[Federal Register: December 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 245)]
[Notices]
[Page 76065-76066]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22de05-72]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for
Florida Scrub-jays Resulting From the Proposed Construction of a
Combination Single-Family Home Subdivision and Commercial Facilities in
the City of Melbourne, Brevard County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Riverside Development Group, Inc. (Applicant) requests an
incidental take permit (ITP) for a duration of two years, pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act) as
amended (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Applicant anticipates the loss of
about 1.57 acres of occupied Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens) (scrub-jay) habitat in Section 8, Township 27 South,
Range 37 East, in the City of Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida.
Habitat loss would occur as a result of vegetation clearing and the
subsequent construction of a 126 unit single-family home subdivision
and commercial facilities on the 36-acre project site. The loss of one
scrub-jay family could occur as a result of the Applicant's proposed
project.
The Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the
mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of
the project on the Florida scrub-jay. These measures are also outlined
in the Service's Environmental Assessment (EA) and in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below. The Service announces the availability of
the ITP application, HCP, and EA. Copies of the application, HCP, and
EA may be obtained by making a request to the Southeast Regional Office
(see ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing to be processed. This
notice is provided pursuant to section 10 of the Act and National
Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application, EA, and HCP should be
sent to the Service's Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and
should be received on or before February 21, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, EA, and HCP may
obtain a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,
Georgia 30030 (Attn: Endangered Species Permits). Please reference
permit number TE102635-0 in such requests. Documents will also be
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business
hours at either the Southeast Regional Office or at the Jacksonville
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive
South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216-0912 (Attn: Field
Supervisor).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES above),
telephone: 404/679-7313, facsimile: 404/679-7081; or Mr. Michael
Jennings, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone: 904/232-2580, ext. 113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number
TE102635-0 in such comments. You may mail comments to the Service's
Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). You may also comment via the
Internet to david_dell@fws.gov. Please submit comments over the
Internet as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters and
any form of encryption. Please also include your name and return
address in your e-mail message. If you do not receive a confirmation
from us that we have received your e-mail message, contact us directly
at either telephone number listed above (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT). Finally, you may hand deliver comments to either Service
office listed above (see ADDRESSES).
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home addresses from the administrative record. We will honor such
requests to the extent allowable by law. There may also be other
circumstances in which we would withhold from the administrative record
a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to
withhold your name and address, you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comments. We will not, however, consider anonymous
comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
The Florida scrub-jay (scrub-jay) is geographically isolated from
other species of scrub-jays found in Mexico and the western United
States. The scrub-jay is found exclusively in
[[Page 76066]]
peninsular Florida and is restricted to xeric uplands (well-drained,
sandy soil habitats supporting a growth of oak-dominated scrub).
Increasing urban and agricultural development has resulted in habitat
loss and fragmentation which has adversely affected the distribution
and numbers of scrub-jays. The total estimated population is between
7,000 and 11,000 individuals.
The decline in the number and distribution of scrub-jays in east-
central Florida has been exacerbated by agricultural land conversions
and urban growth in the past 50 years. Much of the historic commercial
and residential development has occurred on the dry soils that
previously supported scrub-jay habitat. Based on existing soils data,
much of the historic and current scrub-jay habitat of coastal east-
central Florida occurs proximal to the current shoreline and larger
river basins. Much of this area of Florida was settled early because
few wetlands restricted urban and agricultural development. Due to the
effects of urban and agricultural development over the past 100 years,
much of the remaining scrub-jay habitat is now relatively small and
isolated. What remains is largely degraded, due to interruption of
natural fire regime that is needed to maintain xeric uplands in
conditions suitable for scrub-jays.
From 2000 through 2002, one family of scrub-jays was found using
7.22 acres within the project site. Scrub-jays using the project site
are part of a larger complex of scrub-jays located in a matrix of urban
and natural settings in areas of central and south Brevard County.
Scrub-jays in urban areas are particularly vulnerable and typically do
not successfully produce young that survive to adulthood. Persistent
urban growth in this area will likely further reduce the amount of
suitable habitat for scrub-jays. Increasing urban pressures are also
likely to result in the continued degradation of scrub-jay habitat, as
the lack of naturally occurring fires slowly results in vegetative
overgrowth. Thus, over the long-term, scrub-jays are unlikely to
persist in urban settings, and conservation efforts for this species
should target acquisition and management of large parcels of land
outside the direct influence of urbanization. The retention of small
patches of habitat similar to the onsite mitigation proposed by the
Applicant, however, could provide benefits to scrub-jays by creating
``stepping stones'' used by scrub-jays dispersing between larger
parcels of conservation lands in Brevard County.
Construction of the project's infrastructure and facilities would
result in harm to scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying out of these
otherwise lawful activities. Specifically, habitat alteration
associated with the proposed residential and commercial construction
and associated infrastructure would reduce the availability of
foraging, sheltering, and possible nesting habitat for one family of
scrub-jays.
The Applicant proposes to minimize impacts to scrub-jays by
reducing the project's footprint and avoiding active nest sites during
the breeding season. The Applicant proposes to mitigate the take of
scrub-jays by removing 5.65 acres of occupied scrub-jay habitat from
the project's development footprint. In addition, the Applicant
proposes to set aside and manage an additional 0.77 acres of
unoccupied, but restorable onsite habitat as a buffer to the adjacent
occupied habitat. Fee title to the entire onsite mitigation area would
be transferred to Brevard County, and its Environmentally Endangered
Lands Program would subsequently assume management responsibilities for
the mitigation property. The Applicant proposes to establish an escrow
account in the amount of $7,704 to pay for the costs of initial land
restoration and management activities that would be undertaken prior to
fee title transfer to Brevard County.
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the issuance
of the ITP is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the
quality of the human environment within the meaning of section
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act. This preliminary
information may be revised due to public comment received in response
to this notice and is based on information contained in the EA and HCP.
The Service will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a) of the Act. If it is determined that those requirements are met,
the ITP would be issued for the incidental take of the Florida scrub-
jay. The Service will also evaluate whether issuance of the section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an
intra-Service section 7 consultation. The results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings, will be used in the final
analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP.
Dated: December 1, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E5-7664 Filed 12-21-05; 8:45 am]
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