[Federal Register: March 27, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 60)]
[Notices]
[Page 16319-16321]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27mr08-74]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N0052; 1112-0000-81440-F2]
Receipt of Applications for Five Incidental Take Permits for the
Construction of 24 Single-Family Homes and an Addition to an Existing
Single-Family Home in Santa Cruz County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of five Incidental Take Permit (ITP) Applications and
Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) from the following five applicants:
Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, James and Melinda Carter,
Ronald Sunde, and College Heights Development Corp. Hochler
Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, and James and Melinda Carter each
request an ITP for a duration of 5 years; Ronald Sunde requests an ITP
for a duration of 3 years; and College Heights Development Corp.
requests an ITP for a duration of 6 years under section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicants
collectively anticipate removing a total of approximately 7.23 acres of
Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) occupied habitat
incidental to constructing 24 single-family homes and an addition to an
existing single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California
(Projects). The applicants' HCPs describe the mitigation and
minimization measures the applicants propose to address the effects of
the Projects on the Mount Hermon June beetle. In addition, the College
Heights Development Corp. HCP includes the federally endangered Ben
Lomond wallflower (Erysimum teretifolium) and Ben Lomond spineflower
(Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana) as covered species, and their
HCP describes mitigation and minimization measures for those species as
well.
We are requesting comments on the permit application and on our
preliminary determination that the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP) qualifies as a ``low effect'' HCP, eligible for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969,
as amended. We explain the basis for this possible determination in
draft Environmental Action Statements (EAS) and associated Low Effect
Screening Forms. The Applicants' Low Effect HCPs describe the
mitigation and minimization measures they would implement, as required
in Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the Act, to address the effects of the
project on the Mount Hermon June beetle. These measures are outlined in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The draft HCPs and EASs
are available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before April 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Please address written comments to Diane Noda, Field
Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. You may
also send comments by facsimile to (805) 644-3958. To obtain copies of
draft
[[Page 16320]]
documents, see ``Availability of Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jen Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, (see
ADDRESSES) telephone: (805) 644-1766 extension 224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of the applications and HCPs by contacting
the HCP Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents
will also be available for review by appointment, during normal
business hours, at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office (see
ADDRESSES), or via the Internet at: http://www.fws.gov/ventura.
Background
Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take''
of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened,
respectively. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act
to mean to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
However, the Service, under limited circumstances, may issue permits to
cover incidental take, i.e., take that is incidental to, and not the
purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and
endangered species are found at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively.
Among other criteria, issuance of such permits must not jeopardize the
existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plants.
The Projects are located on soils known as ``Zayante sands.'' These
soils support the Zayante sandhills ecosystem that occurs exclusively
in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the city of Scotts Valley and the
communities of Ben Lomond, Mount Hermon, Felton, Olympia, Corralitos,
and Bonny Doon. The Mount Hermon June beetle is restricted to Zayante
sands soils in the Scotts Valley-Mount Hermon-Felton-Ben Lomond area
and is found in association with vegetation of the Zayante sandhills,
which is characterized by a mosaic of ponderosa pines (Pinus
ponderosa), silverleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola), and areas
that are sparsely vegetated with grasses and herbs.
The five (5) applicants are requesting to remove approximately 7.23
acres of combined Mount Hermon June beetle habitat incidental to the
construction of 24 single-family homes and an addition to an existing
single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California. Residential
construction of one single-family home for Ronald Sunde would occur
within parcel 066-201-13 in Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz County,
California. Residential construction of four single-family homes for
Scotts Valley LLC would occur within parcel 021-031-13 in Scotts
Valley, Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of an
addition to an existing single-family residence for James and Melinda
Carter would occur within parcel 067-533-04 near the city of Scotts
Valley in Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of
four single-family homes for Hochler Construction would occur within
parcels 067-041-14 and 067-581-07 near the city of Scotts Valley in
Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of 13 single-
family homes for College Heights Development Corp. would occur within
parcel 022-631-22 in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, California.
The parcels combined encompass about 21.61 acres, and the footprint
of the homes, infrastructure, and landscaping would eliminate 7.23
acres of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat. To mitigate for incidental
take on the project sites, Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC,
James and Melinda Carter, and Ronald Sunde propose to purchase a total
of 3.08 conservation credits for the Mount Hermon June beetle at the
recently approved Ben Lomond Sandhills Preserve of the Zayante
Sandhills Conservation Bank operated by PCO, LLC. College Heights
Development Corp. will establish a permanent conservation easement on
14.0 acres of prime sandhills habitat within the parcel (Preserve).
Once the easement is established, they will conduct the following
activities within the Preserve: monitor the Mount Hermon June beetle,
Ben Lomond wallflower, and Ben Lomond spineflower in perpetuity, remove
garbage and debris, remove and control exotic plants, construct
permanent fencing to protect the preserve, maintain indigenous sandhill
plants, restore native plant communities where temporary impacts occur
during construction, and establish an irrevocable assessment against
the residential lots to cover anticipated expenses associated with the
monitoring and management of the Preserve. In addition, College Heights
Development Corp. will implement a number of minimization and
mitigation measures including the following: control dust during
grading; use of non-insect attracting light bulbs in street lights and
exterior light fixtures on the new residences; erect construction
fencing during grading and construction; collect seed from the Ben
Lomond spineflower plants growing within the impact area; and implement
a fuel management plan to minimize the chance of catastrophic fire
events.
We have made a preliminary determination that the HCPs qualify as
``low-effect'' plans as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (November 1996). Our determination that an HCP qualifies as a
low-effect plan is based on the following criteria: (1) Implementation
of the plan would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the 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, the cumulative effects to the environmental values or
resources that would be considered significant. As more fully explained
in our EASs and associated Low Effect Screening Forms, the Applicants'
proposals for residential construction qualify as ``low effect'' plans
for the following reasons:
(1) Approval of the HCPs would result in minor or negligible
effects on the Mount Hermon June beetle and its habitat. The Service
does not anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the
Mount Hermon June beetle resulting from the proposed projects.
(2) Approval of the HCPs would not have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
(3) Approval of the HCPs would not result in any cumulative or
growth-inducing impacts and would not result in significant adverse
effects on public health or safety.
(4) The projects do not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor do they
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
(5) Approval of the HCPs would not establish a precedent for future
actions or represent a decision in principle about future actions with
potentially significant environmental effects.
The Service therefore has made a preliminary determination that
approvals of the HCPs qualify as categorical exclusions under the
[[Page 16321]]
National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Based
upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to prepare
further National Environmental Policy Act documentation. The Service
will consider public comments in making its final determination on
whether to prepare such additional documentation.
We will evaluate the permit applications, HCPs, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the applications meet the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If
we determine that the applications meet those requirements, we will
issue the ITPs for incidental take of the Mount Hermon June beetle. We
will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs
complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service
section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings, in the final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue the ITPs.
Public Review and Comment
If you wish to comment on the permit applications, draft
Environmental Action Statements or the proposed HCPs, you may submit
your comments to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
document. Our practice is to make comments, including names, home
addresses, etc., of respondents available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their names and/or home
addresses, etc., but if you wish us to consider withholding this
information you must state this prominently at the beginning of your
comments. In addition, you must provide a rationale demonstrating and
documenting that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of privacy. In the absence of exceptional, documented
circumstances, this information will be released. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety.
The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the
Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: March 20, 2008.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. E8-6234 Filed 3-26-08; 8:45 am]
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