[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70647-70648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24587]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2019-N014; FXES11140800000-189-FF08EVEN00]


Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental 
Assessment for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, 
Oceano Dunes District, San Luis Obispo County, California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) and associated 
draft environmental assessment (EA) for California Department of Parks 
and Recreation (CDPR) activities at Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes 
State Vehicular Recreation Area, San Luis Obispo County, California. 
The CDPR developed the draft HCP as part of their application for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The 
Service prepared a draft EA in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act to evaluate the potential effects to the 
natural and human environment resulting from issuing an ITP to CDPR. We 
invite public comment on these documents.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before December 21, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents for Review: You may download a copy of the 
draft habitat conservation plan and draft environmental assessment at 
http://www.fws.gov/ventura/, or you may request copies of the documents 
by U.S. mail (below) or by phone (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Submitting Written Comments: Please send us your written comments 
using one of the following methods:
     U.S. mail: Stephen P. Henry, Field Supervisor, Ventura 
Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola 
Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003.
     Email: [email protected]. Please include Oceano 
Dunes HCP in the subject line of the message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lena Chang, Senior Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, by phone at 805-677-3305, via the Federal Relay Service at 
1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance, or at the Ventura address (see 
ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service),

[[Page 70648]]

announce the availability of a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) 
and the associated draft environmental assessment (EA) for California 
Department of Parks and Recreation's (CDPR's) public use, recreation 
management, natural resources management, and park and beach management 
activities on 5,005 acres of Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State 
Vehicular Recreation Area, in San Luis Obispo County, California. The 
CDPR developed the draft HCP as part of its application for an 
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Service prepared a draft 
EA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to evaluate the potential effects to the 
natural and human environment resulting from issuing an ITP to CDPR. We 
invite public comment on these documents.

Draft HCP Covered Species

    The CDPR has developed a draft HCP that includes measures to 
mitigate and minimize impacts to the following 10 covered species:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Species                        Listing information
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Federally Listed as Endangered:
    California least tern (Sterna        June 2, 1970 (35 FR 16047).
     antillarum browni).
    Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius        February 4, 1994 (59 FR 5494).
     newberryi).
    Gambel's watercress (Rorippa         August 3, 1993 (58 FR 41378).
     gambelii).
    La Graciosa thistle (Cirsium         March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14888).
     scariosum var. loncholepis).
    Marsh sandwort (Arenaria             August 3, 1993 (58 FR 41378).
     paludicola).
    Nipomo Mesa lupine (Lupinus          March 20, 2000 (65 FR 14888).
     nipomensis).
Federally Listed as Threatened:
    Western snowy plover (Charadrius     March 5, 1993 (58 FR 12864).
     nivosus nivosus).
    California red-legged frog (Rana     May 23, 1996 (61 FR 25813).
     draytonii).
State Listed as Threatened:
    Surf thistle (Cirsium rhothophilum)  1990.
    Beach spectaclepod (Dithyrea         1990.
     maritime).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ITP would authorize take of the four animal species (California 
least tern, tidewater goby, western snowy plover, and California red-
legged frog) incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with 
the HCP-covered activities.

Background

    Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the take of fish or wildlife species 
listed as endangered; as applicable to the species affected by the 
proposed action, the ESA implementing regulations also prohibit take of 
fish or wildlife species listed as threatened. ``Take'' is defined 
under the ESA to include the following activities: ``[T]o 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 take'' is defined by 
the ESA as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying 
out of an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental 
take permits for threatened and endangered species are in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. 
Under the ESA, protections for federally listed plants differ from the 
protections afforded to federally listed animals. Issuance of an 
incidental take permit also must not jeopardize the existence of 
federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant species. The permittees would 
receive assurances under our ``No Surprises'' regulations ((50 CFR 
17.22(b)(5) and 17.32(b)(5)) regarding conservation activities for the 
covered species.

Proposed Activities

    The CDPR has applied for an ITP that would authorize incidental 
take of the four covered animal species that could result from covered 
activities described in the HCP. The covered area comprises 5,005 acres 
of Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. 
The covered area includes designated critical habitat for western snowy 
plover, tidewater goby, and La Graciosa thistle. The HCP describes 
measures CDPR will implement to avoid and minimize impacts and take of 
the covered species. Mitigation for unavoidable take would be 
accomplished through CDPR's existing conservation program and through 
meeting the biological goals and objectives outlined in the HCP. The 
conservation program is designed to protect and promote recovery of 
covered species, including managing habitat components to benefit 
covered species, minimizing human alteration or disturbance of native 
habitats, reducing conflicts between covered species and park users, 
restoring native habitats, and monitoring the success of these efforts.

Alternatives

    We are considering four alternatives in the draft EA:
    (1) The no action alternative, which would not result in issuance 
of an ITP for ongoing activities;
    (2) The proposed action would be issuance of an ITP based on the 
activities described in draft HCP, including reduction of the existing 
protected area boundary (``southern exclosure'') for the California 
least tern and western snowy plover;
    (3) Issuance of an ITP based on the draft HCP maintaining the 
existing ``southern exclosure boundary''; and
    (4) Issuance of an ITP based on the draft HCP with year-round 
exclosures.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, 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 ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

Stephen Henry,
Field Supervisor,Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office,Ventura, California.
[FR Doc. 2020-24587 Filed 11-4-20; 8:45 am]
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