General Conservation Plan for Single-family/Duplex Residential Development in Alabama Beach Mouse Habitat

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has prepared, and proposes to make available for use by the public for a term of 20 years, a General Conservation Plan (GCP) that addresses incidental take of the endangered Alabama beach mouse (ABM) (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) resulting from minor residential development activities on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, Baldwin County, Alabama. We anticipate that this GCP would act as an umbrella document for qualifying landowners who need an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act) within an estimated 1,143 acres of ABM foraging, sheltering, and nesting habitat. The GCP portion of this document identifies the minimization and mitigation measures that would be required of individual landowners wishing to participate. This document has been prepared by the Service, in accordance with the Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations to fully assess the environmental impacts associated with the issuance of 10(a)(1)(B) permits for residential development.