Proposed Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the County of San Bernardino, CA, 20716-20717 [E6-5988]
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20716
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 77 / Friday, April 21, 2006 / Notices
TABLE 1.—SUMMARY OF THE LISTING INFORMATION
Common name
Scientific name
black lace cactus ......................
Echinocereus reichenbachii var.
albertii
Corynorhinus
(=Plecotus)
townsendii ingens
Percina pantherina ...................
Notropis simus pecosensis
Argemone pleiacantha ssp.
pinnatisecta
Hedeoma todsenii .....................
Ozark big-eared bat ..................
leopard darter ...........................
Pecos bluntnose shiner
Sacramento prickly poppy
Todsen’s pennyroyal
Definitions Related to This Notice
The following definitions are
provided to assist those persons who
contemplate submitting information
regarding the species being reviewed:
A. Species includes any species or
subspecies of fish, wildlife, or plant,
and any distinct population segment of
any species of vertebrate, which
interbreeds when mature.
B. Endangered means any species that
is in danger of extinction throughout all
or a significant portion of its range.
C. Threatened means any species that
is likely to become an endangered
species within the foreseeable future
throughout all or a significant portion of
its range.
How do we determine whether a
species is endangered or threatened?
Section 4(a)(1) of the Act establishes
that we determine whether a species is
endangered or threatened based on one
or more of the five following factors:
A. The present or threatened
destruction, modification, or
curtailment of its habitat or range;
B. Overutilization for commercial,
recreational, scientific, or educational
purposes;
C. Disease or predation;
D. The inadequacy of existing
regulatory mechanisms; or
E. Other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence.
Section 4(a)(1) of the Act requires that
our determination be made on the basis
of the best scientific and commercial
data available.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
What could happen as a result of this
review?
17:21 Apr 20, 2006
Jkt 208001
Where listed
TX .............................................
44 FR 61918, 61920.
E
AR, MO, OK .............................
44 FR 69206, 69208.
T
T
E
AR, OK .....................................
NM ............................................
NM ............................................
43 FR 3711, 3716.
52 FR 5295, 5303.
54 FR 35302, 35305.
E
NM ............................................
46 FR 5730, 5733.
that a change in classification is not
warranted, then these species will
remain on the List under their current
status.
Public Solicitation of New Information
We request any new information
concerning the status of the 25 species
listed in Table 1. See ‘‘What information
is considered in the review?’’ heading
for specific criteria. Information
submitted should be supported by
documentation such as maps,
bibliographic references, methods used
to gather and analyze the data, and/or
copies of any pertinent publications,
reports, or letters by knowledgeable
sources. Our practice is to make
comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for
public review. Individual respondents
may request that we withhold their
home addresses from the supporting
record, which we will honor to the
extent allowable by law. There also may
be circumstances in which we may
withhold from the supporting record a
respondent’s identity, as allowable by
law. If you wish us to withhold your
name and/or address, you must state
this prominently at the beginning of
your comment. We will not consider
anonymous comments, however. We
will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
This document is published under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 15, 2006.
Benjamin N. Tuggle,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6–5983 Filed 4–20–06; 8:45 am]
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Final listing rule
E
Authority
If we find that there is new
information concerning any of the 25
species listed in Table 1 indicating a
change in classification may be
warranted, we may propose a new rule
that could do one of the following: (a)
Reclassify the species from endangered
to threatened (downlist); (b) reclassify
the species from threatened to
endangered (uplist); or (c) remove the
species from the List. If we determine
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Status
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Low Effect Habitat
Conservation Plan for the County of
San Bernardino, CA
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The County of San
Bernardino (Applicant) has applied to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) for a 10-year incidental take
permit for one covered species pursuant
to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
The application addresses the potential
for ‘‘take’’ of the endangered Delhi
Sands flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas
terminatus abdominalis) associated
with the proposed realignment of the
intersection of Valley and Pepper
Avenues in the City of Colton, San
Bernardino County, California. A
conservation program to mitigate for the
project activities would be implemented
as described in the proposed Valley/
Pepper Realignment Low Effect Habitat
Conservation Plan (proposed Plan),
which would be implemented by the
Applicant.
We are requesting comments on the
permit application and on the
preliminary determination that the
proposed Plan qualifies as a ‘‘Loweffect’’ Habitat Conservation Plan,
eligible for a categorical exclusion under
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended. The basis
for this determination is discussed in
the Environmental Action Statement
(EAS) and the associated Low Effect
Screening Form, which are also
available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before May 22, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
addressed to the Field Supervisor, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and
Wildlife Office, 6010 Hidden Valley
Road, Carlsbad, California 92011.
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21APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 77 / Friday, April 21, 2006 / Notices
Written comments may be sent by
facsimile to (760) 918–0638.
Ms.
Karen Goebel, Assistant Field
Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife
Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: (760)
431–9440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Availability of Documents
Individuals wishing copies of the
application, proposed Plan, and EAS
should immediately contact the Service
by telephone at (760) 431–9440 or by
letter to the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife
Office. Copies of the proposed Plan and
EAS also are available for public
inspection during regular business
hours at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife
Office (see ADDRESSES).
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Background
Section 9 of the Act and its
implementing Federal regulations
prohibit the take of animal species listed
as endangered or threatened. Take is
defined under the Act as harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture or collect listed animal species,
or attempt to engage in such conduct (16
U.S.C. 1538). However, under section
10(a) of the Act, the Service may issue
permits to authorize incidental take of
listed species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ is
defined by the Act as take that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of,
carrying out an otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing
incidental take permits for threatened
and endangered species, respectively,
are found in the Code of Federal
Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR
17.32
The Applicant is seeking a permit for
take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly
during the life of the permit. This
species is referred to as the ‘‘DSF’’ in the
proposed Plan.
The Applicant proposes to relocate
the current Valley Boulevard/Pepper
Avenue intersection approximately 76
meters (250 feet) north. Pepper Avenue
would be widened to six lanes in the
segment between San Bernardino
Avenue and Interstate 10. The
improvement limits on Valley
Boulevard are 246 meters (811 feet) west
and 284 meters (938 feet) east of Pepper
Avenue. Valley Boulevard would retain
two through lanes in each direction
with turn lanes at the intersection with
Pepper Avenue. A signalized street
connection approximately 152 meters
(500 feet) west of Pepper Avenue would
be developed to include a frontage road
and cul-de-sac. An access road would be
constructed to permit southbound
Pepper Avenue traffic direct access to
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:21 Apr 20, 2006
Jkt 208001
local business. We anticipate that all
DSF would be lost within
approximately 1.84 acres of DSF
occupied habitat within the project
footprint. The project site does not
contain any other rare, threatened or
endangered species or habitat. No
critical habitat for any listed species
occurs on the project site.
The Applicant proposes to mitigate
the effects to the DSF associated with
the covered activities by fully
implementing the Plan. The purpose of
the proposed Plan’s conservation
program is to promote the biological
conservation of the DSF. The County
proposes to mitigate impacts to the DSF
either through acquisition and
conservation of a 2.04-acre parcel
adjacent to the proposed project or
purchase of 5 acres of credit within the
Vulcan Materials Inc. Colton Dunes
Conservation Bank.
The Proposed Action consists of the
issuance of an incidental take permit
and implementation of the proposed
Plan, which includes measures to
mitigate impacts of the project on the
DSF. Two alternatives to the taking of
the listed species under the Proposed
Action are considered in the proposed
Plan. Under the No Action Alternative,
no permit would be issued, and no
construction would occur. Under the
Modified Project Alternative, incidental
take of DSF would be authorized, but
the impacts would be reduced.
The Service has made a preliminary
determination that approval of the
proposed Plan qualifies as a categorical
exclusion under NEPA, as provided by
the Department of the Interior Manual
(516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6,
Appendix 1) and as a ‘‘low-effect’’ plan
as defined by the Habitat Conservation
Planning Handbook (November 1996).
Determination of Low-effect Habitat
Conservation Plans is based on the
following three criteria: (1)
Implementation of the proposed Plan
would result in minor or negligible
effects on federally listed, proposed, and
candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the proposed Plan
would result in minor or negligible
effects on other environmental values or
resources; and (3) impacts of the
proposed Plan, considered together with
the impacts of other past, present and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated
projects would not result, over time, in
cumulative effects to environmental
values or resources which would be
considered significant.
Based upon this preliminary
determination, we do not intend to
prepare further NEPA documentation.
We will consider public comments in
making the final determination on
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20717
whether to prepare such additional
documentation.
This notice is provided pursuant to
section 10(c) of the Act. We will
evaluate the permit application, the
proposed Plan, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether
the application meets the requirements
of section 10(a) of the Act. If the
requirements are met, we will issue a
permit to the County of San Bernardino
for the incidental take of the Delhi
Sands flower-loving fly from
realignment of the intersection of Valley
and Pepper avenues in the City of
Colton, San Bernardino County,
California.
Dated: April 17, 2006.
Jim A. Bartel,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife
Office, California/Nevada Operations
Carlsbad, California.
[FR Doc. E6–5988 Filed 4–20–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of a 5Year Review of Nine Listed Species:
the Purple Bean (Villosa perpurpurea),
Clubshell (Pleurobema clava),
Northern Red-bellied Cooter
(Pseudemys rubriventris bangsi),
Roanoke Logperch (Percina rex),
Swamp Pink (Helonias bullata),
Northern Riffleshell (Epioblasma
torulosa rangiana), Flat-spired Threetoothed Land Snail (Triodopsis
platysayoides), Puritan Tiger Beetle
(Cicindela puritana), and Dwarf
Wedgemussel (Alasmidonta
heterodon)
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 4(c)(2)(A)
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
announces a 5-year review of the
endangered purple bean (Villosa
perpurpurea), clubshell (Pleurobema
clava), northern red-bellied cooter
(Pseudemys rubriventris bangsi),
Roanoke logperch (Percina rex),
northern riffleshell (Epioblasma
torulosa rangiana), and dwarf
wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon);
and the threatened swamp pink
(Helonias bullata), flat-spired threetoothed land snail (Triodopsis
platysayoides), and Puritan tiger beetle
(Cicindela puritana). A 5-year review is
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 77 (Friday, April 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20716-20717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5988]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Proposed Low Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the County of
San Bernardino, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The County of San Bernardino (Applicant) has applied to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a 10-year incidental take
permit for one covered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The application
addresses the potential for ``take'' of the endangered Delhi Sands
flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis) associated with
the proposed realignment of the intersection of Valley and Pepper
Avenues in the City of Colton, San Bernardino County, California. A
conservation program to mitigate for the project activities would be
implemented as described in the proposed Valley/Pepper Realignment Low
Effect Habitat Conservation Plan (proposed Plan), which would be
implemented by the Applicant.
We are requesting comments on the permit application and on the
preliminary determination that the proposed Plan qualifies as a ``Low-
effect'' Habitat Conservation Plan, eligible for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969,
as amended. The basis for this determination is discussed in the
Environmental Action Statement (EAS) and the associated Low Effect
Screening Form, which are also available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before May 22, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Field Supervisor, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 6010 Hidden
Valley Road, Carlsbad, California 92011.
[[Page 20717]]
Written comments may be sent by facsimile to (760) 918-0638.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Goebel, Assistant Field
Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES);
telephone: (760) 431-9440.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
Individuals wishing copies of the application, proposed Plan, and
EAS should immediately contact the Service by telephone at (760) 431-
9440 or by letter to the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office. Copies of
the proposed Plan and EAS also are available for public inspection
during regular business hours at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office
(see ADDRESSES).
Background
Section 9 of the Act and its implementing Federal regulations
prohibit the take of animal species listed as endangered or threatened.
Take is defined under the Act as harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture or collect listed animal species, or attempt
to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, under section
10(a) of the Act, the Service may issue permits to authorize incidental
take of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the Act as
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for threatened and endangered species, respectively, are found
in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32
The Applicant is seeking a permit for take of the Delhi Sands
flower-loving fly during the life of the permit. This species is
referred to as the ``DSF'' in the proposed Plan.
The Applicant proposes to relocate the current Valley Boulevard/
Pepper Avenue intersection approximately 76 meters (250 feet) north.
Pepper Avenue would be widened to six lanes in the segment between San
Bernardino Avenue and Interstate 10. The improvement limits on Valley
Boulevard are 246 meters (811 feet) west and 284 meters (938 feet) east
of Pepper Avenue. Valley Boulevard would retain two through lanes in
each direction with turn lanes at the intersection with Pepper Avenue.
A signalized street connection approximately 152 meters (500 feet) west
of Pepper Avenue would be developed to include a frontage road and cul-
de-sac. An access road would be constructed to permit southbound Pepper
Avenue traffic direct access to local business. We anticipate that all
DSF would be lost within approximately 1.84 acres of DSF occupied
habitat within the project footprint. The project site does not contain
any other rare, threatened or endangered species or habitat. No
critical habitat for any listed species occurs on the project site.
The Applicant proposes to mitigate the effects to the DSF
associated with the covered activities by fully implementing the Plan.
The purpose of the proposed Plan's conservation program is to promote
the biological conservation of the DSF. The County proposes to mitigate
impacts to the DSF either through acquisition and conservation of a
2.04-acre parcel adjacent to the proposed project or purchase of 5
acres of credit within the Vulcan Materials Inc. Colton Dunes
Conservation Bank.
The Proposed Action consists of the issuance of an incidental take
permit and implementation of the proposed Plan, which includes measures
to mitigate impacts of the project on the DSF. Two alternatives to the
taking of the listed species under the Proposed Action are considered
in the proposed Plan. Under the No Action Alternative, no permit would
be issued, and no construction would occur. Under the Modified Project
Alternative, incidental take of DSF would be authorized, but the
impacts would be reduced.
The Service has made a preliminary determination that approval of
the proposed Plan qualifies as a categorical exclusion under NEPA, as
provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1
and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1) and as a ``low-effect'' plan as defined by
the Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996).
Determination of Low-effect Habitat Conservation Plans is based on the
following three criteria: (1) Implementation of the proposed Plan would
result in minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed,
and candidate species and their habitats; (2) implementation of the
proposed Plan would result in minor or negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the proposed
Plan, considered together with the impacts of other past, present and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects would not result,
over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
which would be considered significant.
Based upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to
prepare further NEPA documentation. We will consider public comments in
making the final determination on whether to prepare such additional
documentation.
This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act. We
will evaluate the permit application, the proposed Plan, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act. If the requirements are met,
we will issue a permit to the County of San Bernardino for the
incidental take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly from realignment
of the intersection of Valley and Pepper avenues in the City of Colton,
San Bernardino County, California.
Dated: April 17, 2006.
Jim A. Bartel,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, California/Nevada
Operations Carlsbad, California.
[FR Doc. E6-5988 Filed 4-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P