[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 43 (Monday, March 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12246-12248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5380]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Endangered and Threatened Species Permit Application

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent and meeting.

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    Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement in Anticipation of 
Receiving a Permit Application to Incidentally Take Threatened and 
Endangered Species in Association with a Multiple Species Conservation 
Plan for Southwestern San Diego County, California.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has under 
consideration for approval the draft Multiple Species Conservation 
Program (MSCP) plan submitted by the City of San Diego, California. 
This long-term plan, prepared by the City of San Diego and 11 other 
participating jurisdictions, will accompany a future application to the 
Service for a permit under section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act 
that would authorize incidental take of listed species. Additionally, 
the applicants will request pre-listing agreements for species which 
may be listed in the future. In response to the plan, the Service 
intends to prepare a joint programmatic and project-level Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California 
[[Page 12247]] Environmental Quality Act. The MSCP plan covers an 
approximately 900-square-mile area of rapid growth in southwestern San 
Diego County. The plan addresses numerous sensitive plant and animal 
species and their habitats. The MSCP creates a process for the issuance 
of permits and other authorizations under the Federal ESA, California 
ESA, and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act. 
This notice describes the proposed action and possible alternatives, 
notifies the public of a scoping meeting, invites public participation 
in the scoping process for preparing the joint EIS/EIR, solicits 
written comments, and identifies the Service official to whom questions 
and comments concerning the proposed action and the joint EIS/EIR may 
be directed.

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on 
March 15, 1995, at the Scottish Rite Center, 1895 Camino del Rio South, 
San Diego, California 92108. Oral comments will be received during the 
scoping meeting. Written comments are encouraged and should be received 
on or before April 5, 1995, at the address below.

ADDRESSES: Information, comments, or questions related to preparation 
of the joint EIS/EIR and the NEPA process should be submitted to Mr. 
Gail Kobetich, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 
Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California 92008. Written comments also 
may be sent by facsimile to telephone (619) 431-9618.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nancy Gilbert, Supervisory Fish 
and Wildlife Biologist, at the above Carlsbad address, telephone (619) 
431-9440. Persons wishing to obtain background material should contact 
the City of San Diego, Development Services Division, Environmental 
Analysis Section, 1222 First Avenue, 5th Floor, San Diego, California 
92101, telephone (619) 236-6268. Documents also will be available for 
public inspection by appointment during normal business hours (8 a.m. 
to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday) at the above San Diego office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The MSCP study area occupies portions of the unincorporated County 
of San Diego and 10 additional city jurisdictions. The southern 
boundary of the MSCP study area is the international border with 
Mexico. National forest lands form much of the eastern boundary, the 
Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the northern boundary is the San 
Dieguito River Valley. Conservation planning to the north of the MSCP 
study area is being conducted by the San Diego Association of 
Governments, and a coalition of 8 north county cities and San Diego 
County. San Diego County is responsible for conservation planning in 
the eastern portion of the county.
    The diversity of topography, soils, and climate in the study area 
combine to influence vegetative associations, which in turn support a 
high diversity of plant and animal species. Topographic features in the 
study area include broad flat valleys, deep canyons, perennially 
flowing rivers and intermittent creeks, moderately sloped terrain and 
steep hillsides, rolling foothills and nearly level mesas, coastal 
bluffs, and a series of coastal bays, inlets, and lagoons. Elevations 
range from mean sea level (msl) along the coast to approximately 3,738 
feet above msl.
    The objectives of the MSCP are to:
    1. Develop a program for the maintenance of biological diversity 
and the conservation/protection of self-sustaining viable populations 
of federally-listed endangered, threatened, and key candidate species 
and their habitats.
    2. Define a Multi-Habitat Planning Area (MHPA) within which 
preserve planning is focused or within which a preserve is defined, and 
implement a preserve system which conserves viable habitat and provides 
for wildlife use and movement.
    3. Reduce the human-related causes of species' extirpation within 
the MSCP study area.
    4. Establish a partnership among State, Federal, and local agencies 
of government to facilitate mitigation and approval of public and 
private sector land development and construction projects by expediting 
acquisition of Federal and State permits. This action would provide a 
long-term economic benefit.
    The biological goal for the preserve design is preservation of as 
much of the core biological resource areas and linkages as possible. 
The economic goal is for the ultimate preserve to be affordable and for 
the costs to be shared equitably among the participants.
    The plan proposes a new process for wildlife and habitat 
conservation, and for implementation of the Federal and State of 
California ESAs, which relies on existing local agency land use review 
and approval authority. The new process places conservation 
responsibilities on local jurisdictions, based on their ability to 
implement a segment of the MSCP for their jurisdiction. In exchange for 
these coordinated conservation plans, local jurisdictions will receive 
from the Service permits for the taking of federally-listed species and 
will enter into pre-listing agreements for protection of other species 
of concern. A list of covered animal and plant species is incorporated 
in the MSCP Plan, including species that are federally or state-listed, 
proposed for listing, and candidates for listing.
    The lands identified for open space and habitat preservation are 
located within the MHPA. The MHPA was cooperatively designed by the 12 
participating jurisdictions in the MSCP study area, in consultation 
with the Service and California Department of Fish and Game, major 
property owners and environmental groups, based on biological, 
ownership, and land use criteria. Planning staff of the 5 jurisdictions 
that have the largest amounts of remaining habitat in the MSCP study 
area (County of San Diego and cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Poway, 
and Santee) spent several months developing ``soft lines'' delineating 
areas within which specified percentages of land would be preserved and 
``hard lines'' delineating 100% preservation areas. The other local 
jurisdictions within the MSCP study area were asked to comment on a 
preserve design based solely on public ownership and general plan open-
space designations. The resulting MHPA covers 164,326 acres of habitat.
    The habitat conservation described by the MHPA is approximate. The 
MHPA may be modified during the course of subsequent land use and 
project planning, as long as the changes are consistent with MSCP 
objectives. Preserve boundaries, approved through either the MSCP plan 
or subsequent land use plans, may be adjusted without the need to amend 
the MSCP plan, or applicable land use plans, when the new preserve 
boundary results in a preserve area that is equivalent in biological 
value to the original configuration or is of greater biological value.
    Although the City of San Diego will prepare the draft EIS, the 
Service will be responsible for its content and scope. In addition, the 
City of San Diego will act as the lead agency for the preparation of 
the EIR.
    Project level environmental documentation will be included in the 
joint EIS/EIR for amendments to a variety of planning documents for the 
cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Santee. The proposed amendments 
would incorporate the preserve boundaries of the MSCP plan into adopted 
land use plans. Actions [[Page 12248]] proposed by these 3 cities that 
will be addressed in the joint EIS/EIR include, but are not limited to, 
amendments to progress guides and general plans, local coastal 
programs, community plans, precise plans, and zoning ordinances.
    The joint EIS/EIR will consider the proposed action (issuance of a 
section 10(a) ESA permit for the MSCP plan), and a reasonable range of 
alternatives derived from scenarios considered during development of 
the MSCP plan:
    Alternative 1: Coastal Sage Scrub Scenario. This alternative would 
focus on preservation of the highest quality coastal sage scrub in the 
planning area with less emphasis on preserving other habitat types.
    Alternative 2: Biologically Preferred/Core and Linkage Area 
Scenario. This alternative would attempt to preserve those lands with 
the highest conservation value in the planning area, including multiple 
habitats and habitat linkages. This alternative is based heavily on 
biological criteria rather than other land use issues that determine 
the feasibility of preservation.
    Alternative 3: Public Lands Scenario. This alternative relies more 
heavily than the proposed plan on public lands and open space 
associated with existing or proposed development.
    Alternative 4: No Project (No Preserve) Scenario. This alternative 
assumes that conservation practices throughout the study area would 
occur on a project-by-project basis as occurs under existing 
conditions. Under the no project alternative, a regional preserve would 
not be established at this time within the MSCP study area.
    Environmental review of the MSCP will be conducted in accordance 
with the requirements of the 1969 NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other appropriate 
regulations, and Service procedures for compliance with those 
regulations. This notice is being furnished in accordance with section 
1501.7 of the NEPA to obtain suggestions and information from other 
agencies and the public on the scope of issues to be addressed in the 
joint EIS/EIR.
    Comments and participation in the scoping process are solicited. 
The primary purpose of the scoping process is to identify rather than 
to debate the significant issues related to the proposed action. 
Interested persons are encouraged to attend the public scoping meeting 
to identify and discuss issues and alternatives that should be 
addressed in the joint EIS/EIR. The proposed agenda for this 
facilitated meeting includes a summary of the proposed action; status 
of and threats to subject species; and tentative issues, concerns, 
opportunities, and alternatives. Additional public meetings will be 
conducted on later dates to provide more opportunities to comment on 
the draft EIS/EIR.

    Dated: February 28, 1995.
Thomas J. Dwyer,
Deputy Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 95-5380 Filed 3-3-95; 8:45 am]
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