[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 220 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64522-64523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25120]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2020-N174; FXES11140800000-212-FF08EVEN00]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Habitat
Conservation Plan and Draft Categorical Exclusion for the Central
California Distinct Population Segment of the California Tiger
Salamander; Churchill Family Properties Residential Development
Project, San Benito County, California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) and draft
categorical exclusion for activities associated with an application for
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended. The ITP would authorize take of the Central
California distinct population segment of the California tiger
salamander incidental to activities associated with construction
adjacent to the City of Hollister in San Benito County, California. The
applicant developed the draft HCP as part of their application for an
ITP. The Service
[[Page 64523]]
prepared a draft low-effect screening form and environmental action
statement (CatEx) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy
Act to evaluate the potential effects to the natural and human
environment resulting from issuing an ITP to the applicant. We invite
public comment on these documents.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before December 20,
2021.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may download a copy of the draft HCP and
draft CatEx at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/, or you may request copies
of the documents by U.S. mail (below) or by phone (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Submitting Written Comments: Please send us your written comments
using one of the following methods:
U.S. Mail: Stephen P. Henry, Field Supervisor, Ventura
Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola
Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003.
Email: mark_ogonowski@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Ogonowski, Senior Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, by email (see ADDRESSES), via phone at (805) 677-
3350, via the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY
assistance, or by mail (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
announce the availability of a draft HCP and draft CatEx for activities
associated with an application for an ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). The ITP would authorize take of the Central California distinct
population segment (DPS) of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma
californiense) incidental to activities associated with the subdivision
of two adjoining parcels and construction of residential housing over a
23.5-acre project site adjacent to the City of Hollister in San Benito
County, California. The site would be fully developed with single- and
multi-family housing, rights of way for streets and utilities, and
public open space lots. The applicant developed the draft HCP as part
of their application for an ITP. The Service prepared a draft CatEx in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to evaluate the potential effects to the natural
and human environment resulting from issuing an ITP to the applicant.
We invite public comment on all of these documents.
Background
The Service listed the Central California DPS of the California
tiger salamander as threatened on August 4, 2004 (69 FR 47212). Section
9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife species listed as
endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538), where take is defined to include the
following activities: ``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). The take prohibitions of Section 9 are
extended to species listed as threatened at the discretion the
Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), we
may issue permits to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for threatened species are in the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32. Issuance of an ITP also must not jeopardize the
existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant species,
pursuant to section 7 of the ESA and 50 CFR 402.02. The permittee would
receive assurances under our ``No Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR
17.32(b)(5)).
The Service designated critical habitat for the Central California
DPS of the California tiger salamander on August 23, 2005 (70 CFR
49380). The project site encompasses 2.3 acres of California tiger
salamander critical habitat unit EB 15A, representing approximately .09
percent of this unit and .001 percent of critical habitat designated
for the species rangewide. The area of critical habitat overlapping the
project site is fragmented from the remainder of unit EB 15A by
Fairview Road, which is moderately trafficked.
Proposed Activities
The applicant has applied for a permit for incidental take of the
Central California DPS of the California tiger salamander. The take
would occur in association with the construction of residential housing
over a 23.5-acre project site adjacent to the City of Hollister in San
Benito County, California.
The HCP includes avoidance and minimization measures for the
Central California DPS of the California tiger salamander and
mitigation for unavoidable loss of habitat. As mitigation, the
applicant proposes to purchase credits from a Service-approved
conservation bank. The Service in collaboration with the applicant
determined the required mitigation using a habitat model based on the
methodology in Calculating Biologically Accurate Mitigation Credits:
Insights from the California tiger Salamander (Searcy and Shaffer
2008). The method assigns a value to habitat that scales with the
reproductive value of the individuals estimated to be occupying an
area, which is a function of (1) distance to each known or potential
breeding pond within dispersal distance of the site, and (2)
surrounding land-use. A mitigation ratio of 1:1 (reproductive value
lost: Reproductive value conserved) is then applied to determine the
amount of mitigation required to offset impacts to California tiger
salamander habitat based on the per-credit habitat value of mitigation
credits at the chosen conservation bank.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email 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 view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Stephen Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. 2021-25120 Filed 11-17-21; 8:45 am]
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