Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Eastern Collier Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan; Collier County, Florida, 16200-16202 [2016-06792]

Download as PDF 16200 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 58 / Friday, March 25, 2016 / Notices We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB. You must submit comments on or before April 25, 2016. DATES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB– OIRA at (202) 395–5806 (fax) or OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov (email). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information ADDRESSES: Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 3803 (mail), or hope_grey@fws.gov (email). Please include ‘‘1018–0007’’ in the subject line of your comments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at hope_grey@fws.gov (email) or 703–358– 2482 (telephone). You may review the ICR online at https://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the Interior collections under review by OMB. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information Collection Request OMB Control Number: 1018–0007. Title: Annual Certification of Hunting and Sport Fishing Licenses Issued, 50 CFR 80, subpart D. Service Form Numbers: 3–154a and 3–154b. Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection. Estimated Number of Respondents: 56. Description of Respondents: States, territories (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa), and District of Columbia. Respondent’s Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit. Frequency of Collection: Annually. Completion time per response (hours) Number of responses Activity Total annual burden hours FWS Form 3–154a ...................................................................................................................... FWS Form 3–154b ...................................................................................................................... 56 56 12 20 672 1,120 Totals .................................................................................................................................... 112 ........................ 1,792 Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None. Abstract: The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq., except 777e–1) provide authority for Federal assistance to the States for management and restoration of fish and wildlife. These Acts and our regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 80, subpart D, require that States, territories, and the District of Columbia annually certify their hunting and fishing license sales. States, territories, and the District of Columbia that receive grants under these Acts use FWS Forms 3–154a (Part I–Certification) and 3–154b (Part II–Summary of Hunting and Sport Fishing Licenses Issued) to certify the number of hunting and fishing licenses sold and the amount of sales. We use the information collected to apportion and distribute funds according to the formula specified in each Act. asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Comments Received and Our Responses Comments: On December 23, 2015, we published in the Federal Register (80 FR 79924) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval for this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on February 22, 2016. We received one comment in response to this notice. The respondent objected to the Wildlife Restoration Act, but did not VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Mar 24, 2016 Jkt 238001 address the information collection requirements. We did not make any changes to our requirements. Request for Public Comments We again invite comments concerning this information collection on: • Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility; • The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information; • Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and • Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, 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 OMB and us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done. PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Dated: March 21, 2016. Tina A. Campbell, Chief, Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [FR Doc. 2016–06781 Filed 3–24–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4333–15–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS–R4–ES–2016–N037]; [40120–1112– 0000–F2] Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Eastern Collier Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan; Collier County, Florida Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of intent; announcement of public meeting. AGENCY: Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (dEIS) related to an anticipated permit application from nine Collier County, Florida, landowners (prospective applicants) for the incidental take of federally listed species. The permit application would include an Eastern Collier Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (ECMSHCP) prepared SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\25MRN1.SGM 25MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 58 / Friday, March 25, 2016 / Notices asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We provide this notice to (1) describe the anticipated action; (2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the public of our intent to prepare a dEIS; (3) announce the initiation of a public scoping period; and (4) obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues and alternatives to be included in the dEIS as well as any other written data, views, or arguments with respect to the anticipated permit application. DATES: Comments: We must receive any written comments at our Field Office (see ADDRESSES) on or before April 25, 2016. Public Meetings: One public scoping meeting will be held on April 12, 2016: From 5 to 7 p.m. ADDRESSES: Public Meeting: University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Collier County Extension, 14700 Immokalee Road, Naples, Florida. Document Availability: Documents will be available for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the South Florida Ecological Services Office, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960. Documents are also available at: www.easterncollierHCPEIS.com. Comments: For how and where to submit comments, see Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth McDonald, (Kenneth_mcdonald@fws.gov) Project Manager, at the South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 772/469–4284. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we announce our intention to gather information necessary to prepare a dEIS on the anticipated permit application under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Department of the Army, through its bureau the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be a cooperating agency in the development of the dEIS. Background Section 9 of the Act and the Service’s implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR Part 17 prohibit the ‘‘take’’ of federally listed ‘‘endangered’’ and ‘‘threatened’’ species (16 U.S.C. 1538). The Act defines the term ‘‘take’’ as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect listed species or to attempt to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532). ‘‘Harm’’ includes an act that actually kills or injures a listed species and may include significant habitat modification or degradation that VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Mar 24, 2016 Jkt 238001 actually kills or injures a species by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Under section 10(a)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1539) of the Act, the Service may issue permits authorizing ‘‘incidental take’’ of listed species. ‘‘Incidental take’’ is defined as take otherwise prohibited but incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity (50 CFR 17.3). Regulations governing incidental take permits for endangered species and threatened species, respectively, are found in 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32. Eastern Collier Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (ECMSHCP) The prospective applicants intend to seek an incidental take permit (ITP) that would authorize take resulting from the residential and commercial development and earth mining activities described in the ECMSHCP on certain lands (‘‘covered lands’’). The ECMSHCP would include measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate for incidental take with an emphasis on preserving some of the lands to maintain the viability and continued existence of populations of federally- listed threatened and endangered species. The ECMSHCP also would include a funding mechanism for the avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures, such as land acquisition, habitat mitigation, establishment of wildlife crossings, ecological restoration, land management, and actions to assist in the conservation of species through research. The proposed term of the ITP would be 50 years. The prospective applicants are expected to seek incidental take authorization for the following federally listed species: The Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), Audubon’s crested caracara (Polyborus plancus) (alternatively identified as the northern crested caracara (Caracara cheriway)), wood stork (Mycteria americana), redcockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Everglade snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi), Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus), and Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) (‘‘covered species’’). The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), which is a candidate species, would also be included as a covered species for which the prospective applicants would seek incidental take authorization. The prospective applicants’ ECMSHCP would also cover the following State listed and unlisted species: The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 16201 eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis), little blue heron (Egretta caerulea), Southeastern American kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus), tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor), and the Big Cypress fox squirrel (Sciurus niger avicennia). The covered lands of the ECMSHCP encompass approximately 152,124 acres in northeastern Collier County, Florida, that surround the town of Immokalee. The covered lands are bordered to the south by the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National Preserve, to the north and east by the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, and to the northwest by the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The prospective applicants are expected to propose a conservation strategy in the ECMSHCP that would preserve a large portion of the covered lands as habitat for the covered species while conducting activities on smaller, clustered portions of the covered lands. Biologically, the ECMSHCP would focus on maintaining areas of high-value habitat for the covered species while engaging in residential and commercial development and earth mining on 45,000 acres of the lands. The prospective applicants also would maintain suitable habitat within the impacted areas to ensure the availability of corridors for dispersal of the covered species. Draft Environmental Impact Statement The dEIS will consider a range of alternatives, including the proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an ITP to the prospective applicants, no action (nonissuance of an ITP), variations in the scope and location of the covered activities or a combination of both. It will also provide a detailed description of the proposed action and alternatives, as well as identify and analyze the potential significance of direct and indirect impacts from the proposed action and alternatives to biological resources, land use, air quality, water quality, water resources, economics, and other environmental resources. We also will consider different strategies for avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating the impacts of incidental take from the proposed action. The primary purpose of the scoping process is to allow the public to identify important issues associated with the proposed action. Public Comments Outside of the public scoping meeting, we will accept comments in written form only. To assist us in identifying the full range of issues related to the prospective permit E:\FR\FM\25MRN1.SGM 25MRN1 16202 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 58 / Friday, March 25, 2016 / Notices application, we invite written comments from interested parties. Any comments submitted to us after the public meeting must be in writing. Please reference the ECMSHCP in such comments. Comments may be submitted by any one of the following methods: U.S. mail: South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES). Email: commentseastcollierhcp@fws.gov. Please include your name and return mailing address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation from us that we received your email, contact us directly at either of the telephone numbers listed (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Hand delivery: To the South Florida Ecological Services Office (ADDRESSES). Reasonable Accommodation Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and participate in the public meeting should contact Vickie Scott at 813/675–6546 by no later than one week before the public meeting. Information regarding this proposed action is available in alternative formats upon request. Authority We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). Dated: March 2, 2016. Mike Oetker, Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region. [FR Doc. 2016–06792 Filed 3–24–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4333–15–P Availability of Public Comments Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2016–0054; FXIA16710900000–156–FF09A30000] Endangered Species; Marine Mammals; Issuance of Permits Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of issuance of permits. AGENCY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have issued the following permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species, marine mammals, or both. We issue these permits under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). ADDRESSES: Brenda Tapia, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority, Branch of Permits, MS: IA, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; fax (703) 358– 2281. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda Tapia, (703) 358–2104 (telephone); (703) 358–2281 (fax); DMAFR@fws.gov (email). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On the dates below, as authorized by the provisions of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as amended, and/or the MMPA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), we issued requested permits subject to certain conditions set forth therein. For each permit for an endangered species, we found that (1) The application was filed in good faith, (2) The granted permit would not operate to the disadvantage of the endangered species, and (3) The granted permit would be consistent with the purposes and policy set forth in section 2 of the ESA. SUMMARY: ENDANGERED SPECIES Permit No. Applicant asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 59838B 63281B 63550B 756101 676508 64786B 76168B 75313B 63829B 64101B 78222B 76169B 74563B .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. 66556B 77387B 59839B 61197B 68848B 68850B 73299B 71725B 78797B 79073B 71096B 677611 .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. 71724B .............. 66999B .............. 80785B .............. 75301B .............. VerDate Sep<11>2014 Receipt of application Federal Register notice The Wild Animal Sanctuary ........................................ University of Tennessee ............................................. Houston Zoo, Inc ........................................................ Rare Species Conservatory Foundation .................... Six Flags Discovery Kingdom ..................................... Peter Langegger ......................................................... Luke Snyder ................................................................ Wildlife & Environmental Conservation, Inc ............... City of Bridgeton/Cohanzick Zoo ................................ University of Colorado ................................................ Michael Long .............................................................. Joshua Braun .............................................................. Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. Abilene Zoological Gardens ....................................... St. Catherines Island Foundation ............................... The Wild Animal Sanctuary ........................................ Megan Cattau ............................................................. Toledo Zoological Gardens ........................................ Toledo Zoological Gardens ........................................ Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society .............. Fox Brown Outfitters ................................................... David Hessler ............................................................. Margaret Williams ....................................................... Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium ................................. Sacramento Zoological Society, dba Sacramento Zoo. Fox Brown Outfitters ................................................... Angelica Rodriquez/American Museum of Natural History. Kevin Poynter ............................................................. Big Cat Rescue Corporation ....................................... 18:30 Mar 24, 2016 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 4703 Permit issuance date 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR 47947; 53323; 55868; 55868; 55868; 58768; 58768; 58768; 58768; 58768; 62089; 62089; 62089; August 10, 2015 .................................. September 3, 2015 .............................. September 17, 2015 ............................ September 17, 2015 ............................ September 17, 2015 ............................ September 30, 2015 ............................ September 30, 2015 ............................ September 30, 2015 ............................ September 30, 2015 ............................ September 30, 2015 ............................ October 15, 2015 ................................ October 15, 2015 ................................ October 15, 2015 ................................ 10/13/2015 11/5/2015 12/11/2015 01/04/2016 1/21/2016 01/13/2015 11/10/2015 12/01/2015 12/26/2015 12/11/2015 11/24/2015 11/25/2015 12/08/2015 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR FR 62089; 62089; 62089; 64441; 68554; 68554; 68554; 68554; 70249; 70249; 70249; 70249; October 15, 2015 ................................ October 15, 2015 ................................ October 15, 2015 ................................ October 23, 2015 ................................ November 5, 2015 ............................... November 5, 2015 ............................... November 5, 2015 ............................... November 5, 2015 ............................... November 13, 2015 ............................. November 13, 2015 ............................. November 13, 2015 ............................. November 13, 2015 ............................. 12/09/2015 12/15/2015 12/11/2015 12/02/15 02/10/16 02/09/16 02/18/2016 3/11/2016 02/11/2016 02/11/2016 02/25/2016 2/24/2016 80 FR 70249; November 13, 2015 ............................. 80 FR 70249; November 13, 2015 ............................. 3/11/2016 2/23/2016 80 FR 73207; November 24, 2015 ............................. 80 FR 73207; November 24, 2015 ............................. 1/27/2016 3/16/2016 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\25MRN1.SGM 25MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16200-16202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06792]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N037]; [40120-1112-0000-F2]


Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Eastern Collier Multi-
Species Habitat Conservation Plan; Collier County, Florida

AGENCY:  Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:  Notice of intent; announcement of public meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), advise the public that we intend 
to gather information necessary to prepare a draft environmental impact 
statement (dEIS) related to an anticipated permit application from nine 
Collier County, Florida, landowners (prospective applicants) for the 
incidental take of federally listed species. The permit application 
would include an Eastern Collier Multiple Species Habitat Conservation 
Plan (ECMSHCP) prepared

[[Page 16201]]

in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). We provide this notice to (1) describe the anticipated action; 
(2) advise other Federal and State agencies, affected Tribes, and the 
public of our intent to prepare a dEIS; (3) announce the initiation of 
a public scoping period; and (4) obtain suggestions and information on 
the scope of issues and alternatives to be included in the dEIS as well 
as any other written data, views, or arguments with respect to the 
anticipated permit application.

DATES:  Comments: We must receive any written comments at our Field 
Office (see ADDRESSES) on or before April 25, 2016.
    Public Meetings: One public scoping meeting will be held on April 
12, 2016: From 5 to 7 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Public Meeting: University of Florida/Institute of Food and 
Agricultural Sciences Collier County Extension, 14700 Immokalee Road, 
Naples, Florida. Document Availability: Documents will be available for 
public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the 
South Florida Ecological Services Office, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, 
FL 32960. Documents are also available at: 
www.easterncollierHCPEIS.com.
    Comments: For how and where to submit comments, see Public Comments 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth McDonald, 
(Kenneth_mcdonald@fws.gov) Project Manager, at the South Florida 
Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 772/469-4284.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we 
announce our intention to gather information necessary to prepare a 
dEIS on the anticipated permit application under the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.). The Department of the Army, through its bureau the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, will be a cooperating agency in the 
development of the dEIS.

Background

    Section 9 of the Act and the Service's implementing regulations in 
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR Part 17 prohibit the 
``take'' of federally listed ``endangered'' and ``threatened'' species 
(16 U.S.C. 1538). The Act defines the term ``take'' as to harass, harm, 
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect listed 
species or to attempt to engage in such conduct (16 U.S.C. 1532). 
``Harm'' includes an act that actually kills or injures a listed 
species and may include significant habitat modification or degradation 
that actually kills or injures a species by significantly impairing 
essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, and 
sheltering (50 CFR 17.3). Under section 10(a)(1)(B) (16 U.S.C. 1539) of 
the Act, the Service may issue permits authorizing ``incidental take'' 
of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined as take otherwise 
prohibited but incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an 
otherwise lawful activity (50 CFR 17.3). Regulations governing 
incidental take permits for endangered species and threatened species, 
respectively, are found in 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.

Eastern Collier Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (ECMSHCP)

    The prospective applicants intend to seek an incidental take permit 
(ITP) that would authorize take resulting from the residential and 
commercial development and earth mining activities described in the 
ECMSHCP on certain lands (``covered lands''). The ECMSHCP would include 
measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate for incidental take with an 
emphasis on preserving some of the lands to maintain the viability and 
continued existence of populations of federally- listed threatened and 
endangered species.
    The ECMSHCP also would include a funding mechanism for the 
avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures, such as land 
acquisition, habitat mitigation, establishment of wildlife crossings, 
ecological restoration, land management, and actions to assist in the 
conservation of species through research. The proposed term of the ITP 
would be 50 years.
    The prospective applicants are expected to seek incidental take 
authorization for the following federally listed species: The Florida 
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), Audubon's crested caracara 
(Polyborus plancus) (alternatively identified as the northern crested 
caracara (Caracara cheriway)), wood stork (Mycteria americana), red-
cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Everglade snail kite 
(Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon 
corais couperi), Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus), and Florida 
panther (Puma concolor coryi) (``covered species''). The gopher 
tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), which is a candidate species, would 
also be included as a covered species for which the prospective 
applicants would seek incidental take authorization. The prospective 
applicants' ECMSHCP would also cover the following State listed and 
unlisted species: The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), eastern 
diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), Florida sandhill crane 
(Grus canadensis pratensis), little blue heron (Egretta caerulea), 
Southeastern American kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus), tricolored 
heron (Egretta tricolor), and the Big Cypress fox squirrel (Sciurus 
niger avicennia).
    The covered lands of the ECMSHCP encompass approximately 152,124 
acres in northeastern Collier County, Florida, that surround the town 
of Immokalee. The covered lands are bordered to the south by the 
Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National 
Preserve, to the north and east by the Okaloacoochee Slough State 
Forest, and to the northwest by the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. 
The prospective applicants are expected to propose a conservation 
strategy in the ECMSHCP that would preserve a large portion of the 
covered lands as habitat for the covered species while conducting 
activities on smaller, clustered portions of the covered lands.
    Biologically, the ECMSHCP would focus on maintaining areas of high-
value habitat for the covered species while engaging in residential and 
commercial development and earth mining on 45,000 acres of the lands. 
The prospective applicants also would maintain suitable habitat within 
the impacted areas to ensure the availability of corridors for 
dispersal of the covered species.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

    The dEIS will consider a range of alternatives, including the 
proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an ITP to the prospective 
applicants, no action (non-issuance of an ITP), variations in the scope 
and location of the covered activities or a combination of both. It 
will also provide a detailed description of the proposed action and 
alternatives, as well as identify and analyze the potential 
significance of direct and indirect impacts from the proposed action 
and alternatives to biological resources, land use, air quality, water 
quality, water resources, economics, and other environmental resources. 
We also will consider different strategies for avoiding, minimizing, 
and mitigating the impacts of incidental take from the proposed action. 
The primary purpose of the scoping process is to allow the public to 
identify important issues associated with the proposed action.

Public Comments

    Outside of the public scoping meeting, we will accept comments in 
written form only. To assist us in identifying the full range of issues 
related to the prospective permit

[[Page 16202]]

application, we invite written comments from interested parties. Any 
comments submitted to us after the public meeting must be in writing. 
Please reference the ECMSHCP in such comments.
    Comments may be submitted by any one of the following methods:
    U.S. mail: South Florida Ecological Services Office (see 
ADDRESSES).
    Email: comments-eastcollierhcp@fws.gov. Please include your name 
and return mailing address in your email message. If you do not receive 
a confirmation from us that we received your email, contact us directly 
at either of the telephone numbers listed (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).
    Hand delivery: To the South Florida Ecological Services Office 
(ADDRESSES).

Availability of Public Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in 
your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Reasonable Accommodation

    Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and 
participate in the public meeting should contact Vickie Scott at 813/
675-6546 by no later than one week before the public meeting. 
Information regarding this proposed action is available in alternative 
formats upon request.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: March 2, 2016.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
 [FR Doc. 2016-06792 Filed 3-24-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P

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