[Federal Register: July 3, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 129)]
[Notices]
[Page 38243-38245]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03jy08-92]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N00170; 1112-0000-81420-F2]
Sonoma County Office of Education Habitat Conservation Plan,
Dutton Avenue School, City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability: proposed low-effect habitat
conservation plan; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE or applicant) has
applied to the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 5-year
incidental take permit for two species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B)
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The
application addresses the potential for ``take'' of one listed animals
and one listed plant. The applicant would implement a conservation
program to minimize and mitigate the project activities, as described
in the SCOE Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan (plan). We request
comments on the applicant's application and plan, and the preliminary
determination that the plan qualifies as a ``low-effect'' habitat
conservation plan, eligible for a Categorical Exclusion under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). We
discuss our basis for this determination in our Environmental Action
Statement (EAS), which is also available for public review.
DATES: We must receive written comments on or before August 4, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Please address written comments to Mike Thomas, Conservation
Planning Branch, Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and
Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, Sacramento, CA 95825.
Alternatively, you may send comments by facsimile to (916) 414-6713.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Thomas, or Eric Tattersall,
Branch Chief, Conservation Planning Branch, at the address shown above
or at 916-414-6600 (telephone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Availability of Documents
Copies of the permit application, plan, and EAS can be obtained
from the individuals named above (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Copies of these documents are available for public inspection, by
appointment, during regular business hours, at the
[[Page 38244]]
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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 review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Background Information
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
Federal regulations prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species
listed as endangered or threatened. ``Take'' is defined under the Act
to include the following activities: To harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect listed animal species, or
to attempt to engage in such conduct. However, under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue permits to authorize incidental
take of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the Act as
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for endangered and threatened species, respectively, are in the
Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
Although take of listed plant species is not prohibited under the
Act, and therefore cannot be authorized under an incidental take
permit, plant species may be included on a permit in recognition of the
conservation benefits provided to them under a habitat conservation
plan. All species included on the incidental take permit would receive
assurances under the Services' ``No Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR
17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5).
The applicant seeks an incident take permit for covered activities
within 4.42 acres of grassland and associated wetlands owned by SCOE
located in Sonoma County, California. SCOE is requesting permits for
take of one federally listed animal species, listed as endangered:
Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger
salamander (Ambystoma californiense) (tiger salamander). The federally
listed plant species is the endangered Sebastopol meadowfoam
(Limnathese vinculans) (meadowfoam). The proposed covered species do
not include any wildlife species not currently listed under the Act.
Collectively, both of these species are referred to as ``covered
species'' in the plan.
SCOE owns and manages lands in Sonoma County, California. Lands
owned by SCOE include the proposed community school on 4.42 acres at
3255 and 3261 Dutton Avenue in the City of Santa Rosa.
Covered activities include the following: Grading and ground
leveling, vegetation removal and planting, soil compaction, building
construction and use of heavy equipment (including, but not limited to
bulldozers, cement trucks, water trucks, and backhoes), erosion control
structures (such as silt fencing and barriers), dust control (such as
watering surface soils), construction of sidewalks and roads,
trenching, and installation of utilities and irrigation systems.
The applicant proposes to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the effects
to the covered species associated with the covered activities by fully
implementing the plan. Minimization measures will include, but are not
limited to, an employee education program; biological monitoring during
construction and earthmoving; a storm water, erosion, and dust control
plan; daily pre-activity surveys for listed species; tiger salamander
salvage in the winter prior to construction, to exclude tiger
salamanders from the site and work areas; and temporary removal of
covered species if they are observed within work areas. General
minimization measures will include: limiting staging and work areas to
the project site only, regular removal of all foods and food-related
trash, prohibiting pets from the project site during construction, a 15
mile-per-hour speed limit for vehicles, maintenance of all equipment to
avoid fluid leaks, and storage of all hazardous materials in sealable
containers at least 200 feet from aquatic habitats.
Alternatives
The Service's proposed action consists of approving the applicant's
plan and issuance of an incidental take permit for the applicant's
Covered Activities. As required by the Act, the applicant's plan
considers alternatives to the take under the proposed action. The plan
considers the environmental consequences of two alternatives to the
proposed action, the No Action alternative and the Reduced Take
alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, no permit would be
issued, the proposed school project would not be built, and no take
would occur.
Under the Reduced Take alternative, buildings and facilities would
be clustered closer together to reduce the amount of tiger salamander
and meadowfoam habitat that would be lost by construction of the
school. Direct affects due to habitat loss and take of individuals
would be reduced; however, indirect affects to tiger salamander
migration corridors are unlikely to be minimized by clustering because
existing pathways for migration are limited on all sides except to the
north (there are two vacant grassland parcels to the north, which are
in turn bordered by development) and any additional construction,
regardless of location on the site would likely further restrict
movement of tiger salamanders. In addition, grassland and wetland
habitat avoided on-site would be unlikely to support a viable
population of tiger salamanders or meadowfoam due to the small size of
the site, lack of hydrologic connection to other water bodies, and
blockage of movement corridors.
Under the proposed action alternative, the Service would issue an
incidental take permit for the applicant's proposed project, which
includes the activities described above. The proposed action
alternative would result in permanent loss of 4.13 acres of upland
tiger salamander habitat and 0.07 acres of seasonal wetland habitat. To
mitigate for these affects, the applicant proposes to purchase 8.3
tiger salamander credits and 0.105 meadowfoam credits at a Service
approved bank.
National Environmental Policy Act
As described in our EAS, we have made the preliminary determination
that approval of the proposed plan and issuance of the permit would
qualify as a categorical exclusion under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),
as provided by Federal regulations (40 CFR 1500, 5(k), 1507.3(b)(2),
1508.4) and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 and 516 DM
8). Our EAS found that the proposed plan qualifies as a ``low-effect''
habitat conservation plan, as defined by the Service's Habitat
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). Determination of low-
effect habitat conservation plans is based on the following three
criteria: (1) Implementation of the proposed plan would result in minor
or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate
species and their habitats; (2) implementation of the proposed plan
would result in minor or negligible effects on other environmental
values or resources; and (3) impacts of the plan, considered together
with the impacts of other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable
similarly situated projects, would not result, over time, in cumulative
effects to environmental values or resources that would be
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considered significant. Based upon the preliminary determinations in
the EAS, we do not intend to prepare further NEPA documentation. We
will consider public comments when making the final determination on
whether to prepare an additional NEPA document on the proposed action.
Public Review
We provide this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and the
NEPA public-involvement regulations (40 CFR 1500.1(b), 1500.2(d), and
1506.6). We will evaluate the permit application, including the plan,
and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the application
meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If the requirements
are met, we will issue a permit to the applicant for the incidental
take of the Sonoma Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger
salamander and the Sebastopol meadowfoam from the implementation of the
covered activities described in the plan, or from mitigation conducted
as part of this plan. We will make the final permit decision no sooner
than 30 days after the date of this notice.
Dated: June 27, 2008.
Cay C. Goude,
Acting Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office,
Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. E8-15110 Filed 7-2-08; 8:45 am]
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