A Biological Opinion was issued by the Corpus Christi Ecological Services Field Office for the issuance of a permit authorizing incidental take of the endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis albescens) under the authority of section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to Environmental Defense, Inc (ED).  Along with the permit application, ED submitted a draft Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for conservation of the ocelot. The primary objective of the SHA is to encourage voluntary efforts to create or restore habitat where none presently exists to benefit the ocelot.  The SHA would allow ED to issue Certificates of Inclusion to landowners who agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the SHA and permit and are willing to perform habitat restoration activities for the endangered ocelot in all or portions of Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Starr, and Willacy Counties, Texas.  The objective of the SHA is to conserve the ocelot in south Texas by developing interconnected blocks of habitat that are capable of supporting sub-populations within these five counties.  Within these counties, ED intends to give highest priority to those landowners with land adjacent to or near public land parcels currently being managed to promote the conservation of the ocelot.  These parcels include, but are not limited to, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.