San Luis Valley Regional Habitat Conservation Plan Draft for Public Review
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1.0Project Description and Background1.1IntroductionThe San Luis Valley (Valley) is a large intermountain basin in southern Colorado (Figure 1). The riparian communities1 along the Rio Grande, Conejos River, and smaller tributaries in the Valley provide habitat for two bird species, one of which is listed and the other a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Species addressed in this document (covered species) include the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (flycatcher) and the candidate yellow-billed cuckoo, western U.S. distinct population segment (cuckoo), which generally occur in various types of woody riparian vegetation containing dense willow thickets adjacent to wet meadow habitat. The Rio Grande Water Conservation District (District), working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and other partners, has developed a regional Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the San Luis Valley. The HCP provides for the long-term protection and conservation of the covered species while allowing for the continuation of ongoing and routine agriculture, community infrastructure, and riparian conservation and restoration activities (covered activities). The District and the State of Colorado (State) applied for, and received, grants from the Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund in 2004, 2005, and 2009 to complete the HCP and associated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation. The HCP focuses conservation on about 250 stream miles of riparian habitat, and provides coverage for agriculture and infrastructure activities on more than 4,000 square miles (2.9 million acres) of land in the Valley. This area encompasses the entire Colorado portion of the flycatcher recovery area, designated as the San Luis Valley Management Unit in the Final Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan (Recovery Plan) (Service 2002a). The District is administering the HCP process on behalf of the six counties2 that comprise the San Luis Valley floor (Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande, Mineral and Saguache) (the Counties) and the four cities and towns (Alamosa, Monte Vista, Del Norte, and South Fork) that contain riparian habitat (municipalities)3 in cooperation with the State of Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its associated divisions, such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Division of Water Resources (DWR). The DWR administers water rights, issues water well permits, represents Colorado in interstate water compact proceedings, monitors streamflow and water use, approves construction and repair of dams and performs dam safety inspections, issues licenses for well drillers and assures the safe and proper construction of water wells. The CPW manages State Parks and Natural Areas and the State's 960 wildlife species. CPW also manages more than 15 State Wildlife Areas (SWA)within the Valley, conducts research to improve wildlife management activities, provides technical assistance to private and other public landowners concerning wildlife and habitat management, and develops programs to protect and recover threatened and endangered species. The District submits this HCP to the Service as part of the application package for an incidental take permit (ITP or permit) under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 USC § 1539). The Counties, the State, and municipalities are the permit applicants (Applicants). The permit addresses the incidental take of the covered species resulting from the ongoing conduct of the covered agricultural, infrastructure, and conservation activities by non-Federal entities within the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. The HCP provides measures: 1) to minimize and mitigate, to the maximum extent practicable, the impacts of the covered activities on covered species and the habitat they use or occupy; and 2) to ensure that any incidental take of covered species will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in the wild (50 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 17.22). The District, acting as the administrative body for the Counties and municipalities, and in conjunction with the Counties, Cities, and State, will implement this HCP, as required by Section 10 of the ESA. This HCP was developed following the guidelines of the Endangered Species Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 1996) and the Final Addendum to this handbook (65 Federal Register (FR) 35242), commonly referred to as the “Five-Point Policy.” The Five-Point Policy addresses: 1) biological goals and objectives; 2) adaptive management; 3) compliance monitoring and effectiveness monitoring; 4) permit duration; and 5) enhanced public participation. While this HCP is not a recovery plan for the covered species, it is intended to be consistent with the guidance and principles of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan (Service 2002a).
1.2Purpose and NeedNeed for the HCPThis HCP will serve as a conservation plan to support the issuance of incidental take permits by the Service to the Counties, State, and participating municipalities for covered species pursuant to Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. Section 9 of the ESA prohibits the unauthorized “take”4 of a listed species, including significant alteration of habitat that may result in the “take” of individuals under the definition of “harm.” One ESA-listed bird species (the flycatcher) and one candidate species (the cuckoo), are known to inhabit riparian habitat areas that occur throughout the Valley. Without an incidental take permit, individuals may be subject to civil or criminal penalties under the ESA if they are conducting activities that may take a listed species. In the Valley, a variety of routine agricultural, infrastructure, and restoration activities (the covered activities) have the potential to take the covered species or their habitat. These covered activities are conducted on non-Federal public and private lands throughout the Valley by the Counties, State agencies, local municipalities, quasi-municipal corporations (A public entity created by law to deliver limited public services, including water conservancy districts, and other special districts), utilities, and private landowners. Without a regional HCP, these landowners and entities would be required to obtain ESA coverage on a case-by-case basis if they wanted to continue to conduct activities that may result in the take of covered species. Such individual and piecemeal ESA compliance can be both costly and time-consuming. As an alternative to case-by-case ESA compliance, entities may seek a Section 10 permit through a regional HCP. This regional HCP for the Valley provides coverage for routine activities in a manner that mitigates impacts to the covered species while promoting the conservation of high quality riparian habitat. In the Valley, a single HCP is a more efficient and effective way to provide comprehensive ESA coverage for covered activities, while also taking a regional approach to mitigation and overall habitat conservation. This regional HCP documents the commitments of the Valley communities to develop and implement an integrated, regional approach for ESA coverage and covered species conservation.
Purpose of the HCPThe ultimate purpose of this HCP is to support the issuance of an ITP under Section 10 of the ESA. To achieve this purpose, this HCP must satisfy the issuance criteria for incidental take coverage that are outlined in Section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA. More specifically, the purposes of this HCP also include the following:
The anticipated impacts of this HCP are described in detail in Section 3, while the Applicants’ commitments to minimize and mitigate those impacts are described in Section 5. Figure 1. HCP Location |