SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Brand Partnerships, 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 threatened California red-legged frog ( Rana draytonii) and the southwestern pond turtle ( Actinemys pallida), a species proposed for listing as threatened, incidental to the native riparian habitat restoration required by the County of Santa Barbara (County) and California Coastal Commission (Coastal Commission), as well as ongoing agricultural operations and maintenance activities on the property (project) in the City of Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, California. 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a low-effect screening form, which is also available for public review.

Draft HCP Covered Species

Brand Partnerships has developed a draft HCP that includes measures to mitigate and minimize impacts to the California red-legged frog and southwestern pond turtle. The California red-legged frog was federally listed as threatened on May 23, 1996 (61 FR 25813), and the southwestern pond turtle was proposed for listing as threatened on October 3, 2023 (88 FR 68370). The ITP would authorize take of the California red-legged frog incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with the HCP-covered activities. The draft HCP also includes minimization measures to reduce impacts on the southwestern pond turtle that has been proposed for listing. In the event this animal becomes listed, the ITP will be amended to authorize the take of this species incidental to otherwise lawful activities as outlined in the HCP.

Background

Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the take of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered. As applicable to the species affected by the proposed action, the ESA implementing regulations also prohibit take of fish or wildlife species listed as threatened. “Take” is defined under the ESA to include the following activities: “[T]o harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct” (16 U.S.C. 1532); however, under section 10(a)(1)(B) 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 of an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and endangered species are in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. Under the ESA, protections for federally listed plants differ from the protections afforded to federally listed animals. Issuance of an incidental take permit also must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant species. The permittees would receive assurances under our “No Surprises” regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)) regarding conservation activities for the covered species.

Proposed Activities

The applicant has applied for a permit for incidental take of the California red-legged frog and southwestern pond turtle that could result from covered activities described in the HCP. The take would occur in association with activities necessary to restore native riparian habitat, agricultural operation and maintenance consisting of restoration within a 0.52-acre (ac) area adjacent to Arroyo Paredon Creek (Riparian Restoration Area); management of non-native, invasive vegetation in and adjacent to the Riparian Restoration Area; removal of an existing access road within 100 feet of Arroyo Paredon Creek; periodic maintenance/management of a detention basin and bioswale, such as repairs to banks, replacement of the existing piping, vegetation management, and sediment removal; general operations and maintenance activities including operation of greenhouse/processing facilities, vehicle use/repair and maintenance of roads, and waste removal via haul trucks; agricultural activities involving grazing animals and fruit trees; construction of an ( printed page 35704) agricultural storage barn; maintenance or repairs to septic system; expansion of a leech field; and installation of solar panels.

The HCP includes avoidance and minimization measures for the California red-legged frog and southwestern pond turtle. The covered activities will not result in loss of California red-legged frog or southwestern pond turtle upland or aquatic habitat. The applicant will commensurately offset impacts to the California red-legged frog and southwestern pond turtle by restoring 0.52-ac of riparian habitat, managing a detention basin to provide a perennial water source for California red-legged frog and southwestern pond turtle during the 30-year permit term. Although habitat protection in the plan area is not permanent via a legal conservation easement, the suite of measures proposed provides meaningful conservation benefits that mitigate impacts to Covered Species to the maximum extent practicable during the permit term.

Public Availability of Comments

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 view, 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 proposed project would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the California red-legged frog, southwestern pond turtle, 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 species and may qualify for application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the NEPA, 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 reasonable foreseeable actions, would not result in significant cumulative effects to the human environment.

Next Steps

The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received 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 an ITP to the applicant.

Authority

We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR 46).

91 FR 35702