[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12346-12347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04046]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2013-N029; 1112-0000-81440-F2]


Jennings Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro 
Shoulderband Snail, Community of Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, CA

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application from Andrew A. Jennings for a 10-year incidental take 
permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The 
application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the federally 
endangered Morro shoulderband snail (= banded dune snail; 
Helminthoglypta walkeriana) that is likely to occur incidental to the 
construction, maintenance, and occupation of a single-family residence 
on an existing legal single-family-zoned parcel in the unincorporated 
community of Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California. The 
applicants would implement a conservation program to minimize and 
mitigate project activities that are likely to result in take of the 
Morro shoulderband snail as described in their plan. We invite comments 
from the public on the application package that includes the Jennings 
Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail. 
This proposed action has been determined to be eligible for a 
Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA).

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
March 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy of the Habitat Conservation Plan, 
draft Environmental Action Statement and Low-Effect Screening Form, and 
related documents on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/, or 
you may request copies of the documents by U.S. mail or phone (see 
below). Please address written comments to Diane K. Noda, Field 
Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. You may 
alternatively send comments by facsimile to (805) 644-3958.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie M. Vanderwier, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, at the above address or by calling (805) 644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed the Morro 
shoulderband snail as endangered on December 15, 1994 (59 FR 64613). 
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) and 
its implementing regulations (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) prohibit the take 
of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened. 
``Take'' is defined under the Act to include the following activities: 
``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or 
collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 
1532); however, under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue 
permits to authorize incidental take of listed species. The Act defines 
``Incidental Take as take that is not the purpose of carrying out of an 
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take 
permits for threatened and endangered species are provided in at 50 CFR 
17.32 and 17.22. Issuance of an incidental take permit must not 
jeopardize the existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant 
species.
    Take of listed plants is not prohibited under the Act unless such 
take would violate State law. As such, take of plants cannot be 
authorized under an incidental take permit. Plant species may be 
included on a permit in recognition of the conservation benefits 
provided them under a habitat conservation plan. All species, including 
plants, covered by the incidental take permit receive assurances under 
our ``No Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(55) and 17.32(b)(5)). 
In addition to meeting other specific criteria, actions undertaken 
through implementation of the HCP must not jeopardize the continued 
existence of federally listed animal or plant species.
    Andrew A. Jennings (hereafter, the applicant) has submitted a Low-
Effect Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in support of his application 
for an incidental take permit (ITP) to address take of Morro 
shoulderband snail that is likely to occur as the result of direct 
impacts to up to 0.23 acre (10,224 square feet) of highly disturbed 
coastal dune scrub and veldt grass (Ehrharta calycina)-dominated non-
native grassland occupied by the species. Take would be associated with 
the construction, maintenance, and occupation of a single-family 
residence on an existing parcel legally described as Assessor Parcel 
Number 074-052-028 and located at 460 Los Osos Valley Road in western 
portion of Los Osos, an unincorporated community of San Luis Obispo 
County, California. The applicant is requesting a permit for take of 
Morro shoulderband snail that would result from ``Covered Activities'' 
that include the construction, maintenance, and occupation of a single-
family residence and associated landscaping/infrastructure.
    The applicant proposes to minimize and mitigate take of Morro 
shoulderband snail associated with the covered activities by fully 
implementing the HCP. The following measures will be implemented to 
minimize the effects of the taking: (1) Pre-construction and concurrent 
construction monitoring surveys for Morro shoulderband snail will be 
conducted, (2) all identified individuals of any life stage of Morro 
shoulderband snail will be captured and moved out of harm's way to a 
Service-approved receptor site by an individual in possession of a 
current valid recovery permit for the species, and (3) development and 
presentation of a contractor and employee training program for Morro 
shoulderband snail. To mitigate for unavoidable take, the applicants 
will contribute $5,114 to an Impact-Directed Environmental Account held 
and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. These 
funds will be used to implement recovery tasks identified in the 
Recovery Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail and Four Plants from 
Western San Luis Obispo County, California (USFWS 1998). The applicants 
will fund up to $6,700, as needed, to ensure implementation of all 
minimization measures and reporting requirements identified in the HCP.
    In the proposed HCP, the applicants consider two alternatives to 
the proposed action: ``No Action'' and ``Project Design.'' Under the 
``No Action'' alternative, an ITP for the Jennings single-family 
residence would not be issued. The Jennings single-family residence 
would not be built and a contribution of in-lieu fees would not be 
provided to effect recovery actions for Morro shoulderband snail. Since 
the property is privately owned, there are ongoing economic 
considerations associated with continued ownership without use, which 
include payment of associated taxes. The sale of this

[[Page 12347]]

property for purposes other than the identified activity is not 
considered economically feasible. Because of economic considerations 
and because the proposed action results in a net benefit for the 
covered species, Morro shoulderband snail, the No Action Alternative 
has been rejected. Under the ``Project Redesign'' alternative, the 
project would be redesigned to avoid or further reduce take of Morro 
shoulderband snail. The onsite habitats occupied by Morro shoulderband 
snail are highly degraded in nature and the parcel is not of sufficient 
size to accommodate a redesign that would substantially improve the 
conservation benefit to the species beyond what would be achieved in 
the proposed project. For these reasons, the alternate design 
alternative has also been rejected.
    We are requesting comments on our preliminary determination that 
the applicant's proposal will have a minor or negligible effect on the 
Morro shoulderband snail and that the plan qualifies as a low-effect 
HCP as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (November 
1996). We base our determinations on three criteria: (1) Implementation 
of the proposed project as described in the HCP would result in minor 
or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and/or candidate 
species and their habitats; (2) implementation of the HCP would result 
in minor negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; 
and (3) HCP impacts, considered together with those of other past, 
present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, would not result 
in cumulatively significant effects. In our analysis of these criteria, 
we have made a preliminary determination that the approval of the HCP 
and issuance of an ITP qualify for categorical exclusion under the NEPA 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by the Department of Interior 
Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 2 and 516 DM 8); however, based upon our 
review of public comments that we receive in response to this notice, 
this preliminary determination may be revised.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the permit application, including the plan and 
comments, we receive, to determine whether the application meets the 
requirements of Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will also evaluate 
whether issuance of the ITP would comply with Section 7(a)(2) of the 
Act by conducting an intra-Service Section 7 consultation.

Public Review

    We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Act and the NEPA 
public involvement regulations (40 CFR 1500.1(b), 1500.2(d), and 
1506.6). We are requesting comments on our determination that the 
applicants' proposal will have a minor or neglible effect on the Morro 
shoulderband snail and that the plan qualifies as a low-effect HCP as 
defined by our 1996 Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook. We will 
evaluate the permit application, including the plan and comments, we 
receive, to determine whether the application meets the requirements of 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will use the results of our internal 
Service consultation, in combination with the above findings, in our 
final analysis to determine whether to issue the permits. If the 
requirements are met, we will issue an ITP to the applicant for the 
incidental take of Morro shoulderband snail. We will make the final 
permit decision no sooner than 30 days after the date of this notice.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the permit applications, plans, and 
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods 
in ADDRESSES.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment including your personal identifying 
information-may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able 
to do so.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: February 14, 2013.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2013-04046 Filed 2-21-13; 8:45 am]
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