[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45134-45136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19187]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2018-N059; FXES1114080000-189-FF08ECAR00]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Coachella Valley 
Association of Governments Incidental Take Permit Application for 
Casey's June Beetle and Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan; 
City of Palm Springs, Riverside County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have 
received an application from the Coachella Valley Association of 
Governments (applicant) for a 30-year incidental take permit (permit) 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The 
application addresses the potential for ``take'' of the federally 
endangered Casey's June beetle that is likely to occur incidental to 
the construction, maintenance, and use of a portion of the CV Link, 
which is a multi-modal pathway to be built in the City of Palm Springs, 
Riverside County, California. We invite comments from the public on the 
application package, which includes a low-effect habitat conservation 
plan.

DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by 
October 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: 
    Document availability: You may download a copy of the habitat 
conservation plan, draft environmental action statement and low-effect 
screening form, and related documents from the internet at https://www.fws.gov/carlsbad/HCPs/HCP_Docs.html, or you may request copies of 
the documents by U.S. mail from our Palm Springs office at the address 
below or by phone (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Comment submission: Please address written comments to Kennon A. 
Corey, Assistant Field Supervisor, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife 
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, 
Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262. You may alternatively send comments 
via electronic mail to [email protected] or by facsimile to 
(760) 322-4648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenness McBride, Supervisory Fish and 
Wildlife Biologist, (760) 322-2070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from the 
Coachella Valley Association of Governments for a 30-year incidental 
take permit under the ESA. The application addresses the potential for 
``take'' of the federally endangered Casey's June beetle (Dinacoma 
caseyi) likely to occur incidental to the construction, maintenance, 
and use of a portion of the proposed CV Link multi-modal pathway in the 
City of Palm Springs, Riverside County, California. We invite comments 
from the public on the application package, which includes a low-effect 
habitat conservation plan (HCP). We have preliminarily determined that 
this proposed action is eligible for a categorical exclusion under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.). The basis for this determination is discussed in our 
draft environmental action statement and associated low-effect 
screening form, which are also available for public review.

Background

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) added the Casey's June 
beetle to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife as endangered 
on September 22, 2011 (76 FR 58954). Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations in title 50 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) prohibit the take of fish or wildlife 
species listed as endangered or threatened. ``Take'' is defined under 
the ESA 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 ESA, we may issue permits to authorize incidental 
take of listed species. ``Incidental taking'' is defined under the ESA 
implementing regulations as taking that is incidental to, and not the 
purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity (50 CFR 17.3). 
Regulations governing incidental

[[Page 45135]]

take permits for endangered and threatened species are provided at 50 
CFR 17.22 and 17.32, respectively.
    In addition to meeting the issuance criteria under section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, actions undertaken through implementation of 
the HCP must not jeopardize the continued existence of federally listed 
animal or plant species (16 U.S.C. 1536). If the permit is issued, the 
permittee will receive assurances under our ``No Surprises'' 
regulations (50 CFR 17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)).

Applicant's Proposal

    The Coachella Valley Association of Governments (applicant) has 
submitted a low-effect HCP in support of its application for an 
incidental take permit to address take of the Casey's June beetle that 
is likely to occur as the result of direct impacts to approximately 
1.78 acres of fragmented habitat occupied by the species. Take would be 
associated with the development of an approximately 2-mile portion of 
the CV Link, which is a 49-mile-long, paved, multi-modal pathway to be 
built through the Coachella Valley. Construction of the pathway will 
increase recreational opportunities for cyclists and pedestrians and 
provide an alternative transportation corridor for low-speed, 
neighborhood electric vehicles. This portion of the CV Link would 
involve widening and repaving existing sidewalks and paths adjacent to 
patches of habitat occupied by Casey's June beetle in Demuth Park and 
the nearby Tahquitz Creek Golf Course in the City of Palm Springs. The 
applicant is requesting a permit for take of Casey's June beetle that 
would result from activities covered under the HCP related to the CV 
Link pathway in this area.
    The applicant's conservation strategy, in part, proposes to 
mitigate the impacts to Casey's June beetle by dedicating a 
conservation easement on approximately 10.38 acres at the Tahquitz 
Creek Golf Course that would be restored from golf course landscaping 
to native habitat suitable for Casey's June beetle. A 30-year permit is 
requested to authorize take that would occur incidental to 
construction, maintenance, and use of this portion of the CV Link 
pathway as well as to cover potential short-term impacts within the 
conservation easement area as a result of habitat enhancement, 
restoration, and creation activities.
    The applicant proposes to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to 
the Casey's June beetle associated with the covered activities by fully 
implementing the HCP. The following measures would be implemented:
    (1) No construction would occur during the Casey's June beetle 
flight season (March 1 to May 31);
    (2) lighting fixtures would be turned off or non-insect-attracting 
lights would be used during the flight season;
    (3) no electronic ``bug zappers'' would be used;
    (4) up to five educational kiosks would be installed along the 
pathway;
    (5) approximately 10.38 acres of contiguous and nearby mitigation 
sites pre-selected by the Service, in or adjacent to Palm Canyon Wash 
at the Tahquitz Creek Golf Course, would be preserved under 
conservation easement and managed to enhance, restore, and create 
Casey's June beetle habitat;
    (6) mitigation sites would be dedicated to future translocation of 
Casey's June beetles from other development sites or release of Casey's 
June beetles from a future Service program for controlled propagation 
of Casey's June beetles; and
    (7) mitigation sites would be monitored and managed by a qualified 
land management organization approved by the Service.
    The Coachella Valley Association of Governments would fund 
acquisition and initial restoration of the mitigation sites from its 
Active Transportation Program and would fund a non-wasting endowment in 
the amount of $160,075 for the long-term management of the mitigation 
sites.
    In the proposed HCP, the applicant considers a ``No Project'' 
alternative to the proposed action. Under the ``No Project'' 
alternative, a permit for the incidental take of Casey's June beetle 
would not be issued for the CV Link project and the proposed 
conservation strategy and subsequent habitat restoration would not 
occur to assist recovery actions for Casey's June beetle. The ``No 
Project'' alternative would not result in upgrading existing sidewalks 
and paths to CV Link standards at Demuth Park and Tahquitz Creek Golf 
Course and would not result in conservation for Casey's June beetle; 
therefore, the applicant did not propose to utilize the ``No Project'' 
alternative.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that approval of 
the HCP and issuance of an incidental take permit qualify for 
categorical exclusion under NEPA, as provided by the Department of the 
Interior implementing regulations in 43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215, 
and that the HCP qualifies as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by the 
Revised Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (December 2016).
    We base our determination that a HCP qualifies as a low-effect plan 
on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of 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 or negligible effects on other environmental 
values or resources; and (3) impacts of the HCP, considered together 
with those of other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable similarly 
situated projects, would not result, over time, in cumulative effects 
to environmental values or resources that would be considered 
significant. 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 proposed HCP and comments we receive to 
determine whether the permit application meets the requirements and 
issuance criteria under section 10(a) of the ESA. We will also evaluate 
whether issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would comply with 
section 7(a)(2) of the ESA by conducting an intra-Service consultation. 
We will use the results of this consultation, in combination with the 
above findings, in our final analysis to determine whether or not to 
issue a permit. If the requirements and issuance criteria under section 
10(a)(1)(B) are met, we will issue the permit to the applicant for 
incidental take of Casey's June beetle.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment on the permit application, proposed HCP, and 
associated documents, you may submit comments by any of the methods 
noted in ADDRESSES.
    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.

[[Page 45136]]

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

G. Mendel Stewart,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad, 
California.
[FR Doc. 2018-19187 Filed 9-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P