Receipt of Applications for Five Incidental Take Permits for the Construction of 24 Single-Family Homes and an Addition to an Existing Single-Family Home in Santa Cruz County, CA, 16319-16321 [E8-6234]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 60 / Thursday, March 27, 2008 / Notices
Date: April 16, 2008.
Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health, 6700B
Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817
(Telephone Conference Call).
Contact Person: Clayton C Huntley, PhD.,
Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review
Program, Division of Extramural Activities,
National Institutes of Health/NIAID/DHHS,
6700B Rockledge Drive, MSC 7616, Bethesda,
MD 20892–7616, 301–451–2570.
chuntley@niaid.nih.gov.
Name of Committee: National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Special
Emphasis Panel To Review an Unsolicited
P01.
Date: April 17, 2008.
Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health, 6700B
Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817
(Telephone Conference Call).
Contact Person: Clayton C Huntley, PhD.,
Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review
Program, Division of Extramural Activities,
National Institutes of Health/NIAID/DHHS,
6700B Rockledge Drive, MSC 7616, Bethesda,
MD 20892–7616, 301–451–2570,
chuntley@niaid.nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.855, Allergy, Immunology,
and Transplantation Research; 93.856,
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: March 19, 2008.
Anna Snouffer,
Deputy Director, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. E8–6086 Filed 3–26–08; 8:45 am]
Name of Committee: National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special
Emphasis Panel; Review of An Unsolicited
P01 Application.
Date: April 14, 2008.
Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institute of Health, 6700–
B Rockledge Drive, Rockville, MD 20892
(Telephone Conference Call).
Contact Person: Peter R. Jackson, PhD.,
Chief, Scientific Review Program, Division of
Extramural Activities, NIAID, NIH, DHHS,
6700–B Rockledge Drive, Room 3133, MSC
7616, Bethesda, MD 20892–7616, 301–496–
2550, pjackson@niaid.nih.gov.
This notice is being published less than 15
days prior to the meeting due to the timing
limitations imposed by the review and
funding cycle.
Name of Committee: National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special
Emphasis Panel; To Review Contract
Proposals.
Date: April 21–22, 2008.
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate contract
proposals.
Place: Doubletree Hotel & Executive
Meeting Center, 8120 Wisconsin Avenue,
Grand Ballroom B, Bethesda, MD 20814.
Contact Person: Mercy R. Prabhudas, PhD.,
Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review
Program, Division of Extramural Activities,
NIAID/NIH/DHHS, 6700B Rockledge Drive,
MSC 7616, Bethesda, MD 20892–7616, 301–
451–2615, Mp457n@nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.855, Allergy, Immunology,
and Transplantation Research; 93.856,
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS)
BILLING CODE 4140–01–M
Dated: March 19, 2008.
Anna Snouffer,
Deputy Director, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. E8–6089 Filed 3–26–08; 8:45 am]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
BILLING CODE 4140–01–M
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases; Notice of Closed
Meetings
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
National Institutes of Health
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Pursuant to section 10(d) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice
is hereby given of the following
meetings.
The meetings will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
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Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R8–ES–2008–N0052; 1112–0000–
81440–F2]
Receipt of Applications for Five
Incidental Take Permits for the
Construction of 24 Single-Family
Homes and an Addition to an Existing
Single-Family Home in Santa Cruz
County, CA
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service), announce the
availability of five Incidental Take
Permit (ITP) Applications and Habitat
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Sfmt 4703
16319
Conservation Plans (HCPs) from the
following five applicants: Hochler
Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, James
and Melinda Carter, Ronald Sunde, and
College Heights Development Corp.
Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley
LLC, and James and Melinda Carter each
request an ITP for a duration of 5 years;
Ronald Sunde requests an ITP for a
duration of 3 years; and College Heights
Development Corp. requests an ITP for
a duration of 6 years under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The
applicants collectively anticipate
removing a total of approximately 7.23
acres of Mount Hermon June beetle
(Polyphylla barbata) occupied habitat
incidental to constructing 24 singlefamily homes and an addition to an
existing single-family home in Santa
Cruz County, California (Projects). The
applicants’ HCPs describe the mitigation
and minimization measures the
applicants propose to address the effects
of the Projects on the Mount Hermon
June beetle. In addition, the College
Heights Development Corp. HCP
includes the federally endangered Ben
Lomond wallflower (Erysimum
teretifolium) and Ben Lomond
spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens var.
hartwegiana) as covered species, and
their HCP describes mitigation and
minimization measures for those species
as well.
We are requesting comments on the
permit application and on our
preliminary determination that the
proposed Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP) qualifies as a ‘‘low effect’’ HCP,
eligible for a categorical exclusion under
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We
explain the basis for this possible
determination in draft Environmental
Action Statements (EAS) and associated
Low Effect Screening Forms. The
Applicants’ Low Effect HCPs describe
the mitigation and minimization
measures they would implement, as
required in Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the
Act, to address the effects of the project
on the Mount Hermon June beetle.
These measures are outlined in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. The draft HCPs and EASs are
available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before April 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Please address written
comments to Diane Noda, Field
Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura,
California 93003. You may also send
comments by facsimile to (805) 644–
3958. To obtain copies of draft
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 60 / Thursday, March 27, 2008 / Notices
documents, see ‘‘Availability of
Documents’’ under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
Jen
Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, (see
ADDRESSES) telephone: (805) 644–1766
extension 224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of the
applications and HCPs by contacting the
HCP Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents will
also be available for review by
appointment, during normal business
hours, at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office (see ADDRESSES), or via the
Internet at: https://www.fws.gov/ventura.
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Background
Section 9 of the Act and Federal
regulations prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of fish or
wildlife species listed as endangered or
threatened, respectively. Take of listed
fish or wildlife is defined under the Act
to mean to harass, harm, pursue, hunt,
shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or
collect, or to attempt to engage in any
such conduct. However, the Service,
under limited circumstances, may issue
permits to cover incidental take, i.e.,
take that is incidental to, and not the
purpose of, the carrying out of an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations
governing incidental take permits for
threatened and endangered species are
found at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22,
respectively. Among other criteria,
issuance of such permits must not
jeopardize the existence of federally
listed fish, wildlife, or plants.
The Projects are located on soils
known as ‘‘Zayante sands.’’ These soils
support the Zayante sandhills
ecosystem that occurs exclusively in the
Santa Cruz Mountains near the city of
Scotts Valley and the communities of
Ben Lomond, Mount Hermon, Felton,
Olympia, Corralitos, and Bonny Doon.
The Mount Hermon June beetle is
restricted to Zayante sands soils in the
Scotts Valley-Mount Hermon-FeltonBen Lomond area and is found in
association with vegetation of the
Zayante sandhills, which is
characterized by a mosaic of ponderosa
pines (Pinus ponderosa), silverleaf
manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola),
and areas that are sparsely vegetated
with grasses and herbs.
The five (5) applicants are requesting
to remove approximately 7.23 acres of
combined Mount Hermon June beetle
habitat incidental to the construction of
24 single-family homes and an addition
to an existing single-family home in
Santa Cruz County, California.
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16:08 Mar 26, 2008
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Residential construction of one singlefamily home for Ronald Sunde would
occur within parcel 066–201–13 in
Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz County,
California. Residential construction of
four single-family homes for Scotts
Valley LLC would occur within parcel
021–031–13 in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz
County, California. Residential
construction of an addition to an
existing single-family residence for
James and Melinda Carter would occur
within parcel 067–533–04 near the city
of Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County,
California. Residential construction of
four single-family homes for Hochler
Construction would occur within
parcels 067–041–14 and 067–581–07
near the city of Scotts Valley in Santa
Cruz County, California. Residential
construction of 13 single-family homes
for College Heights Development Corp.
would occur within parcel 022–631–22
in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County,
California.
The parcels combined encompass
about 21.61 acres, and the footprint of
the homes, infrastructure, and
landscaping would eliminate 7.23 acres
of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat.
To mitigate for incidental take on the
project sites, Hochler Construction,
Scotts Valley LLC, James and Melinda
Carter, and Ronald Sunde propose to
purchase a total of 3.08 conservation
credits for the Mount Hermon June
beetle at the recently approved Ben
Lomond Sandhills Preserve of the
Zayante Sandhills Conservation Bank
operated by PCO, LLC. College Heights
Development Corp. will establish a
permanent conservation easement on
14.0 acres of prime sandhills habitat
within the parcel (Preserve). Once the
easement is established, they will
conduct the following activities within
the Preserve: monitor the Mount
Hermon June beetle, Ben Lomond
wallflower, and Ben Lomond
spineflower in perpetuity, remove
garbage and debris, remove and control
exotic plants, construct permanent
fencing to protect the preserve, maintain
indigenous sandhill plants, restore
native plant communities where
temporary impacts occur during
construction, and establish an
irrevocable assessment against the
residential lots to cover anticipated
expenses associated with the monitoring
and management of the Preserve. In
addition, College Heights Development
Corp. will implement a number of
minimization and mitigation measures
including the following: control dust
during grading; use of non-insect
attracting light bulbs in street lights and
exterior light fixtures on the new
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residences; erect construction fencing
during grading and construction; collect
seed from the Ben Lomond spineflower
plants growing within the impact area;
and implement a fuel management plan
to minimize the chance of catastrophic
fire events.
We have made a preliminary
determination that the HCPs qualify as
‘‘low-effect’’ plans as defined by our
Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (November 1996). Our
determination that an HCP qualifies as
a low-effect plan is based on the
following criteria: (1) Implementation of
the plan would result in minor or
negligible effects on federally listed,
proposed, and candidate species and
their habitats; (2) implementation of the
plan would result in minor or negligible
effects on other environmental values or
resources; and (3) impacts of the plan,
considered together with the impacts of
other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable similarly situated projects
would not result, over time, the
cumulative effects to the environmental
values or resources that would be
considered significant. As more fully
explained in our EASs and associated
Low Effect Screening Forms, the
Applicants’ proposals for residential
construction qualify as ‘‘low effect’’
plans for the following reasons:
(1) Approval of the HCPs would result
in minor or negligible effects on the
Mount Hermon June beetle and its
habitat. The Service does not anticipate
significant direct or cumulative effects
to the Mount Hermon June beetle
resulting from the proposed projects.
(2) Approval of the HCPs would not
have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or
involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
(3) Approval of the HCPs would not
result in any cumulative or growthinducing impacts and would not result
in significant adverse effects on public
health or safety.
(4) The projects do not require
compliance with Executive Order 11988
(Floodplain Management), Executive
Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), or
the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act,
nor do they threaten to violate a Federal,
State, local or tribal law or requirement
imposed for the protection of the
environment.
(5) Approval of the HCPs would not
establish a precedent for future actions
or represent a decision in principle
about future actions with potentially
significant environmental effects.
The Service therefore has made a
preliminary determination that
approvals of the HCPs qualify as
categorical exclusions under the
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 60 / Thursday, March 27, 2008 / Notices
National Environmental Policy Act, as
provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1
and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Based
upon this preliminary determination,
we do not intend to prepare further
National Environmental Policy Act
documentation. The Service will
consider public comments in making its
final determination on whether to
prepare such additional documentation.
We will evaluate the permit
applications, HCPs, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether
the applications meet the requirements
of section 10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). If we determine that the
applications meet those requirements,
we will issue the ITPs for incidental
take of the Mount Hermon June beetle.
We will also evaluate whether issuance
of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs complies
with section 7 of the Act by conducting
an intra-Service section 7 consultation.
We will use the results of this
consultation, in combination with the
above findings, in the final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue the
ITPs.
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, are
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
The Service provides this notice
pursuant to section 10(c) of the Act and
pursuant to implementing regulations
for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: March 20, 2008.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife
Office, Ventura, California.
[FR Doc. E8–6234 Filed 3–26–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[WO–320–1330–PE–24 1A]
Extension of Approved Information
Collection, OMB Approval Number
1004–0103
Public Review and Comment
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
If you wish to comment on the permit
applications, draft Environmental
Action Statements or the proposed
HCPs, you may submit your comments
to the address listed in the ADDRESSES
section of this document. Our practice
is to make comments, including names,
home addresses, etc., of respondents
available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we
withhold their names and/or home
addresses, etc., but if you wish us to
consider withholding this information
you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comments. In
addition, you must provide a rationale
demonstrating and documenting that
disclosure would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of privacy. In the
absence of exceptional, documented
circumstances, this information will be
released. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has submitted an
Information Collection Request (ICR) to
OMB for review and approval. The ICR
is scheduled to expire on March 31,
2008. The BLM may not conduct or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. However, under OMB
regulations, the BLM may continue to
conduct or sponsor this information
collection while it is pending at OMB.
On January 8, 2008, the BLM published
a notice in the Federal Register (73 FR
1364) requesting comment on this
information collection. The comment
period closed on March 8, 2008. The
BLM received no comments. You may
obtain copies of the collection of
information and related forms and
explanatory material by contacting the
BLM Information Collection Clearance
AGENCY:
Number of
annual
respondents
Activity
Form 3600–9:
43 CFR 3602.10
Officer at the telephone number listed
in the ADDRESSES section below.
DATES: The OMB is required to respond
to this request within 60 days but may
respond after 30 days. Submit your
comments to OMB at the address below
by April 28, 2008 to receive maximum
consideration.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments and
suggestions on this ICR to the Desk
Officer for the Department of the
Interior at OMB–OIRA at (202) 395–
6566 (fax) or
OIRA_DOCKET@OMB.eop.gov (e-mail).
Please provide a copy of your comments
to Alexandra Ritchie, Information
Collection Clearance Officer, Bureau of
Land Management, at U.S. Department
of the Interior, Bureau of Land
Management, Mail Stop 401LS, 1849 C
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.
Additionally, you may contact
Alexandra Ritchie regarding this ICR at
(202) 452–0388 (phone); (202) 653–5287
(fax); or Alexandra_Ritchie@blm.gov (email).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
program-related questions, contact
George Brown on (202) 452–7772
(Commercial or FTS). Persons who use
a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8330, 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, to contact Mr. Brown via
message service. For questions regarding
this ICR or the information collection
process, contact Alexandra Ritchie by
phone, mail, fax, or e-mail (see
ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 1004–0103.
Title: Mineral Materials Disposal, 43
CFR 3600, 3601, and 3602.
Bureau Form Number: 3600–9.
Type of Request: Revision of currently
approved collection.
Affected Public: Private sector.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: Annually or
monthly (contracts and reporting
requirements vary).
Number of
annual
responses
Completion time
per
response
Annual burden
hours
440
440
30 minutes .........
220
Form Subtotal ...................................................................................
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Contract for the Sale of Mineral Materials .............
440
440
30 minutes .........
220
30
440
110
200
440
30
440
110
200
440
30 minutes .........
30 minutes .........
24 hours ............
2 hours ..............
30 minutes .........
15
220
2,640
400
220
Non-form:
43 CFR
43 CFR
43 CFR
43 CFR
43 CFR
VerDate Aug<31>2005
3601.30
3602.10
3601.40
3601.40
3602.14
Sampling and testing .............................................
Request for sale .....................................................
Mining and reclamation plans ................................
Mining and reclamation plans (simple case) .........
Performance bond ..................................................
16:08 Mar 26, 2008
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 60 (Thursday, March 27, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16319-16321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6234]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N0052; 1112-0000-81440-F2]
Receipt of Applications for Five Incidental Take Permits for the
Construction of 24 Single-Family Homes and an Addition to an Existing
Single-Family Home in Santa Cruz County, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of five Incidental Take Permit (ITP) Applications and
Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) from the following five applicants:
Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, James and Melinda Carter,
Ronald Sunde, and College Heights Development Corp. Hochler
Construction, Scotts Valley LLC, and James and Melinda Carter each
request an ITP for a duration of 5 years; Ronald Sunde requests an ITP
for a duration of 3 years; and College Heights Development Corp.
requests an ITP for a duration of 6 years under section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicants
collectively anticipate removing a total of approximately 7.23 acres of
Mount Hermon June beetle (Polyphylla barbata) occupied habitat
incidental to constructing 24 single-family homes and an addition to an
existing single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California
(Projects). The applicants' HCPs describe the mitigation and
minimization measures the applicants propose to address the effects of
the Projects on the Mount Hermon June beetle. In addition, the College
Heights Development Corp. HCP includes the federally endangered Ben
Lomond wallflower (Erysimum teretifolium) and Ben Lomond spineflower
(Chorizanthe pungens var. hartwegiana) as covered species, and their
HCP describes mitigation and minimization measures for those species as
well.
We are requesting comments on the permit application and on our
preliminary determination that the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan
(HCP) qualifies as a ``low effect'' HCP, eligible for a categorical
exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969,
as amended. We explain the basis for this possible determination in
draft Environmental Action Statements (EAS) and associated Low Effect
Screening Forms. The Applicants' Low Effect HCPs describe the
mitigation and minimization measures they would implement, as required
in Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the Act, to address the effects of the
project on the Mount Hermon June beetle. These measures are outlined in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The draft HCPs and EASs
are available for public review.
DATES: Written comments should be received on or before April 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Please address written comments to Diane Noda, Field
Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. You may
also send comments by facsimile to (805) 644-3958. To obtain copies of
draft
[[Page 16320]]
documents, see ``Availability of Documents'' under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jen Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, (see
ADDRESSES) telephone: (805) 644-1766 extension 224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of Documents
You may obtain copies of the applications and HCPs by contacting
the HCP Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents
will also be available for review by appointment, during normal
business hours, at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office (see
ADDRESSES), or via the Internet at: https://www.fws.gov/ventura.
Background
Section 9 of the Act and Federal regulations prohibit the ``take''
of fish or wildlife species listed as endangered or threatened,
respectively. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined under the Act
to mean to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
However, the Service, under limited circumstances, may issue permits to
cover incidental take, i.e., take that is incidental to, and not the
purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and
endangered species are found at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively.
Among other criteria, issuance of such permits must not jeopardize the
existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plants.
The Projects are located on soils known as ``Zayante sands.'' These
soils support the Zayante sandhills ecosystem that occurs exclusively
in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the city of Scotts Valley and the
communities of Ben Lomond, Mount Hermon, Felton, Olympia, Corralitos,
and Bonny Doon. The Mount Hermon June beetle is restricted to Zayante
sands soils in the Scotts Valley-Mount Hermon-Felton-Ben Lomond area
and is found in association with vegetation of the Zayante sandhills,
which is characterized by a mosaic of ponderosa pines (Pinus
ponderosa), silverleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola), and areas
that are sparsely vegetated with grasses and herbs.
The five (5) applicants are requesting to remove approximately 7.23
acres of combined Mount Hermon June beetle habitat incidental to the
construction of 24 single-family homes and an addition to an existing
single-family home in Santa Cruz County, California. Residential
construction of one single-family home for Ronald Sunde would occur
within parcel 066-201-13 in Mount Hermon, Santa Cruz County,
California. Residential construction of four single-family homes for
Scotts Valley LLC would occur within parcel 021-031-13 in Scotts
Valley, Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of an
addition to an existing single-family residence for James and Melinda
Carter would occur within parcel 067-533-04 near the city of Scotts
Valley in Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of
four single-family homes for Hochler Construction would occur within
parcels 067-041-14 and 067-581-07 near the city of Scotts Valley in
Santa Cruz County, California. Residential construction of 13 single-
family homes for College Heights Development Corp. would occur within
parcel 022-631-22 in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, California.
The parcels combined encompass about 21.61 acres, and the footprint
of the homes, infrastructure, and landscaping would eliminate 7.23
acres of Mount Hermon June beetle habitat. To mitigate for incidental
take on the project sites, Hochler Construction, Scotts Valley LLC,
James and Melinda Carter, and Ronald Sunde propose to purchase a total
of 3.08 conservation credits for the Mount Hermon June beetle at the
recently approved Ben Lomond Sandhills Preserve of the Zayante
Sandhills Conservation Bank operated by PCO, LLC. College Heights
Development Corp. will establish a permanent conservation easement on
14.0 acres of prime sandhills habitat within the parcel (Preserve).
Once the easement is established, they will conduct the following
activities within the Preserve: monitor the Mount Hermon June beetle,
Ben Lomond wallflower, and Ben Lomond spineflower in perpetuity, remove
garbage and debris, remove and control exotic plants, construct
permanent fencing to protect the preserve, maintain indigenous sandhill
plants, restore native plant communities where temporary impacts occur
during construction, and establish an irrevocable assessment against
the residential lots to cover anticipated expenses associated with the
monitoring and management of the Preserve. In addition, College Heights
Development Corp. will implement a number of minimization and
mitigation measures including the following: control dust during
grading; use of non-insect attracting light bulbs in street lights and
exterior light fixtures on the new residences; erect construction
fencing during grading and construction; collect seed from the Ben
Lomond spineflower plants growing within the impact area; and implement
a fuel management plan to minimize the chance of catastrophic fire
events.
We have made a preliminary determination that the HCPs qualify as
``low-effect'' plans as defined by our Habitat Conservation Planning
Handbook (November 1996). Our determination that an HCP qualifies as a
low-effect plan is based on the following criteria: (1) Implementation
of the plan would result in minor or negligible effects on federally
listed, proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2)
implementation of the plan would result in minor or negligible effects
on other environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the
plan, considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects would not result,
over time, the cumulative effects to the environmental values or
resources that would be considered significant. As more fully explained
in our EASs and associated Low Effect Screening Forms, the Applicants'
proposals for residential construction qualify as ``low effect'' plans
for the following reasons:
(1) Approval of the HCPs would result in minor or negligible
effects on the Mount Hermon June beetle and its habitat. The Service
does not anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the
Mount Hermon June beetle resulting from the proposed projects.
(2) Approval of the HCPs would not have adverse effects on unique
geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
(3) Approval of the HCPs would not result in any cumulative or
growth-inducing impacts and would not result in significant adverse
effects on public health or safety.
(4) The projects do not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor do they
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
(5) Approval of the HCPs would not establish a precedent for future
actions or represent a decision in principle about future actions with
potentially significant environmental effects.
The Service therefore has made a preliminary determination that
approvals of the HCPs qualify as categorical exclusions under the
[[Page 16321]]
National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Based
upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to prepare
further National Environmental Policy Act documentation. The Service
will consider public comments in making its final determination on
whether to prepare such additional documentation.
We will evaluate the permit applications, HCPs, and comments
submitted thereon to determine whether the applications meet the
requirements of section 10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If
we determine that the applications meet those requirements, we will
issue the ITPs for incidental take of the Mount Hermon June beetle. We
will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs
complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service
section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings, in the final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue the ITPs.
Public Review and Comment
If you wish to comment on the permit applications, draft
Environmental Action Statements or the proposed HCPs, you may submit
your comments to the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
document. Our practice is to make comments, including names, home
addresses, etc., of respondents available for public review. Individual
respondents may request that we withhold their names and/or home
addresses, etc., but if you wish us to consider withholding this
information you must state this prominently at the beginning of your
comments. In addition, you must provide a rationale demonstrating and
documenting that disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of privacy. In the absence of exceptional, documented
circumstances, this information will be released. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, are available for public inspection in their entirety.
The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the
Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: March 20, 2008.
Diane K. Noda,
Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura,
California.
[FR Doc. E8-6234 Filed 3-26-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
