[Federal Register: September 30, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 188)]
[Notices]
[Page 50239-50241]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30se09-90]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2009-N141; 80221-1112-0000-F2]
Amendment of the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat
Conservation Plan and Issuance of an Amended Incidental Take Permit,
Clark County, NV
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS); and notice of public scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are advising
the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare an
EIS, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), on the
proposed amendment of the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat
Conservation Plan (MSHCP) and Incidental Take Permit (ITP). The
proposed amendment is being prepared under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The Permittees are
proposing to increase the amount of species habitat disturbance that is
authorized under the existing MSHCP and ITP, expand the conservation
program to minimize and mitigate for the increased disturbance, reduce
the number of covered species, and revise the permit term of the MSHCP
Amendment to 50 years. We provide this notice to obtain suggestions,
comments, and useful information from other agencies and the public on
the scope of the document, including the significant issues deserving
of study, the range of alternatives, and the range of impacts to be
considered.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 30, 2009.
Four public scoping meetings will be held on:
1. Monday, October 19, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Las Vegas, NV.
2. Wednesday, October 21, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Searchlight,
NV.
3. Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Henderson,
NV.
4. Monday, October 26, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Overton, NV.
ADDRESSES: Public meetings will be held at the following locations:
1. Monday, October 19, 2009, at the Clark County Library, Jewel Box
Theater, 1401 East Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119.
2. Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at the Searchlight Community
Center, 200 Michael Wendell Way, Searchlight, NV 89046.
3. Thursday, October 22, 2009, at the PBS&J, 2270 Corporate Circle,
Henderson, NV 89074.
4. Monday, October 26, 2009, at the Moapa Valley Community Center,
320 North Moapa Valley Boulevard, Overton, NV 89040.
Information, written comments, or questions related to the
preparation of the EIS and the NEPA process should be submitted to
Robert D. Williams, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 4701 North Torrey
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130, facsimile: 702-515-5231.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeri Krueger, Habitat Conservation
Planning Coordinator, Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 4701 North
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130; telephone: 702-515-5230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice advises the public that the
Service intends to gather information necessary to determine the scope
of issues and impacts, and to formulate alternatives for the EIS
related to the issuance of an amended ITP to Clark County, Nevada; the
cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite, and North Las
Vegas, Nevada (Cities); and the Nevada Department of Transportation
(NDOT).
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take'' of a fish
or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. Under the Act,
the following activities are defined as take: To harass, harm, pursue,
hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect listed wildlife
species, or attempt to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532).
However, under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue permits to
authorize ``incidental take'' of listed wildlife 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 permits for endangered and threatened species are at 50 CFR
17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32, respectively.
Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT currently hold a permit for
incidental take of 78 covered species (Permit TE034927-0),
including the Federally threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
and the Federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax
traillii extimus), by the development of up to 145,000 acres in Clark
County, Nevada. The Notice of Availability (65 FR 57366) for the Final
HCP and EIS was published on September 22, 2000. The permit was
effective as of February 1, 2001, and expires on January 31, 2031.
Activities included in the MSHCP for the permitted projects include,
but are not limited to, residential and commercial development, utility
and transportation facilities and other capital improvements and
operations activities, flood control, development of urban parks and
recreation facilities.
Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Amendment
Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT intend to request a permit
amendment for the incidental take of covered species on up to 215,000
additional acres in Clark County, Nevada. Activities proposed to be
covered by the MSHCP amendment are not likely to change from the
existing MSHCP, and may include, but are not limited to, residential
and commercial development, utility and transportation facilities and
other capital improvements and operations activities, flood control,
and development of urban parks and recreation facilities.
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act provides for permitting non-Federal
entities to incidentally take threatened and endangered species when
the entity submits a conservation plan that specifies:
(i) The impact which will likely result from such taking;
(ii) What steps the applicant will take to minimize and mitigate
such impacts, and the funding that will be available to implement such
steps;
(iii) What alternative actions to such taking the applicant
considered and the reasons why such alternatives are being utilized;
and
(iv) Such other measures the Service may require as being necessary
or appropriate for purposes of the plan.
If the Service finds, after opportunity for public comment, with
respect to a permit application and the related conservation plan that:
(i) The taking will be incidental;
(ii) The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable,
minimize and mitigate the impacts of such taking;
(iii) The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
(iv) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
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(v) The measures, if any, required under subparagraph (A)(iv) will
be met; and the Service has received such other assurance as the
Service may require that the plan will be implemented, the Service
shall issue the permit. The permit shall contain such terms and
conditions as the Service deems necessary or appropriate to carry out
the purposes of this paragraph, including, but not limited to, such
reporting requirements as the Service deems necessary for determining
whether such terms and conditions are being complied with.
The need for this action is based on the potential that activities
proposed by Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT on lands under their
respective jurisdictions could result in take of covered species, thus
requiring an ITP. The proposed permit would allow authorized incidental
take that is consistent with the conservation guidelines in the amended
MSHCP.
Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT propose to develop and implement
an amended MSHCP, as required by section 10(a)(2)(A) of the Act. The
MSHCP would provide measures to minimize and mitigate the effects of
the taking on the covered species and their habitats. The amended MSHCP
would provide long-term protection for the covered species and key
natural communities by maintaining or improving the habitat conditions
and ecosystem functions necessary for their survival, and by ensuring
that any incidental take of the covered species would not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of those species in
the wild. The purpose of the scoping meetings is to solicit input from
the public on the issues and alternatives that should be addressed in
the EIS. We will brief the public on the background of the MSHCP,
alternative proposals under consideration for the draft EIS, and our
role, as well as on the steps that we will take to develop the draft
EIS for this conservation planning effort. At the scoping meeting,
there will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions and also
to provide written comments.
Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT propose that the following
species that may occur within the proposed planning area will be
included as covered species: desert tortoise, southwestern willow
flycatcher, Las Vegas buckwheat (Eriogonum corymbosum var. nilesii),
Yuma clapper rail (Rallus longirostris yumanensis), yellow-billed
cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus), and Las Vegas bearpoppy (Arctomecon
californica). Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT propose to reduce the
total number of covered species, under the existing permit, but may
also seek to address and cover additional rare and/or sensitive
species, in addition to the six species listed above, that have some
likelihood to occur within the planning area. The existing incidental
take permit is for 78 species in Clark County, NV. Should any of the
unlisted covered wildlife species become listed under the Act during
the term of the permit, and the Service finds the species are
adequately conserved by the amended MSHCP, take authorization for those
species would become effective upon listing. Species may be added or
deleted from the list of proposed covered species during the course of
development of the MSHCP, based on further analysis, new information,
agency consultation, and public comment. Numerous other listed and
sensitive species for which Clark County, the Cities, and NDOT do not
seek permit coverage may also benefit from the conservation measures to
be included in the MSHCP through protection of similar or overlapping
habitat conditions and ecosystem functions.
The MSHCP Amendment planning area includes all of Clark County,
which encompasses about 5 million acres. Approximately 87 percent of
Clark County is Federally managed, 3 percent is managed by State and
local governments, and 10 percent is privately owned.
Environmental Impact Statement
An EIS will be prepared in compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA). The EIS will
consider the proposed action, the issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B)
permit amendment under the Act, No Action (no permit amendment), and a
reasonable range of alternatives. A detailed description of the impacts
of the proposed action and each alternative will be included in the
EIS.
The proposed action and alternatives will be evaluated against the
No Action alternative, which assumes that no changes or amendments will
be made to the existing MSHCP and the existing permit will remain in
effect. Several alternatives will be considered and analyzed,
representing varying levels of conservation and impacts. The
alternatives to be considered for analysis in the EIS may include:
Variations in the scope of covered activities; variations in the
location, amount, and type of conservation; variations in permit
duration; or a combination of these elements. The EIS will also
identify potentially significant direct, indirect, and cumulative
impacts on biological resources, land use, air quality, water quality,
water resources, socioeconomics, and other environmental issues that
could occur with the implementation of the proposed actions and
alternatives. For all potentially significant impacts, the EIS will
identify avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures to reduce
these impacts, where feasible, to a level below significance.
Public Comments
The primary purpose of the scoping process is to identify important
issues and alternatives raised by the public related to the proposed
action. Written comments from interested parties are welcome to ensure
that the full range of issues related to the permit request is
identified. Comments will only be accepted in written form. You may
submit written comments by mail or facsimile transmission (see
ADDRESSES). 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 may 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.
Review of the EIS will be conducted in accordance with the
requirements of NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40
CFR 1500-1508), the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 500 et
seq.), other applicable regulations, and the Service's procedures for
compliance with those regulations. This notice is being furnished in
accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 to obtain suggestions and information
from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues and
alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.
Reasonable Accommodation
Persons needing reasonable accommodations to attend and participate
in public meetings should contact Jeri Krueger (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) as soon as possible. To allow sufficient time to
process requests, please call no later than one week before the public
meeting. Information regarding this
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proposed action is available in alternative formats upon request.
Alexandra Pitts,
Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. E9-23556 Filed 9-29-09; 8:45 am]
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