Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices 75293

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Comprehensive

Conservation Plan and Summary for

Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge

Complex, Cayuga, ND

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Refuge

Improvement Act of 1997, the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service has published the

Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge

Comprehensive Conservation Plan and

Summary. This Plan describes how the

FWS intends to manage the Tewaukon

Complex for the next 10–15 years.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Plan may be

obtained by writing to U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, Tewaukon National

Wildlife Refuge, 9754 1431⁄2 Avenue

SW., Cayuga ND 58013; or download

from http://www.r6.fws.gov/larp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Allison Banks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, P.O. Box 25486 DFC, Denver,

CO 80225, 303/236–8145 extension 626;

fax 303/236–4792.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Tewaukon

NWR Complex is located in southeast

North Dakota. Implementation of the

Plan will focus on adaptive resource

management of glaciated prairie

wetlands, tall and mixed-grass prairie

grasslands, riparian woodlands, and

opportunities for wildlife-dependent

recreation. Habitat monitoring and

evaluation will be emphasized as the

Plan is implemented. Opportunities for

compatible wildlife-dependent

recreation will continue to be provided.

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Elliott Sutta,

Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.

[FR Doc. 00–30614 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of Final Environmental

Impact Statement/Environmental

Impact Report for the Proposed

Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit

for the San Joaquin County MultiSpecies Habitat Conservation and

Open Space Plan in California

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final

environmental impact statement/

environmental impact report.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

of the availability of the Final

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report on the

application to incidentally take 16

federally listed species and 26 currently

unlisted species should any of them

become listed under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),

during the life of the permit. The San

Joaquin Council of Governments

(Council of Governments) has applied to

the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)

for a 50-year incidental take permit

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

Act. The Council of Governments has

applied for itself and on behalf of the

cities of Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi,

Manteca, Ripon, Stockton, and Tracy;

San Joaquin County; the East Bay

Municipal Utility District; California

Department of Transportation-District

10 within San Joaquin County; San

Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency;

Stockton East Water District; and the

South San Joaquin Irrigation District

(Applicants). This notice is provided

pursuant to section 10 of the Act and

National Environmental Policy Act

Regulation (40 CFR 1506.6).

DATES: A Record of Decision and permit

decision will occur no sooner than

January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the San Joaquin

County Multi-Species Habitat

Conservation and Open Space Plan

(Plan), Implementation Agreement, and

Final Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report are

available for review at the following

government offices and libraries:

Government Offices—Fish and

Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite

W–2605, Sacramento, California 95825,

(916) 414–6600 and San Joaquin

Council of Governments, 6 S. El Dorado

St., Suite 400, Stockton, California

95202, (209) 468–3913. The Plan,

Implementation Agreement, and Final

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report are also

available at the website for the San

Joaquin Council of Governments at

http://www.sjcog.org.

Libraries—California State Library,

Information and Reference Center, 914

Capital Mall, Room 301, Sacramento,

California 95814, (916) 654–0261;

Escalon Branch Library, 1540 Second

St., Escalon, California 95320, (209)

838–2478; Tracy Branch Library, 20 E.

Eaton Ave., Tracy, California 95376,

(209) 831–4250; Cesar Chavez Central

Library, 605 N. El Dorado St., Stockton,

California 95202, (209) 937–8415; Fair

Oaks Branch Library, 2370 E. Main St.,

Stockton, California 95205, (209) 937–

7700; Lodi Library, 201 West Locust

Street, Lodi, California 95240, (209)

333–8507; Manteca Branch Library, 320

W. Center St., Manteca, California

95336, (209) 825–2380; Ripon Branch

Library, 430 W. Main St., Ripon,

California 95366, (209) 599–3326;

Margaret Klausner Troke Branch

Library, 502 W. Benjamin Holt (at

Inglewood), Stockton, California 95207,

(209) 937–7000; Maya Angelou

Southeast Branch Library, 2324 Pock

Lane, Stockton, California 95205, (209)

937–7700.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Vicki Campbell, Conservation Planning

Division Chief, Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office, Sacramento, California,

at (916) 414–6600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 9 of the Act and Federal

regulation prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of animal

species listed as endangered or

threatened. 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). However,

under limited circumstances, the

Service, may issue permits to authorize

‘‘incidental take’’ of listed animal

species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ is defined by

the Act as take that is incidental to, and

not the purpose of, the carrying out of

an otherwise lawful activity.

Regulations governing permits for

threatened and endangered species,

respectively, are at 50 CFR 17.22, 17.23,

and 17.32.

The Applicants seek an incidental

take permit for the following federally

listed species: threatened Aleutian

Canada goose (Branta canadensis

leucopareia), giant garter snake

(Thamnophis gigas), California redlegged frog (Rana aurora draytonii),

delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus),

Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys

macrolepidotus), vernal pool fairy

shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi), valley

elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus

californicus dimorphus), fleshy owl’sclover (Castilleja campestris ssp.

succulenta), and endangered San

Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis

mutica), Conservancy fairy shrimp

(Branchinecta conservatio), longhorn

fairy shrimp (Branchinecta

longiantenna), vernal pool tadpole

shrimp (Lepidurus packardi), riparian

woodrat (Neotoma fucipes riparia),

riparian brush rabbit (Sylvilagus

bachmani riparius), large-flowered

fiddleneck (Amsinckia grandiflora), and

Greene’s tuctoria (Tuctoria greenei).

This take would be incidental to the

75294 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices

applicants’ conversion of open space to

non-open space uses within the

900,000+ acre planning area in San

Joaquin County (County) in California.

The proposed permit also would

authorize future incidental take of 26

species that are not currently federally

listed, should any of them become listed

under the Act during the life of the

permit. The 26 currently unlisted

species include 13 plant species, 3

amphibian species, 1 reptile species,

and 9 bird species. The Plan

erroneously identifies the mountain

plover (Charadrius montanus) as a

federally-listed threatened species.

However, the status of this species is

still proposed for listing as threatened.

This error in the Plan does not change

or alter coverage for the mountain

plover; incidental take for this species

would be authorized should the species

become listed under the Act during the

life of the permit.

In the Plan, the applicants have

proposed the conversion of

approximately 109,302 acres from open

space to non-open space uses

throughout the life of the permit,

primarily by activities already

addressed in adopted plans of the local

cities and County. These activities

include residential, commercial, and

industrial development; aggregate

mining; construction and maintenance

of transportation facilities, public

utilities, schools, and parks and trails;

minor dredging, non-federal flood

control and irrigation district projects;

agricultural conversions of vernal pool

grasslands; managing reserves; and

other anticipated projects. A more

detailed description of covered

activities is provided in the Plan.

The Plan classifies the County’s land

uses into four general categories:

Natural Lands, Agricultural Lands,

Multi-Purpose Open Space, and Urban

Lands. Habitat preservation and/or

creation will be required to mitigate for

loss of Natural and Agricultural Lands.

For Agricultural Land (e.g., row and

field crops), 1 acre will be preserved for

each acre impacted. For Natural Lands,

mitigation varies according to habitat

type: (a) For non-wetland habitat (e.g.,

grasslands, oak woodlands, scrub), 3

acres will be preserved for each acre

lost; (b) for vernal pools in the

designated ‘‘Vernal Pool Zone’’, 2 acres

will be preserved and 1 acre will be

created for each acre lost; and (c) for

wetlands other than vernal pools (e.g.,

channel islands, riparian creeks,

sloughs), each acre lost will be mitigated

through 3 acres of preservation, at least

1 acre of which will be created. Up to

71,837 acres of Natural and Agricultural

Lands could be converted under the

plan, requiring approximately 100,241

acres of habitat preservation and/or

creation. Additionally, up to 37,465

acres of Multi-Purpose Open Space are

expected to be converted, requiring

mitigation in the form of fee payments

to help finance enhancement,

management, and administration costs

associated with the preserve system.

The amount of land that will actually be

converted during the life of the permit

is unknown, but maximum acreage

limits have been set based on existing

local land use plans.

An additional 600 acres will be

preserved under the Plan to compensate

for potential impacts to covered species

which stray from preserve lands onto

neighboring lands. At the election of

landowners within 0.5 mile of preserve

land, agricultural and aggregate mining

activities will receive incidental take

authorization for covered species,

except for foraging Swainson’s hawks,

that become established on the property

after the adjacent land has been

preserved. For foraging Swainson’s

hawks, landowners within 10 miles of

established preserves may receive

neighboring land protections at their

discretion. Exceptions to this coverage

and other details regarding these

neighboring land protections are

provided in the Plan.

Preservation is anticipated to be

achieved primarily through the

purchase of conservation easements

(approximately 90 percent) with some

purchase of lands in fee title

(approximately 10 percent).

Conservation easements would stress

the preservation of existing agricultural

practices which are deemed compatible

with the conservation of the covered

species. It is anticipated that about

100,841 acres of Preserve will be

acquired (about 100,241 to mitigate loss

of Natural and Agricultural Lands and

600 acres to mitigate for neighboring

land protections) during the 50-year

term of the Plan. These lands would be

preserved and managed for wildlife

values in perpetuity.

The Plan includes measures to avoid

and minimize incidental take for each of

the covered species, emphasizing

project design modifications to protect

both habitats and species individuals. A

monitoring and reporting plan will

gauge the Plan’s success, based on

biological success criteria, and ensure

that compensation keeps pace with

open space conversions. The Plan also

includes adaptive management which

allows for changes in the conservation

program if the biological success criteria

are not met, or new information

becomes available to improve the

efficacy of the Plan’s conservation

strategy.

In addition to incidental take

avoidance measures, the Plan includes

requirements for conserving corridors

for the San Joaquin kit fox and for

avoiding the creation of linear barriers

to species dispersal. The Plan also

establishes limits on Natural Land

conversions and for particular species

covered by the Plan. Details of

avoidance and minimization measures,

and preserve design and management

are presented in the Plan.

The Plan would be implemented by a

Joint Powers Authority which would be

advised by a Technical Advisory

Committee including representatives

from the Fish and Wildlife Service,

California Department of Fish and

Game, and other agencies or parties.

Additional assistance will be provided

to the Joint Powers Authority by

conservation, agricultural, and business

interests, and other stakeholders in the

County.

Funding for the Plan is anticipated to

be provided by multiple sources

including development fees (to fund 67

percent of the Plan); local, state and

Federal funding sources (16 percent of

Plan funding); Plan-generated income

(e.g., through lease revenues—

approximately 5 percent of funding);

conservation bank revenues (2 percent);

and revolving funds (10 percent).

The Council of Governments has

requested incidental take authorization

from the California Department of Fish

and Game for a total of 97 species

protected under the California

Endangered Species Act and/or

California Environmental Quality Act.

The California Department of Fish and

Game intends to use this Final

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report and the

Plan as a basis for issuing state permits

for incidental take of state-protected

species resulting from implementation

of the Plan.

In October 1, 1999, a notice was

published in the Federal Register (64

FR 53401) announcing that the Service

had received an application for an

incidental take permit from the Council

of Governments for implementation of

the Plan and the availability of a Draft

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report for the

application. The Draft Environmental

Impact Statement/Environmental

Impact Report analyzed the potential

environmental impacts that may result

from the Federal action of authorizing

incidental take anticipated to occur with

implementation of the Plan, and

identified various alternatives. Twelve

comment letters were received on the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 232 / Friday, December 1, 2000 / Notices 75295

Draft Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report. A

response to each comment received in

these letters has been included in Final

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report.

The Draft Environmental Impact

Statement/Environmental Impact Report

considered five alternatives, including

the Proposed Action and the No-Action

Alternatives. Under the No-Action

Alternative, landowners within the

County would continue to apply for

individual incidental take permits on a

case-by-case basis, resulting in

piecemeal planning that would establish

isolated patches of mitigation land

scattered throughout the County. This

could result in cumulatively significant

adverse impacts to those species which

would benefit from larger tracts of

interconnected habitats.

Under the Reduced Land Acquisition/

Increased Preserve Enhancement

Alternative, mitigation would focus on

habitat enhancement which could

interfere substantially with agricultural

activities, creating significant adverse

impact to agricultural productivity in

the County. This alternative would have

questionable benefits to the covered

species because habitat enhancement is

unpredictable and may be unsuccessful.

Under the No Wetlands Coverage

Alternative, landowners within the

County would continue to apply for

individual permits pursuant to the

Federal Clean Water Act, which is

expected to result in piecemeal

planning. Mitigation lands would likely

consist of smaller and more widely

scattered habitat blocks than would

occur with the Proposed Action,

resulting in cumulatively significant

adverse impacts to those wetlanddependent species which would benefit

from larger tracts of interconnected

habitats.

Under the Preserve Location Outside

of the County Alternative, significantly

less habitat within the County would be

preserved than with the Proposed

Action, adversely impacting some

covered species by creating gaps in the

species’ range and potentially

disrupting the genetic integrity of some

populations. This alternative could also

adversely impact relatively immobile

species that are unable to relocate to

distant newly created habitats.

The analysis provided in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement/

Environmental Impact Report is

intended to accomplish the following:

inform the public of the proposed

action; address public comments

received on the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement/Environmental

Impact Report; disclose the direct,

indirect, and cumulative environmental

effects of the proposed actions; and

indicate any irreversible commitment of

resources that would result from

implementation of the proposed action.

Dated: November 20, 2000.

John Engbring,

Acting Deputy Manager, Region 1, California/

Nevada Operations Office, Sacramento,

California.

[FR Doc. 00–30080 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA–690–01–5101–01–B109; CACA–CACA–

40467]

Notice of Extension of the Public

Comment Period on the Supplement to

the Draft Environmental Impact Report/

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Proposed Cadiz Groundwater

Storage Dry-Year Supply Program

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the public comment period on the

Supplement to the Draft Environmental

Impact Report/Environmental Impact

Statement for the Proposed Cadiz

Groundwater Storage Dry-Year Supply

Program has been extended to Monday,

January 8, 2001. The original public

comment was scheduled to close on

Monday, December 4, 2000.

The Bureau of Land Management

(BLM), Department of the Interior, the

Federal lead agency, and Metropolitan

Water District (MWD) of Southern

California, the State lead agency,

developed the supplement in response

to public and agency concerns about

groundwater management and potential

air quality impacts associated with the

project, proposed by Metropolitan in

partnership with Cadiz, Inc.

Cooperating agencies in developing the

supplement were the National Park

Service (NPS) and the U.S. Geological

Survey (USGS).

The Supplement provides more

information on the proposed project and

includes a Groundwater Monitoring and

Management Plan (Plan). The Plan

would govern water storage and

extraction operations, including the

amount of indigenous groundwater that

may be extracted over the 50-year life of

the proposed project.

The project proposes to utilize the

groundwater basins under a portion of

the Cadiz and Fenner Valleys, about 60

miles southwest of Needles, Calif., to

store water imported from

Metropolitan’s Colorado River Aqueduct

during years with surplus water and

extract the stored water and available

indigenous groundwater for use by

Metropolitan to serve its customers.

Some of the necessary facilities

involved would be located on Cadiz,

Inc. private land, while a 35-mile-long

pipeline and other facilities would be

on public lands administered by BLM.

The supplement is available online at

www.ca.blm.gov/needles/nepa01.html.

Review copies are available at BLM

offices in Needles (101 West Spikes

Road) and Riverside (6221 Box Springs

Blvd.), and Metropolitan’s Los Angeles

headquarters (700 North Alameda

Street), as well as local public libraries.

Comments on the Supplement to the

Draft Environmental Impact Report/

Environmental Impact Statement for the

Proposed Cadiz Groundwater Storage

Dry-Year Supply Program should be

addressed to the Bureau of Land

Management, Attn: James Williams,

6221 Box Springs Blvd., Riverside, CA

92507 or Metropolitan Water District,

Attn: Jack Safely, P.O. Box 54153, Los

Angeles, CA 90054.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Williams at (909) 697–5390 or

Jack Safely at (213) 217–6981.

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Bruce Shaffer,

Associate District Manager.

[FR Doc. 00–30613 Filed 11–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY–030–2001–1060–JJ]

Notice of Intent to Extend the Time

Period for Removal of Excess and

Stray Wild Horses

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

SUMMARY: On June 21, 2000, notice was

published in the Federal Register at

Vol. 65, No 120, pgs 38572–38573,

which stated in part, ‘‘* * * the

Rawlins and Lander Field Offices of the

Bureau of Land Management plan to

remove 500–600 excess and stray horses

from three contiguous areas of the

Rawlins and Lander Field Offices

known as the Lost Creek HMA, an area

designated as I–80 North, and the

Antelope Hills HMA * * * The removal

is scheduled to begin after September

30, 2000, and conclude prior to January

1, 2001. The Appropriate Management

Level for these three contiguous areas is

140. At least 140 horses will remain in

the area after the removal is completed.’’