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SMENT OF>•y ✓ 1,r United States Department of the Interior FFB22rV�i� _ FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office "atAt//�/l/tyu AKA[ y9RCH 3 ,O280 se Sac�ramentoge ay,Room W- 605 California 95825-21846 t�CtuP111011 e`.. IN REPLY REFER TO: 1-1-02-TA-0734 January 31, 2002 Mr. Rick Griffin San Joaquin County Community Development Department Development Services Division 1810 East Hazleton Avenue Stockton, California 958205 Subject: Minor Subdivision Application to Divide a 210.0 Acre Parcel (Owner Francisco Pimetel) into Three Parcels, San Joaquin County, California Dear Mr. Griffin: This letter acknowledges the receipt of the January 11, 2002 application referral regarding the minor subdivision application to divide a 210-acre parcel into three smaller parcels. The property is owned by Francisco Pimetel and the applicant is Monte Seibel. The application referral was received on January 23, 2002. The subdivision involves dividing the 210-acre parcel into an 82-acre parcel, 47-acre parcel, and 81-acre parcel. The property is located on the south side of East Liberty Road, 3/4 of a mile west of Mackville Road, north of Clements in San Joaquin County, California. The current land use designation of the property is AG-160 (general agriculture) and the general plan designation is AG (general agriculture). The purpose of this letter is to explain the pertinent parts of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended(Act) relative to the subdivision property and how the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) implements the Act. Information in our office discloses that the subdivision property may contain vernal pools, which may support federally-listed invertebrate species such as the threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) and the endangered vernal pool tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi). Additionally, we have records of a known observation of the threatened fleshy owl's-clover (Castilleja campestris succulenta)within 5 miles of the subdivision property. Our primary concern and mandate is the protection of public fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. Section 9 of the Act prohibits the "take" (e.g., harm, harass,pursue, injure, kill)of federally-listed wildlife species. "Harm" (i.e., "take") is further defined to include habitat modification or degradation that kills or injures wildlife by impairing essential behavioral patterns including breeding, feeding, or sheltering. The Act specifically prohibits activities that "...remove or reduce to possession any listed plant from areas under federal jurisdiction; maliciously damage or destroy any such species on any such area; or remove, cut, dry up, or damage or destroy any such species on any other area in knowing violation of any law or regulation of any state or in the course of any violation of a state criminal trespass law." Congress established two provisions (sections 7 and 10)that allow for the"incidental take"of endangered and threatened species of wildlife by Federal agencies,private interests, and non-