Availability of an Environmental Action Statement and Receipt of an Application From Paramount Farming Company for a Permit To Enhance the Survival of the San Joaquin Kit Fox in Kern County, CA

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of an Environmental Action Statement and Receipt of

an Application From Paramount Farming Company for a Permit To Enhance

the Survival of the San Joaquin Kit Fox in Kern County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: Paramount Farming Company (Applicant) has applied to the Fish

and Wildlife Service (Service) for an enhancement of survival permit

pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,

as amended. The permit application includes a proposed Safe Harbor

Agreement (Agreement) between the Applicant and the Service. The

Agreement allows for management and conservation of the endangered San

Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) on 1,668 acres of private

land, owned by the Applicant, between the Lost Hills oil field and the

California Aqueduct, in western Kern County. The proposed duration of

both the Agreement and permit is 3 years, and can be extended on an

annual basis.

The Service has made a preliminary determination that the proposed

Agreement and permit application are eligible for categorical exclusion

under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The basis for this

determination is contained in an Environmental Action Statement, which

also is available for public review.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before November 2,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Chief, Conservation Planning

Division, Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605,

Sacramento, California, 95825-1846 or sent by facsimile to (916) 414-

6713.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Jones, Fish and Wildlife

Biologist, at (916) 414-6600 (see ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Document Availability

Individuals wishing copies of the application, Agreement, and

Environmental Action Statement should immediately contact the Service

by telephone at (916) 414-6600 or by letter to the Sacramento Fish and

Wildlife Office. Copies of the documents are also available for public

inspection at the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office during regular

business hours.

Background

Under a Safe Harbor Agreement, participating landowners voluntarily

undertake management activities on their property to enhance, restore,

or maintain habitat benefitting species listed under the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended. Safe Harbor Agreements encourage

private and other non-Federal property owners to implement conservation

efforts for listed species by assuring property owners they will not be

subjected to increased property use restrictions if their efforts

attract listed species to their property or increase the numbers or

distribution of listed species already on their property. Application

requirements and issuance criteria for enhancement of survival permits

through Safe Harbor Agreements are found in 50 CFR 17.22(c).

The Applicant has developed the proposed Agreement for the

conservation of the endangered San Joaquin kit fox on 1,668 acres of

their land in Kern County, California. The escape dens are being placed

purposely in an active acricultural area to determine if, while

foraging in agricultural fields, San Joaquin kit foxes can escape

predation by coyotes, red foxes, and other canids. During the 3-year

period, some escape dens may be relocated in response to data from the

[[Page 50445]]

study. Approximately 25 escape dens will be installed in above-ground

mounds, to reduce the risk of flooding from crop irrigation, especially

with regard to row crops. Of these, approximately four will consist of

a concrete or metal chamber that is generally buried several feet below

the surface and connected to the surface by means of one or two 8-inch

pipes. The remaining escape dens will be suitable diameter pipes placed

on the surface and covered with dirt in such a way as to leave one or

both ends of the pipe open. The total surface area buffer around the

escape den sites that needs to be kept free of earth moving activities,

planting, or other disturbance will be no less than 10 feet and up to

30 feet when possible. To minimize the amount of affected agricultural

land, the escape dens will be located along existing agricultural

roads, irrigation canals, or other areas not in current agricultural

use. To optimize distribution, some escape dens may be located on land

currently in agricultural use. Use of the escape dens will be monitored

by the Endangered Species Recovery Program, a cooperative research

program based out of California State University at Fresno, California.

Monitoring will be conducted using radio telemetry of radio-collared

San Joaquin kit fox, spotlighting, track plates, remote cameras, and

physical inspection. Scheduling of all activities related to this

project will occur to ensure that there is no interference with

agricultural activities on Paramount Farm's land.

Threats to survival of the San Joaquin kit fox include loss and

degradation of habitat by agricultural and industrial developments and

urbanization, and fragmentation of habitat by development and roads, as

detailed in the Recovery Plan for Upland Species of the San Joaquin

Valley prepared by the Service in 1998. The Agreement provides a net

conservation benefit to San Joaquin kit fox by (1) providing

information about San Joaquin kit fox use of escape dens on

agricultural lands and (2) facilitating movement of San Joaquin kit fox

across agricultural lands. The biological goal of San Joaquin kit fox

conservation measures in the Agreement is to improve movement of San

Joaquin kit foxes between populations that are becoming more and more

isolated. Recovery of the species would be enhanced by more movement of

San Joaquin kit foxes between populations and lower predation rates of

San Joaquin kit fox on agricultural lands.

Consistent with the Service's Safe Harbor Agreement, regulation and

policy, under the Agreement, the Service would issue a permit to the

Applicant authorizing incidental take as a result of normal

agricultural activities on the 1,668 acres. Cotton, barley, wheat, and

safflower are grown on about 69 percent of these acres; pistachios

cover about 21 percent, and almonds 5 percent. Approximately 5 percent

is a former orchard that is now a disced field. Normal agricultural

practices that are expected to occur on these lands and that are

proposed to be included in the Agreement are discing, irrigation, and

harvesting. Application of pesticides will not be covered by the Safe

Harbor Agreement.

The Applicant also will receive incidental take authorization,

should San Joaquin kit fox activity on their land be enhanced through

the artificial escape dens. While unlikely, it is possible that in the

course of normal agricultural activities, a San Joaquin kit fox

accidently could be injured or killed.

This Agreement will allow the Applicant to remove the artificial

escape dens and return the area to it's prior, or baseline condition

(i.e., no San Joaquin kit fox dens) after 3 years, if so desired by the

Applicant.

The Service has made a preliminary determination that approval of

the Agreement qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National

Environmental Policy Act, as provided by the Department of Interior

Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1) based on the

following criteria: (1) Implementation of the Agreement would result in

minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and

candidate species and their habitats; (2) implementation of the

Agreement would result in minor or negligible effects on other

environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts of the Agreement,

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

which would be considered significant. As more fully explained in our

Environmental Action Statement, the Agreement qualifies for a

Categorical Exclusion from NEPA for the following reasons:

1. Approval of the Agreement would result in minor or negligible

effects on the San Joaquin kit fox. The Service does not anticipated

significant direct or cumulative effects to the San Joaquin kit fox

resulting from the proposed project.

2. Approval of the Agreement would not have adverse effects on

unique geographic, historic or cultural sites, or involve unique or

unknown environmental risks.

3. Approval of the Agreement would not result in any cumulative or

growth inducing impacts and, therefore, 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 Agreement would establish a precedent for future

actions or represent a decision in principle about future actions with

potentially significant environmental effects.

Based upon this preliminary determination, we do not intend to

prepare further NEPA documentation. The Service will consider public

comments in making it final determination on whether to prepare such

additional documentation.

The Service provides this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the

Endangered Species Act and pursuant to implementing regulations for

NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6). All comments received on the permit application

and Agreement, including names and addresses, will become part of the

Administrative record and may be released to the public. We will

evaluate the permit application, the Agreement, and comments submitted

thereon to determine whether the application meets the requirements of

section 10(a) of the Act and NEPA regulations. If the requirements are

met, the Service will sign the proposed Agreement and issue an

enhancement of survival permit under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the

Endangered Species Act to the Applicant for take of San Joaquin kit fox

incidental to otherwise lawful activities of the project. The Service

will not make a final decision until after the end of the 30-day

comment period and will fully consider all comments received during the

comment period.

Dated: September 27, 2001.

Duane K. McDermond,

Acting Deputy Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office, Fish and

Wildlife Service, Sacramento, California.

[FR Doc. 01-24759 Filed 10-2-01; 8:45 am]

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