Notice2026-11857
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for Brand Partnerships, 3615 Foothill Road (APN 005-280-041), Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, CA; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
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Published
June 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Johnny Brand, landowner, Brand Partnerships (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) and southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), a species proposed for listing, incidental to agricultural activities in the City of Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, California. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on 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), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a 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 113 (Friday, June 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 113 (Friday, June 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35702-35704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-11857]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-1035; FXES11140800000-267-FF08EVEN00]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for Brand Partnerships, 3615 Foothill Road
(APN 005-280-041), Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, CA; Categorical
Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Johnny Brand, landowner, Brand Partnerships
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally
listed California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) and southwestern
pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), a species proposed for listing,
incidental to agricultural activities in the City of Carpinteria, Santa
Barbara County, California. We request public comment on the
application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP), and on the
[[Page 35703]]
Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action
may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this
preliminary determination, we prepared a 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 July 13,
2026.
To ensure your comment is received and considered, you must submit
it using one of the methods identified in the ADDRESSES section of this
document. Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this
document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be
considered.
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 in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-1035 at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Submitting Comments: All submissions must include the docket number
[FWS-R8-ES-2025-1035] for this document. You must submit comments using
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-2025-1035.
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No
FWS-R8-ES-2025-1035; 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chris Dellith, Senior Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f1c170d160c201b1a1313160b173f19080c51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="37545f455e446853525b5b5e435f7751404419505841">[email protected]</span></a>, by phone at 805-
644-1766, via the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY
assistance, email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#88eeffb0feede6fcfdfae9e1fcf8c8eefffba6efe7fe"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4325347b35262d373631222a3733032534306d242c35">[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 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
[[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).
Catherine Darst,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2026-11857 Filed 6-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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