Draft Safe Harbor Agreement Amendment and Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit for the Rio Salado Project, in Tempe, Arizona

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receiving the City of Tempe's survival enhancement permit application, under the Endangered Species Act. The requested amended permit would allow for the City of Tempe to conduct, to a greater degree, adaptive biological monitoring and would authorize incidental take of the yellow-billed cuckoo as a result of operation and maintenance activities associated with the Rio Salado Project, in the City of Tempe (Tempe Reach), Maricopa County, AZ. In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, we have determined that the proposed action qualifies under a categorical exclusion. We are accepting comments on the draft safe harbor agreement amendment (Draft SHA Amendment), and draft NEPA screening form supporting the use of a categorical exclusion.