The Fish and Wildlife Service has received an application for an Incidental Take Permit for the endangered Puerto Rican nightjar, the endangered brown pelican and the threatened roseate tern for Wind Mar, a commercial wind energy project in Guayanilla Puerto Rico. The Service announces availability of our Environmental Assessment along with the Application for an Incidental Take Permit and Habitat Conservation Plan.
Proposed Action : The project would erect twenty-five 1.65 Megawatts wind turbines on Punta Verraco, Cerro Toro, and Punta Ventana. Construction would require widening of 8.7 km of existing roads, construction of 1.4 km of new roads, and the use of other areas for preparation of construction and erection of the wind turbines.
Implications to protected species and habitat : The Applicant anticipates taking about 12.2 ha (30.6 acres) of Puerto Rican nightjar ( Caprimulgus noctitherus) (nightjar) habitat, one brown pelican ( Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis) every 5 years, and one roseate tern ( Sterna dougallii) every 20 years. Also, the project would require t he permanent elimination of 4.3 acres and temporary loss of 26.3 acres of nightjar habitat and the take of 12 nightjar singing territories. No mortality of nightjars is anticipated from collisions with operating wind turbines since the species feeds below the forest canopy level.
"Take" is defined in the Endangered Species Act (Act) as harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect any threatened or endangered species. Harm may include significant habitat modification where it actually kills or injures a listed species through impairment of essential behavior (e.g., nesting or reproduction).
Habitat Conservation Plan: The Applicant has developed a Habitat Conservation Plan as required for the consideration of their incidental takes permit application. The plan describes measures the applicant would take to avoid, minimize and mitigate taking at the Project site. Some of the proposed activities include : 1) Establish a conservation easement conservation easement
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts the type and amount of development that may take place on a property in the future. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage of wetland and establishment of game farms. Easement land remains in private ownership.
Learn more about conservation easement on 245 ha (612.5 acres) of the Project site; 2) Restore at least 2.6 ha (6.5 acres) of the 3.1 ha (7.8 acres) of the previous Texaco quarry at the base of Punta Verraco with dry forest vegetation; 3) Restore a 10-hectare (25 acres) mangrove area by improving drainage; 4) Support brown pelican research; 5) Establish an environmental education program.
Send your written comments by March 7 to the following addresses:
david_dell@fws.gov or carlos_diaz@fws.gov
USFWS Regional Office
1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200
Atlanta , Georgia 30345
(Attn: Endangered Species Permits)
Field Supervisor
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Road 301 Km. 5.1 P.O. Box 491
Boquer
