[Federal Register: January 14, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 9)]
[Notices]
[Page 2157-2158]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ja10-91]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2009-N275; 41910-1112-0000-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits; Timber
Harvest in Williamsburg County, SC
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of application for an incidental take permit
(ITP); availability of proposed low-effect habitat conservation plan
(HCP); request for comment/information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) application and habitat
conservation plan (HCP). Virginia H. McIntosh (applicant) requests a 5-
year ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
The applicant anticipates taking two red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides
borealis) (RCW) groups incidental to timber harvesting in Williamsburg
County, South Carolina (project). The applicant's HCP describes the
mitigation and minimization measures the applicant proposes to address
the effects of the project to the RCW.
DATES: We must receive any written comments on the ITP application and
HCP on or before February 16, 2010.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to review the application and HCP, you may write
the Field Supervisor at our Jacksonville Field Office, 7915 Baymeadows
Way, Suite 200, Jacksonville, FL 32256 or make an appointment to visit
during normal business hours. If you wish to comment, you may mail or
hand deliver comments to the Jacksonville Field Office, or you may e-
mail comments to paula_sisson@fws.gov. For more information on
reviewing documents and public comments and submitting comments, see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paula Sisson, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: 904/
731-3134.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Availability of Comments
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.
Please reference permit number TE236127-0 for the applicant for all
requests or comments. If you do not receive a confirmation from us that
we have received your e-mail message, contact us directly at the
telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
The RCW is a territorial, nonmigratory species. It is the only
North American woodpecker to excavate roost and nest cavities in living
pine trees. This species' use of live pines may have evolved in
response to living in a fire-maintained ecosystem where frequent fires,
primarily in the growing season, eliminated most standing dead pines
(snags).
The RCW has declined primarily due to conversion of mature pine
forests to young pine plantations, agricultural fields, and residential
and commercial development, and also because of hardwood encroachment
in existing pine forests due to fire suppression. Presently, the
largest known populations occur on federally owned lands such as
military installations and national forests.
Applicant's Proposal
The applicant is requesting take of two groups of RCWs incidental
to the project. The 286-acre (ac) project is located on SC County Road
158, 9.8 miles northwest of the Town of Kingstree, Williamsburg County,
South Carolina. The proposed project includes the harvest of 73.8 ac of
long leaf pine flatwoods mixed with isolated pond pine wetlands, pine
flatwoods, and agricultural fields, which are currently the only
remaining foraging habitat for the two groups of RCWs. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for the take of the two groups by establishing two
new groups at Brookgreen Gardens (Brookgreen), Georgetown County, South
Carolina. The applicant will translocate the two existing RCW groups
from the project site to Brookgreen after cavity inserts have been
installed at the new site. The translocation process will continue
until the two groups have been established at Brookgreen. As
minimization for impacts to the species, timber harvesting activities
will not be conducted until all RCWs have been relocated to Brookgreen.
We have determined that the applicant's proposal, including the
proposed mitigation and minimization measures, would have minor or
negligible effects on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, we are
making a preliminary determination that the ITP is a ``low-effect''
project and qualifies for categorical exclusion under the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as provided by
the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6
Appendix 1). We may revise this preliminary determination based on our
review of public comments we receive
[[Page 2158]]
in response to this notice. A low-effect HCP is one 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.
We will evaluate the HCP and comments we receive to determine
whether the ITP application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of
the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we determine that the application
meets those requirements, we will issue the ITP for incidental take of
the RCW. We 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. 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.
Authority
We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Act and NEPA
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: January 7, 2010.
David L. Hankla,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-577 Filed 1-13-10; 8:45 am]
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