[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21275-21277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08464]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2014-N060; FXES11120800000-145-FF08EVEN00]


Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Endangered Mount 
Hermon June Beetle, Bonny Doon, Santa Cruz County, California

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 Steven C. Sohl for a 5-year incidental take permit 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The 
application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the federally 
endangered Mount Hermon June beetle likely to occur incidental to the 
construction of a single-family residence, garage, and associated 
landscaping/infrastructure on an existing legal parcel in Bonny Doon, 
Santa Cruz County, California. We invite comments from the public on 
the application package includes the Sohl Low-Effect Habitat 
Conservation Plan for the Endangered Mount Hermon June Beetle.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
May 15, 2014.

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 Stephen P. Henry, Acting 
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: Chad Mitcham, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, by U.S. mail at the above address, or by telephone (805) 
644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from Steven 
C. Sohl for a 5-year incidental take permit under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended. The application addresses the 
potential for ``take'' of the federally endangered Mount Hermon June 
beetle (Polyphylla barbata) likely to occur incidental to the 
construction of a single-family residence, garage, and associated 
landscaping/infrastructure on an existing legal parcel in Bonny Doon, 
Santa Cruz County, California. The applicant would implement a 
conservation program to minimize and

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mitigate project activities that are likely to result in take of the 
Mount Hermon June beetle as described in the plan. We invite comments 
from the public on the application package, which includes the Sohl 
Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Endangered Mount Hermon 
June Beetle. This proposed action has been determined to be eligible 
for a Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, as amended.

Background

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed the Mount 
Hermon June beetle as endangered on January 24, 1997 (62 FR 3616). 
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations 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 at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. 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 Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) must not 
jeopardize the continued existence of federally listed animal or plant 
species.

Applicant's Proposal

    Steven C. Sohl (hereafter, the applicant) has submitted a Low-
Effect HCP in support of his application for an incidental take permit 
(ITP) to address take of Mount Hermon June beetle that is likely to 
occur as the result of direct impacts to up to 0.0625 acres (ac) (2,720 
square feet (sf)) of degraded sandhills habitat occupied by the 
species. Take would be associated with the construction of a single-
family residence on an existing parcel legally described as Assessor 
Parcel Number 063-061-28. This parcel lacks an assigned street address, 
but is located next to 1055 Martin Road in Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz 
County, California. The applicant is requesting a permit for take of 
Mount Hermon June beetle that would result from ``covered activities'' 
that are related to the construction of a single-family residence and 
associated landscaping/infrastructure.
    The applicant proposes to avoid, minimize, and mitigate take of 
Mount Hermon June beetle associated with the covered activities by 
fully implementing the HCP. The following measures will be implemented: 
(1) Siting of the residence in an area of the property where habitat is 
considered degraded and less suitable for the species; (2) avoiding 
construction during the flight season (considered to be between May and 
October, annually), if possible; (3) covering of exposed soils with 
erosion control fabric to prevent the Mount Hermon June beetles from 
burrowing into exposed soil at the construction site if soil disturbing 
activities must occur between May and October; (4) employment of a 
Service-approved entomologist to capture and relocate into suitable 
habitat out of harm's way any Mount Hermon June beetle larvae unearthed 
during construction activities; (5) outdoor night lighting that will 
use light bulbs certified not to attract nocturnally active insects, in 
order to minimize disruption of Mount Hermon June beetle breeding 
behavior during the adult flight season, and (6) secure off-site 
mitigation at a ratio of 1:1 to mitigate for temporary and permanent 
habitat impacts through the acquisition of 0.0625 ac (2,720 sf) of 
conservation credits in the Zayante Sandhills Conservation Bank. The 
applicant will fund up to $31,100 to ensure implementation of all 
minimization measures, monitoring, and reporting requirements 
identified in the HCP.
    In the proposed HCP, the applicant considers two alternatives to 
the proposed action: ``No Action'' and ``Project Design.'' Under the 
``No Action'' alternative, an ITP for the Sohl single-family residence 
would not be issued. The Sohl single-family residence would not be 
built, and the purchase of conservation credits would not be provided 
to effect recovery actions for Mount Hermon June beetle. Additionally, 
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 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, 
the No Action Alternative has been rejected. Under the ``Project 
Redesign'' alternative, the project would be redesigned to avoid or 
further reduce take of Mount Hermon June beetle. The proposed project 
has already been designed to minimize impacts to the species by 
locating the residence, garage, and associated landscaping/
infrastructure in degraded habitat and constructing the residence 
vertically (two stories) instead of horizontally. A redesigned project 
does not realize a reduction in take and is not practical. As such, the 
``Project Redesign'' alternative has also been rejected.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We are requesting comments on our preliminary determination that 
the applicant's proposal will have a minor or negligible effect on the 
Mount Hermon June beetle 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 
National Environmental Policy Act (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

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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 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), NEPA's 
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 Mount 
Hermon June beetle 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 Mount Hermon June beetle. 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: April 8, 2014.
Stephen P. Henry,
Acting Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2014-08464 Filed 4-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P