Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 37 / Thursday, February 25, 2010 / Notices 8735 

section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA 

regulations at 40 CFR 1506.6. If we 

determine that the requirements are 

met, we will sign the proposed 

Agreement and issue a permit under 

section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act to the 

Applicants for take of the covered 

species in accordance with the terms of 

the Agreement. We will not make our 

final decision until after the end of the 

30-day comment period, and we will 

fully consider all comments we receive 

during the comment period. 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the Act and implementing 

regulations for NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: February 18, 2010. 

Larry Crist, 

Field Supervisor, Utah Ecological Services 

Office. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3853 Filed 2–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2010–N024; 1112–0000– 

81440–F2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Permit, San Luis Obispo 

County, CA 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service, us), have 

received from the California Department 

of Parks and Recreation (applicant) an 

application for an incidental take permit 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (Act). We are 

considering issuing a permit that would 

authorize the applicant’s take of the 

Federally endangered Morro 

shoulderband snail (Helminthoglypta 

walkeriana) incidental to otherwise 

lawful activities that would result in the 

permanent loss of 0.2 acre of Morro 

shoulderband snail habitat within 

Morro Bay State Park, San Luis Obispo 

County, California. We invite comments 

from the public on the application, 

which includes a Habitat Conservation 

Plan (HCP) fully describing the 

proposed project and measures the 

applicant would undertake to minimize 

and mitigate anticipated take of the 

species. We also invite comments on 

our preliminary determination that the 

HCP qualifies as a ‘‘low-effect’’ plan, 

eligible for a categorical exclusion under 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We 

explain the basis for this determination 

in our draft Environmental Action 

Statement and associated Low Effect 

Screening Form, both of which are also 

available for review. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by March 

29, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy 

of the permit application, plan, and 

related documents on the Internet at 

http://www.fws.gov/ventura, or you may 

request documents by U.S. mail, e-mail, 

or phone (see below). Please address 

written comments to Diane K. Noda, 

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: Jen 

Lechuga, HCP Coordinator, at Ventura 

address above, or (805) 644–1766, 

extension 224 (telephone). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Morro shoulderband snail was 

listed as endangered on December 15, 

1994 (59 FR 64613). Section 9 of the Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our 

implementing Federal regulations in the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 

CFR 17 prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of fish or 

wildlife species listed as endangered or 

threatened. Take of listed fish or 

wildlife is defined under the Act as ‘‘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 limited circumstances, we issue 

permits to authorize 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 

at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. 

The Act’s take prohibitions do not apply 

to Federally listed plants on private 

lands unless such take would violate 

State law. In addition to meeting other 

criteria, an incidental take permit’s 

proposed actions must not jeopardize 

the existence of Federally listed fish, 

wildlife, or plants. 

The applicant proposes the 

construction and use of a boardwalk, 

overlook area, and trail project within a 

10-acre site at the Morro Bay State Park 

marina peninsula, San Luis Obispo 

County, California, that will meet 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 

accessibility guidelines. The 10-acre site 

contains a mixture of native and 

introduced plant species. Coastal dune 

scrub, the only native upland 

community, occupies the majority of the 

10-acre permit area. Disturbed upland 

habitat is also present and includes 

illegal trails and areas dominated by 

nonnative plant species. 

The proposed project would result in 

impacts to a total of 0.41 acre of habitat 

for the Morro shoulderband snail. 

Permanent impacts resulting from the 

construction of the trails, boardwalk, 

and viewing platforms would be 0.18 

acre and 0.03 acre, respectively. 

Additionally, there would be temporary 

impacts to 0.2 acre. Both the permanent 

and temporary impacts are expected to 

result in take of Morro shoulderband 

snail. 

The applicant proposes to implement 

measures to minimize and mitigate for 

the take of Morro shoulderband snails 

within the permit area. Minimization 

measures include: (1) Restriction of 

activities to the dry season (April 15– 

November 15); (2) implementation of 

training sessions for all construction 

and park personnel involved in 

construction of the project; (3) 

performance of preconstruction surveys 

prior to each day of activity involving 

ground disturbance or vegetation 

disturbance to construct the boardwalk 

and peninsula spur trail; (4) relocation 

of any living Morro shoulderband snails 

that are found during preconstruction 

surveys or during construction into 

adjacent suitable habitat; (5) installation 

of fencing to delineate work and nonwork areas; and (6) use of hand tools to 

the maximum extent possible. 

Mitigation for unavoidable take of 

Morro shoulderband snails would 

consist of the establishment and 

management of a permanent 

conservation area over approximately 

9.6 acres adjacent to the ADA trail and 

boardwalk system, closure and 

restoration to native habitat of all 

volunteer trails and redundant trails in 

the project area, and nonnative plant 

species removal. The HCP also 

considers effects from covered activities 

on, as well as conservation measures 

for, the California seablite (Suaeda 

californica), a threatened plant species 

occurring in the estuarine habitat 

adjacent to the project area. 

In the proposed plan, the applicant 

considers three alternatives to the taking 

of listed species in the proposed project. 

The No Action Alternative would 

maintain current conditions, the project 

would not be implemented, and an 

incidental take permit application 

would not be submitted to the Service. 

The second alternative would involve a 

redesign of the Marina Peninsula Trail 

Project. Although a reduction in the 

development area would be possible on 

the property, it is anticipated that such 

a reduction would result in a trail 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
8736 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 37 / Thursday, February 25, 2010 / Notices 

configuration that would encourage the 

continued use and expansion of 

volunteer trails, thus continuing and 

expanding impacts to coastal scrub and 

salt marsh habitats. The third alternative 

would involve the relocation of the 

project site within the Morro Bay State 

Park. However, the proposed Marina 

Peninsula Trail project offers an 

opportunity to use a long stretch of 

existing disturbed ground, former 

maintenance road, and existing trails, 

all of which could be improved to meet 

accessible guidelines, limit the removal 

of existing habitat, and provide 

substantial protection and improvement 

of habitat for sensitive species. 

We are requesting comments on our 

preliminary determination that the 

applicant’s proposal will have a minor 

or negligible effect on the species 

covered in the plan, and that the plan 

qualifies as a ‘‘low-effect’’ habitat 

conservation plan as defined by our 

Habitat Conservation Planning 

Handbook (November 1996). We base 

our determination that the plan qualifies 

as a low-effect plan on the following 

three 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, in 

cumulative effects to environmental 

values or resources that would be 

considered significant. As more fully 

explained in our Environmental Action 

Statement and associated Low Effect 

Screening Form, the applicant’s 

proposed plan qualifies as a ‘‘low-effect’’ 

plan for the following reasons: 

(1) Approval of the HCP would result 

in minor or negligible effects on the 

Morro shoulderband snail and 

California seablite and their habitat. The 

Service does not anticipate significant 

direct or cumulative effects to the Morro 

shoulderband snail or California seablite 

resulting from the proposed Project. 

(2) Approval of the HCP would not 

have adverse effects on unique 

geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or 

involve unique or unknown 

environmental risks. 

(3) Approval of the HCP would not 

result in any cumulative or growthinducing impacts and would not result 

in significant adverse effects on public 

health or safety. 

(4) The project does not require 

compliance with Executive Order 11988 

(Floodplain Management), Executive 

Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), or 

the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 

nor does it threaten to violate a Federal, 

State, local, or Tribal law or requirement 

imposed for the protection of the 

environment. 

(5) Approval of the HCP would not 

establish a precedent for future actions 

or represent a decision in principle 

about future actions with potentially 

significant environmental effects. 

We, therefore, have made a 

preliminary determination that the 

approval of the HCP and incidental take 

permit application qualifies for a 

categorical exclusion under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by the 

Department of the Interior Manual (516 

DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 8). Based 

on our review of public comments that 

we receive in response to this notice, we 

may revise this preliminary 

determination. 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the plan and 

comments we receive to determine 

whether the permit application meets 

the requirements of section 10(a) of the 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we 

determine that the application meets 

these requirements, we will issue the 

permit for incidental take of the Morro 

shoulderband snail. We will also 

evaluate whether issuance of a section 

10(a)(1)(B) permit would comply 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 our final analysis to determine 

whether or not to issue a permit. If the 

requirements are met, we will issue the 

permit to the applicant. 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

application, plan, and associated 

documents, you may submit comments 

by any one of the methods in 

ADDRESSES. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comments, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

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. While you can ask 

us in your comment to withhold your 

personal identifying information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. 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. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

10(c) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 

and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: February 19, 2010. 

Diane K. Noda, 

Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3850 Filed 2–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R7–ES–2009–N244; 70120–1113– 

0000–C3] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Request for Scoping 

Comments and Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Proposed Designation of a NonEssential Experimental Population of 

Wood Bison in Alaska 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), plan to prepare a draft 

environmental assessment, under the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), in 

conjunction with a potential proposed 

rule to establish an experimental 

population of wood bison (Bison bison 

athabascae) in Alaska, pursuant to the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended. We are seeking comments or 

suggestions concerning the scope of our 

environmental analysis for this action. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by March 

29, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send information, 

comments, or questions by any one of 

the following methods. 

U.S. Mail or hand delivery: Fisheries 

and Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor 

Road, Anchorage, AK 99503. 

Fax: 907–786–3575. 

E-mail: woodbison-ak@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judy 

Jacobs, (907) 786–3472. 


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