the amended permit would 
continue for the remainder of the 30 years of the original permit to 
authorize incidental take of the federally listed, endangered golden-
cheeked warbler

[[Page 2976]]

(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 species 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 ITP issuance. We are 
accepting comments on the proposed amendment to the HCP and draft NEPA 
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 a 10(a)(1)(B) ITP 
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 ITP.
    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 17.21-22 and 50 CFR 17.31-32, respectively.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action involves the issuance of an amended 10(a)(1)(B) 
ITP to TF Cibolo Canyons, LP and approval of the proposed amendment to 
the HCP. The ITP would cover incidental ``take'' of the species 
associated with vegetation clearing and construction of homes, 
apartments, and other such facilities as described in the ITP and HCP.
    The existing ITP expires February 18, 2036, and no extension has 
been requested. The original permit authorized incidental take of the 
species on 846 acres (ac) and resulted in 768 ac of mitigation on site 
(May 2, 2005; 70 FR 22682). The proposed amendment would add 144 ac of 
the original development area to the mitigation lands in exchange for 
an unoccupied 30-ac tract of the original preserve area, which would 
reduce the development area from 846 ac to 732 ac and increase the 
preserve area from 768 ac to 882 ac. The 144 acres being added to the 
preserve has sufficient habitat to support warblers periodically, while 
the 30 acres being removed does not contain warbler habitat and, 
therefore, does not support warblers. The proposed swap will result in 
less edge-to-area ratio in the preserve area, a reduction in the amount 
of habitat loss and take of the warbler due to the implementation of 
the HCP and will provide contiguity between two occupied portions of 
the preserve.
    To meet the requirements of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP, the 
applicant would continue to implement the amended HCP. The HCP 
describes the conservation measures the applicant has agreed to 
undertake to minimize and mitigate incidental take, to the maximum 
extent practicable and ensures that incidental take will not 
appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of 
species in the wild.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the ITP 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 
amended ITP to the applicant under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA in 
accordance with the terms of the HCP and specific terms and conditions 
of the authorizing ITP. We will not make our final decision until after 
the 30-day comment period ends, and 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.

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).

Jeffrey Fleming,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-00752 Filed 1-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P