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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 170 / Tuesday, September 7, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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benefits that may result from a designation due to State or Federal laws that may apply to critical habitat.
In the case of Miami tiger beetle, the benefits of critical habitat include public awareness of the presence of Miami tiger beetle and the importance of habitat protection, and, where a Federal nexus exists, increased habitat protection for Miami tiger beetle due to protection from destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.
Continued implementation of an ongoing management plan that provides conservation equal to or more than the protections that result from a critical habitat designation would reduce those benefits of including that specific area in the critical habitat designation.
We evaluate the existence of a conservation plan when considering the benefits of inclusion. We consider a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, whether the plan is finalized;
how it provides for the conservation of the essential physical or biological features; whether there is a reasonable expectation that the conservation management strategies and actions contained in a management plan will be implemented into the future; whether the conservation strategies in the plan are likely to be effective; and whether the plan contains a monitoring program or adaptive management to ensure that the conservation measures are effective and can be adapted in the future in response to new information.
After identifying the benefits of inclusion and the benefits of exclusion, we carefully weigh the two sides to evaluate whether the benefits of exclusion outweigh those of inclusion.
If our analysis indicates that the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, we then determine whether exclusion would result in extinction of the species. If exclusion of an area from critical habitat will result in extinction, we will not exclude it from the designation.
Private or Other Non-Federal Conservation Plans or Agreements and Partnerships, in General HCPs for incidental take permits under section 10a1B of the Act provide for partnerships with nonFederal entities to minimize and mitigate impacts to listed species and their habitat. In some cases, HCP
permittees agree to do more for the conservation of the species and their habitats on private lands than designation of critical habitat would provide alone. We place great value on the partnerships that are developed during the preparation and implementation of HCPs.

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CCAAs and SHAs are voluntary agreements designed to conserve candidate and listed species, respectively, on non-Federal lands. In exchange for actions that contribute to the conservation of species on nonFederal lands, participating property owners are covered by an enhancement of survival permit under section 10a1A of the Act, which authorizes incidental take of the covered species that may result from implementation of conservation actions, specific land uses, and, in the case of SHAs, the option to return to a baseline condition under the agreements. The Service also provides enrollees assurances that we will not impose further land-, water-, or resource-use restrictions, or require additional commitments of land, water, or finances, beyond those agreed to in the agreements.
When we undertake a discretionary section 4b2 exclusion analysis based on permitted conservation plans such as CCAAs, SHAs, and HCPs, we consider the following three factors:
i Whether the permittee is properly implementing the conservation plan or agreement;
ii Whether the species for which critical habitat is being designated is a covered species in the conservation plan or agreement; and iii Whether the conservation plan or agreement specifically addresses the habitat of the species for which critical habitat is being designated and meets the conservation needs of the species in the planning area.
The proposed critical habitat designation includes areas that are covered by the following permitted plan providing for the conservation of Miami tiger beetle: Coral Reef Commons Habitat Conservation Plan.
Coral Reef Commons Habitat Conservation Plan In preparing this proposal, we have determined that lands associated with the Coral Reef Commons HCP within the Richmond Pine Rocklands Unit 14
are included within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat.
As discussed in the Richmond Pine Rocklands Unit 14 description above, Coral Reef Commons is a mixed-use community, which consists of 900
apartments, retail stores, restaurants, and parking. In 2017, an HCP and associated permit under section 10 of the Act was developed and issued for the Coral Reef Commons development.
As part of the HCP and permit, an approximately 51-ac 21-ha onsite preserve same as the area for proposed critical habitat designation was established under a conservation
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encumbrance that will be managed in perpetuity for pine rockland habitat and sensitive and listed species, including the Miami tiger beetle. In addition, an additional approximately 51-ac 21-ha of the CSTARS site discussed above is an offsite mitigation area for Coral Reef Commons. Both the onsite preserve and the offsite mitigation area are being managed to maintain healthy pine rockland habitat through the use of invasive, exotic plant management, mechanical treatment, and prescribed fire, addressing both the habitat and conservation needs of the species. Since initiating the Coral Reef Commons HCP, pine rockland restoration efforts have been conducted within all of the management units in both the onsite preserve and the offsite mitigation area.
A second round of prescribed fire began in February 2021. Currently, the onsite preserve meets or exceeds the success criteria described for proper implementation of the HCP.
Critical habitat within Unit 14 that is associated with the Coral Reef Commons HCP is limited to the onsite preserve and offsite mitigation area.
Based on our review of the HCP and proposed critical habitat for the Miami tiger beetle, we do not anticipate requesting any additional conservation measures for the species beyond those that are currently in place. The Coral Reef Commons HCP covers the Miami tiger beetle; addresses the specific habitat of the species and meets the conservation needs of the species; and is currently being implemented properly. Therefore, at this time, we are considering excluding those specific lands associated with the Coral Reef Commons HCP that are in the preserve and offsite mitigation area from the final designation of critical habitat for the Miami tiger beetle. However, we will more thoroughly review the HCP, its implementation of the conservation measures for the Miami tiger beetle and its habitat therein, and public comment on this issue prior to finalizing critical habitat, and if appropriate, exclude from critical habitat for the Miami tiger beetle those lands associated with the Coral Reef Commons HCP that are in the preserve and offsite mitigation area.
We have further determined that there are no additional HCPs or other management plans for the Miami tiger beetle within the proposed critical habitat designation.
Tribal Lands Several Executive Orders, Secretarial Orders, and policies concern working with Tribes. These guidance documents generally confirm our trust responsibilities to Tribes, recognize that
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