[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 205 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55269-55270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28085]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement in Anticipation 
of Receiving a Permit Application to Incidentally Take Threatened and 
Endangered Species in Association With the Kern County Valley Floor 
Habitat Conservation Plan for Kern County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service; Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
and to hold a public scoping meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service has under consideration for 
approval the draft Kern County Valley Floor Habitat Conservation Plan 
(Plan) submitted by Kern County, California. This 30-year Plan, 
developed by Kern County and six other participating agencies, is 
expected to 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. In addition, it is expected the 
applicants will request implementing agreements. It is anticipated that 
the implementing agreements will include provisions for species that 
may be listed in the future. In response to the proposed Plan, the 
Service intends to prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. The Plan 
covers about 3,110 square miles of land with major uses including 
natural open space, oil and gas production, farming, ranching, 
agricultural water conveyance and storage, urban development and other 
activities. The Plan addresses various sensitive plant and animal 
species and their habitats. The Plan creates a framework for the 
issuance of permits and other authorizations under the Federal and 
California Endangered Species Acts.
    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 
Environmental Impact Statement/Report, solicits written comments, and 
identifies the Service official to whom questions and comments 
concerning the proposed action and the joint Environmental Impact 
Statement/Report may be directed.

DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m. on November 
4, 1997, at the Kern County Public Services Building, 2700 M Street, 
First Floor Conference Room, Bakersfield, California. Oral comments 
will be received during the scoping meeting. Written comments are 
encouraged and should be received on or before November 21, 1997, at 
the address below.

ADDRESSES: Information, comments, or questions related to preparation 
of the joint Environmental Impact Statement/Report and the National 
Environmental Policy Act process should be submitted to Mr. Steve 
Strait, Kern County Planning Department, 2700 M Street, Suite 100, 
Bakersfield, California 93301, telephone (805) 862-8600. Written 
comments also may be sent by facsimile to telephone (805) 862-8601.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Peter Cross, Sacramento Fish and 
Wildlife Office, 3310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 130, Sacramento, 
California 95821, telephone (916) 979-2725. Documents also will be 
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business 
hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) at the above 
noted Kern County Planning Department office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Plan area, generally described as the San Joaquin Valley floor, 
is bounded by Kern County and San Luis Obispo County boundaries to the 
west, Kings and Tulare counties to the north, and the 2,000-foot 
elevation contour to the east and south. The Plan generally does not 
address Metropolitan Bakersfield with the exception of oil and 
agricultural activities, or several smaller areas that are covered 
under separate conservation planning efforts.
    The Plan addresses 32 species, including 18 animals and 14 plants 
identified as species of concern. Of the wildlife species, five receive 
particular attention due to their distribution within the Plan area. 
They are: the blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia silas), San Joaquin 
antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus nelsoni), Tipton kangaroo rat 
(Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), giant kangaroo rat

[[Page 55270]]

(Dipodomys ingens), and San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica); 
all of these, with the exception of the squirrel, are listed as 
endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The plant species 
of concern are generally concentrated in a limited number of locations 
such as existing refuges and reserves, the southeastern portion near 
Wheeler Ridge, and several locations in the lower foothills in the 
eastern portion of the Plan area. The Plan provides long-term 
protection of identified species while allowing for the economic growth 
of the county. The Plan has seven major components: (1) Habitat zones; 
(2) compensation framework; (3) direct fee payment option; (4) take-
avoidance measures; (5) safety nets; (6) industry/agency conservation 
strategies; and (7) direct negotiation option.
    The Plan area is divided into three ``Habitat Zones'' with lands 
categorized based on habitat value with a corresponding conservation 
priority. The Red Zones are areas of highest quality habitat for 
species of concern, especially for Federal and State listed threatened 
and endangered wildlife species. A number of rare plant occurrences 
also are found in these zones. The Green Zones provide the second 
highest habitat quality and generally include areas around the western, 
southern, and eastern edges of the Plan. White Zones comprise about 55 
percent of the total Plan area, including 121,219 acres of natural, 
less valuable habitat, and occur throughout the central and eastern 
portions of the Plan area. The habitat zones serve as the basis for the 
Compensation Framework.
    The Compensation Framework encourages conservation of high-quality 
habitat and creates a system of conservation credits based on habitat 
quality. This component of the Plan is a pay-as-you-go mitigation 
approach. Compensation will be provided in specified ratios to address 
the actual take of species habitat. However, up-front compensation is 
specified for the oil and agricultural conservation strategies.
    Direct Fee Payment is an option provided to project proponents 
involving payment of fee based on conservation credits.
    Take-avoidance Measures are included in the Plan to reduce the 
likelihood and magnitude of direct loss of the five wildlife species 
noted above.
    Safety Nets are part of the Rare Plant Conservation Strategy 
designed to protect specific plant species with localized and 
restricted distributions.
    Industry/Agency Conservation Strategies address the potential for 
incidental take of species of concern that may occur with certain 
activities associated with major land uses in the Plan area (e.g., oil 
and gas, agriculture, water conveyance systems, ranching, and urban 
development).
    The Direct Negotiation Option allows a project proponent to address 
the issue of Federal and California Endangered Species Act compliance 
with the Service and California Department of Fish and Game, 
respectively, independently of other Plan provisions.
    The joint Environmental Impact Statement/Report will consider the 
proposed action (issuance of a Section 10(a) Endangered Species Act 
permit for the Plan) and a reasonable range of alternatives derived 
from conservation and compensation approaches considered during 
formulation of the Plan:
    Alternative 1--No Action. This alternative assumes compliance with 
the Federal and California Endangered Species Acts on a project-by-
project basis.
    Alternative 2--Initial Compensation. This alternative would 
establish compensation and take-avoidance formulas applicable to all 
permitted activities allowed in each of the three habitat zones. 
Development projects in each zone would be required to provide 
compensation, and in some cases identify and secure options to purchase 
suitable habitat land for which conservation credits would be received. 
The supplementary credits could be banked and sold to other developers 
needing habitat conservation credits.
    Alternative 3--Protect and Release. This alternative incorporates a 
release ratio limit of one acre of development for every nine acres of 
permanently protected land in the Red Zones only. It also requires a 
compensation ratio unique to each of the three zones for habitat 
disturbance.
    Alternative 4--Habitat Transaction Method. This alternative would 
assign a relative conservation credit value per acre within each 
habitat zone. A compensation ratio of not more than 3:1, based on 
conservation credits, would be used to determine compensatory 
requirements. Credits would be generated by the permanent preservation 
of habitat, restoration, granting of conservation easements, and other 
measures. The value of the credits and the amount of required 
compensation would be based on the conservation value of the land 
preserved and developed, respectively.
    Environmental review of the Plan will be conducted in accordance 
with the requirements of National Environmental Policy Act, as amended 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.), National Environmental Policy Act 
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 
National Environmental Policy Act to obtain suggestions and information 
from other agencies and the public on the scope of issues to be 
addressed in the joint Environmental Impact Statement/Report.
    Comments and participation in the scoping process are solicited. 
The primary purpose of the scoping process is to identify rather than 
debate any 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 Environmental Impact Statement/Report. The 
proposed agenda for this facilitated meeting includes a summary of the 
proposed action; status of the 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 Environmental Impact Statement/
Report.

    Dated: October 15, 1997.
Don Weathers,
Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 97-28085 Filed 10-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P