Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 127 / Tuesday, July 5, 2022 / Notices 39865 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2022–0002; 

FXES11130400000–223–FF04EF4000] 

Receipt of Incidental Take Permit 

Application and Proposed Habitat 

Conservation Plan for the Audubon’s 

Crested Caracara; Glades County, FL; 

Categorical Exclusion 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments and information. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), announce receipt of 

an application from Stewart Materials, 

LLC (applicant) for an incidental take 

permit (ITP) under the Endangered 

Species Act. The applicant requests the 

ITP to take the federally listed 

Audubon’s crested caracara incidental 

to the construction and operation of a 

sand mine in Glades 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 

this HCP qualifies as ‘‘low effect,’’ 

categorically excluded under the 

National Environmental Policy Act. To 

make this determination, we used our 

environmental action statement and 

low-effect screening form, both of which 

are also available for public review. 

DATES: We must receive your written 

comments on or before August 4, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: 

Obtaining Documents: You may 

obtain copies of the documents online 

in Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2022–0002 

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–2022–0002. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R4– 

ES–2022–0002; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg 

Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alfredo Begazo, by U.S. mail (see 

ADDRESSES), or via phone at 772–469– 

4234. 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, announce 

receipt of an application from Stewart 

Materials, 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 federally listed Audubon’s crested 

caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii) 

(caracara) incidental to the construction 

and operation of a sand mine in Glades 

County, Florida. We request public 

comment on the application, which 

includes the applicant’s HCP, and on 

the Service’s preliminary determination 

that this HCP qualifies as ‘‘low effect,’’ 

categorically excluded under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make 

this determination, we used our 

environmental action statement and 

low-effect screening form, both of which 

are also available for public review. 

Project 

The applicant requests a 20-year ITP 

to take caracara via the conversion of 

approximately 408.4 acres of occupied 

nesting, foraging, and sheltering 

caracara habitat incidental to the 

construction and operation of a sand 

mine on a 408.4-acre parcel in Sections 

21, 22, 27, and 28, Township 41 South, 

Range 31 East in Glades County, 

Florida. The applicant proposes to 

mitigate for take of caracara by donating 

$100,000 to the Fish and Wildlife 

Foundation of Florida’s Crested 

Caracara Conservation Fund, an 

organization dedicated to the recovery 

efforts for the species. The applicant 

would make the proposed donation 

prior to engaging in any phase of the 

project. Additionally, after the mining 

operations have concluded, the 

applicant will plant 20 cabbage palm 

trees in the buffer around the lake on 

the parcel. Cabbage palms are the 

preferred nesting tree for the caracara. 

These plantings will enhance the area 

for caracara nesting. 

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, 

grading, excavating, and removal of 

commercial grade sands via an electric 

powered hydraulic dredge; construction 

of berms and access roads; and other 

ground disturbance and site preparation 

activities—would individually and 

cumulatively have a minor or negligible 

effect on the caracara and the 

environment. Therefore, we have 

preliminarily concluded that the ITP for 

this project would qualify for categorical 

exclusion and that the HCP is low effect 

under our NEPA regulations at 43 CFR 

46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is 

one that would result in (1) minor or 

negligible effects on federally listed, 

proposed, and candidate species and 

their habitats; (2) minor or negligible 

effects on other environmental values or 

resources; and, (3) impacts that, when 

considered together with the impacts of 

other past, present, and reasonable 

foreseeable similarly situated projects, 

would not result in significant 

cumulative effects to environmental 

values or resources over time. 

Next Steps 

The Service will evaluate the 

application and the comments to 

determine whether to issue the 

requested permit. 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 

PER0012910 to Stewart Materials, LLC. 

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 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305). 

Robert L. Carey, 

Division Manager, Environmental Review, 

Florida Ecological Services Office. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14182 Filed 7–1–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 


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