[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 111 (Monday, June 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39737-39739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14397]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Nye County Habitat Conservation Plan for Lands Conveyed at 
Lathrop Wells, NV

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability

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SUMMARY: Nye County, Nevada (Applicant) has applied to the Fish and 
Wildlife Service (Service) for an Incidental Take Permit pursuant to 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). The proposed permit would authorize take of the federally 
threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) incidental to otherwise 
lawful activities associated with the development of 100 acres

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(project site) near the community of Lathrop Wells, Nye County, Nevada.
    We request comments from the public on the permit application, 
which is available for review. The application includes a Low-Effect 
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), that fully describes the proposed 
project and the measures that the Applicant would undertake to minimize 
and mitigate anticipated take of the desert tortoise, as required in 
Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the Act.
    We also request comments on our preliminary determination that the 
HCP qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan, eligible for a categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. The basis for 
this determination is discussed in an Environmental Action Statement, 
which is also available for public review.

DATES: Written comments must be received no later than July 10, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Cynthia Martinez, 
Assistant Field Supervisor, Southern Nevada Field Office, 4701 North 
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130. Comments may also be sent 
by facsimile to (702) 515-5231.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Burroughs, Wildlife Biologist, 
at the address above, or by calling (702) 515-5230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Document Availability

    Please contact the above office if you would like copies of the 
application, Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), and Environmental Action 
Statement. Documents also will be available for review by appointment, 
during normal business hours at the above address.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulation prohibit the ``take'' 
of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened, 
respectively. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act 
to mean ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, 
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.'' 
However, the Service, under limited circumstances, may issue permits to 
authorize incidental take; i.e., take that is incidental to, and not 
the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity. 
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and 
endangered species are found at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. 
Among other criteria, issuance of such permits must not jeopardize the 
existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plants.
    The Applicant proposes to construct the Nevada Space Museum and 
associated facilities, the Science and Technology Center, and other 
commercial uses, on a total of 100 acres of land. In total, 823.22 
acres of land would be transferred from the Bureau of Land Management 
to Nye County pursuant to Public Laws 106-113 and 106-248, as amended, 
and the Recreation and Public Purposes Act of 1926, of which a total of 
100 acres would be permanently removed with the remaining acres to be 
managed for natural resource values and desert tortoise habitat. The 
project site is immediately north of the intersection of U.S. Highway 
95 and Nevada State Route 373 in southern Nye County, Nevada. The land 
to be conveyed is irregular in shape with the southern boundary 
delineated by the centerline of U.S. Highway 95 and existing private 
development. The western boundary is coincident with the western 
boundary of T. 15 S., R. 49 E., Section 13 and property lines of 
private parcels, and the eastern boundary is coincident with the 
eastern boundary of T. 15 S., R. 50 E., Section 18. The northern 
boundary is coincident with the northern boundary of Section 13, the 
northern boundary of the western half of Section 18, and the east-west 
centerline through the eastern half of Section 18. The project site is 
currently undeveloped, however, existing and ongoing disturbances 
dominate the site. Prevalent vegetation on the conveyed lands is 
creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and white bursage (Ambrosia dumosa).
    In 2000, biologists conducted surveys for desert tortoise on the 
conveyed lands and determined that the area consisted of poor desert 
tortoise habitat. No desert tortoises were observed during the survey, 
however one old desert tortoise burrow and a single scat were found. 
Based on these surveys, the Service concluded that the development of 
the project site would not result in direct take of the desert 
tortoise.
    The Applicant proposes to implement measures to minimize and 
mitigate for the removal of suitable desert tortoise habitat from the 
100-acre project site and impacts to desert tortoise that may occur in 
the area. Specifically, they propose to (1) implement desert tortoise 
awareness and education programs, including signs on the project site; 
(2) provide funding to purchase materials to revegetate off-site desert 
tortoise habitat; and (3) undertake various measures during and after 
development activities at the project site to minimize potential 
impacts to desert tortoise and its habitat.
    The Service's Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an 
incidental take permit and implementation of the HCP, which includes 
measures to minimize and mitigate impacts of the project on the desert 
tortoise. Two alternatives to the taking of desert tortoise under the 
Proposed Action are considered in the HCP. Under the No-Action 
alternative the project site would not be developed and the HCP would 
not be implemented. Without the HCP, the desert tortoise would not 
benefit from mitigation measures in the Proposed Action. Non-native 
plants would continue to invade the project site where disturbance 
currently exists, human disturbances of the area would likely continue, 
and no contribution to the preservation and management of high quality, 
off-site desert tortoise habitat would occur. The No-Action alternative 
would also economically impact Nye County.
    Under the Alternate Site Selection alternative, a different site 
would be used for commercial and community development. This 
alternative is considered infeasible because (1) the lands to be 
conveyed to Nye County have been identified through Public Law 106-113, 
as amended; (2) most other lands outside the conveyance area have not 
been identified by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for disposal; 
and (3) lands outside the conveyance area that have been identified for 
disposal by the BLM have equal or better quality desert tortoise 
habitat that would be impacted. Implementation of the Alternate Site 
Selection alternative would result in similar impacts as the proposed 
project site, and would not substantially benefit the desert tortoise.
    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the HCP 
qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by the Habitat 
Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). Our determination that 
a habitat conservation plan qualifies as a low-effect plan is based on 
the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of the plan would 
result in minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, 
and candidate species and their habitats; (2) implementation of the 
plan would result in minor or negligible effects on other environmental 
values or resources; and (3) impacts of the plan, considered together 
with the impacts of other past, present and reasonably foreseeable 
similarly situated projects would not result, over time, in cumulative 
effects to environmental values or resources which would be considered 
significant. As more fully explained in our Environmental Action 
Statement, the

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Applicant's proposal to construct the museum and technology center 
qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan for the following reasons:
    1. Approval of the HCP would result in minor or negligible effects 
on the desert tortoise and its habitat. The Service does not anticipate 
significant direct or cumulative effects to the desert tortoise 
resulting from development of the project site.
    2. Approval of the HCP would not have adverse effects on unique 
geographic, historic or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown 
environmental risks.
    3. Approval of the HCP would not result in any cumulative or growth 
inducing impacts and, therefore, would not result in significant 
adverse effects on public health or safety.
    4. The project does not require compliance with Executive Order 
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of 
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor does it 
threaten to violate any Federal, State, local or tribal laws.
    5. Approval of the HCP would not establish a precedent for future 
actions or represent a decision in principle about future actions with 
potentially significant environmental effects.
    The Service therefore has made a preliminary determination that 
approval of the HCP qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the 
National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of the 
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Based 
upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to prepare 
further National Environmental Policy Act documentation. The Service 
will consider public comments in making its final determination on 
whether to prepare such additional documentation.
    The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act. We will evaluate the permit application, the 
HCP, and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the 
application meets the requirements of section 10 (a) of the Act. If the 
requirements are met, the Service will issue a permit to Nye County. We 
will make the final permit decision no sooner than 30 days from the 
date of this notice.

    Dated: May 31, 2002.
D. Kenneth McDermond,
Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento, 
California.
[FR Doc. 02-14397 Filed 6-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P