[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 60 (Thursday, March 27, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16319-16321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6234]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N0052; 1112-0000-81440-F2]


Receipt of Applications for Five Incidental Take Permits for the 
Construction of 24 Single-Family Homes and an Addition to an Existing 
Single-Family Home in Santa Cruz County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of five Incidental Take Permit (ITP) Applications and 
Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) from the following five applicants: 
Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, James and Melinda Carter, 
Ronald Sunde, and College Heights Development Corp. Hochler 
Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, and James and Melinda Carter each 
request an ITP for a duration of 5 years; Ronald Sunde requests an ITP 
for a duration of 3 years; and College Heights Development Corp. 
requests an ITP for a duration of 6 years under section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicants 
collectively anticipate removing a total of approximately 7.23 acres of 
Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) occupied habitat 
incidental to constructing 24 single-family homes and an addition to an 
existing single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California 
(Projects). The applicants' HCPs describe the mitigation and 
minimization measures the applicants propose to address the effects of 
the Projects on the Mount Hermon June beetle. In addition, the College 
Heights Development Corp. HCP includes the federally endangered Ben 
Lomond wallflower (Erysimum teretifolium) and Ben Lomond spineflower 
(Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana) as covered species, and their 
HCP describes mitigation and minimization measures for those species as 
well.
    We are requesting comments on the permit application and on our 
preliminary determination that the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan 
(HCP) qualifies as a ``low effect'' HCP, eligible for a categorical 
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 
as amended. We explain the basis for this possible determination in 
draft Environmental Action Statements (EAS) and associated Low Effect 
Screening Forms. The Applicants' Low Effect HCPs describe the 
mitigation and minimization measures they would implement, as required 
in Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the Act, to address the effects of the 
project on the Mount Hermon June beetle. These measures are outlined in 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The draft HCPs and EASs 
are available for public review.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before April 28, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Please address written comments to Diane Noda, Field 
Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. You may 
also send comments by facsimile to (805) 644-3958. To obtain copies of 
draft

[[Page 16320]]

documents, see ``Availability of Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jen Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, (see 
ADDRESSES) telephone: (805) 644-1766 extension 224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

    You may obtain copies of the applications and HCPs by contacting 
the HCP Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents 
will also be available for review by appointment, during normal 
business hours, at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office (see 
ADDRESSES), or via the Internet at: http://www.fws.gov/ventura.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations 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 
cover 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 Projects are located on soils known as ``Zayante sands.'' These 
soils support the Zayante sandhills ecosystem that occurs exclusively 
in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the city of Scotts Valley and the 
communities of Ben Lomond, Mount Hermon, Felton, Olympia, Corralitos, 
and Bonny Doon. The Mount Hermon June beetle is restricted to Zayante 
sands soils in the Scotts Valley-Mount Hermon-Felton-Ben Lomond area 
and is found in association with vegetation of the Zayante sandhills, 
which is characterized by a mosaic of ponderosa pines (Pinus 
ponderosa), silverleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola), and areas 
that are sparsely vegetated with grasses and herbs.
    The five (5) applicants are requesting to remove approximately 7.23 
acres of combined Mount Hermon June beetle habitat incidental to the 
construction of 24 single-family homes and an addition to an existing 
single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California. Residential 
construction of one single-family home for Ronald Sunde would occur 
within parcel 066-201-13 in Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz County, 
California. Residential construction of four single-family homes for 
Scotts Valley LLC would occur within parcel 021-031-13 in Scotts 
Valley, Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of an 
addition to an existing single-family residence for James and Melinda 
Carter would occur within parcel 067-533-04 near the city of Scotts 
Valley in Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of 
four single-family homes for Hochler Construction would occur within 
parcels 067-041-14 and 067-581-07 near the city of Scotts Valley in 
Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of 13 single-
family homes for College Heights Development Corp. would occur within 
parcel 022-631-22 in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, California.
    The parcels combined encompass about 21.61 acres, and the footprint 
of the homes, infrastructure, and landscaping would eliminate 7.23 
acres of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat. To mitigate for incidental 
take on the project sites, Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, 
James and Melinda Carter, and Ronald Sunde propose to purchase a total 
of 3.08 conservation credits for the Mount Hermon June beetle at the 
recently approved Ben Lomond Sandhills Preserve of the Zayante 
Sandhills Conservation Bank operated by PCO, LLC. College Heights 
Development Corp. will establish a permanent conservation easement on 
14.0 acres of prime sandhills habitat within the parcel (Preserve). 
Once the easement is established, they will conduct the following 
activities within the Preserve: monitor the Mount Hermon June beetle, 
Ben Lomond wallflower, and Ben Lomond spineflower in perpetuity, remove 
garbage and debris, remove and control exotic plants, construct 
permanent fencing to protect the preserve, maintain indigenous sandhill 
plants, restore native plant communities where temporary impacts occur 
during construction, and establish an irrevocable assessment against 
the residential lots to cover anticipated expenses associated with the 
monitoring and management of the Preserve. In addition, College Heights 
Development Corp. will implement a number of minimization and 
mitigation measures including the following: control dust during 
grading; use of non-insect attracting light bulbs in street lights and 
exterior light fixtures on the new residences; erect construction 
fencing during grading and construction; collect seed from the Ben 
Lomond spineflower plants growing within the impact area; and implement 
a fuel management plan to minimize the chance of catastrophic fire 
events.
    We have made a preliminary determination that the HCPs qualify as 
``low-effect'' plans as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning 
Handbook (November 1996). Our determination that an HCP qualifies as a 
low-effect plan is based on the following 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, the cumulative effects to the environmental values or 
resources that would be considered significant. As more fully explained 
in our EASs and associated Low Effect Screening Forms, the Applicants' 
proposals for residential construction qualify as ``low effect'' plans 
for the following reasons:
    (1) Approval of the HCPs would result in minor or negligible 
effects on the Mount Hermon June beetle and its habitat. The Service 
does not anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the 
Mount Hermon June beetle resulting from the proposed projects.
    (2) Approval of the HCPs would not have adverse effects on unique 
geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown 
environmental risks.
    (3) Approval of the HCPs would not result in any cumulative or 
growth-inducing impacts and would not result in significant adverse 
effects on public health or safety.
    (4) The projects do not require compliance with Executive Order 
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of 
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor do they 
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local or tribal law or 
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
    (5) Approval of the HCPs 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 
approvals of the HCPs qualify as categorical exclusions under the

[[Page 16321]]

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.
    We will evaluate the permit applications, HCPs, and comments 
submitted thereon to determine whether the applications meet the 
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If 
we determine that the applications meet those requirements, we will 
issue the ITPs for incidental take of the Mount Hermon June beetle. We 
will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs 
complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service 
section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, 
in combination with the above findings, in the final analysis to 
determine whether or not to issue the ITPs.

Public Review and Comment

    If you wish to comment on the permit applications, draft 
Environmental Action Statements or the proposed HCPs, you may submit 
your comments to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
document. Our practice is to make comments, including names, home 
addresses, etc., of respondents available for public review. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their names and/or home 
addresses, etc., but if you wish us to consider withholding this 
information you must state this prominently at the beginning of your 
comments. In addition, you must provide a rationale demonstrating and 
documenting that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted 
invasion of privacy. In the absence of exceptional, documented 
circumstances, this information will be released. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety.
    The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the 
Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: March 20, 2008.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. E8-6234 Filed 3-26-08; 8:45 am]
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