[Federal Register: November 27, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 227)]
[Notices]
[Page 62345-62346]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27no09-88]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2009-N224; 40120-1112-0000-F2]
Receipt of Application for Incidental Take Permit for Residential
Development, Walton County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice: receipt of application for incidental take permit (ITP)
for a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP); availability of proposed HCP and
environmental assessment (EA); request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability
of a proposed HCP, an accompanying ITP application, and an EA related
to a proposed development that would take the Choctawhatchee beach
mouse (Peromyscus polionotus allophrys) on Perdido Key in Walton
County, Florida. The HCP analyzes the take of the federally endangered
Choctawhatchee beach mouse incidental to construction and occupation of
a 13-unit condominium (Project). Will and Sikes, Inc. (Applicant)
requests an ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as
amended. The Applicant's HCP describes the mitigation and minimization
measures proposed to address the effects on the species.
DATES: We must receive any written comments on the ITP application, EA,
and HCP at our Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) on or before December
28, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Documents will be available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife
Service's Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta,
GA 30345 (Attn: David Dell); or at the Fish and Wildlife Service Field
Office, 1601 Balboa Avenue, Panama City, FL 32405 (Attn: Field
Supervisor).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 404/679-7313; or Mr. Ben
Frater, Field Office Project Manager, at the Panama City Field Office
(see ADDRESSES), telephone: 850/769-0552, ext. 248.
[[Page 62346]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce the availability of a proposed
HCP, accompanying ITP application, and an EA, which analyzes the take
of the Choctawhatchee beach mouse incidental to the Project. The
applicant requests a 30-year ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as
amended.
We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the
public via this notice on our proposed Federal action, including
identification of any other aspects of the human environment not
already identified in the EA pursuant to NEPA regulations (40 CFR
1506.6). Further, we specifically solicit information regarding the
adequacy of the HCP per 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.
An assessment of the likely environmental impacts associated with
the implementation of the Project, the EA considers the environmental
consequences of the no-action alternative and the proposed action. The
proposed action alternative is issuance of the ITP and implementation
of the HCP as submitted by the Applicant. The HCP covers activities
associated with the construction and maintenance of a condominium.
Avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures include a reduced
design footprint, on-site land management to maintain use of the site
by Choctawhatchee beach mice, and funding off-site habitat acquisition
and management.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by any one of
several methods. Please reference TE206010-0 in such comments. You may
mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife 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 under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to either of our offices
listed under ADDRESSES. Before including your address, phone number, e-
mail address, or other personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including your
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
Covered Area
The area encompassed under the HCP and ITP application is a 2.65-
acre tract of Gulf-front property containing 1.65 acres of suitable,
currently undeveloped Choctawhatchee beach mouse habitat. The Project
area is located in south-central Walton County, Florida, and includes
300 linear feet of dunes and open beach. Choctawhatchee beach mice
historically ranged throughout the Walton and Bay County coastline, but
are now restricted to about 15 miles of coastline in the Topsail Hill
area in Walton County and Shell Island in Bay County.
Next Steps
We will evaluate these ITP applications, including the HCP and any
comments we receive, to determine whether these applications meet the
requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will also evaluate
whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7
of the Endangered Species Act by conducting an intra-Service section 7
consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, in
combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to determine
whether or not to issue the ITP. If we determine that the requirements
are met, we will issue the ITP for the incidental take of the
Choctawhatchee beach mouse.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: October 5, 2009.
Mark Musaus,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E9-28369 Filed 11-25-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P