A notice of availability of a draft Environmental Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan and an application for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act, appears in todays Federal Register. The public will have 60 days to comment on the assessment and plan. The permit application was made by the Long Point Homeowners Association LLC which proposes residential development in the Long Point Subdivision on Kelleys Island. The proposed development would alter or destroy habitat needed by the Lake Erie water snake.
If approved, the incidental take permit would allow the proposed residential development to affect some habitat used by the snakes, as well as take of some snakes, as long as measures outlined in the Habitat Conservation Plan to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts are followed. Before issuing an incidental take permit, the Service must evaluate alternatives considered in the Habitat Conservation Plan. This analysis is included in the Environmental Assessment that is now available for public review and comment, along with the plan.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits take -- harming, harassing, or killing a listed species, including destruction of habitat. However, the Act allows incidental take -- take which is incidental to but not the intent of a particular activity -- as long as an approved Habitat Conservation Plan is in place that would mitigate the effects of take and provide for future conservation of the species.
The Long Point Homeowners Association LLC is proposing to develop the 15-acre Long Point Subdivision on Kelleys Island, an area occupied by Lake Erie water snakes. The area has been subdivided into seven residential lots, and under the draft Habitat Conservation Plan, measures would be taken by landowners to conserve the snake and its habitat on each lot. Proposed actions to conserve the snake and lessen the impacts of construction and development include:
Restrictions on when ground-disturbing activities, such as construction and mowing, can occur. Snakes are vulnerable in spring and fall while moving to and from hibernating areas;
Establishment of a shoreline buffer area to protect important lakeside habitat, used by the Lake Erie water snakes during summer and winter months;
Restrictions on the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the buffer zones, although spot-treatment for poison ivy would be permitted;
Construction of artificial hibernating areas
