[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 121 (Thursday, June 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40917-40918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14853]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2016-N079; FXES11120800000-156-FF08EVEN00]


Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband 
Snail; Mammen Parcel, Community of Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, 
California

AGENCY: 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 (Service), have 
received an application from Renee and Kurt Mammen for a 10-year 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
as amended. The application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the 
federally endangered Morro shoulderband snail likely to result 
incidental to the construction and maintenance of a single-family 
residence on an existing legal parcel, associated infrastructure, and 
use of an existing access road in the unincorporated community of Los 
Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California. We invite comments from the 
public on the application package, which includes a draft low-effect 
habitat conservation plan (HCP) and draft low-effect screening form and 
environmental action statement, which constitutes our proposed National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
July 25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy of the draft HCP and draft low-
effect screening form and environmental action statement on the 
internet at http://www.fws.gov/ventura/, or you may request copies of 
the documents by U.S. mail to our Ventura office, or by phone (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Please address written comments to 
Stephen P. Henry, 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, Senior Fish and 
Wildlife Biologist, at the Ventura office address or by phone at (805) 
644-1766.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 
Endangered Species Act (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application 
addresses take of the federally endangered Morro shoulderband snail 
(Helminthoglypta walkeriana) likely to occur incidental to the 
construction and maintenance of a single-family residence and 
associated infrastructure and use of an existing access road. The 
requested permit term is 10 years and the permit would be subject to 
renewal. We invite comments from the public on the application package. 
Issuance of an ITP pursuant to this HCP has been determined to be 
eligible for a categorical exclusion under NEPA.

Background

    The Morro shoulderband snail was listed as endangered on December 
15, 1994 (59 FR 64613). Section 9 of the 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. Under the Act, 
``take'' is defined 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). Under 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, we may issue permits to authorize take 
of listed species if it is incidental to other lawful activities and 
not the purpose of carrying out that activity. The Code of Federal 
Regulations provides those regulations governing incidental take 
permits for threatened and endangered species at 50 CFR 17.32 and 
17.22. Issuance of an incidental take permit must not jeopardize the 
existence of any federally listed fish, wildlife or plant species.

The Applicant's Proposed Project

    The project involves the construction and maintenance of a single-
family residence and associated infrastructure along with use of an 
existing access road to a legal parcel in the Bayview Heights 
subdivision of Los Osos, County of San Luis Obispo, California. The HCP 
provides the support necessary for the Service to issue an incidental 
take permit (ITP) that would authorize take, in this instance, of the 
Morro shoulderband snail (Helminthoglypta walkeriana). The County of 
San Luis Obispo requires demonstration that the property owner is in 
compliance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) as 
part of their permitting requirements.
    The draft HCP contains two alternatives to the proposed action: 
``No Action'' and ``Project Redesign.'' Under the ``No Action'' 
alternative, an ITP for the Mammen single-family residence would not be 
issued. The Mammen single-family residence could not legally be built 
and the mitigation fee would not be available to contribute to recovery 
actions for Morro shoulderband snail. Since the property is privately 
owned, there are ongoing economic considerations (e.g., payment of 
property taxes) associated with continued ownership of a property and 
its intended use. The sale of the property for purposes (e.g., as a 
conservation easement) other than the identified activity is not 
economically feasible. For these reasons, the ``No Action'' alternative 
has been rejected.

[[Page 40918]]

    The ``Project Redesign'' alternative would involve design of a 
project that would reduce or avoid altogether take of Morro 
shoulderband snail. This alternative was not selected, due to the 
parcel's small size and marginal value to the long-term conservation of 
the Morro shoulderband snail of habitat on site. A reduction or 
redesign of the project footprint would not meet the applicants' needs 
and would not significantly reduce the effects of the taking of Morro 
shoulderband snail such that there would be a greater benefit to 
species survival and recovery. For these reasons, the ``Project 
Redesign'' alternative has also been rejected.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We have determined that the applicants' proposal will have a minor 
or negligible effect on the Morro shoulderband snail and that the HCP 
qualifies for processing as a low-effect plan consistent with our 
Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). Three criteria 
form the basis for our determination: (1) 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. It is our preliminary determination 
that HCP approval and ITP issuance qualify for categorical exclusion 
under the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by the Department 
of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215). 
However, we may revise our determination based upon review of public 
comments received in response to this notice.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the permit application, including the draft HCP 
and comments we receive, to determine whether it 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 7of the Act by conducting 
an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7(a)(2).

Public Review

    We request comments from the public regarding our preliminary 
determination that the applicant's proposal will have a minor or 
negligible effect on the Morro shoulderband snail and that the HCP 
qualifies for processing as a low-effect. We will evaluate comments 
received and make a final determination regarding whether the 
application meets the requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. 
We will incorporate the results of our intra-Service consultation, in 
combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to determine 
whether to issue the ITP. If all of our requirements are met, we will 
issue the ITP to the applicant. Permit issuance would not occur less 
than 30 days after the date of this notice.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the permit application, HCP, and 
associated documents, you may submit comments by any one of the methods 
provided 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(c) of the Act and the NEPA 
public involvement regulations (40 CFR 1500.1(b), 1500.2(d), and 
1506.6).

    Dated: June 15, 2016.
Stephen P. Henry,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2016-14853 Filed 6-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-55-P