65876 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Notices

States by the applicant to/from

worldwide locations to enhance the

survival of the species through

conservation education. This

notification covers activities conducted

by the applicant over a three year

period.

Written data or comments should be

submitted to the Director, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Division of

Management Authority, 4401 North

Fairfax Drive, Room 700, Arlington,

Virginia 22203 and must be received by

the Director within 30 days of the date

of this publication.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has

information collection approval from

OMB through February 28, 2001. OMB

Control Number 1018–0093. Federal

Agencies may not conduct or sponsor

and a person is not required to respond

to a collection of information unless it

displays a current valid OMB control

number.

Documents and other information

submitted with these applications are

available for review, subject to the

requirements of the Privacy Act and

Freedom of Information Act, by any

party who submits a written request for

a copy of such documents to the

following office within 30 days of the

date of publication of this notice: U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of

Management Authority, 4401 North

Fairfax Drive, Room 700, Arlington,

Virginia 22203. Phone: (703/358–2104);

FAX: (703/358–2281).

Dated: October 27, 2000.

Charlie Chandler,

Chief, Branch of Permits, Division of

Management Authority.

[FR Doc. 00–28086 Filed 11–01–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of an Environmental

Assessment and Receipt of an

Application for an Incidental Take

Application for a Road Project in the

City of Highland, San Bernardino

County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and

receipt of application.

SUMMARY: The City of Highland,

California (the Applicant) has applied to

the Fish and Wildlife Service for an

incidental take permit pursuant to

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended. The

Service proposes to issue a 5-year

permit to the Applicant that would

authorize take of the endangered San

Bernardino kangaroo rat (Dipodomys

merriami parvus) incidental to

otherwise lawful activities. Such take

would occur during the construction of

new roadway surfaces, sidewalks,

pedestrian walkways, and storm drains.

Project construction would be

performed by the Metropolitan Water

District during construction of their

Inland Feeder Project across Boulder

Avenue and Base Line Street in the City

of Highland. This project would

permanently eliminate 0.046 acres of

occupied habitat for the San Bernardino

kangaroo rat.

We request comments from the public

on the permit application and

Environmental Assessment, which are

available for review. The permit

application includes the proposed

Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) and an

Implementing Agreement (legal

contract). The Plan describes the

proposed project and the measures that

the Applicant would undertake to

minimize and mitigate take of the San

Bernardino kangaroo rat.

This notice is provided pursuant to

section 10(a) of the Endangered Species

Act and National Environmental Policy

Act regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). All

comments received, including names

and addresses, will become part of the

official administrative record and may

be made available to the public.

DATES: We must receive written

comments on or before January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please address written

comments to Mr. Jim Bartel, Assistant

Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife

Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West,

Carlsbad, California 92008. You also

may send comments by facsimile to

(760) 431–5902.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Jim Bartel, Assistant Field Supervisor, at

the above address or call (760) 431–

9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

You may obtain copies of these

documents for review by contacting the

above office. Documents also will be

available for public inspection, by

appointment, during normal business

hours at the above address and at the

City of Highland Offices, the Highland

Branch Library, and the Highland Police

Station.

Background

Section 9 of the Endangered Species

Act and Federal regulation 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

include kill, harm, or harass. The

Service may, under limited

circumstances, issue permits to

authorize 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 in 50 CFR 17.32 and

17.22, respectively.

The Applicant has proposed roadway

and storm drain improvements to Base

Line Street and Boulder Avenue in the

City of Highland, California. Typical

land uses in the area surrounding the

project site include several residential

developments, commercial centers, and

undeveloped alluvial fan sage scrub

areas in City Creek.

Biologists surveyed the project sites

for special status plants and wildlife in

1994, 1998, and 1999. Based on these

surveys and previous knowledge of the

area, the Service concluded that the

project may result in the take of one

federally listed species, the endangered

San Bernardino kangaroo rat.

The Applicants propose to implement

the following measures to minimize and

mitigate take of the San Bernardino

kangaroo rat: (1) Exclude animals from

the construction area by means of preconstruction trapping, relocation, and

construction of a barrier fence; (2)

monitor all project activities by a

Service-approved biologist during

clearing of sage scrub vegetation; (3)

restrict contractor movements, prohibit

pets on-site, and install temporary

fencing to protect the adjacent biological

resources during construction; (4) use

the previously-permitted Metropolitan

Water District construction staging area

for staging during this project; (5)

reduce the width of the pedestrian

parkway on Boulder Avenue adjacent to

occupied habitat from 20 to 12 feet in

width and eliminate the 6-foot-wide

pedestrian walkway on the south side of

Base Line Street; (6) recontour and

revegetate 0.023 acres of alluvial fan

sage scrub habitat and control weeds in

the revegetation area for 2 years; (7)

shield all lights to direct night-time

lighting away from occupied habitat; (8)

install signs along sidewalks and trails

in the vicinity of occupied habitat that

notify the public of endangered species

habitat and the necessity to stay on

designated trails and sidewalks; and (9)

mitigate the loss of 0.046 acres of

alluvial fan sage scrub habitat by

purchasing 1 acre of San Bernardino

kangaroo rat habitat at the CalMat

Mitigation Bank in San Bernardino

County, California.
Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Notices 65877

The Environmental Assessment

considers the environmental

consequences of the Proposed Action

and two alternatives. The Proposed

Action consists of the issuance of an

incidental take permit and

implementation of the Plan and its

Implementing Agreement, which

include measures to minimize and

mitigate impacts of the project to the

San Bernardino kangaroo rat.

Alternative 2 (Modification of the Site

Design) would also require a Habitat

Conservation Plan and issuance of an

incidental take permit. This alternative

assumes a 6-foot wide graded dirt

parkway on the north and south sides of

Base Line Street and a 20-foot wide

graded dirt parkway on the east side of

Boulder Avenue. This alternative would

result in a total of 1.6 acres of

disturbance to occupied San Bernardino

kangaroo rat habitat, a 1.55-acre increase

over the Proposed Action. Under the No

Action Alternative, the Service would

not issue a permit, the existing roadway

conditions would remain unchanged,

pedestrian traffic would continue along

the unpaved shoulders of Base Line

Street, and non-native, invasive plant

species would not be managed at the

site. The two alternatives would result

in less habitat value for the San

Bernardino kangaroo rat than the off-site

mitigation proposed under the Proposed

Action.

This notice is provided pursuant to

section 10(a) of the Endangered Species

Act and the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969 regulations (40 CFR

1506.6). We will evaluate the

application, associated documents, and

comments submitted thereon to

determine whether the application

meets the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act regulations

and section 10(a) of the Endangered

Species Act. If we determine that those

requirements are met, then we will issue

a permit to the Applicants for incidental

take of the San Bernardino kangaroo rat.

Our final permit decision will be made

no sooner than 60 days from the date of

this notice.

Dated: October 26, 2000.

John Engbring,

Deputy Manager, California/Nevada

Operations Office, Sacramento, California.

[FR Doc. 00–28070 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Receipt of Applications for Incidental

Take Permits for the Delhi Sands

Flower-Loving Fly and Availability of

an Environmental Assessment

Associated With the Development of

Five Sites in the Cities of Rialto and

Colton, San Bernardino County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability and

receipt of applications.

SUMMARY: John J. Reichel, Serenata LLC,

West San Bernardino County Water

District, Richard A. Steidl, and Brigitta

M. Steidl (Applicants) have applied to

the Fish and Wildlife Service for the

approval of a Habitat Conservation Plan

and issuance of incidental take permits

pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the

Endangered Species Act, 1973, as

amended (Act). The Applicants propose

to independently develop a municipal

well, commercial/retail development,

two residential developments, and one

project that will either be residential

and/or commercial/retail on five

different sites in the cities of Colton and

Rialto. The Applicants seek permits for

a period of 20 years that would

authorize incidental take of the

endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving

fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus

abdominalis) associated with the

development and use of an

approximately 32.8-acre area of which

29.9 acres is appropriate Delhi soils.

The Service seeks public comment on

the permit applications, which include

a Habitat Conservation Plan and the

Implementation Agreement that defines

the responsibilities of the parties under

the Habitat Conservation Plan. We also

seek comment on an Environmental

Assessment for our proposed permit

actions. All comments will become part

of the administrative record and may be

released to the public.

DATES: We must receive your written

comments on or before January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to

Mr. Ken Berg, Field Supervisor, Fish

and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker

Avenue West, Carlsbad, California

92008. You may send comments by

facsimile to telephone (760) 930–0846.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Jim Bartel, Assistant Field Supervisor,

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Service

Office, at the above address or call (760)

431–9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

You may obtain copies of the

documents for review by calling the

Service’s Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife

Office at the above referenced telephone

number. Documents also are available

for public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

Background

Section 9 of the Act and its

implementing regulations prohibit the

‘‘take’’ of threatened or endangered

species. That is, no one may 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). Harm may

include significant habitat modification

where it actually kills or injures wildlife

by significantly impairing essential

behavioral patterns, including breeding,

feeding, and sheltering [50 CFR 17.3(c)].

The Service, however, may issue

permits to take endangered and/or

threatened wildlife species incidental

to, and not the purpose of otherwise

lawful activities. Regulations governing

permits for endangered and/or

threatened species are found at 50 CFR

17.22 and 17.32.

We propose to authorize incidental

take of the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly

from the Applicants’ proposed

activities, on the five sites, as described

in the Habitat Conservation Plan. The

Habitat Conservation Plan describes

alternatives to the proposed action and

provisions for minimization, mitigation,

and monitoring of impacts.

The Applicants propose to develop up

to 32.8 acres, of which, approximately

29.9 acres consists of Delhi soils. The

majority of the 29.9 acres proposed for

development consists of compacted

soils with invasive weed species.

Approximately 11 acres of Delhi Sands

flower-loving fly habitat is proposed to

be transferred in fee title to the National

Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be

preserved and managed in perpetuity

for the conservation of the Delhi Sands

flower-loving fly. The proposed

conservation area is comprised of Delhi

soils, contiguous to other known

occupied habitat. Prior to ground

disturbance, the Applicants and the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

propose to provide funding for the

management of the conservation area.

This action would compensate for the

loss of habitat resulting from the project

and would benefit the long-term

conservation of the Delhi Sands flowerloving fly.

The Habitat Conservation Plan and

the Environmental Assessment