[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13757]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 7, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

 

Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of a 
Joint Application for an Incidental Take Permit Involving San Joaquin 
Kit Fox, Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard, Tipton Kangaroo Rat, and Giant 
Kangaroo Rat by the City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern (co-applicants) 
have applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an 
incidental take permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 
Endangered Species Act (Act). The permit application and accompanying 
Metropolitan Bakersfield Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) cover a 408-
square mile area of Metropolitan Bakersfield. The HCP would result in 
incidental take of several federally listed endangered or threatened 
animal species presently occupying the conservation plan area. The 
Service announces the availability of an Environmental Assessment (EA), 
HCP, application for incidental take, and Implementing Agreement (IA). 
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(a) of the Act and 
National Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

DATES: Written comments on these documents should be received on or 
before July 7, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review these documents may obtain a copy 
by writing to the Service's Sacramento Field Office (SFO). Documents 
will be available by written request for public inspection, by 
appointment, during normal business hours at the SFO. Written data or 
comments concerning the documents should be submitted to the SFO. 
Please reference permit number PRT-786634 in your comments. Address 
comments or questions to: Field Supervisor, Sacramento Field Office, 
U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 
Cottage Way, room E-1823 Sacramento, California 95825-1846 (Telephone: 
916-978-4866).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Peter Cross at the Service's Sacramento Field Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Service must determine that the criteria 
identified in section 10(a)(2)(B) of the Act have been met in order to 
issue an incidental take permit under section 10(a)(2)(B). The criteria 
are: (1) The taking will be incidental; (2) the applicant will, to the 
maximum extent practicable, minimize and mitigate the impacts of 
taking; (3) the applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the 
plan will be provided and procedures are available to deal with 
unforeseen circumstances; (4) the taking will not appreciably reduce 
the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in the wild; 
and (5) other measures which may be necessary, if any, are met. The 
public is invited to comment on the applicability of those criteria to 
this permit application.

Background

    Existing conflicts among federally protected species and urban 
development have prompted City of Bakersfield (City) and County of Kern 
(County) to pursue an HCP and incidental take permit pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. The HCP is designed to offset impacts 
resulting from loss of habitat incurred through land use development 
activities in the Metropolitan Bakersfield area. The goal of the HCP is 
to acquire, preserve, and enhance native habitats which support 
endangered and threatened species and other species of concern, while 
allowing urban development to proceed within the Metropolitan 
Bakersfield area. The area covered by the HCP contains land within the 
jurisdiction of the City and County. The HCP is the product of a 7-year 
planning process involving the city, county, representatives of the 
environmental community and the building industry, and the California 
Department of Fish and Game (CDFG).
    The HCP will result in incidental take of several endangered and 
threatened species within the 408-square mile area of Metropolitan 
Bakersfield. The Federal permit would make this take lawful so long as 
it is in accordance with the conditions of the permit as described in 
the HCP and its IA. The permit issued would cover the species formally 
listed by the Service at the time of issuance. Other species of concern 
could be added by amendment in the event that they are subsequently 
listed as an endangered species or threatened species. The section 
10(a)(1)(B) permit would permit the incidental take of the following 
listed species: San Joaquin kit fox, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, Tipton 
kangaroo rat, and giant kangaroo rat.
    The HCP addresses the following species of concern and listed 
plants, in addition to the federally protected species which will be 
covered by the plan: Short-nosed kangaroo rat, San Joaquin antelope 
squirrel, San Joaquin pocket mouse, Bakersfield saltbush, Slough 
thistle, recurved larkspur, Tulare pseudobahia, striped adobe lily, 
Bakersfield cactus, California jewel flower, San Joaquin wooly-threads, 
Hoover's wooly-star and Kern mallow.
    The federally listed species are scattered generally throughout the 
open, non-urbanized lands of the Metropolitan Bakersfield area. 
According to biological surveys conducted for the HCP and surveys 
conducted by others since 1980, several of the species of concern may 
no longer occur in the area. the San Joaquin kit fox is the most 
widespread of the species of concern and is most frequently affected by 
urbanization in the HCP area. High potential for impact and the need 
for large preserves make the kit for a natural focus for the HCP.
    Much of the area is in intensive agriculture, but retains value for 
kit fox in prey and even for dens in berms, near water impoundments, 
and on fallow land. Urbanization of agricultural land will result in a 
take of species, loss of habitat, and intensification of population 
related take (e.g., road kills). The natural lands of the area have 
greater species value and represent more viable long-term habitat.
    The HCP describes a method of collecting funds for the acquisition 
and/or enhancement of natural lands and restorable lands for purpsoes 
of preserves. Areas targeted for acquisition have been identified for 
conservation by the Service and CDFG as part of the Biological 
Framework for Natural Lands and Endangered Species in the southern San 
Joaquin Valley. The HCP also provided for the minimization of take 
within the developed area.
    The HCP addresses two categories of land: (1) Natural land, meaning 
land generally in grazing and with original soil and topography intact, 
and (2) open land, which includes natural land as well as agriculture 
and all other non-urban land in the area. Urbanization of either 
category would pay the same mitigation fee, but the two are 
distinguished for the purposes of environmental assessment and permit 
monitoring.
    The HCP provides for: 1. Acquisition and management of a minimum of 
3 acres of significant value endangered species habitat for every 1 
acre of ``natural'' land developed within the HCP area, or acquisition 
and management of 1 acre of significant value endangered species 
habitat for every 1 acre of ``open'' land developed within the HCP 
area, whichever is greater.
    2. Land acquisition outside of the HCP area with consideration to 
pre-approved acquisition areas identified by CDFG.
    3. Acquisition and management of between 500 and 1,000 acres of 
land in the northeast portion of the study area for the primary purpose 
of preserving the Bakersfield cactus.
    4. Acquisition and management of land, as feasible, adjacent to the 
Kern Water Bank project on the west side of I-5, south of Panama Lane.
    5. Pursuit of cooperative agreements for restoring and enhancing 
land, as feasible, within the Kern Water Bank project area and provide 
funding as appropriate.
    6. Limited relocation or displacement of individuals in areas 
affected by development as a means of reducing direct take of 
endangered species.
    The HCP will be implemented under the terms of the section 
10(a)(1)(B) permit issued by the Service and the IA. The permit is 
requested for a period of 20 years, or until urban development permits 
are issued for 15,200 acres of natural lands or 43,000 acres of open 
lands. The HCP has three categories of participation.
    1. The Service as a permitter and advisor to the Implementation 
Trust (Trust);
    2. City and County as permittees and trustees; and
    3. Other implementing entities such as The Nature Conservancy and 
CDFG as preserve development coordinators.
    The City and County will be the primary entities responsible for 
administering the institutional elements of the HCP in their respective 
jurisdictions.
    Administration of the HCP involves the following categories: (1) 
Local mitigation fee collection and fund management, (2) management of 
State and Federal funding, if applicable, (3) preserve selection and 
acquisition, (4) preserve management, (5) land restoration and 
enhancement and species monitoring, (6) annual report and preparation, 
and (7) enforcement.
    The HCP program relies on the formation of a Trust which would be 
in charge of making major preserve acquisition decisions and for 
administering the plan. The Trust will comprise representatives from 
the City and County as trustees, the Service, CDFG, and a member of the 
public as mandatory advisors. Specific preserve management plans would 
be developed later and carried out by each individual preserve 
management entity. The mitigation funds collected by the City and 
County will be deposited into a trust fund and would be administered by 
the Trust. The Trust will meet as necessary to carry out the HCP. The 
Trust will be responsible for reporting to the Service as to the status 
of enhancement.
    The HCP program will be funded through the collection of a one time 
mitigation fee paid on all new construction taking place within the 
conservation plan area. The fee is $1,240 per gross acre for all new 
construction on previously undeveloped land, payable at the time 
building permits are issued. The fee is set in 1993 dollars and will be 
adjusted annually for inflation. Upon payment of this fee and receipt 
of City or County project approval, a development permit applicant 
would become a sub-permittee and would be allowed the incidental take 
of species in accordance with Federal endangered species laws.
    The fee is based on per acre estimated costs of, (1) $600 for land, 
(2) $100 for fencing and improvement, (3) $300 for management and 
enhancement, and (4) $250 for program administration. The amount of 
mitigation fees collected will depend on the rate of growth in the HCP 
area. At current growth rates, fees will generate funding for 
acquisition and management or roughly 700 acres per year. State and 
Federal conservation funds will be sought to augment local funds for 
land acquisition.
    The HCP applies to the entire conservation plan area (2010 General 
Plan), but the requested section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would only allow 
take in the area outside of the primary flood plain of the Kern River 
and lands within the Kern Water Bank. The Kern River is excluded to 
assure that an open corridor can be maintained between the foothills to 
the northeast and the San Joaquin Hills Valley floor to the west. Kern 
Water Bank lands are under the jurisdiction of the State of California.
    The HCP addresses lands converted primarily to urban uses as 
permitted by the City or County. Activities which may result in a take, 
but which are not subject to approval by the City or County, will not 
be authorized by the proposed permit. Thus, impact on natural lands 
from oil extraction or agriculture are not subject to the permit, 
although some types of ancillary oil and agricultural facilities that 
are subject to City or County permits would be covered. Activities not 
covered by the permit would have to comply separately with Federal 
requirements.
    Although the permit covers a large area, the take of threatened or 
endangered species will only occur where actual urban growth occurs. 
The area designated for urban uses (including all low density 
residential categories) in the 2010 General Plan covers roughly 74.5 
square miles (47,600 acres) of undeveloped or open land. Of this, 22.25 
square miles (14,200) acres is natural land, which currently supports 
populations of the species of concern, and 52.25 square miles (33,400 
acres) of other open lands, primarily intensive agriculture. Full 
build-out of the 2010 General Plan would double the size of 
Bakersfield, but full build-out is not expected to occur within the 
proposed 20-year life of the permit. Realistic projections indicate a 
loss of open lands at a rate of roughly 1 square miles per year, which 
is assumed to be divided proportionately between natural and other open 
lands. At that rate, a loss of some 20 square miles of open land, 
including some 7 square miles of natural land, will take place over the 
life of the permit. Even though actual growth and impact may vary, the 
mitigation program is designed to be self-regulating, even a major 
increase in growth could be accommodated by the proposed HCP program.
    The actual extent and location of Metropolitan Bakersfield growth 
cannot be exactly predicted, and the HCP must therefore rely on the 
ongoing preservation actions of the Trust. Permit compliance will be 
met by maintaining adequate enhancement levels. There are two tests 
that the Trust must meet: (1) 1 acre of enhancement for each acre of 
open land urbanized, or (2) 3 acres enhanced for each acre of natural 
land urbanized, whichever is greater. The accounting will be done 
quarterly and annually, but will reflect cumulative urbanization 
commencing at the beginning of the permit period. Management plans for 
habitat areas will require approval from the Service.
    The EA examines a range of alternatives pertaining to preserve 
strategy. The no-action alternative, meaning that the City and County 
would not obtain a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit, would leave much of the 
Metropolitan Bakersfield area in conflict with the Act and potentially 
subject to civil and criminal penalties. The Service could only enforce 
the Act on a case-by-case basis and significant impact on endangered 
species could still occur through piece meal reduction of habitat, 
cumulative indirect impact of growth, and lack of enhancement to offset 
past impacts. No action would lead to significant impairment of growth 
in Metropolitan Bakersfield, along with gradual, significant 
deterioration in the status of endangered species. Other alternatives 
examined include five other preserve strategies and mandatory 
relocation as additional mitigation.

    Dated: May 31, 1994.
Marvin L. Plenert,
Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-13757 Filed 6-6-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M