[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 48879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20140]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2011-N151; 40120-1112-0000-F2]
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Alabama Beach Mouse
General Conservation Plan for Incidental Take on the Fort Morgan
Peninsula, Baldwin County, AL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),
we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of a
draft general conservation plan (GCP) and accompanying draft
environmental impact statement (dEIS). If approved, the GCP would
facilitate review of future incidental take applications. The take
would affect the federally endangered Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus
polionotus ammobates) in Baldwin County, Alabama. The GCP analyzes the
potential take incidental to construction, occupation, and maintenance
of an estimated 500 single-family residences. We invite public comments
on these documents.
DATES: We must receive any written comments on the GCP and dEIS at our
Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and on or before November 7, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Documents will be available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the Regional Office, 1875
Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30345, or at the Fish and
Wildlife Service Field Office, 1208-B Main Street, Daphne, AL 36526.
For how to comment, see Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 404/679-4144, or Mr. Darren
LeBlanc, Field Office Project Manager, at the Alabama Field Office (see
ADDRESSES), telephone: 251/441-5868.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce the availability of the proposed
GCP and the dEIS. These documents analyze the take of the Alabama beach
mouse incidental to construction of up to 500 single-family
developments potentially affecting an estimated total of 75 acres of
Alabama beach mouse habitat. Individual land owners who would need
incidental take permits (ITP) for single-family developments, and whose
development proposal fits within limits evaluated in the GCP, could
apply for ITPs using the GCP provisions instead of producing their own
habitat conservation plans. The GCP evaluates issuance of ITPs with up
to 50-year terms under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.). The GCP describes the mitigation and minimization measures
proposed to address the effects on the species.
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 dEIS pursuant to National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
at 40 CFR 1506.6. Further, we specifically solicit information
regarding the adequacy of the GCP per 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.
The dEIS analyzes the preferred alternative, as well as a range of
reasonable alternatives and the associated impacts of each. Alternative
3 (Preferred Alternative) is implementation of the GCP. Rejection of
the GCP would not necessarily halt single-family lot development in the
study area. One of the alternatives considered would be to continue
individual permitting as is done currently.
Public 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.
If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by any one of
several methods. Please reference ``Alabama beach mouse GCP'' in such
comments. You may mail comments to our Regional Office or the Alabama
Field Office (see ADDRESSES). You may also comment via the Internet to
david_dell@fws.gov or darren_leblanc@fws.gov. Please include your
name and return mailing address in your e-mail message. If you do not
receive a confirmation from us that we have received your e-mail,
contact us directly at either telephone number listed (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to either
of our offices listed under ADDRESSES.
Covered Area
The GCP coverage area extends along the Gulf of Mexico for about 17
miles, encompassing approximately 2,400 acres of open beach and
associated nearshore coastal dune environments on the Fort Morgan
Peninsula, Baldwin County, Alabama. The coverage area begins at Little
Lagoon Pass, on State Highway 182 in Gulf Shores, and extends westward
to the tip of the Fort Morgan State Historic site at the western
terminus of the Fort Morgan Peninsula. The area is defined biologically
as that area where an Alabama beach mouse population or subpopulation
could be affected by residential single-family development.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the GCP and its potential use by ITP applicants,
as well as any comments we receive, to determine whether the GCP, when
used by ITP applicants, would meet the requirements of section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will also evaluate whether issuance of
section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs under the GCP would comply with section 7 of
the Act by conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation on
anticipated ITP actions. We will consider the results of this
consultation, in combination with the above findings, in our final
analysis to determine whether or not to make the GCP available to ITP
applicants and issue ITPs under the GCP. If we determine that the
requirements are met, we will issue ITPs for the incidental take of the
Alabama beach mouse to those applicants who meet the criteria
established in the GCP.
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: July 8, 2011.
Mark J. Musaus,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 2011-20140 Filed 8-8-11; 8:45 am]
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