Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting from the Proposed Construction of a Combination of Office Space and Three-Story Townhomes in the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, FL, 66456-66457 [05-21799]
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66456
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 / Notices
Completion
time
(hours)
Action
Annual
number of
responses
Annual hour
burden
Initial Proposal .............................................................................................................................
Amendment ..................................................................................................................................
80
2
4,000
1,750
320,000
3,500
Totals ....................................................................................................................................
........................
5,750
323,500
We again invite comments on: (1)
Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the
burden of the collection of information;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the
burden of collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Dated: October 5, 2005.
Hope Grey,
Information Collection Clearance Officer,
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 05–21796 Filed 11–1–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Receipt of an Application for an
Incidental Take Permit for the Florida
Scrub-Jay Resulting from the
Proposed Construction of a
Combination of Office Space and
Three-Story Townhomes in the Village
of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, FL
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Sundown Development and
Realty (Applicant) is requesting an
incidental take permit (ITP) for a period
of five years, pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Applicant
anticipates take of three federally
threatened Florida scrub-jays
(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay)
incidental to clearing approximately
0.70 acre of scrub-jay foraging and
roosting habitat in preparation for
construction of a combination of office
space and three-story townhomes on a
5.25-acre parcel (project). The
anticipated take would occur in section
30, Township 40 South, Range 43 East,
Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:22 Nov 01, 2005
Jkt 208001
Florida. The Applicant’s Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the
mitigation and minimization measures
proposed to address the effects of the
project on the scrub-jay. These measures
are also outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
The Service announces the
availability of the Applicant’s ITP
application, HCP and Environmental
Assessment (EA). Copies of the
application, HCP and EA may be
obtained by making a request to the
Southeast Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing
to be processed. This notice is provided
pursuant to section 10 of the Act and
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
DATES: Written comments on the ITP
application, EA, and HCP should be
sent to the Service’s Southeast Regional
Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be
received on or before January 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review
the application, EA, and HCP, may
obtain a copy by writing the Service’s
Southeast Regional Office, at the
address below. Please reference permit
application number TE095780–0 in
such requests. Documents will also be
available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business
hours at either the Southeast Regional
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200,
Atlanta, Georgia 30345 (Attn:
Endangered Species Permits), or at the
South Florida Ecological Services
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida
32960–3559 (Attn: Field Supervisor).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
David Dell, Regional HCP Coordinator,
Southeast Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES above), at 404–679–7313,
facsimile: 404–679–7081; or Ms.
Constance Cassler, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, South Florida Ecological
Services Office (see ADDRESSES above),
at 772–562–3909, extension 243.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you
wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several
methods. Please reference permit
application number TE095780–0 in
such comments. You may mail
comments to the Service’s Southeast
PO 00000
Frm 00110
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). You
may also comment via the internet to
david_dell@fws.gov. Please submit
comments over the internet as an ASCII
file, avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption.
Please also include your name and
return address in your e-mail message.
If you do not receive a confirmation that
we have received your e-mail message,
contact us directly at either telephone
number listed above (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Finally, you may
hand-deliver comments to either Service
office listed above (see ADDRESSES). Our
practice is to make comments, including
names and home addresses of
respondents, available for public review
during regular business hours.
Individual respondents may request that
we withhold their home addresses from
the administrative record. We will
honor such requests to the extent
allowable by law. There may also be
other circumstances in which we would
withhold from the administrative record
a respondent’s identity, as allowable by
law. If you wish us to withhold your
name and address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your
comments. We will not, however,
consider anonymous comments. We
will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available
for public inspection in their entirety.
The scrub-jay is geographically
isolated from other subspecies of scrubjays found in Mexico and the western
United States. The scrub-jay is found
exclusively in peninsular Florida and is
restricted to xeric uplands (well
drained, sandy soils supporting a
growth of oak dominated scrub).
Increasing urban and agricultural
development has resulted in habitat loss
and fragmentation, which has adversely
affected the distribution and numbers of
scrub-jays. The total estimated
population is between 7,000 and 11,000
individuals.
Although little is known about the
historic distribution and abundance of
scrub-jays in southeastern Florida, it can
be reasonably assumed that this species
once occupied most of the non-forested
xeric uplands along the Atlantic Coast
E:\FR\FM\02NON1.SGM
02NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 / Notices
Ridge of southeastern Florida. Martin
and northern Palm Beach counties have
experienced tremendous human
population growth over the last 100
years, and as a result, much of the
natural environment in this area has
been altered. Much of the commercial
and residential development has
occurred on the xeric uplands that
historically supported scrub-jay
populations. What remains is largely
degraded, due to the invasion by exotic
species and by interruption of the
natural fire regime, which is needed to
maintain xeric uplands in conditions
suitable for scrub-jays.
Scrub-jays using the project site are
part of a larger complex of this species
that occupy xeric uplands of
southeastern Florida, from northern
Palm Beach County northward to the St.
Lucie River in northeastern Martin
County. The largest assemblage of scrubjays in this metapopulation occurs in
and around Johnathan Dickinson State
Park. The continued survival and
recovery of scrub-jays in this area is
dependent on the maintenance of
suitable habitat and the restoration of
unsuitable habitat.
Scrub-jay use of the project site and
adjacent lands has been assessed on
several occasions. Scrub-jay surveys
were conducted by Environmental
Services, Inc., from June 30 to July 3,
2003. A Service biologist confirmed the
survey results and delineated additional
habitat being utilized for foraging by
three scrub-jays on November 19, 2003.
The project site comprises areas of bare
sand, concrete pads, native and exotic
vegetation, and can be classified as
disturbed upland scrub. Scattered sandy
patches interspersed with low growing
vegetation provide foraging and caching
opportunities for scrub-jays.
The project site is surrounded by
Great American RV on the south and by
Cypress Manor Apartments on the west.
The project site and surrounding lands
have been negatively influenced by
previous land clearing, development,
and invasion by exotic species. Due to
the proximity of the project site to
existing residential development and
urban infrastructure, fire has been
actively excluded due to safety
concerns. As a result, the condition of
the xeric habitat within the project site
is degraded; periodic fire or land
management practices that mimic fire
are required to maintain habitat
conditions suitable for the scrub-jay.
Land clearing in preparation for a
combination of office space and threestory town homes would destroy habitat
and could result in death of, or injury
to, scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:22 Nov 01, 2005
Jkt 208001
out of these otherwise lawful activities.
Habitat alteration associated with the
proposed development would reduce
the availability of foraging habitat for
scrub-jays.
The Applicant’s HCP and the
Service’s EA describe the following
minimization and mitigation strategy
which would be employed by the
Applicant to offset the impacts of the
project to the scrub-jay:
• The Applicant agrees to contribute
$109,830.97 to the Florida Scrub Jay
Conservation Fund. As discussed in the
Applicant’s HCP, this amount will
purchase 1.4 acres of scrub habitat
(providing a 2:1 compensation ratio) at
current land values, plus a fee for
perpetual management, along with a 5
percent administrative (overhead) fee.
• The Applicant agrees to plant a 0.20
acre portion of the landscape buffer,
required by local building codes, with
scrub vegetation as part of the Casa del
Sol project.
• The Applicant agrees that no land
clearing activities will take place during
the scrub-jay breeding or nesting season
(March-June).
The EA considers the environmental
consequences of one action alternative
that would require issuance of an ITP
and two alternatives in which an ITP
would not be issued. The preferred
alternative would result in the loss of
about 0.70 acre of occupied scrub-jay
habitat according to the HCP as
submitted and described above. Under
the proposed alternative, as mitigation,
the Applicant would contribute funding
for scrub-jay conservation. The
Applicant’s contribution to the Florida
Scrub Jay Conservation Fund would be
used to acquire and manage scrub-jay
habitat in other areas in Palm Beach
County, Florida and to help ensure the
long-term survival of viable populations
of the species.
As stated above, the Service has made
a preliminary determination that the
issuance of the ITP is not a major
Federal action significantly affecting the
quality of the human environment
within the meaning of section 102(2)(C)
of NEPA. This preliminary information
may be revised based on our
consideration of public comments
received in response to this notice and
is based on information contained in the
EA and HCP.
The Service will also evaluate
whether the issuance of a section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7
of the Act by conducting an intraService section 7 consultation. The
results of the biological opinion, in
combination with the above findings,
will be used in the final analysis to
PO 00000
Frm 00111
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
66457
determine whether or not to issue the
ITP.
Noreen Walsh,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 05–21799 Filed 11–1–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Fiscal Year 2006 Tribal Landowner
Incentive Program; Request for Grant
Proposals
AGENCY:
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION:
Notice of request for proposals.
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service), are soliciting project
proposals for Federal assistance under
the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program
(TLIP). The Department of the Interior
and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 allocated
$23,886,000 (subject to potential
rescission to meet other important
national priorities) from the Land and
Water Conservation Fund for
conservation grants to States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Guam, the United States Virgin Islands,
the Northern Mariana Islands, American
Samoa, and Tribes under a Landowner
Incentive Program. The Service has
targeted $2,388,600 for TLIP.
Project proposals must be
postmarked by January 31, 2006 and
submitted to the appropriate Regional
Office (see Table 1 in ADDRESSES).
DATES:
For information regarding
collection requirements and application
kit, applicants should contact the Native
American Liaison in the Service’s
Regional Office for the State in which
the proposed project would occur. The
contact information for each Regional
Office is listed in Table 1 below.
Information on the TLIP is also available
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Office of the Native American Liaison,
1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop 3251,
Washington, DC 20240, and
electronically at https://grants.fws.gov/
tribal.html.
Project proposals should be submitted
to the Service’s Regional Office for the
State in which the proposed project
would occur (see Table 1 under this
section). You must submit one original
and two copies of the complete
proposal. We will not accept facsimile
project proposals.
ADDRESSES:
E:\FR\FM\02NON1.SGM
02NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66456-66457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21799]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the
Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting from the Proposed Construction of a
Combination of Office Space and Three-Story Townhomes in the Village of
Tequesta, Palm Beach County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Sundown Development and Realty (Applicant) is requesting an
incidental take permit (ITP) for a period of five years, pursuant to
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Applicant anticipates take of three
federally threatened Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens)
(scrub-jay) incidental to clearing approximately 0.70 acre of scrub-jay
foraging and roosting habitat in preparation for construction of a
combination of office space and three-story townhomes on a 5.25-acre
parcel (project). The anticipated take would occur in section 30,
Township 40 South, Range 43 East, Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach
County, Florida. The Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)
describes the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address
the effects of the project on the scrub-jay. These measures are also
outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
The Service announces the availability of the Applicant's ITP
application, HCP and Environmental Assessment (EA). Copies of the
application, HCP and EA may be obtained by making a request to the
Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing
to be processed. This notice is provided pursuant to section 10 of the
Act and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application, EA, and HCP should be
sent to the Service's Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and
should be received on or before January 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, EA, and HCP, may
obtain a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office, at
the address below. Please reference permit application number TE095780-
0 in such requests. Documents will also be available for public
inspection by appointment during normal business hours at either the
Southeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century
Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered Species
Permits), or at the South Florida Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960-3559
(Attn: Field Supervisor).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES above), at 404-
679-7313, facsimile: 404-679-7081; or Ms. Constance Cassler, Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office (see
ADDRESSES above), at 772-562-3909, extension 243.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit
application number TE095780-0 in such comments. You may mail comments
to the Service's Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). You may
also comment via the internet to david_dell@fws.gov. Please submit
comments over the internet as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of
special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include your
name and return address in your e-mail message. If you do not receive a
confirmation that we have received your e-mail message, contact us
directly at either telephone number listed above (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to either
Service office listed above (see ADDRESSES). Our practice is to make
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available
for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents
may request that we withhold their home addresses from the
administrative record. We will honor such requests to the extent
allowable by law. There may also be other circumstances in which we
would withhold from the administrative record a respondent's identity,
as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and address,
you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comments. We
will not, however, consider anonymous comments. We will make all
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
The scrub-jay is geographically isolated from other subspecies of
scrub-jays found in Mexico and the western United States. The scrub-jay
is found exclusively in peninsular Florida and is restricted to xeric
uplands (well drained, sandy soils supporting a growth of oak dominated
scrub). Increasing urban and agricultural development has resulted in
habitat loss and fragmentation, which has adversely affected the
distribution and numbers of scrub-jays. The total estimated population
is between 7,000 and 11,000 individuals.
Although little is known about the historic distribution and
abundance of scrub-jays in southeastern Florida, it can be reasonably
assumed that this species once occupied most of the non-forested xeric
uplands along the Atlantic Coast
[[Page 66457]]
Ridge of southeastern Florida. Martin and northern Palm Beach counties
have experienced tremendous human population growth over the last 100
years, and as a result, much of the natural environment in this area
has been altered. Much of the commercial and residential development
has occurred on the xeric uplands that historically supported scrub-jay
populations. What remains is largely degraded, due to the invasion by
exotic species and by interruption of the natural fire regime, which is
needed to maintain xeric uplands in conditions suitable for scrub-jays.
Scrub-jays using the project site are part of a larger complex of
this species that occupy xeric uplands of southeastern Florida, from
northern Palm Beach County northward to the St. Lucie River in
northeastern Martin County. The largest assemblage of scrub-jays in
this metapopulation occurs in and around Johnathan Dickinson State
Park. The continued survival and recovery of scrub-jays in this area is
dependent on the maintenance of suitable habitat and the restoration of
unsuitable habitat.
Scrub-jay use of the project site and adjacent lands has been
assessed on several occasions. Scrub-jay surveys were conducted by
Environmental Services, Inc., from June 30 to July 3, 2003. A Service
biologist confirmed the survey results and delineated additional
habitat being utilized for foraging by three scrub-jays on November 19,
2003. The project site comprises areas of bare sand, concrete pads,
native and exotic vegetation, and can be classified as disturbed upland
scrub. Scattered sandy patches interspersed with low growing vegetation
provide foraging and caching opportunities for scrub-jays.
The project site is surrounded by Great American RV on the south
and by Cypress Manor Apartments on the west. The project site and
surrounding lands have been negatively influenced by previous land
clearing, development, and invasion by exotic species. Due to the
proximity of the project site to existing residential development and
urban infrastructure, fire has been actively excluded due to safety
concerns. As a result, the condition of the xeric habitat within the
project site is degraded; periodic fire or land management practices
that mimic fire are required to maintain habitat conditions suitable
for the scrub-jay.
Land clearing in preparation for a combination of office space and
three-story town homes would destroy habitat and could result in death
of, or injury to, scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying out of these
otherwise lawful activities. Habitat alteration associated with the
proposed development would reduce the availability of foraging habitat
for scrub-jays.
The Applicant's HCP and the Service's EA describe the following
minimization and mitigation strategy which would be employed by the
Applicant to offset the impacts of the project to the scrub-jay:
The Applicant agrees to contribute $109,830.97 to the
Florida Scrub Jay Conservation Fund. As discussed in the Applicant's
HCP, this amount will purchase 1.4 acres of scrub habitat (providing a
2:1 compensation ratio) at current land values, plus a fee for
perpetual management, along with a 5 percent administrative (overhead)
fee.
The Applicant agrees to plant a 0.20 acre portion of the
landscape buffer, required by local building codes, with scrub
vegetation as part of the Casa del Sol project.
The Applicant agrees that no land clearing activities will
take place during the scrub-jay breeding or nesting season (March-
June).
The EA considers the environmental consequences of one action
alternative that would require issuance of an ITP and two alternatives
in which an ITP would not be issued. The preferred alternative would
result in the loss of about 0.70 acre of occupied scrub-jay habitat
according to the HCP as submitted and described above. Under the
proposed alternative, as mitigation, the Applicant would contribute
funding for scrub-jay conservation. The Applicant's contribution to the
Florida Scrub Jay Conservation Fund would be used to acquire and manage
scrub-jay habitat in other areas in Palm Beach County, Florida and to
help ensure the long-term survival of viable populations of the
species.
As stated above, the Service has made a preliminary determination
that the issuance of the ITP is not a major Federal action
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the
meaning of section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. This preliminary information may
be revised based on our consideration of public comments received in
response to this notice and is based on information contained in the EA
and HCP.
The Service will also evaluate whether the issuance of a section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an
intra-Service section 7 consultation. The results of the biological
opinion, in combination with the above findings, will be used in the
final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP.
Noreen Walsh,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 05-21799 Filed 11-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
