[Federal Register: April 30, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 83)]
[Notices]
[Page 22835-22836]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ap10-113]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2010-N087; 1112-0000-81440-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits, Santa
Cruz County, CA
AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received applications from William Menchine and Alicia Stanton and the
San Lorenzo Valley Water District (applicants) for incidental take
permits under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We
are considering issuing permits that would authorize the applicants'
take of the Federally endangered Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla
barbata) incidental to otherwise lawful activities that would result in
the permanent loss of 0.05 acre (2,182 square feet (sq ft)) of Mount
Hermon June beetle habitat near Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County,
California. We invite comments from the public on the applications,
which include Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) that fully describe the
proposed projects and measures the applicants would undertake to
minimize and mitigate anticipated take of the species. We also invite
comments on our preliminary determination that the HCPs qualify as
``low-effect'' plans, eligible for categorical exclusions under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We
explain the basis for this determination in our draft Environmental
Action Statements and associated Low-Effect Screening Forms, both of
which are also available for review.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
June 1, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may download a copy of the permit applications, plans,
and related documents on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/,
or you may request documents by U.S. mail or phone (see below). Please
address written comments to Diane K. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jen Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, at the
Ventura address above, or by telephone at (805) 644-1766, extension
224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mount Hermon June beetle was listed as endangered on January
24, 1997 (62 FR 3616). Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
and our implementing Federal regulations in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 17 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 issue permits to authorize 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 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, an incidental take
permit's proposed actions must not jeopardize the existence of
Federally listed fish, wildlife, or plants.
Reconstruction of the home's failing foundation and construction of
a retaining wall for the Menchine HCP would take place within a 0.44-
acre parcel (APN 060-361-03) located at 6 Lyle Way near the city of
Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California. The parcel contains Zayante
sand soils and vegetation consisting primarily of landscaping. The
parcel is presumed to be occupied by the Mount Hermon June beetle, as
the species is known to occur approximately 650 feet to the north of
the property. Implementation of the project would result in impacts to
a total of 0.05 acre (1,993 sq ft) of habitat for the Mount Hermon June
beetle. Impacts would result in the permanent loss of 0.04 acre (1,543
sq ft) and the temporary loss of 0.01 acre (450 sq ft) of Mount Hermon
June beetle habitat. The Menchines propose to implement the following
measures to minimize and mitigate for the loss of Mount Hermon June
beetle habitat within the permit area: (1) Applicants will purchase
0.05 acre (1,993 sq ft) of conservation credits at the Ben Lomond
Sandhills Preserve of the Zayante Sandhills Conservation Bank, operated
by PCO, LLC; (2) a qualified biologist will oversee construction and
provide worker training on the Mount Hermon June beetle and
requirements of the HCP; (3) temporary fencing will be installed to
demarcate the impact area from the remainder of the property; (4) any
life stages of the Mount Hermon June beetle will be captured and
relocated if one is observed in an area that would be impacted; (5)
dust control measures will be implemented to reduce impacts to the
Mount Hermon June beetle and its habitat; (6) the 0.01-acre (450-sq-ft)
area of temporary habitat disturbance will be revegetated with native
Sandhills plant species; and (7) all exposed soils will be covered with
impermeable material if construction occurs during the species' flight
season.
The Menchine HCP considers three alternatives to the taking of
Mount Hermon June beetle. The No Action alternative would maintain
current conditions, the project would not be implemented, and an
incidental take permit application would not be submitted to the
Service. The second alternative would involve a redesign of the
project. The project would be reduced in scale under this alternative;
however, is not practical, as the home's foundation requires repair,
and a retaining wall is necessary for slope stabilization. The third
alternative is the proposed action, which includes issuing an
incidental take permit to the applicants, who would then implement the
HCP.
Construction of a pump house and pipeline for the Ma[ntilde]ana
Woods HCP would take place primarily at 140 Elena Court (APN 067-081-
55), a 10.6-acre parcel, with a small portion crossing through 324
Blueberry Drive (APN 067-081-41), a 1.8-acre parcel. Both parcels are
located just southwest of the City of Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County,
California. The applicant has received authorization from the two
landowners to implement the project on private land. Both parcels
contain Zayante sand soils with vegetation consisting of native and
nonnative plant species and mixed evergreen forest. The parcels are
presumed to be occupied by the Mount Hermon June beetle, as the species
is known to occur at several locations within 0.75 mile of the project
area.
The Ma[ntilde]ana Woods project would result in impacts to a total
of 0.05 acre
[[Page 22836]]
(1,942 sq ft) of habitat for the Mount Hermon June beetle. Impacts
would result in the permanent loss of 0.02 acre (639 sq ft), and the
temporary loss of 0.03 acre (1,303 sq ft) of habitat for the species.
The applicant proposes to implement the following measures to minimize
and mitigate for the loss of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat within
the permit area: (1) Applicant will purchase 0.05 acre (1,942 sq ft) of
conservation credits at the Ben Lomond Sandhills Preserve of the
Zayante Sandhills Conservation Bank, operated by PCO, LLC; (2) a
qualified biologist will oversee construction and provide worker
training on the Mount Hermon June beetle and requirements of the HCP;
(3) any life stages of the Mount Hermon June beetle will be captured
and relocated if one is observed in an area that would be impacted; (4)
the use of outdoor night lighting will be minimized to avoid disrupting
the species' breeding activity; (5) no landscaping will be used in
order to avoid adverse effects to the species; and (6) all exposed soil
will be covered with impermeable material if construction occurs during
the species' flight season.
In the Ma[ntilde]ana Woods HCP, three alternatives to the taking of
listed species are considered. The No Action alternative would maintain
current conditions, the project would not be implemented, and an
incidental take permit application would not be submitted to the
Service. The second alternative would involve a project redesign that
would relocate construction to the mixed evergreen forest habitat on
site. This option was rejected because the location was deemed
suboptimal, potentially resulting in substandard performance, and the
pipeline installation would be significantly greater, resulting in
undue financial burden on the applicant. The third alternative is the
proposed action, which includes issuing an incidental take permit to
the applicant, who would then implement the HCP.
We are requesting comments on our preliminary determination that
both applicants' proposals will have a minor or negligible effect on
the Mount Hermon June beetle, and that the HCPs both qualify as ``low-
effect'' HCPs as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook
(November 1996). We base our determination that the plans qualify as
low-effect HCPs on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of
the HCPs would result in minor or negligible effects on Federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the HCPs would result in minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the
HCPs, considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not result,
over time, in cumulative effects to the environmental values or
resources that would be considered significant. As more fully explained
in our Environmental Action Statements and associated Low-Effect
Screening Forms, both applicants' proposed HCPs qualify as ``low-
effect'' HCPs 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. We do 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
(E.O.) 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; and
(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.
We, therefore, have made the preliminary determination that
approval of the HCPs and incidental take permits qualify as categorical
exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), as provided by the Department of the Interior Manual
(516 DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 8). Based on our review of public
comments that we receive in response to this notice, we may revise the
preliminary determinations.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the HCPs and comments we receive to determine
whether the permit 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 these requirements, we will issue two permits for the
incidental take of the Mount Hermon June beetle. We will also evaluate
whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) permits would comply with
section 7 of the Act by conducting intra-Service section 7
consultations for each plan. We will use the results of these
consultations, in combination with the above findings, in our final
analysis to determine whether or not to issue the permits. If the
requirements are met, we will issue the permits to the applicants.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on the permit applications, plans, and
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods
in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, 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 under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: April 23, 2010.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2010-10086 Filed 4-29-10; 8:45 am]
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