[Federal Register: August 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 50941-50942]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au06-68]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for
Construction of a Single-Family Residence in Sarasota County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Paul Athanas (Applicant) requests an incidental take permit
(ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (Act). The Applicant anticipates taking about 0.275
acre of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay)
foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat, incidental to lot
preparation for the construction of a single-family residence and
supporting infrastructure in Sarasota County, Florida (Project). The
Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation
and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of the
Project to the Florida scrub-jay. These measures are outlined in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application and HCP should be sent
to the Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be received
on or before September 27, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application and HCP may obtain
a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office, 1875 Century
Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered Species
Permits), or the Services's Vero Beach Field Office, Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida, 32960-3559. Please
reference permit number TE126176-0 in such requests. Documents will
also be available for public inspection by appointment during normal
business hours at the Regional Office or the Vero Beach field office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, (see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/679-7313, facsimile:
404/679-7081; or Elizabeth Stafford, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, South
Florida Ecological Services Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see ADDRESSES
above), telephone: 772/562-3909, ext. 304.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number
TE126176-0 in such comments. You may mail comments to the Service's
Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). You may also comment via the Internet
to david_dell@fws.gov. Please include your name and return address in
your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation from us
that we have received your internet message, contact us directly at
either telephone number listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT). Finally, you may hand deliver comments to either Service
office listed below (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 address 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 is geographically isolated from other species
of scrub-jays found in Mexico and the western United States. The scrub-
jay is found exclusively in peninsular Florida and is restricted to
xeric uplands (predominately in 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.
According to surveys accomplished in 1992-1993, 2000, and 2004, the
Applicant's lot is within the territory of a family of scrub-jays. The
scrub-jays using the Project area and adjacent properties are part of a
larger complex of scrub-jays located in a matrix of urban and natural
settings in southern Sarasota County. Construction of the Project's
infrastructure and facilities will result in harm to scrub-jays,
incidental to the carrying out of these otherwise lawful activities.
Habitat alteration associated with the proposed residential
construction will reduce the availability of foraging, sheltering, and
possible nesting habitat for one family of scrub-jays.
[[Page 50942]]
The Applicant proposes to mitigate the take of scrub-jays through
contribution of $25,875 to the Sarasota County Scrub-jay Mitigation
Plan Fund administered by Sarasota County. Funds in this account are
earmarked for use in the conservation and recovery of scrub-jays and
may include habitat acquisition, restoration, and management.
The Service has determined that the Applicants' proposal, including
the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will individually
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the species
covered in the HCP. Therefore, the ITP is a ``low-effect'' project and
qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by the Department of Interior Manual
(516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). This preliminary
information may be revised based on our review of public comments that
we receive in response to this notice. Low-effect HCPs are those
involving: (1) Minor or negligible effects on Federally listed or
candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor or negligible
effects on other environmental values or resources.
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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If it is determined that
those requirements are met, the ITPs will be issued for 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. This notice is provided pursuant to section 10 of the Endangered
Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Dated: August 9, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6-14244 Filed 8-25-06; 8:45 am]
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