Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Endangered Smith’s Blue Butterfly for Repair of Five Bridges That Provide Access to the Light Station and Lighthouse at Point Sur State Historic Park in Monterey County, CA Prepared for: Joan Carpenter, PE, Associate Civil Engineer State of California Department of Parks & Recreation Monterey District 2211 Garden Road Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 649-2839 [email protected] Prepared by: Richard A. Arnold, Ph.D. Entomological Consulting Services, Ltd. 104 Mountain View Court Pleasant Hill, CA 94523-2188 April 2015 HCP for the Bridge Repair Project at Point Sur State Historic Park Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................1 Section 1. Introduction and Background ................................................................................3 Overview/Background .............................................................................3 Permit Holder/Permit Duration ................................................................4 Permit Boundary/Covered Lands .............................................................4 Species to be Covered by Permit .............................................................5 Regulatory Framework ............................................................................5 Federal Endangered Species Act .................................................5 The Section 10(a)(1)(B) Process – HCP Requirements and Guidelines .................................................................6 National Environmental Policy Act .............................................7 National Historic Preservation Act ..............................................7 California Public Resources Code ...............................................7 California Endangered Species Act (CESA) ...............................8 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ..........................8 Big Sur Local Coastal Plan (California Coastal Act) ..................8 Section 2. Project Description/Activities Covered by Permit ...................................12 Project Description...................................................................................12 Activities Covered by Permit ...................................................................14 Section 3. Environmental Setting/Biological Resources ............................................20 Environmental Setting .............................................................................20 Climate .........................................................................................20 Topography/Geology ...................................................................20 Hydrology/Streams, Rivers, Drainages........................................20 Existing Land Use ........................................................................21 Habitats ........................................................................................21 Covered Wildlife Species: Smith’s Blue Butterfly ..................................21 Status and Distribution .................................................................21 Habitat Characteristics .................................................................22 Occurrences within the Project Area ...........................................23 Life History ..................................................................................23 Other Special-Status Species ...................................................................25 HCP for the Bridge Repair Project at Point Sur State Historic Park Table of Contents Section 4. Potential Biological Impacts/Take Assessment .........................................26 Direct and Indirect Impacts ......................................................................26 Direct Impacts ..............................................................................26 Permanent Habitat Loss ...................................................26 Indirect Impacts ...........................................................................27 Anticipated Take of Covered Wildlife Species .......................................27 Effects on Critical Habitat .......................................................................29 Cumulative Impacts .................................................................................29 Anticipated Impacts of the Taking ...........................................................30 Section 5. Conservation Program/Measures to Minimize and Mitigate for Impacts ......................................................................................................32 Biological Goals.......................................................................................32 Minimization and Mitigation Measures ...................................................33 Measures to Minimize Impacts ....................................................34 Locate Project on and Adjacent to Current Development ........................................................34 Delineate Boundaries of Each Impact Area .....................34 Dust Control .....................................................................34 Measures to Mitigate Unavoidable Impacts ................................34 Protection of Dune Mitigation Site ..................................35 Habitat Management and Revegetation ...........................35 Monitoring ...............................................................................................35 Construction and Compliance Monitoring...................................36 Worker Environmental Awareness Training ...................36 Construction Monitoring ..................................................36 Effects Monitoring .......................................................................36 Smith’s Blue Butterfly Monitoring ..............................................36 Access to Project Site...................................................................37 Reporting..................................................................................................37 Compliance Report ......................................................................37 Annual Mitigation Monitoring Report .........................................38 Section 6. Plan Implementation ....................................................................................40 Plan Implementation ................................................................................40 Changed Circumstances ...........................................................................40 Summary of Circumstances .........................................................40 Listing of New Species ................................................................41 Discovery of Other Currently Listed Species ..............................41 Natural Disasters ..........................................................................42 Unforeseen Circumstances .......................................................................42 Amendments ............................................................................................43 Minor Amendments .....................................................................43 Major Amendments .....................................................................43 HCP for the Bridge Repair Project at Point Sur State Historic Park Table of Contents Suspension/Revocation ............................................................................43 Permit Renewal ........................................................................................44 Permit Transfer ........................................................................................44 Section 7. Funding .........................................................................................................46 Costs of HCP Implementation .................................................................46 Funding Source(s) ....................................................................................49 Funding Mechanism and Management ....................................................51 Section 8. Alternatives ..................................................................................................53 Summary ..................................................................................................53 Alternative #1: No Action ........................................................................53 Alternative #2: Redesigned Project (Reduced Take) ...............................53 Alternative #3: Proposed Action ..............................................................54 Section 9. References Cited ..........................................................................................55 Section 10. Appendix ....................................................................................................57 HCP for the Bridge Repair Project at Point Sur State Historic Park Tables and Figures Tables and Figures Table Title .................................................................................................................Pages 1 Areas of Ground Disturbance for the Bridge Repair Project at PSSHP ..........................13 2 Special-status Species of the PSSHP……… ...................................................................25 3 Permanent Impacts to SBB Habitat Resulting from Features of the Proposed Bridge Repair Project ..............................................................27 4 Numbers