Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 14, 2025 / Notices 3241 

District in the future will be managed 

according to the direction in this CCP 

and associated EA and will be 

incorporated into future revisions and 

amendments. 

Pre-planning for this CCP began in 

2016 and three public scoping meetings 

were conducted in February and March 

2017 in Winnett, Roundup, and Laurel, 

Montana. However, the planning 

process stalled. On June 29, 2022, the 

Service published a notice of intent in 

the Federal Register announcing the 

intent to reinitiate the planning process 

to develop a CCP and EA for the District 

(87 FR 38775). The Service received 

comments from two individuals and 

three organizations during the new 

scoping comment period, which closed 

on July 29, 2022. All comments were 

shared with the planning team and 

considered throughout the planning 

process. Some of the valuable comments 

focused on public opportunity, wildlife 

resources, and livestock grazing. 

Findings from public comments and 

other information were used to develop 

the proposed action for the District and 

to analyze the management alternatives. 

Background 

Charles M. Russell Wetland 

Management District 

The District is located within the 

Northern Great Plains in central and 

southcentral Montana and is bounded 

on the north by the Missouri River 

Breaks and on the south by the Greater 

Yellowstone Ecosystem. While it is part 

of the Charles M. Russell NWR 

Complex, the District is distinct from 

the Charles M. Russell NWR in both 

location and management direction. The 

District includes wetlands with a mix of 

grasses, rushes, and occasional 

greasewood; areas of Ponderosa pine 

woodlands; creek bottoms filled with 

cottonwoods; coulees having a mix of 

juniper, sagebrush, and deciduous 

shrubs with grass components; and vast, 

open, flat and rolling grassland hills 

mixed with sagebrush in some areas. 

Seasonal and temporary wetland basins 

provide critical waterfowl and grassland 

bird habitat for feeding and nesting. The 

District also lies on the western edge of 

the Central Flyway and near the eastern 

edge of the Pacific Flyway. The core of 

the District’s work is managing wetland 

habitat to benefit waterfowl, wading 

birds, and shorebirds. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Compliance 

This CCP is being developed in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

National Wildlife Refuge System 

Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 

668dd-668ee), as amended by the 

National Wildlife Refuge System 

Improvement Act of 1997 (Improvement 

Act; Pub. L. 105–57); the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.); other appropriate Federal laws 

and regulations; and the policies and 

procedures for compliance with those 

laws and regulations. 

Tribal Responsibilities 

The Service has unique 

responsibilities to Tribes, including 

under the National Historic Preservation 

Act (54 U.S.C. 306101 et seq.); the 

American Indian Religious Freedom Act 

(42 U.S.C. 1996); the Native American 

Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 

(25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); the Religious 

Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 

U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.); Joint Secretarial 

Order 3403, Fulfilling the Trust 

Responsibility to Indian Tribes in the 

Stewardship of Federal Lands and 

Waters (Secretaries of Interior and 

Agriculture; November 15, 2021); 

Secretarial Order 3206, American Indian 

Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust 

Responsibilities, and the Endangered 

Species Act (Secretaries of Interior and 

Agriculture; June 5, 1997); Executive 

Order 13007, Indian Sacred Sites (61 FR 

26771; May 29, 1996); and the Service’s 

Native American Policy. We apply the 

term ‘‘Tribal’’ or ‘‘Tribe(s)’’ generally to 

federally recognized Tribes and Alaska 

Native Tribal entities. We will refer to 

Native Hawaiian Organizations 

separately when we intend to include 

those entities. 

The Service will separately consult 

with Tribes on the proposals set forth in 

this CCP. We will also ensure that those 

Tribes wishing to engage directly in the 

planning process will have the 

opportunity to do so. As part of this 

process, we will protect the confidential 

nature of any consultations and other 

communications we have with Tribes, 

to the extent permitted by the Freedom 

of Information Act and other laws. 

Review and Comment 

At the end of the review and comment 

period for the draft CCP, comments will 

be analyzed by the Service and 

addressed in the final CCP. All 

information provided voluntarily by 

mail, by phone, or at public meetings 

(e.g., names, addresses, letters of 

comment, input recorded during 

meetings) becomes part of the official 

public record. 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 review, the 

Service cannot guarantee we will be 

able to do so.Authority 

This notice is published under the 

authority of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Improvement Act of 

1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd). 

Matthew Hogan, 

Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31631 Filed 1–13–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–ES–2024–0185; FXES 

11140200000–256–FF02ENEH00] 

Notice of Availability; Draft 

Amendments to the Oil and Gas and 

Renewable (Wind and Solar) Energy, 

Power Line, and Communication 

Tower Habitat Conservation Plans for 

the Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Colorado, 

Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and 

Texas 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

applications from LPC Conservation 

LLC (applicant) for amended incidental 

take permits (permits) supported by 

proposed amendments to the ‘‘Oil and 

Gas and Renewable (Wind and Solar) 

Energy, Power Line, and 

Communication Tower Habitat 

Conservation Plans for the Lesser 

Prairie-chicken; Colorado, Kansas, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas’’ (HCPs). 

With this notice, we announce the 

availability for public comment of the 

permit applications, the proposed HCP 

amendments, and the draft 

environmental assessments (EAs). 

Currently, we are only accepting 

comments on the amended portions of 

the HCPs and EAs. We invite comments 

from the public and Federal, Tribal, 

State, and local governments. 

DATES: We must receive your written 

comments on or before February 13, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES:

Obtaining Documents: The documents 

this notice announces, as well as any 

comments and materials that we 

receive, will be available for public 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
3242 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 14, 2025 / Notices 

inspection online in Docket No. FWS– 

R2–ES–2024–0185 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 

one of the following methods: 

• Online: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2024–0185. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing; Attn: Docket No. FWS–R2– 

ES–2024–0185; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg 

Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clay 

Nichols, Lesser Prairie-Chicken 

Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Ecological Services, Southwest 

Regional Office; telephone 817–471– 

6372. 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), 

make available for public comment 

applications submitted by LPC 

Conservation LLC (applicant) for 

amended incidental take permits 

(permits) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) supported by 

proposed amendments to the ‘‘Oil and 

Gas and Renewable (Wind and Solar) 

Energy, Power Line, and 

Communication Tower Habitat 

Conservation Plan for the Lesser Prairiechicken; Colorado, Kansas, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas’’ (HCPs) 

and the associated draft environmental 

assessments (EAs). If approved, the 

requested amendments would expand 

the plan areas of the HCPs to the north 

to reflect updates to the lesser prairiechicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus; 

LEPC) estimated occupied range (EOR) 

made in 2022 by the Lesser PrairieChicken Interstate Working Group. By 

expanding the HCP plan areas, the HCPs 

would have the ability to provide LEPC 

conservation, as well as incidental take 

permit coverage for covered activities, 

throughout the entire 2022 EOR 

boundary. 

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 

17.22 and 50 CFR 17.31 and 17.32, 

respectively. 

Proposed Action 

The proposed action is the issuance of 

amended incidental take permits 

(permits) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of 

the ESA supported by proposed 

amendments to the ‘‘Oil and Gas and 

Renewable (Wind and Solar) Energy, 

Power Line, and Communication Tower 

Habitat Conservation Plan for the Lesser 

Prairie-chicken; Colorado, Kansas, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas’’ (HCPs) 

to be consistent with changes in the 

HCP plan areas, as well as other 

administrative changes. 

The HCPs were approved and 

permitted by the Service on December 1, 

2021 (Renewables HCP), and May 27, 

2022 (Oil and Gas HCP). At the time of 

approval and permit issuance, the plan 

area for the HCPs was the 2013 LEPC 

EOR boundary plus a 10-mile buffer. In 

2022, after the Service’s approval of the 

HCPs and issuance of the permits, the 

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Interstate 

Working Group revised the EOR of the 

LEPC to expand the range boundaries 

north and east to include LEPC 

occurrence documented in Colorado 

and to connect to the Kansas Shortgrass/ 

Conservation Reserve Program Mosaic. 

The proposed amendments update the 

HCPs and permit to incorporate the 

revised EOR boundary and expand the 

plan area boundaries in the HCPs 

accordingly. 

The proposed amendments include 

updated text, figures, and captions 

resulting from the update to the EOR 

and plan area. In addition, the 

amendments include updates to 

terminology used in figure legends; 

miscellaneous formatting, spelling, or 

grammatical corrections; and updates to 

the certificate of inclusion (CI) 

application found in Appendix B of 

each HCP. No changes are proposed to 

the duration of the HCPs and associated 

permits, covered activities, or original 

incidental take estimates. 

Alternatives 

We are considering one alternative to 

the proposed action as part of this 

process, the no action alternative. Under 

the no action alternative, the Service 

would not approve the proposed 

amendments and would not issue the 

amended permits. In this case, the plan 

areas for the HCPs would remain as 

defined in the approved HCPs and 

permits. 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the permit 

applications, proposed amendments, 

draft EAs, and comments we receive to 

determine whether the applications 

meet the requirements of the ESA, 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), and implementing regulations. 

If we determine that all requirements 

are met, we will approve the 

amendments and issue the amended 

permits under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 

ESA to the applicant, in accordance 

with the terms of the HCPs and specific 

terms and conditions of the authorizing 

permits. 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. If you submit a comment at 

https://www.regulations.gov, your entire 

comment, including any personal 

identifying information, will be posted 

on the website. If you submit a 

hardcopy comment that includes 

personal identifying information, such 

as your address, phone number, or 

email address, 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 hardcopy 

document to withhold your personal 

identifying information from public 

review, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. Moreover, 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 and 

its implementing regulations (50 CFR 

17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.) and its implementing 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 14, 2025 / Notices 3243 

regulations (40 CFR 1500 through 1508 

and 43 CFR part 46). 

Amy Lueders, 

Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00566 Filed 1–13–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–0190; 

FXES11140400000–256–FF04EF4000] 

Receipt of Incidental Take Permit 

Application and Proposed Habitat 

Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink 

and Blue-tailed Mole-skink; Polk 

County, FL; Categorical Exclusion 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), announce receipt of 

an application from ADH Rollins Court, 

LLC (applicant) for an incidental take 

permit (ITP) under the Endangered 

Species Act. The applicant requests the 

ITP to take the federally listed sand 

skink (Plestiodon reynoldsi) and bluetailed mole skink (Eumeces egregius 

lividus) incidental to the construction of 

a residential development in Polk 

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 February 13, 

2025. 

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– 

R4–ES–2024–0190 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 

one of the following methods: 

• Online: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2024–0190. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R4– 

ES–2024–0190; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg 

Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Al 

Begazo, by U.S. mail (see ADDRESSES), 

by telephone at 772–226–8134, or via 

email at alfredo_begazo@fws.gov. 

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 

Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 

announce receipt of an application from 

ADH Rollins Court, LLC (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 sand skink (Plestiodon reynoldsi) 

and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces 

egregius lividus) (skinks), federally 

listed as threatened under the ESA, 

incidental to the construction of a 

residential development in Polk 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’s (DOI) NEPA 

regulations (43 CFR part 46), and the 

DOI’s 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 5-year ITP to 

take skinks via the conversion of 

approximately 5.46 acres (ac) of 

occupied nesting, foraging, and 

sheltering skink habitat incidental to the 

construction of a residential 

development on 46 ac on Polk County 

Parcels 27–27–11–735500–000140 and 

27–27–11–734500–030300 within 

Section 11, Township 27 South, Range 

27 East, Polk County, Florida. The 

applicant proposes to mitigate for take 

of skinks through the purchase 10.92 ac 

of conservation credits (in accordance 

with the Service’s 2:1 mitigation ratio 

guidelines) from a Service-authorized 

conservation bank prior to engaging in 

any phase of the project. 

Our Preliminary Determination 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that the applicant’s 

proposed project, including the 

construction of a residential 

development and associated 

infrastructure (e.g., electric, water, and 

sewer lines), would individually and 

cumulatively have a minor or negligible 

effect on the skinks and the human 

environment. Therefore, 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 skinks and 

may qualify for application of a 

categorical exclusion 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 

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 

PER11450292 to ADH Rollins Court, 

LLC. 

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. If you submit a 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES