Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Final Draft Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander June 2017 Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Final Draft Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Section 1 Introduction and Background ................................................................................... 2 Overview and Background .......................................................................................................... 2 Permit Holder and Duration ....................................................................................................... 2 Covered Lands ............................................................................................................................. 2 Covered Species .......................................................................................................................... 5 Regulatory Framework ............................................................................................................... 5 Section 2 Project Description and Covered Activities .............................................................. 9 Project Description ..................................................................................................................... 9 Covered Activities ..................................................................................................................... 10 Section 3 Environmental Setting and Covered Species .......................................................... 12 Environmental Setting .............................................................................................................. 12 Covered Species ........................................................................................................................ 13 Distribution of the California Tiger Salamander on the Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Site ................................................................................................................................ 15 Section 4 Biological Impacts and Take Assessment................................................................ 18 Direct and Indirect Biological Impacts to California Tiger Salamander .................................... 18 Anticipated Take of California Tiger Salamander ..................................................................... 18 Impacts to California Tiger Salamander Critical Habitat ........................................................... 18 Cumulative Impacts to California Tiger Salamander ................................................................ 19 Anticipated Effects of the Taking of California Tiger Salamander ............................................ 19 Section 5 Conservation Strategy ............................................................................................. 20 Biological Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................ 20 Avoidance, Minimization, and Mitigation Measures ................................................................ 20 Monitoring ................................................................................................................................ 24 Reporting................................................................................................................................... 24 Section 6 Plan Implementation .............................................................................................. 25 Changed Circumstances ............................................................................................................ 25 Unforeseen Circumstances ....................................................................................................... 26 Amendments ............................................................................................................................. 27 Permit Suspension or Revocation ............................................................................................. 27 Betteravia Farms, LLC i Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Final Draft Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander Permit Renewal ......................................................................................................................... 27 Permit Transfer ......................................................................................................................... 28 Section 7 Funding ................................................................................................................... 29 HCP Implementation Costs ....................................................................................................... 29 Funding Source ......................................................................................................................... 29 Section 8 Alternatives ............................................................................................................. 30 No Action Alternative................................................................................................................ 30 Project Redesign Alternative .................................................................................................... 30 Section 9 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................... 31 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 32 Figures Figure 1: Regional Location Figure 2: Project Location Tables Table 1: Implementation Costs Appendices Appendix A – California Tiger Salamander Habitat Assessment Betteravia Farms, LLC ii Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Final Draft Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander Executive Summary The Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is a 10-year plan to construct a farm labor camp in northern Santa Barbara County. The HCP constitutes an application for a federal incidental take permit under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act. The primary focus of the HCP is protection for the Federally Endangered California tiger salamander (CTS) (Ambystoma californiense) Distinct Population Segment in Santa Barbara County under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). No CTS occurrences have been documented on the proposed project site; however, the site is located within the potential range of CTS in Santa Barbara County based upon the USFWS map of CTS range and breeding ponds (2010). The project site is also located within federally designated Critical Habitat for the CTS (Critical Habitat Unit 1). Seven (7) CTS occurrences documented by the California Natural Diversity Database have been recorded within 3.1 miles. Seven (7) known CTS breeding pools have been recorded within 1.24 miles of the project area (USFWS, 2010 and USFWS, 2015) and include the following: GUAD-3, SAMA-2, SAMA-3, GUAD- 6, GUAD-4, GUAD-1 and GUAD-2. Four (4) potential CTS breeding pools are also identified by the USFWS have also been recorded within 1.24 miles of the project area (USFWS, 2010 and USFWS, 2015). Considering the project site contains a potential CTS breeding pond (GUAD-5) and is within about 90 feet of a known breeding pond (GUAD-6) (USFWS, 2010; USFWS, 2015) there is a moderate to high probability of CTS occurring within the BSA. The proposed project footprint is comprised of already disturbed/developed land that is generally low quality and only contains one small, isolated patch of small mammal burrows. Due to the close proximity of the project footprint to known and potential breeding ponds, CTS could occur transiently within project site as they make upland movements utilizing the project site as largely dispersal habitat. The CTS could also utilize the small mammal burrow complex or the small mammal burrows adjacent to the project footprint (i.e., along the existing fence line). The proposed covered activities that are likely to result in take of CTS include activities that may result in short-term and long-term impacts as well as direct and indirect impacts associated with construction of the proposed project as well as operations and maintenance. Construction of the proposed project would also result in impacts to approximately 6.5 acres of previously disturbed habitat for the species and thereby the loss of 14,920 reproductive units (per the methodology of Searcy and Shaffer [2008]). Measures are included in this HCP to avoid and minimize impacts to individual CTS as well as effectively mitigates for the loss of reproductive units through establishment of a conservation easement on applicant-owned land prior to commencing any ground-disturbing activities or any other activity that could result in take of CTS. If unable to come to an agreement with the USFWS on the aforementioned easement, the applicant commits to purchase CTS mitigation credits from the La Purisima mitigation bank sufficient to mitigate for the loss of 14,920 reproductive units prior to commencing any ground- disturbing activities or any other activity that could result in take of CTS. Betteravia Farms, LLC 1 Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Final Draft Low-Effect Habitat Conservation