[Federal Register: April 14, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 70)]
[Notices]
[Page 17207-17208]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ap09-85]
[[Page 17207]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2009-N0077; 81440-1112-0000-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits, Santa
Cruz County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of application for Incidental Take Permit
(ITP); availability of proposed low-effect habitat conservation plan;
request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) application and
proposed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We have received these, along with other
pertinent documents available for review, from the Salvation Army
(applicant). The applicant anticipates removing an approximate total of
0.084 acre of Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata)--occupied
habitat, which includes 0.011 acre occupied by the Ben Lomond
spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana). Both of these
species are listed as endangered under the Act. We request comments on
the ITP application and on our preliminary determination that the
proposed HCP qualifies as a ``low-effect'' HCP, eligible for a
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended.
DATES: We must receive any written comments on or before May 14, 2009.
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, CA 93003. You may
alternatively send comments by facsimile to (805) 644-3958. To obtain
copies of draft 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 ITP application and HCP 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and Federal
regulations prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined
under the Act as ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under limited circumstances, we
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. The Act's take prohibitions do not apply to federally
listed plants on private lands, unless such take would violate State
law. In addition to meeting other criteria, actions to be performed
under ITPs must not jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish,
wildlife, or plants.
Proposed Project
We received an application from the Salvation Army for an
incidental take permit (ITP), along with a proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP). The applicant requests a 3-year ITP under
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. If we approve the ITP, the applicant
anticipates taking approximately 0.084 acre of Mount Hermon June
beetle-occupied habitat, which includes 0.011 acre occupied by the Ben
Lomond spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana), incidental
to the construction of a suite of infrastructure improvements at Camp
Redwood Glen, in Santa Cruz County, California (project). The planned
infrastructure improvements include small building additions, retaining
walls, parking areas, patios, and paths, all of which are being
developed primarily to increase the accessibility of the camp
facilities for disabled persons. The project would occur within parcel
094-011-20 near the City of Scotts Valley, in Santa Cruz County,
California. The project area encompasses approximately 4.5 acres within
the 207-acre parcel, and the footprints of the infrastructure
improvements would permanently eliminate 0.084 acre of Mount Hermon
June beetle habitat, while temporarily impacting an additional 0.017
acre of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat. Approximately 0.012 acre of
Ben Lomond spineflower plants that co-occur within the Mount Hermon
June beetle habitat would also be disturbed; 0.011 acre would be
permanently removed, while less than 0.001 acre would be temporarily
impacted.
The Salvation Army's proposed HCP describes the following
mitigation and minimization measures to address the effects of the
project on the Mount Hermon June beetle and Ben Lomond spineflower. To
mitigate for incidental take of the Mount Hermon June beetle and
impacts to the Ben Lomond spineflower at the project site, the
applicant will purchase 0.101 acre of conservation credits at the
recently approved Ben Lomond Sandhills Preserve of the Zayante
Sandhills Conservation Bank, operated by PCO, LLC. In addition, the
applicant will implement a number of minimization measures intended to
reduce impacts from the proposed project on the Mount Hermon June
beetle and Ben Lomond spineflower. A summary of the minimization
measures proposed by the applicant follows: (1) If ground disturbing
activities are conducted during the Mount Hermon June beetle flight
season, black plastic will be used to cover exposed soil to prevent
burrowing of dispersing male Mount Hermon June beetles; (2) larvae and
adult Mount Hermon June beetles identified during project activities
will be captured and relocated; (3) night lighting will be minimized to
prevent disruption of dispersing Mount Hermon June beetles; (4) the use
of landscaping elements that deter use by Mount Hermon June beetles
will be minimized; (5) Ben Lomond spineflower seeds will be collected
from areas that would be disturbed and distributed in appropriate
habitat; and (6) non-native plants will be removed from the Ben Lomond
spineflower population that would be disturbed.
The project is located on soils known as ``Zayante sands.'' These
soils support the Zayante sandhills ecosystem, which 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 Zayante sandhills vegetation, which is
characterized by a mosaic of ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) and
silverleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola), and areas that are
sparsely vegetated with grasses and herbs.
[[Page 17208]]
National Environmental Policy Act
We are requesting comments on the permit application and on our
preliminary determination that the proposed HCP qualifies as a ``low
effect'' HCP, eligible for a categorical exclusion under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.). We explain the basis for this possible determination in our
draft Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and associated Low Effect
Screening Form. The draft HCP, Low Effect Screening Form, and EAS are
available for public review.
We have made a preliminary determination that the HCP qualifies as
a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (November 1996). Our determination that a HCP qualifies as a
low-effect plan is based on the following criteria: (1) Implementation
of the HCP would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the HCP would result in minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the HCP,
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not result,
over time, in significant cumulative effects to the environmental
values or resources that would be considered significant. As more fully
explained in our EAS and associated Low Effect Screening Form, the
applicant's proposal for the construction of infrastructure
improvements qualifies as a ``low effect'' plan for the following
reasons:
(1) Approval of the HCP would result in minor or negligible effects
on the Mount Hermon June beetle and Ben Lomond spineflower and their
habitat. We do not anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects
to the Mount Hermon June beetle or Ben Lomond spineflower resulting
from the proposed project.
(2) Approval of the HCP would not have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
(3) Approval of the HCP would not result in any growth-inducing
impacts and would not result in significant cumulative impacts or
adverse effects on public health or safety.
(4) The project does not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor does it
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local, or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
(5) Approval of the HCP would not establish a precedent for future
actions or represent a decision in principle about future actions with
potentially significant environmental effects.
We, therefore, have made a preliminary determination that approval
of the HCP qualifies as a categorical exclusion under NEPA, 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 NEPA documentation. We will consider public
comments in making our final determination on whether to prepare such
additional documentation.
Public Review and Comment
If you wish to comment on the Low Effect Screening Form, draft EAS,
or the proposed HCP, you may submit your comments to the address listed
in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
We will evaluate the permit application, HCP, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If we determine that the
application meets those requirements, we will issue the ITP for the
incidental take of the Mount Hermon June beetle. We will also evaluate
whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP 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 ITP.
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.
Authority: We provide this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of
the Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR
1506.6).
Dated: April 8, 2009.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. E9-8474 Filed 4-13-09; 8:45 am]
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