Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 83 / Friday, April 30, 2010 / Notices 22835 

Authority 

This notice is published under the 

authority of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Improvement Act of 

1997, Public Law 105–57. 

Dated: February 18, 2010. 

Jon Andrew, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–10117 Filed 4–29–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R8–ES–2010–N087; 1112–0000– 

81440–F2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Permits, Santa Cruz 

County, CA 

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

applications from William Menchine 

and Alicia Stanton and the San Lorenzo 

Valley Water District (applicants) for 

incidental take permits under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). We are considering 

issuing permits that would authorize the 

applicants’ take of the Federally 

endangered Mount Hermon June beetle 

(Polyphylla barbata) incidental to 

otherwise lawful activities that would 

result in the permanent loss of 0.05 acre 

(2,182 square feet (sq ft)) of Mount 

Hermon June beetle habitat near Santa 

Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California. We 

invite comments from the public on the 

applications, which include Habitat 

Conservation Plans (HCPs) that fully 

describe the proposed projects and 

measures the applicants would 

undertake to minimize and mitigate 

anticipated take of the species. We also 

invite comments on our preliminary 

determination that the HCPs qualify as 

‘‘low-effect’’ plans, eligible for 

categorical exclusions under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended. We 

explain the basis for this determination 

in our draft Environmental Action 

Statements and associated Low-Effect 

Screening Forms, both of which are also 

available for review. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, please 

send your written comments by June 1, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may download a copy 

of the permit applications, plans, and 

related documents on the Internet at 

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

may request documents by U.S. 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 the 

Ventura address above, or by telephone 

at (805) 644–1766, extension 224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mount Hermon June beetle was 

listed as endangered on January 24, 

1997 (62 FR 3616). 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 part 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. 

Reconstruction of the home’s failing 

foundation and construction of a 

retaining wall for the Menchine HCP 

would take place within a 0.44-acre 

parcel (APN 060–361–03) located at 6 

Lyle Way near the city of Santa Cruz, 

Santa Cruz County, California. The 

parcel contains Zayante sand soils and 

vegetation consisting primarily of 

landscaping. The parcel is presumed to 

be occupied by the Mount Hermon June 

beetle, as the species is known to occur 

approximately 650 feet to the north of 

the property. Implementation of the 

project would result in impacts to a total 

of 0.05 acre (1,993 sq ft) of habitat for 

the Mount Hermon June beetle. Impacts 

would result in the permanent loss of 

0.04 acre (1,543 sq ft) and the temporary 

loss of 0.01 acre (450 sq ft) of Mount 

Hermon June beetle habitat. The 

Menchines propose to implement the 

following measures to minimize and 

mitigate for the loss of Mount Hermon 

June beetle habitat within the permit 

area: (1) Applicants will purchase 0.05 

acre (1,993 sq ft) of conservation credits 

at the Ben Lomond Sandhills Preserve 

of the Zayante Sandhills Conservation 

Bank, operated by PCO, LLC; (2) a 

qualified biologist will oversee 

construction and provide worker 

training on the Mount Hermon June 

beetle and requirements of the HCP; (3) 

temporary fencing will be installed to 

demarcate the impact area from the 

remainder of the property; (4) any life 

stages of the Mount Hermon June beetle 

will be captured and relocated if one is 

observed in an area that would be 

impacted; (5) dust control measures will 

be implemented to reduce impacts to 

the Mount Hermon June beetle and its 

habitat; (6) the 0.01-acre (450-sq-ft) area 

of temporary habitat disturbance will be 

revegetated with native Sandhills plant 

species; and (7) all exposed soils will be 

covered with impermeable material if 

construction occurs during the species’ 

flight season. 

The Menchine HCP considers three 

alternatives to the taking of Mount 

Hermon June beetle. 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 project. The project would be 

reduced in scale under this alternative; 

however, is not practical, as the home’s 

foundation requires repair, and a 

retaining wall is necessary for slope 

stabilization. The third alternative is the 

proposed action, which includes issuing 

an incidental take permit to the 

applicants, who would then implement 

the HCP. 

Construction of a pump house and 

pipeline for the Man ̃ ana Woods HCP 

would take place primarily at 140 Elena 

Court (APN 067–081–55), a 10.6-acre 

parcel, with a small portion crossing 

through 324 Blueberry Drive (APN 067– 

081–41), a 1.8-acre parcel. Both parcels 

are located just southwest of the City of 

Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, 

California. The applicant has received 

authorization from the two landowners 

to implement the project on private 

land. Both parcels contain Zayante sand 

soils with vegetation consisting of 

native and nonnative plant species and 

mixed evergreen forest. The parcels are 

presumed to be occupied by the Mount 

Hermon June beetle, as the species is 

known to occur at several locations 

within 0.75 mile of the project area. 

The Man ̃ ana Woods project would 

result in impacts to a total of 0.05 acre 


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22836 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 83 / Friday, April 30, 2010 / Notices 

(1,942 sq ft) of habitat for the Mount 

Hermon June beetle. Impacts would 

result in the permanent loss of 0.02 acre 

(639 sq ft), and the temporary loss of 

0.03 acre (1,303 sq ft) of habitat for the 

species. The applicant proposes to 

implement the following measures to 

minimize and mitigate for the loss of 

Mount Hermon June beetle habitat 

within the permit area: (1) Applicant 

will purchase 0.05 acre (1,942 sq ft) of 

conservation credits at the Ben Lomond 

Sandhills Preserve of the Zayante 

Sandhills Conservation Bank, operated 

by PCO, LLC; (2) a qualified biologist 

will oversee construction and provide 

worker training on the Mount Hermon 

June beetle and requirements of the 

HCP; (3) any life stages of the Mount 

Hermon June beetle will be captured 

and relocated if one is observed in an 

area that would be impacted; (4) the use 

of outdoor night lighting will be 

minimized to avoid disrupting the 

species’ breeding activity; (5) no 

landscaping will be used in order to 

avoid adverse effects to the species; and 

(6) all exposed soil will be covered with 

impermeable material if construction 

occurs during the species’ flight season. 

In the Man ̃ ana Woods HCP, three 

alternatives to the taking of listed 

species are considered. 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 project 

redesign that would relocate 

construction to the mixed evergreen 

forest habitat on site. This option was 

rejected because the location was 

deemed suboptimal, potentially 

resulting in substandard performance, 

and the pipeline installation would be 

significantly greater, resulting in undue 

financial burden on the applicant. The 

third alternative is the proposed action, 

which includes issuing an incidental 

take permit to the applicant, who would 

then implement the HCP. 

We are requesting comments on our 

preliminary determination that both 

applicants’ proposals will have a minor 

or negligible effect on the Mount 

Hermon June beetle, and that the HCPs 

both qualify as ‘‘low-effect’’ HCPs as 

defined by our Habitat Conservation 

Planning Handbook (November 1996). 

We base our determination that the 

plans qualify as low-effect HCPs on the 

following three criteria: (1) 

Implementation of the HCPs would 

result in minor or negligible effects on 

Federally listed, proposed, and 

candidate species and their habitats; (2) 

implementation of the HCPs would 

result in minor or negligible effects on 

other environmental values or 

resources; and (3) impacts of the HCPs, 

considered together with the impacts of 

other past, present, and reasonably 

foreseeable similarly situated projects, 

would not result, over time, in 

cumulative effects to the environmental 

values or resources that would be 

considered significant. As more fully 

explained in our Environmental Action 

Statements and associated Low-Effect 

Screening Forms, both applicants’ 

proposed HCPs qualify as ‘‘low-effect’’ 

HCPs 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. We do 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 (E.O.) 

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; and 

(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. 

We, therefore, have made the 

preliminary determination that approval 

of the HCPs and incidental take permits 

qualify as categorical exclusions 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 

the preliminary determinations. 

Next Steps 

We will evaluate the HCPs and 

comments we receive to determine 

whether the permit 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 

these requirements, we will issue two 

permits for the incidental take of the 

Mount Hermon June beetle. We will also 

evaluate whether issuance of the section 

10(a)(1)(B) permits would comply with 

section 7 of the Act by conducting intraService section 7 consultations for each 

plan. We will use the results of these 

consultations, in combination with the 

above findings, in our final analysis to 

determine whether or not to issue the 

permits. If the requirements are met, we 

will issue the permits to the applicants. 

Public Comments 

If you wish to comment on the permit 

applications, plans, 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. 

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. 

Authority 

We provide this notice under section 

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

and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

Dated: April 23, 2010. 

Diane K. Noda, 

Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife 

Office, Ventura, California. 

[FR Doc. 2010–10086 Filed 4–29–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLORW00000 L16100000.DO0000; HAG10– 

0117] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource 

Management Plan for the Eastern 

Washington and San Juan Planning 

Area in the State of Washington and 

Associated Environmental Impact 

Statement 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) Spokane District, 

Spokane Valley, Washington, intends to 

prepare a Resource Management Plan 

(RMP) with an associated 


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