Receipt of an Application From the County of San Diego, California, for an Incidental Take Permit

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Receipt of an Application From the County of San Diego,

California, for an Incidental Take Permit

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The County of San Diego, California (County), has applied to

the Fish and Wildlife Service for a 50-year permit pursuant to section

10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) to incidentally take up

to 85 species. Take would occur in conjunction with urban growth within

the southern coastal portion of the County. The application includes

the County of San Diego Subarea Plan (Subarea Plan) and an Implementing

Agreement, both of which were prepared in accordance with the regional

Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP). The Subarea Plan would

provide for the incidental take of species listed under the Act and

those that may be listed in the future. The County's planning area

includes approximately 252,132 acres of unincorporated land. The

Subarea Plan addresses 85 sensitive plant and animal species and their

habitats, and creates a process for the issuance of permits and other

authorizations under the Federal and California Endangered Species

Acts, and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act.

The County's Subarea Plan and Implementing Agreement are available for

public review and comment. The Service specifically requests comment on

the appropriateness of the ``No Surprises'' assurances contained in

section 9 of the Implementing Agreement.

DATES: Written comments on the permit application should be received on

or before December 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Mr. Gail Kobetich, Field

Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 2730 Loker Avenue West,

Carlsbad, California 92008. Written comments may be sent by facsimile

to (760) 431-9618.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Sherry Barrett, Assistant Field

Supervisor, at the above Carlsbad address; telephone (760) 431-9440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

Persons wishing to obtain copies of the documents or additional

background material should contact the County of San Diego, Department

of Planning and Land Use, 5201 Ruffin Road, Suite B, Mail Station 0650,

San Diego, California 92123; telephone (619) 260-8316. Documents will

be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal

business hours (8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.), Monday through

Friday, at the above County office and at the Carlsbad Fish and

Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).

Background

Under section 9 of the Act and its implementing regulations, the

take of wildlife species listed as threatened or endangered is

prohibited. The term ``take'' means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt,

shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or attempting to engage in

any such conduct. Harm is further defined to include significant

habitat modification or degradation that results in death or injury to

listed species by significantly impairing essential behavior patterns,

including breeding, feeding, or sheltering. Under limited

circumstances, the Service may issue permits to take listed wildlife if

such taking is incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful

activities. The taking prohibitions of the Act do not apply to listed

plants on private lands unless such take is in violation of trespass

law or would violate State law. Regulations governing permits for

endangered and threatened species are in 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32. Under

section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, the Service may issue incidental take

permits for listed species with an approved conservation plan. Among

other criteria, issuance of such permits must not jeopardize the

continued existence of listed plant and animal species.

The MSCP Plan is a regional habitat conservation plan that includes

12 local jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction is expected to apply for

incidental take permits in conjunction with finalization of a subarea

plan that is consistent with the regional MSCP Plan. The cities of San

Diego and Poway finalized their subarea plans and received take

authorizations under the MSCP on July 18, 1997, and July 19, 1996,

respectively. The City of La Mesa has submitted an application, subarea

plan, environmental assessment, and implementing agreement for which a

30-day public review period was announced in the Federal Register on

October 31, 1997 (62 FR 58976). The County of San Diego submitted an

application with its Subarea Plan and Implementing Agreement on

November 6, 1997.

The regional MSCP Plan covers an approximately 900-square-mile area

(580,000 acres) in southwestern San Diego County. Under the MSCP Plan,

approximately 171,917 acres of vacant land, including 167,667 acres of

wildlife habitat, will be preserved and managed within a designated

area referred to as the Multiple Habitat Planning Area.

Nearly half of the MSCP planning area is within the County of San

Diego Subarea. Approximately 73 percent (184,248 acres) of the County

Subarea provides habitat for native plants and wildlife, whereas the

remaining 27 percent is disturbed, developed, or agricultural land. Of

the existing habitat in the County Subarea, approximately 55 percent

(101,268 acres) is expected to be preserved under the Subarea Plan, in

a manner consistent with the regional MSCP Plan.

The Subarea Plan is divided into three segments: the Lake Hodges

segment, the Southern segment, and the Metro-Lakeside-Jamul segment.

The Lake Hodges and Southern segments include projects where

development and preserve boundaries have been determined and delineated

in the Subarea Plan. Several major and minor amendment areas have been

designated in these segments. Take for species within these amendment

areas would only be authorized after they have become part of the

Subarea Plan through the appropriate amendment process. The Metro-

Lakeside-Jamul segment is composed of lands where preserve boundaries

will be determined in the future based upon standards, goals, and

criteria described in the Subarea Plan and in the County's Biological

Mitigation Ordinance.

Environmental Documentation

To ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and

the California Environmental Policy Act, in January, 1997, the Service

(lead Federal Agency) and the City of San Diego (lead local agency)

completed a final Environmental Impact Report/Statement on the MSCP

Plan and draft subarea plans. This culminated a 2-year period during

which the Service complied with scoping and public notice requirements,

providing extensive opportunity for public comment on the MSCP Plan,

draft subarea plans, template implementing

[[Page 61141]]

agreements, and the draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement (60 FR

12246, 60 FR 25734, 60 FR 32990, 61 FR 45983, 61 FR 54675, 62 FR

14938). No further environmental documentation is necessary for the

County Subarea Plan because it has not changed significantly since

finalization of the Environmental Impact Report/Statement.

Five project alternatives were analyzed in the final Environmental

Impact Report/Statement: (1) proposed project alternative (approve and

implement the MSCP Plan that would establish a preserve within the

Multi-Habitat Planning Area; (2) no project/no action alternative; (3)

coastal sage scrub alternative; (4) biologically preferred alternative;

and (5) public lands alternative. Each alternative was evaluated for

its potential to result in significant adverse environmental impacts

and the adequacy or inadequacy of the proposed measures to avoid,

minimize, and substantially reduce and mitigate such negative effects.

The preferred alternative analyzed by the Service was approval of

the MSCP Plan and issuance of incidental take permits with the

mitigating, minimizing, and monitoring measures outlined in the

proposed project alternative. The underlying goal of the preferred

alternative is to implement ecosystem-based conservation measures aimed

at the protection of multiple vegetation types on a regional scale,

while accommodating compatible development. The MSCP plan is expected

to result in the implementation of a comprehensive preserve strategy

for coastal sage scrub and related vegetation types in the planning

area, that is expected to provide long-term benefits to the 85 covered

species and their habitats.

The Service will evaluate the permit application from the County of

San Diego, associated documents, and comments submitted thereon to

determine whether the application meets the requirements of the Act. A

final decision on permit issuance will be made no sooner than 30 days

from the date of this notice.

Authority

This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973, as amended, and Service regulations for

implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1506.6). All

comments received will become part of the public record and may be

released.

Dated: November 6, 1997.

John H. Doebel,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 97-29967 Filed 11-13-97; 8:45 am]

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