[Federal Register: July 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 141)]
[Notices]
[Page 42593]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22jy08-79]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2008-N00161; 40120-1112-0000-F2]
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for
Commercial Construction in Charlotte County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP). Charlotte County (applicant) requests an ITP
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 0.46 acre of
foraging and sheltering habitat occupied by the threatened Florida
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) incidental to lot
preparation for the construction of a library and supporting
infrastructure in Charlotte 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 scrub-jay.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on the ITP application and
HCP on or before August 21, 2008.
ADDRESSES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for
information on how to submit your comments on the ITP application and
HCP. You may obtain a copy of the ITP application and HCP by writing to
the South Florida Ecological Services Office, Attn: Permit number
TE165374-0, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero
Beach, FL 32960-3559. In addition, we will make the ITP application and
HCP available for public inspection by appointment during normal
business hours at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Trish Adams, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES);
telephone: (772) 562-3909, ext. 232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment on the ITP
application and HCP, you may submit comments by any one of the
following methods. Please reference permit number TE165374-0 in such
comments.
1. Mail or hand-deliver comments to our South Florida Ecological
Services Office address (see ADDRESSES).
2. E-mail comments to trish_adams@fws.gov. If you do not receive a
confirmation that we have received your e-mail message, contact us
directly at the telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, 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.
Commercial construction for the West County Library HCP will take
place at latitude 26.942 and longitude 82.271 in Englewood, Charlotte
County, Florida. This lot is within scrub-jay occupied habitat.
The lot encompasses about 12.06 acres, and the footprint of the
library, infrastructure, and landscaping preclude retention of scrub-
jay habitat. In order to minimize take on site, the applicant proposes
to mitigate for the loss of 0.46 acre of scrub-jay habitat by restoring
and protecting in perpetuity 1.16 acres of occupied scrub-jay habitat
adjacent to existing conservation lands.
We have determined that the applicant's proposal, including the
proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will 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) (40 CFR 1506.6), as
provided by the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1
and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1). 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. Based on our review of public
comments that we receive in response to this notice, we may revise this
preliminary determination.
We 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 we determine that the
application meets the requirements, we will issue the ITP for
incidental take of the Florida scrub-jay. 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 the final analysis to determine whether or not to issue
the ITP.
Authority: We provide this notice pursuant to section 10 of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations
(40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: June 25, 2008.
Paul Souza,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. E8-16727 Filed 7-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P