CONJUNCTIVE USE PROJECT ARROYO TOAD CONSERVATION FUND

Description

This Cooperative Agreement will address Conservation Measure (CM) 73 of the Biological Opinion (BO) FWS-MCBCP-12B0075-16F0020 associated with the Santa Margarita River (SMR) Conjunctive Use Project (CUP) located on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP). The CM identifies the requirement to establish an arroyo toad conservation fund (Fund) in order to conserve and manage at risk properties and their associated breeding habitat for arroyo toad. This Cooperative Agreement will establish a partnership in order to develop and manage the Fund. The BO was developed to address potential environmental impacts of the CUP on MCBCP. The CUP involves the current water extraction system for the southern portion of MCBCP that consists of the diversion of SMR flows via a water diversion structure (weir) with transport of the water via an earthen ditch (O’Neill Ditch) to a series of aquifer recharge (infiltration) ponds and a storage lake (Lake O’Neill). Subsequently, groundwater is extracted from aquifers via a series of wells, treated, and then delivered and used entirely on MCBCP. The current system was determined to be inefficient and requires improvement. The CUP includes construction and operation of new or upgraded water diversion, infiltration, extraction, transport, treatment, and storage infrastructure on MCBCP, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment Fallbrook (Det. Fallbrook), and the Fallbrook Public Utilities District (FPUD) service area within the neighboring community of Fallbrook. The action consists of both the construction and long-term operation of the CUP. On 15 August 2016, the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), issued, “Formal Section 7 Consultation on the Conjunctive Use Project (CUP), Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP), California (FWS-MCBCP-12B0075-16F0020).” This document provides FWS’s Biological Opinion (BO) and is based on information provided in the Final Biological Assessment Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project (Final Revised Biological Assessment) received on 15 September 2015, and correspondence, notes, and information compiled during the course of FWS’s consultation with the MCBCP regarding the CUP. The Final Revised Biological Assessment estimates up to 27.63 acres of arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus [Bufo microscaphus c.], ARTO) occupied habitat (1.91 acres of upland habitat and 25.72 acres of riparian habitat) occurs within the CUP construction footprint of the new weir and head gate structure, O’Neill Ditch, and the groundwater collection system. In response to these findings, FWS has provided MCBCP, through the Formal Section 7 Consultation, the requirements to implement various CMs to avoid, minimize, and offset project-related adverse effects to federally listed species, particularly the arroyo toad, within MCBCP and other areas affected by the CUP. This Cooperative Agreement is being established in order to meet the requirements outlined in CM 73 of the BO. CM 73 identifies the need to establish an ARTO Conservation Fund (Fund) in order to conserve and manage at risk properties and their associated breeding habitat for arroyo toad. This Cooperative Agreement will develop a detailed work plan, herein referenced as Execution Plan, which will detail how the funds shall be used to satisfy CM 73. The Execution Plan shall be reviewed and approved by the United States Marine Corps, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (CFWO), and the Recipient, henceforth known as the Parties.

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