Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12247

toll free at (800) 478–7745 (in Alaska) or

(800) 283–7745 (outside Alaska).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Following

the Exxon Valdez oil spill in March

1989, a Trustee Council of three state

and three federal trustees, including the

Secretary of the Interior, was formed.

The Trustee Council prepared a

restoration plan for the injured

resources and services within the oil

spill area. The restoration plan calls for

annual work plans identifying projects

to accomplish restoration. Each year

proposals for restoration projects are

solicited from a variety of organizations,

including the public.

Dated: March 7, 1997.

Willie R. Taylor,

Director, Office of Environmental Policy and

Compliance.

[FR Doc. 97–6530 Filed 3–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–RG–P

Fish and Wildlife Service

Preparation of an Environmental

Impact Statement on a Permit

Application to Incidentally Take

Threatened and Endangered Species

in Association With the San Joaquin

County Multiple Species Conservation

Plan in San Joaquin County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) and the County of San Joaquin,

California, intend to prepare a joint

Federal Environmental Impact

Statement/State Environmental Impact

Report (Statement/Report), pursuant to

the National Environmental Policy Act

and California Environmental Quality

Act. The Service intends to proceed

with preparation of the joint Statement/

Report in response to an anticipated

application by San Joaquin County to

obtain a 30-year permit under the

Federal Endangered Species Act that

would authorize incidental take of up to

approximately 100 species of plants and

animals. The anticipated application

would be accompanied by a Habitat

Conservation Plan. This notice describes

the proposed action and alternatives,

and the history of the scoping process.

DATES: Written comments will be

accepted by the Service at the address

below until April 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Information and comments

related to preparation of the joint

Statement/Report should be submitted

to Mr. Wayne White, Field Supervisor,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3310 El

Camino Avenue, Suite 120, Sacramento,

California 95821. Written comments

also may be sent by facsimile to (916)

979–2723.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Peter Cross, Division of Endangered

Species, at the above Sacramento

address, telephone (916) 979–2725.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

Background material will be available

for public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours (7:30 a.m.

to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday) at

the above Service address.

History of the Scoping Process

The public scoping process for the

Statement/Report was formally initiated

with the publication by San Joaquin

County of a Notice of Public Hearing

Scoping Meetings and Notice of

Preparation/Notice of Intent for the

Preparation of a Joint Environmental

Impact Report/Environmental Impact

Statement for the San Joaquin County

Multi-species Habitat Conservation and

Open Space Plan in The Record (the

largest distribution newspaper in San

Joaquin County) on January 22, 1997.

This Notice also was sent to 271

organizations, agencies, native

American tribes and other interested

public within San Joaquin County and

adjacent cities and counties. On

February 6, 1997, the Service attended

a public scoping meeting held in the

city of Stockton, California, pursuant to

the January 22 notice. During this

meeting, concern was raised regarding

the potential impact of linear projects

that could create significant dispersal

barriers to certain species that will be

addressed in the Habitat Conservation

Plan (e.g., water delivery canals). The

Service intends to use the information

collected at the February 6 scoping

meeting and a second scoping meeting

held on March 5, 1997, in Lodi,

California, as well as other information

and comments received in development

of the joint Statement/Report.

Proposed Action

San Joaquin County intends to submit

an application to the Service for a 30-

year incidental take permit under

Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Federal

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended (Act). The application would

include a Multi-Species Habitat

Conservation and Open Space Plan

(Plan) that would serve as a Habitat

Conservation Plan as defined by Section

10(a)(1)(B) of the Act.

The Service anticipates that San

Joaquin County would seek a permit

authorizing incidental take, now or in

the future, of up to approximately 100

species, to the extent that take is

prohibited under Section 9 of the Act

for each of these species. The

anticipated permit application would

include 12 listed species: the

endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes

macrotis mutica), Conservancy fairy

shrimp (Branchinecta conservatio),

longhorn fairy shrimp (Branchinecta

longiantenna), vernal pool tadpole

shrimp (Lepidurus packardi), largeflowered fiddleneck (Amsinckia

grandiflora), and palmate-bracted bird’sbeak (Cordylanthus palmatus), and the

threatened California red-legged frog

(Rana aurora draytonii), valley

elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus

californicus dimorphus), vernal pool

fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi),

delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus),

giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas),

and Aleutian Canada goose (Branta

canadensis leucopareia). In addition,

the anticipated application likely would

seek assurances for future incidental

take, should it become necessary, of 83

currently unlisted species. These

unlisted species include 4 species

proposed for listing: the Sacramento

splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus),

succulent owl’s clover (fleshy owl’s

clover) (Castilleja campestris ssp.

succulenta) and Colusa grass

(Neostapfia colusana), currently

proposed for threatened status, and

Greene’s tuctoria (Tuctoria greenei),

currently proposed for endangered

status. Should an unlisted species

covered by the Plan be listed in the

future, take authorization would become

effective upon listing under the Act.

The anticipated Plan would

encompass all of San Joaquin County:

approximately 1,400 square miles

(900,000 acres), including 43 percent of

the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The

Plan, however, would only be

applicable to the area covered by those

jurisdictions choosing to adopt the Plan.

The anticipated Plan would allow

conversion of up to 104,299 acres of

land to non-open space uses while

providing compensation for

approximately 100 plant and animal

species and 52 vegetative communities,

including the conversion of vernal pools

to such uses pursuant to the Federal

Clean Water Act.

The anticipated Plan would have

multiple purposes, all of which address

the conversion of open space (for

wildlife, agricultural, recreational,

educational, flood control and other

uses) to non-open space uses. The

anticipated Plan would allow new

development to proceed with

predetermined, standardized mitigation
12248 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

measures for habitat loss. The

anticipated Plan would eliminate the

need for project surveys and mitigation

negotiations, and would be limited to

payment of a fee (or in-lieu land

dedications, if preferred) and

implementation of incidental take

avoidance measures.

The anticipated Plan would be

completed by the San Joaquin Council

of Governments (Council of

Governments) through a planning

process pursuant to a Memorandum of

Understanding adopted by the Service,

San Joaquin Council of Governments,

San Joaquin County, the California

Department of Fish and Game, Caltrans,

and the cities of Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi,

Manteca, Ripon, Stockton, and Tracy.

Only those agencies adopting the Plan

would be covered by it. Agencies

indicating interest in adopting the

anticipated Plan are: the San Joaquin

Council of Governments; San Joaquin

County; Caltrans; Federal Highway

Administration; San Joaquin Area Flood

Control Agency; Stockton East Water

District; Reclamation Districts, some

local School Districts; East Bay

Municipal Utilities District; and the

cities of Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi,

Manteca, Ripon, Stockton, and Tracy.

To receive coverage under the Plan,

incidental take authorizations would be

required by each of these entities from

the Service and California Department

of Fish and Game.

The Plan would be voluntary for

individual project proponents. This

means that if the anticipated Plan is

prepared and approved and its

associated incidental take permit issued,

individuals would have the option of

either participating in the Plan or

negotiating directly with the State and

Federal permitting agencies.

Specifically, for local jurisdictions

adopting the Plan, the following

alternatives would be available to

individuals undertaking activities

covered by the Plan within that

jurisdiction unless exempted by the

Plan: (1) Pay the appropriate fee; (2)

dedicate, as conservation easements or

fee title, habitat lands; or (3) perform/

undertake alternative mitigation as

approved by the permittee. Such

alternative mitigation would be

equivalent to, or otherwise consistent

with, the purposes of the anticipated

Plan.

Alternatives

To date, the following alternatives

have been considered during the

planning process:

Full Plan Alternative/Proposed

Project: The anticipated Plan would

include coverage for approximately 100

special status species and 52 vegetative

communities occurring in the County,

including wetlands, specifically vernal

pools.

No Plan Alternative: This alternative

would maintain the current process of

negotiating mitigation and obtaining

incidental take permits for impacts to

wildlife habitat on a project-by-project

basis.

Moderate Plan Alternative A: This

alternative would exclude species not

currently listed under the State and

Federal Endangered Species Acts (i.e.,

non-listed species of special concern)

and would exclude wetland mitigation

under the anticipated Plan.

Moderate Plan Alternative B: This

alternative would address Plan funding

if some jurisdictions do not participate

in the Plan and if a five-acre exemption

is adopted during reauthorization of the

Federal Endangered Species Act.

Economic Alternatives: This

alternative would involve a single fee

versus the tiered fee provided for in the

Proposed Project.

Mitigation Alternatives: This would

involve a one-half to one compensation

level with increased preserve

enhancements for agricultural habitat

lands versus the one-to-one

compensation with lesser preserve

enhancements provided for in the

Proposed Project.

The comment period will provide an

opportunity to address the potential

effects of these alternatives and to

propose others. Interested persons are

encouraged to comment on the issues

and alternatives to be addressed in the

joint Statement/Report.

Environmental review of the joint

Statement/Report will be in accordance

with the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as

amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),

National Environmental Policy Act

regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),

other appropriate regulations, and

Service procedures for compliance with

those regulations. The notice is being

furnished in accordance with section

1501.7 of the National Environmental

Policy Act to obtain suggestions and

information from other agencies and the

public on the scope of issues to be

addressed in the joint Statement/Report.

Dated: March 7, 1997.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

Regional Director, Region 1,

Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 97–6494 Filed 3–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

Bureau of Land Management

[MT–962–1430–00-CCAM]

Notice of Availability for the Proposed

Cooke City Area Mineral Withdrawal

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: This notice of availability is

issued by the Bureau of Land

Management, Interior, with the Forest

Service, Agriculture, as the joint lead

agency. The draft Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) documents the effects of

withdrawing from federal mineral

location and entry up to 22,000 acres of

federal mineral estate near Cooke City,

Montana. The proposed mineral

withdrawal would also apply to

hardrock minerals acquired by the

United States and managed as leasable

minerals. The proposed mineral

withdrawal would be subject to review

after 20 years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Thompson, BLM Co-Lead, or Larry

Timchak, FS Co-Lead, CCAM, P.O. Box

36800, Billings, MT 59107–6800. Phone

(406) 255–0322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This EIS

analyzes the environmental

consequences of two alternatives. The

proposed withdrawal of federal

locatable minerals would not allow new

mining claims to be filed on federal

lands. Unpatented mining claims with

valid existing rights and private lands

would not be affected. The no action

alternative (No Mineral Withdrawal)

provides a baseline for comparison. This

alternative would continue the

management that existed prior to

September 1, 1995.

DATES: Public informational meetings

(open houses) will be held April 1,

1997, in Cooke City, Montana, at the

Fire Hall; April 3, 1997, in Livingston,

Montana, at the Best Western

Yellowstone Inn; April 9, 1997, in Cody,

Wyoming, at the Cody Club Room; and

April 10, 1997, in Red Lodge, Montana,

at the LuPine Inn. Officials from the

BLM and FS will be present at these

open houses from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00

p.m. each day.

Dated: February 27, 1997.

Daniel T. Mates,

Acting Deputy State Director, Division of

Resources.

[FR Doc. 97–5401 Filed 3–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–DN–P