[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15345-15346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06378]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N047; FXES11120400000-156-FF04EF2000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of
Application for an Incidental Take Permit; Availability of Low-Effect
Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents; Osceola County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; 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) and a habitat
conservation plan (HCP). JKAF Investments, LLC, and Kathryn Kendrick
Davidow Trust (applicants) request ITP TE81666B-0 under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicants anticipate taking
about 0.5 acre of feeding, breeding, and sheltering habitat used by the
sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to land preparation
and construction in Osceola County, Florida. The applicant's HCP
describes proposed minimization measures and mitigation measures to
address the effects of development on the covered species.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on the ITP application and
HCP on or before April 21, 2016.
ADDRESSES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 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 the South
Florida Ecological Services Office, Attn: Permit number TE81666B-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
this address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alfredo Begazo, South Florida
Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: 772-469-4234.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce the availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and a
habitat conservation plan (HCP). JKAF Investments, LLC, and Kathryn
Kendrick Davidow Trust (applicants) request ITP TE81666B-0 under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.;
Act). The applicants anticipate taking about 0.5 acre of feeding,
breeding, and sheltering habitat used by the sand skink (Neoseps
reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregius lividus)
(skinks) incidental to land preparation and construction in Osceola
County, Florida. The applicant's HCP describes proposed minimization
measures and mitigation measures to address the effects of development
on the covered species.
Submitting Comments
If you wish to comment on the ITP application or HCP, you may
submit comments by any one of the following methods:
Email: alfredo_begazo@fws.gov. Use ``Attn: Permit number
``TE81666B-0'' as your message subject line.
Fax: Alfredo Begazo, 772-469-4234, Attn.: Permit number ``TE81666B-
0.''
U.S. mail: Alfredo Begazo, South Florida Ecological Services Field
Office, Attn: Permit number ``TE81666B-0,'' U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
In-person drop-off: You may drop off comments or request
information during regular business hours at the U.S. mail address.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email 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
request in your comments that your personal identifying information be
withheld from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Applicants' Proposed Project
We received an application for an incidental take permit, along
with a proposed habitat conservation plan. The applicants request an
ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If
we approve the application, the applicants anticipate taking a total of
approximately 0.5 acre of skink breeding, feeding, and sheltering
habitat, incidental to land preparation and construction in Section 30,
Township 25 South, and Range 27 East in Osceola County, Florida. The
applicants currently have neither a
[[Page 15346]]
time-frame for development nor a specific site plan; however,
development of this parcel would likely include construction of one or
more structures and a parking area, and installation of associated
utilities.
The applicants propose to minimize impacts to skinks by preserving
a total of 1 acre of skink-occupied habitat off site. The Service
listed the skinks as threatened in 1987 (November 6, 1987; 52 FR
20715), effective December 7, 1987.
Our Preliminary Determination
We have made a preliminary determination that the applicants'
project, including the mitigation measures, will individually and
cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the species covered
in the HCP. Therefore, our proposed issuance of the requested ITP
qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by Department of the Interior
implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215).We base our preliminary
determination that issuance of the ITP qualifies as a low-effect action
on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of the project
would result in minor or negligible effects on federally listed,
proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2) Implementation
of the project would result in minor or negligible effects on other
environmental values or resources; and (3) Impacts of the project,
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not result,
over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or resources
that would be considered significant. This preliminary determination
may be revised based on our review of public comments that we receive
in response to this notice.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a) of the Act. 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. The results of this consultation,
in combination with the above findings, will be used in the final
analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP. If it is
determined that the requirements of the Act are met, the ITP will be
issued.
Authority
We provide this notice under Section 10 of the Endangered Species
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: March 14, 2016.
Roxanna Hinzman,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-06378 Filed 3-21-16; 8:45 am]
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