53440 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 16, 2008 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–ES–2008–N0205; 20124–1113– 

0000–F2] 

Williamson County Regional Habitat 

Conservation Plan, Williamson County, 

TX 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability: Final 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Final Regional Habitat Conservation 

Plan. 

SUMMARY: Williamson County 

(Applicant) submitted an application 

(TE–181840–0) for an incidental take 

permit (ITP) to cover four species 

currently listed under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). 

The proposed take would occur as a 

result of proposed road construction, 

maintenance, and improvement 

projects; utility construction and 

maintenance; school development and 

construction; public or private 

construction and development; and land 

clearing within western Williamson 

County, Texas. We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have issued a 

final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) to evaluate the impacts of and 

alternatives for the possible issuance of 

an ITP. The Applicant completed a final 

Regional Habitat Conservation Plan 

(RHCP), as required by the Act, which 

provides measures to minimize and 

mitigate the effects of the proposed 

taking of covered species and effects to 

the habitats upon which they depend. 

DATES: A final decision on ITP issuance 

will be made October 16, 2008 or later. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review 

the FEIS and RHCP may obtain a copy 

by writing to Mr. Adam Zerrenner, Field 

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, 

Austin, TX 78758; (512) 490–0057. See 

also ‘‘Public Review.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Bill Seawell at the address and phone in 

ADDRESSES. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We 

provide this notice under section 10(c) 

of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 

its implementing regulations (50 CFR 

17.22) and the National Environmental 

Policy Act NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et 

seq.) and its implementing regulations 

(40 CFR 1506.6). 

Section 9 of the Act and Federal 

regulations prohibit the taking of fish 

and wildlife species listed as 

endangered or threatened (16 U.S.C. 

1538). Under limited circumstances, the 

Service may issue permits to authorize 

incidental take of listed fish or wildlife 

that is incidental to, and not the 

purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. 

Regulations governing incidental take 

permits for threatened and endangered 

species are found in 50 CFR 17.32 and 

17.22, respectively. 

Public Review 

Copies of the RHCP and FEIS are 

available for public review, by 

appointment, during regular business 

hours, at the Austin Ecological Services 

Field Office. The documents may be 

viewed on the World Wide Web at 

www.wilcogov.org/wccf. 

These documents may also be viewed 

during regular hours in the reference 

section of the following Williamson 

County libraries: 

• Cedar Park Public Library—550 

Discovery Blvd., Cedar Park, TX 

78613 

• Florence Public Library—207 E. Main 

St., Florence, TX 76527 

• Georgetown Public Library—408 W. 

8th St., Georgetown, TX 78626 

• Leander Public Library—1011 S. 

Bagdad Rd., Leander, TX 78641 

• Liberty Hill Public Library—355 Loop 

332, Liberty Hill, TX 78642 

• Round Rock Public Library—216 E. 

Main St., Round Rock, TX 78664 

• Taylor Public Library—801 Vance St., 

Taylor, TX 76574 

• Teinert Memorial Public Library—337 

N. Hwy 95, Bartlett, TX 76511 

• Frank Smith, Jr. Library Center, 

Southwestern University—1001 E. 

University Ave., Georgetown, TX 

78626 

• Albert B. Alkek Library, Texas State 

University—1555 University Blvd., 

Round Rock, TX 78665 

• Cypress Creek Campus, Austin 

Community College—1555 Cypress 

Creek Rd., Cedar Park, TX 78613 

Copies may also be viewed during 

normal business hours at the following 

Williamson County offices: 

• County Judge, Williamson County 

Courthouse, 710 Austin Ave., 

Georgetown, TX 78626 

• Commissioner Pct. 1—401 West Main 

St., Suite 216, Round Rock, TX 78664 

• Parks Department—350 Discovery 

Blvd., #207, Cedar Park, TX 78613 

• Commissioner Pct. 3—3010 Williams 

Dr., Suite 153, Georgetown, TX 78628 

• Commissioner Pct. 4—350 Exchange 

Blvd., Suite 100, Hutto, TX 78634 

Background Information 

We received an application for an 

incidental take permit, which would be 

for a term of 30 years, from Williamson 

County and the Williamson County 

Conservation Foundation. The 

application included a draft RHCP to 

satisfy the application requirements for 

a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit under the 

Act. The Applicant seeks an ITP for 

activities described in the RHCP and 

will implement conservation measures 

to minimize and mitigate for incidental 

take of golden-cheeked warbler 

(Dendroica chrysoparia), black-capped 

vireo (Vireo atricapilla), Bone Cave 

harvestman (Texella reyesi), and Coffin 

Cave mold beetle (Batrisodes texanus) to 

the maximum extent practicable, and 

ensure that incidental take will not 

appreciably reduce the likelihood of the 

survival and recovery of these species in 

the wild. 

On May 16, 2008, the Service 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (73 FR 28498) announcing 

receipt of an application for an ITP from 

Williamson County and the availability 

of a draft EIS (dEIS) and a draft RHCP 

for the application. The dEIS analyzed 

the potential environmental impacts 

that may result from the Federal action 

of authorizing incidental take 

anticipated to occur with 

implementation of the RHCP, and 

identified various alternatives. We 

received a total of 6 comments on the 

dEIS and draft RHCP. A response to 

each comment received in these letters 

has been included in the FEIS. 

Alternatives 

The dEIS considered two alternatives 

in addition to the proposed project 

described above: (1) A No Action 

Alternative, under which no permit 

would be issued. This alternative would 

require individuals (rather than the 

Applicant) to seek authorization 

through section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act to 

address incidental take resulting from 

their actions in Williamson County or to 

avoid taking actions that would result in 

incidental take; (2) A Modified 

(Reduced Take and Mitigation) RHCP, 

which would only cover take of the 

golden-cheeked warbler and Bone Cave 

harvestman. The amount of authorized 

take and mitigation would be reduced 

for both species. 

We will evaluate the application, 

associated documents, and comments 

submitted to them to prepare a Record 

of Decision. A permit decision will be 

made no sooner than 30 days after the 

publication of the FEIS and completion 

of the Record of Decision. 

Thomas L. Baur, 

Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, 

Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

[FR Doc. E8–21547 Filed 9–15–08; 8:45 am] 

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