Notice2026-18564
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for Woodward 46 Specific Plan Project, City of San Marcos, CA; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
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Published
September 11, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Cornerstone Communities, LLC (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened coastal California gnatcatcher incidental to construction of the Woodward 46 Specific Plan Project, in the City of San Marcos, San Diego County, California. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI NEPA Departmental Handbook. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a joint draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, which is also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 175 (Friday, September 11, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 175 (Friday, September 11, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57916-57917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18564]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2026-2971; FXES11140800000-267-FF08ECAR00]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for Woodward 46 Specific Plan Project, City
of San Marcos, CA; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce
receipt of an application from Cornerstone Communities, LLC (applicant)
for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act.
The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened coastal
California gnatcatcher incidental to construction of the Woodward 46
Specific Plan Project, in the City of San Marcos, San Diego County,
California. We request public comment on the application, which
includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and
the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting
action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Department of the Interior's
(DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI NEPA Departmental Handbook. To make
this preliminary determination, we prepared a joint draft environmental
action statement and low-effect screening form, which is also available
for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State,
Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before October 13,
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 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> in Docket No. FWS-
R8-ES-2026-2971.
Submitting Comments: All submissions must include the Docket No.
[FWS-R8-ES-2026-2971] for this document. You must submit comments using
one of the following methods:
<bullet> Online: Federal eRulemaking Portal at: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on
Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2026-2971.
<bullet> U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2026-2971; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this
document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be
considered. We will not accept comments via email, fax, or hand
delivery. We are not required to consider comments that are submitted
after the comment period ends or that are submitted via a method
outside of these instructions. Comments containing profanity,
vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate content will not be
considered.
We will post all comments at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. You may
request that we withhold personal identifying information from public
review; however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. See
Public Availability of Comments for more information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jonathan Snyder, Acting Field
Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ee8481808f9a868f80b18ab19d80978a8b9cae88999dc0898198"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4d2722232c39252c231229123e233429283f0d2b3a3e632a223b">[email protected]</span></a>
[[Page 57917]]
(email) or 760-431-9440 ext. 307 (telephone). Individuals in the United
States who are deaf, blind, 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:
Proposed Action
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an
application from Cornerstone Communities, LLC (applicant) for a 10-year
incidental take permit (ITP) for one covered species pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application addresses the potential
``take'' of the threatened coastal California gnatcatcher (gnatcatcher;
Polioptila californica californica) associated with the construction of
the Woodward 46 Specific Plan Project, in the City of San Marcos, San
Diego County, California. In support of the application, the applicant
prepared a draft HCP pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. The
proposed action consists of the Service's issuance of an ITP and
implementation of the proposed HCP.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the Service's
issuance of the proposed ITP would individually and cumulatively have a
minor effect on the gnatcatcher and the human environment. Therefore,
we have preliminarily determined that the proposed action may qualify
for application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Department of
the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental
Handbook (516 DM 1).
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 at any time. If you submit a
comment at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, your entire comment, including
any personal identifying information, will be posted on the website. If
you submit a hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying
information, such as your address, phone number, or email address, you
may request at the top of your document that we withhold this
information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so. Moreover, all submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.
Authority
The Service provides 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 part 46).
Jonathan Snyder,
Acting Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-18564 Filed 9-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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