[Federal Register: April 12, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 69)]
[Notices]
[Page 18482-18484]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ap10-33]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
RIN 0648-XV36
Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan
AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; Fish and Wildlife
Service, Interior (DOI).
ACTION: Notice of availability of draft environmental impact statement,
multi-species habitat conservation plan, and receipt of application;
notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Authorization for Incidental
Take and Implementation of Stanford University
[[Page 18483]]
Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan), and the Implementing Agreement (IA)
for public review and comment. In response to receipt of an application
from The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
(Stanford; Applicant), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries
Service (Services), are considering the proposed action of issuing a
50-year permit for four federally listed species and one currently
unlisted species. The proposed permit would authorize the incidental
take of individual species listed under the Federal Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit is needed because take of
species could occur during the operation and maintenance of the
University, academic activities, athletic and recreational activities,
leasehold activities, urban development, and resource conservation
activities associated with the Plan at Stanford, which is located on
8,180-acres in San Mateo County and Santa Clara County, California.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS, Plan, and IA, must be received by
5 p.m. Pacific Time on July 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the DEIS, Plan, and IA can be sent by
U.S. Mail, facsimile, or email to (1) Eric Tattersall, Chief,
Conservation Planning and Recovery Division, Fish and Wildlife Service,
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605,
Sacramento, California 95825; facsimile (916) 414-6713; (2) Gary Stern,
San Francisco Bay Region Supervisor at National Marine Fisheries
Service, 777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 325, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, facsimile
(707) 578-3435; or (3) Stanford.HCP@noaa.gov. Include the document
identifier: Stanford HCP.
A public meeting will be held on May 25, 2010, from 7 p.m. to 9
p.m. at the Stanford University Tresidder Student Student Union Oak
West Lounge, 459 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Larsen, Senior Staff Biologist,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; telephone 707-575-6060.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the DEIS, Plan and IA are
available for public review during regular business hours from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and
Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), and the National
Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Rosa Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Additionally, hard bound copies of the DEIS,
Plan, and IA are available for viewing, or for partial or complete
duplication, at the following locations:
1. Social Sciences Resource Center, Green Library, Room 121,
Stanford, CA 94305
2. Palo Alto Main Library, 1213 Newell Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303.
Individuals wishing copies of the DEIS, Plan, or IA should contact
either of the Services by telephone (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT) or by letter (see ADDRESSES). These documents are also
available electronically for review on the NMFS Southwest Region
website at: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office Website at http://
www.fws.gov/sacramento/.
Background
Section 9 of the Federal ESA of 1973, as amended, and Federal
regulations prohibit the take of fish and wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened (16 U.S.C. 1538). The term ''take'' means 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).
Harm includes significant habitat modification or degradation that
actually kills or injures listed wildlife by significantly impairing
essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and
sheltering (50 CFR 17.3(c)). The National Marine Fisheries Service
further defines harm as an act which actually kills or injures fish or
wildlife, and expands the list of essential behavioral patterns that
can be impaired by habitat modification or degradation to include
breeding, spawning, rearing, migrating, feeding or sheltering (50 CFR
222.102). Under limited circumstances, the Services may issue permits
to authorize incidental take of listed fish or wildlife; i.e., take
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened
and endangered species are found in 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22,
respectively.
Each of the Services has received an application for an incidental
take permit for implementation of the Plan. The applications were
prepared and submitted by The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford
Junior University (Applicant). The Applicant has prepared the Plan to
satisfy the application requirements for a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit
under the Federal ESA, of 1973, as amended.
The Applicant seeks a 50-year incidental take permit for covered
activities within a proposed 8,180 acre permit area located in southern
San Mateo and northern Santa Clara counties. The permit area includes
all of Stanford's lands, which are located on portions of the Santa
Cruz Mountains and at the base of the San Francisco Peninsula. Stanford
University is located in two main watersheds, Matadero/Deer Creek and
San Francisquito Creek watersheds. The San Francisquito Creek watershed
spans San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, and encompasses an area of
approximately 45 square miles. This watershed includes San
Francisquito, Los Trancos, Corte Madera, Bear, Dennis Martin, Sausal,
and Alambique creeks, and portions of San Francisquito, Los Trancos,
Corte Madera, and Bear creeks flow through Stanford lands. The Matadero
Creek watershed is entirely within Santa Clara County, and portions of
Matadero and Deer creeks flow through Stanford. In addition to
significant riparian areas associated with the creeks, the permit area
includes foothills, and most of the main campus is located on an
alluvial plain located between the foothills and San Francisco Bay.
The Applicant has requested permits that will authorize the take of
four animal species, which are currently listed as threatened or
endangered under the Federal ESA, and one animal species that may
become listed under the ESA. Proposed covered species includes the
federally listed as threatened California tiger salamander (Ambystoma
californiense), California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii), San
Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia), and Central
California Coast steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Proposed covered
species also includes one animal species that is not listed under the
Federal ESA at the current time: the western pond turtle (Clemmys
marmorata).
If the proposed Plan is approved and the permit issued, take
authorization of covered listed species would be effective at the time
of permit issuance. Take of the currently non-listed covered species
would be authorized concurrent with the species' listing under the
Federal ESA, should it be listed during the duration of the permit.
The proposed Plan is intended to be a comprehensive document,
providing for species conservation and habitat planning, while allowing
the applicant to better manage ongoing operations and future growth.
The proposed Plan also is intended to provide a coordinated process for
permitting and mitigating the take of covered species as an alternative
to a project-by-project approach.
[[Page 18484]]
In order to comply with the requirements of the Federal ESA, the
proposed Plan addresses a number of required elements, including:
species and habitat goals and objectives; evaluation of the effects of
covered activities on covered species, including indirect and
cumulative effects; a conservation strategy; a monitoring and adaptive
management program; descriptions of changed circumstances and remedial
measures; identification of funding sources; and an assessment of
alternatives to take of listed species.
The Plan divides the permit area into four ``zones.'' Zone 1
supports one or more of the covered species or provides critical
resources for the species. Zone 2 areas are occasionally occupied by a
covered species and provide some of the resources used by the species,
or buffers between occupied habitat and urbanized areas. Zone 3
consists of generally undeveloped land that provides only limited and
indirect benefit to the covered species. Zone 4 includes urbanized
areas that do not support the covered species. The Plan covers the
ongoing operation and maintenance of the University, existing
facilities, and a limited amount of future development. Ongoing
operations and maintenance are divided into the following categories of
activities: water management; creek maintenance; academic activities;
utility installation and maintenance; general infrastructure;
recreation and athletics; grounds and vegetation; agricultural and
equestrian leaseholds; and commercial and institutional leaseholds. Up
to 180 acres of development in Zones 1, 2, and 3 are also covered by
the Plan, but the Plan does not supersede any permitting or entitlement
required by other regulations.
The Plan's proposed conservation strategy is designed to minimize
and mitigate the impacts of covered activities, improve habitat
conditions for listed covered species, and protect populations of the
non-listed covered species. The Plan includes minimization measures
that would avoid and minimize the take of covered species from ongoing
operation and maintenance of the University and future development. The
Plan also includes mitigation for the loss of habitat, and proposes to
conserve approximately 360 acres of riparian habitat within
conservation easements within one year of issuance of the permits.
Additional riparian habitat would be preserved as needed. A 315-acre
``California Tiger Salamander Reserve'' also would be established at
the outset of the Plan. No development would be permitted within the
Reserve for the term of the permits, and habitat within the Reserve
would be permanently protected to offset any loss of tiger salamander
habitat that occurs during the permit term. Habitat protected under the
Plan would be managed and monitored, and annual reports documenting the
status of the species and compliance with the Plan would be submitted
to the Services. In addition to the minimization measures and
mitigation for the loss of habitat, the Plan includes a number of
potential habitat enhancements that Stanford may perform during the
term of the permits. Other conservation activities include a California
tiger salamander management plan that covers 95 acres, including
Lagunita Reservoir and habitat around Lagunita Reservoir.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
Proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). As co-lead agencies, the
Services have prepared a DEIS which evaluates the impacts of the
proposed issuance of the permit and implementation of the Plan, as well
as a reasonable range of alternatives.
The DEIS analyzes three alternatives including the issuance of
incidental take permits and applicant implementation of the proposed
Plan described above. The issuance of 50-year take permits and
applicant implementation of the proposed Plan is considered the
Preferred Alternative. Two other alternatives being considered by the
Services include the following:
Under the No Action Alternative, the Services would not issue
incidental take permits for implementation of the Stanford University
Habitat Conservation Plan. As a result, the Applicant would likely seek
individual incidental take authorization as needed for new projects and
ongoing operations that would result in the take of federally listed
species.
Under the California Tiger Salamander Only Alternative, Stanford
would prepare a Habitat Conservation Plan only for the California tiger
salamander, and obtain section 10 authorization only for the take of
California tiger salamander. Future development and ongoing activities
that would result in the take of other listed species would be
permitted individually, as needed.
Public Comments
The Services invite the public to comment on the draft Plan, draft
IA, and DEIS during a 90-day public comment period beginning on the
date of this notice. All comments and materials received, including
names and addresses, will become part of the administration record and
may be released to the public. Our practice is to make comments,
including names, home addresses, home telephone numbers, and email
addresses of respondents available for public review. 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.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and
regulations for implementing NEPA, as amended (40 CFR 1506.6), We
provide this notice in order to allow the public, agencies, or other
organizations to review and comment on these documents.
Special Accommodations
The public meeting is physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Gary Stern, National Marine
Fisheries Service, at 707-575-6060, at least 5 working days prior to
the meeting date.
Next Steps
The Services will evaluate the applications, associated documents,
and public comments submitted to them to prepare a final EIS. A permit
decision will be made no sooner than 30 days after the publication of
the final EIS and completion of the Record of Decision.
Dated: April 7, 2010.
Ken McDermond,
Deputy Region Director, Pacific Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
Dated: April 7, 2010.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-8300 Filed 4-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODES 3510-22-S, 4310-55-S