Notice2025-20724
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Oceano Dunes District, San Luis Obispo County, California
Primary source
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Published
November 24, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the receipt of an application from California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR; applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The applicant requests the ITP to take federally listed species incidental to lawful activities at Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, San Luis Obispo County, California. The activities are described in the draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) and associated draft environmental assessment (EA) for CDPR activities. The CDPR developed the draft HCP as part of their application for an ITP. The Service prepared a draft EA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate the potential effects to the natural and human environment resulting from issuing an ITP to CDPR. We are providing notice that the draft HCP and draft EA are both available for public review. We invite comment on these documents from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 224 (Monday, November 24, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 224 (Monday, November 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52993-52994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20724]
[[Page 52993]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-0143; FXES11140800000-256-FF08EVEN00]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Draft Habitat
Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment for the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, Oceano Dunes District, San Luis
Obispo County, California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
receipt of an application from California Department of Parks and
Recreation (CDPR; applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The applicant requests the ITP to
take federally listed species incidental to lawful activities at Pismo
State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, San Luis
Obispo County, California. The activities are described in the draft
habitat conservation plan (HCP) and associated draft environmental
assessment (EA) for CDPR activities. The CDPR developed the draft HCP
as part of their application for an ITP. The Service prepared a draft
EA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to
evaluate the potential effects to the natural and human environment
resulting from issuing an ITP to CDPR. We are providing notice that the
draft HCP and draft EA are both available for public review. We invite
comment on these documents from the public and local, State, Tribal,
and Federal agencies.
DATES: Please submit written comments on or before January 23, 2026.
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 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> in Docket
No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-0143.
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:
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-0143.
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2025-0143; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; MS: PRB/3W; 5275
Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Darst, Field Supervisor, by
telephone at 805-644-1766, email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ff9e8a7e9faf1ebeaedfef6ebefdff9e8ecb1f8f0e9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f59382cd83909b818087949c8185b5938286db929a83">[email protected]</span></a>, or by U.S.
mail at 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. 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-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the receipt of an application from the CDPR for an
ITP under the Endangered Species Act 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). The applicant requests the ITP to take federally listed
species incidental to CDPR's public use, recreation management, natural
resources management, and park and beach management activities on 5,005
acres of Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation
Area, in San Luis Obispo County, California. The CDPR developed the
draft HCP as part of its application for an ITP under the ESA. The
Service prepared a draft EA in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) to evaluate the potential effects to the natural and human
environment resulting from issuing an ITP to CDPR. We invite public
comment on these documents.
Draft HCP Covered Species
The CDPR has developed a draft HCP that includes measures to
mitigate and minimize impacts to the following 10 covered species and 2
proposed listed species:
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Species Listing information
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Federally Listed as Endangered:
California least tern (Sterna antillarum June 2, 1970 (35 FR 16047).
browni).
Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi).... February 4, 1994 (59 FR 5494).
Gambel's watercress (Rorippa gambelii)...... August 3, 1993 (58 FR 41378).
La Graciosa thistle (Cirsium scariosum var. March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14888).
loncholepis).
Marsh sandwort (Arenaria paludicola)........ August 3, 1993 (58 FR 41378)
Nipomo Mesa lupine (Lupinus nipomensis)..... March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14888).
Federally Listed as Threatened:
Western snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus March 5, 1993 (58 FR 12864).
nivosus).
California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii). May 23, 1996 (61 FR 25813).
State Listed as Threatened:
Surf thistle (Cirsium rhothophilum)......... 1990.
Beach spectaclepod (Dithyrea maritima)...... 1990.
Proposed federal listing
Southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) 2023 (88 FR 68370).
Western spadefoot (Spea hammondii).......... 2023 (88 FR 84252).
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The ITP would authorize take of the four animal species (California
least tern, tidewater goby, western snowy plover, and 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 two animal species that have been
proposed for listing. In the event these animals become listed, the ITP
will be amended to authorize the take of these species 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
[[Page 52994]]
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 CDPR has applied for an ITP that would authorize incidental
take of the four covered animal species that could result from covered
activities described in the HCP. The covered area comprises 5,005 acres
of Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area.
The covered area includes designated critical habitat for the western
snowy plover, tidewater goby, and La Graciosa thistle. The HCP
describes measures CDPR will implement to avoid and minimize impacts
and take of the covered species. Mitigation for unavoidable take would
be accomplished through CDPR's existing conservation program and
through meeting the biological goals and objectives outlined in the
HCP. The conservation program is designed to protect and promote
recovery of covered species, including managing habitat components to
benefit covered species, minimizing human alteration or disturbance of
native habitats, reducing conflicts between covered species and park
users, restoring native habitats, and monitoring the success of these
efforts.
Alternatives
We are considering four alternatives in the draft EA:
(1) The no action alternative, which would not result in issuance
of an ITP for ongoing activities;
(2) The proposed action would be issuance of an ITP based on the
activities described in draft HCP, including reduction of the existing
protected area boundary (``southern exclosure'') for the California
least tern and western snowy plover if the species' meet biological
targets;
(3) Issuance of an ITP based on the draft HCP maintaining the
existing ``southern exclosure'' boundary; and
(4) Issuance of an ITP based on the draft HCP with year-round
exclosures.
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 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.
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 50 CFR 17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Catherine Darst,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2025-20724 Filed 11-21-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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