Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting From Construction of a Multi-Home Subdivision in Volusia County, FL, 2563-2564 [E6-376]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2006 / Notices
Applicant: Shawn R. Merriman,
Aurora, CO, PRT–112712.
The applicant requests a permit to
import the sport-hunted trophy of one
male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus
pygargus) culled from a captive herd
maintained under the management
program of the Republic of South Africa,
for the purpose of enhancement of the
survival of the species.
Dated: December 23, 2005.
Monica Farris,
Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits,
Division of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. E6–364 Filed 1–13–06; 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
Construction of a Multi-Home
Subdivision in Volusia County, FL
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
sroberts on PROD1PC69 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Ocean Shore Estates, LLC
(Applicant) requests an incidental take
permit (ITP) for a duration of five years,
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act),
as amended (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The
Applicant anticipates destroying about
1.8 acres of occupied Florida scrub-jay
(Aphelocoma coerulescens (scrub-jay)
habitat in Section 21, Township 13
South, Range 32 East, Volusia County,
Florida. Habitat destruction would be
expected due to vegetation clearing and
the subsequent construction of
infrastructure and single-family homes.
One scrub-jay family could be taken as
a result of the Applicant’s proposed
actions.
The Applicant’s Habitat Conservation
Plan (HCP) describes the alternatives
considered, as well as 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. We
announce the availability of the ITP
application, HCP, and an environmental
assessment. Copies of the application,
HCP, and environmental assessment
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).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:57 Jan 13, 2006
Jkt 208001
Written comments on the ITP
application, HCP, and environmental
assessment should be sent to the
Service’s Southeast Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES) and should be received on
or before March 20, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review
the application, HCP, and
environmental assessment may obtain a
copy by writing the Service’s Southeast
Regional Office at the address below.
Please reference permit number
TE105727–0 in such requests.
Documents will also be available for
public inspection by appointment
during normal business hours either at
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 Jacksonville Field
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
6620 Southpoint Drive South, Suite 310,
Jacksonville, Florida 32216–0912 (Attn:
Field Supervisor).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
David Dell, Regional HCP Coordinator,
Southeast Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone: (404)
679–7313, facsimile: (404) 679–7081; or
Mr. Mike Jennings, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone: (904)
232–2580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you
wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several
methods. Please reference permit
number TE105727–0 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 from us 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
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00052
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2563
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 Florida scrub-jay (scrub-jay) is
geographically isolated from other
species 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 soil
habitats supporting a growth of oakdominated 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.
The decline in the number and
distribution of scrub-jays in east-central
Florida has been exacerbated by
agricultural land conversions and urban
growth in the past 100 years. Much of
the historic commercial and residential
development has occurred on the dry
soils that previously supported scrubjay habitat. Based on existing soils data,
much of the historic and current scrubjay habitat of coastal east-central Florida
occurs proximal to the current shoreline
and larger river basins. Much of this
area of Florida was settled early because
few wetlands restricted urban and
agricultural development. Due to the
effects of urban and agricultural
development over the past 100 years,
much of the remaining scrub-jay habitat
is now relatively small and isolated.
What remains is largely degraded, due
to interruption of the natural fire regime
that is needed to maintain xeric uplands
in conditions suitable for scrub-jays.
From 2003 through 2005, one family
of scrub-jays was found using 1.8 acres
within the project site. Scrub-jays using
the project site are part of a small
complex of scrub-jays located in a
matrix of urban and natural settings in
areas of the barrier islands of Flagler
and northern Volusia Counties.
Persistent urban growth in the vicinity
of the project is expected to result in
further reductions in the amount of
suitable habitat for scrub-jays.
Increasing urban pressures are also
likely to result in the continued
degradation of scrub-jay habitat as fire
exclusion slowly results in vegetative
overgrowth. Thus, over the long-term,
scrub-jays are unlikely to persist in the
vicinity of the project, and conservation
E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM
17JAN1
2564
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2006 / Notices
efforts for this species should target
acquisition and management of large
parcels of land outside the direct
influence of urbanization.
Construction of the project’s home
sites, facilities and infrastructure would
result in harm to scrub-jays, incidental
to the carrying out of these otherwise
lawful activities. The proposed
residential construction and associated
infrastructure would eliminate the
availability of foraging, sheltering, and
possible nesting habitat for one family
of scrub-jays.
The Applicant proposes to mitigate
the loss of 1.8 acres of scrub-jay habitat
by providing $78,214.00 to the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Florida
Scrub Jay Mitigation Fund, or to another
entity identified by the Service.
Mitigation funding would be used for
scrub-jay conservation and may include
the acquisition, management, and/or
restoration of scrub-jay habitat. This
contribution has been determined by the
Service to be sufficient to purchase and
permanently manage 3.6 acres of scrubjay habitat in Volusia County. In
addition, the Applicant would minimize
the loss by surveying for any possible
scrub-jay nesting activity during the
breeding season. If active nesting were
observed in the project area,
construction would be halted until any
young fledged.
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
due to public comment received in
response to this notice and is based on
information contained in the
environmental assessment and HCP.
The Service will evaluate the HCP
and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application
meets the requirements of section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. If it is determined
that those requirements are met, the ITP
will be issued for incidental take of the
Florida scrub-jay. The Service will also
evaluate whether issuance of the section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7
of the Act by conducting an intraService 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.
Dated: December 19, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6–376 Filed 1–13–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Issuance of Permits
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of permits for
marine mammals.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
The following permits were
issued.
Documents and other
information submitted with these
applications are available for review,
subject to the requirements of the
Privacy Act and Freedom of Information
Act, by any party who submits a written
request for a copy of such documents to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division
of Management Authority, 4401 North
Fairfax Drive, Room 700, Arlington,
Virginia 22203; fax 703/358–2281.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Division of Management Authority,
telephone 703/358–2104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice is hereby given that on the
dates below, as authorized by the
provisions of the Marine Mammal
Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the Fish and
Wildlife Service issued the requested
permits subject to certain conditions set
forth therein.
ADDRESSES:
Marine Mammals
Permit No.
Applicant
Receipt of application Federal Register notice
106766 .........................
108268 .........................
Scott L. Koelzer ..............................................
William M. McCarty .........................................
70 FR 58234; October 5, 2005 .......................
70 FR 58234; October 5, 2005 .......................
Dated: December 16, 2005.
Michael L. Carpenter,
Senior Permit Biologist, Branch of Permits,
Division of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. E6–363 Filed 1–13–06; 8:45 am]
Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Land Management, New Mexico
Resource Advisory Council (RAC), will
meet as indicated below.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NM–910–06–0777–XX]
Notice of Public Meeting, New Mexico
Resource Advisory Council Meeting
Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting.
sroberts on PROD1PC69 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act and the Federal Advisory
Committee Act of 1972, the U.S.
SUMMARY:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:57 Jan 13, 2006
Jkt 208001
The Meeting dates are February
28–March 2, 2006, at The Bishop’s
Lodge, 1297 Bishop’s Lodge Road, Santa
Fe, New Mexico. An optional field trip
is planned for February 28, 2006. The
public comment period is scheduled for
February 28, 2006, from 6–7 p.m. at The
Bishop’s Lodge. The public may present
written comments to the RAC.
Depending on the number of
individuals wishing to comment and
time available, oral comments may be
limited. The three established RAC
working groups may have a late
afternoon or an evening meeting on
Wednesday, March 1, 2006.
DATES:
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Theresa Herrera, New Mexico State
Office, Office of External Affairs, Bureau
of Land Management, P.O. Box 27115,
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502–0115,
(505) 438–7517.
Dated: January 6, 2006.
Linda S.C. Rundell,
State Director.
[FR Doc. E6–377 Filed 1–13–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P
The 15member RAC advises the Secretary of
the Interior, through the Bureau of Land
Frm 00053
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
December 7, 2005.
December 7, 2005.
Management, on a variety of planning
and management issues associated with
public land management in New
Mexico. All Meetings are open to the
public. At this Meeting, topics include
issues on renewable and nonrenewable
resources.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Permit issuance date
E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM
17JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2563-2564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-376]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the
Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting From Construction of a Multi-Home
Subdivision in Volusia County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Ocean Shore Estates, LLC (Applicant) requests an incidental
take permit (ITP) for a duration of five years, pursuant to section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended
(U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Applicant anticipates destroying about 1.8
acres of occupied Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens (scrub-
jay) habitat in Section 21, Township 13 South, Range 32 East, Volusia
County, Florida. Habitat destruction would be expected due to
vegetation clearing and the subsequent construction of infrastructure
and single-family homes. One scrub-jay family could be taken as a
result of the Applicant's proposed actions.
The Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the
alternatives considered, as well as 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. We announce the availability of the ITP application,
HCP, and an environmental assessment. Copies of the application, HCP,
and environmental assessment 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, HCP, and environmental
assessment should be sent to the Service's Southeast Regional Office
(see ADDRESSES) and should be received on or before March 20, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, HCP, and
environmental assessment may obtain a copy by writing the Service's
Southeast Regional Office at the address below. Please reference permit
number TE105727-0 in such requests. Documents will also be available
for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours
either at 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 Jacksonville Field
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive South,
Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216-0912 (Attn: Field Supervisor).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES above),
telephone: (404) 679-7313, facsimile: (404) 679-7081; or Mr. Mike
Jennings, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone: (904) 232-2580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number
TE105727-0 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
from us 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 Florida scrub-jay (scrub-jay) is geographically isolated from
other species 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 soil habitats
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.
The decline in the number and distribution of scrub-jays in east-
central Florida has been exacerbated by agricultural land conversions
and urban growth in the past 100 years. Much of the historic commercial
and residential development has occurred on the dry soils that
previously supported scrub-jay habitat. Based on existing soils data,
much of the historic and current scrub-jay habitat of coastal east-
central Florida occurs proximal to the current shoreline and larger
river basins. Much of this area of Florida was settled early because
few wetlands restricted urban and agricultural development. Due to the
effects of urban and agricultural development over the past 100 years,
much of the remaining scrub-jay habitat is now relatively small and
isolated. What remains is largely degraded, due to interruption of the
natural fire regime that is needed to maintain xeric uplands in
conditions suitable for scrub-jays.
From 2003 through 2005, one family of scrub-jays was found using
1.8 acres within the project site. Scrub-jays using the project site
are part of a small complex of scrub-jays located in a matrix of urban
and natural settings in areas of the barrier islands of Flagler and
northern Volusia Counties. Persistent urban growth in the vicinity of
the project is expected to result in further reductions in the amount
of suitable habitat for scrub-jays. Increasing urban pressures are also
likely to result in the continued degradation of scrub-jay habitat as
fire exclusion slowly results in vegetative overgrowth. Thus, over the
long-term, scrub-jays are unlikely to persist in the vicinity of the
project, and conservation
[[Page 2564]]
efforts for this species should target acquisition and management of
large parcels of land outside the direct influence of urbanization.
Construction of the project's home sites, facilities and
infrastructure would result in harm to scrub-jays, incidental to the
carrying out of these otherwise lawful activities. The proposed
residential construction and associated infrastructure would eliminate
the availability of foraging, sheltering, and possible nesting habitat
for one family of scrub-jays.
The Applicant proposes to mitigate the loss of 1.8 acres of scrub-
jay habitat by providing $78,214.00 to the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, Florida Scrub Jay Mitigation Fund, or to another entity
identified by the Service. Mitigation funding would be used for scrub-
jay conservation and may include the acquisition, management, and/or
restoration of scrub-jay habitat. This contribution has been determined
by the Service to be sufficient to purchase and permanently manage 3.6
acres of scrub-jay habitat in Volusia County. In addition, the
Applicant would minimize the loss by surveying for any possible scrub-
jay nesting activity during the breeding season. If active nesting were
observed in the project area, construction would be halted until any
young fledged.
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 due to
public comment received in response to this notice and is based on
information contained in the environmental assessment and HCP.
The Service will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. If it is determined that those requirements are
met, the ITP will be issued for incidental take of the Florida scrub-
jay. The Service 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.
Dated: December 19, 2005.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6-376 Filed 1-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
