Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting From the Proposed Construction of a Single-Family Home in Charlotte County, FL, 7566-7567 [E6-1962]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 29 / Monday, February 13, 2006 / Notices
combination with the above findings,
will be used in the final analysis to
determine whether or not to issue the
ITPs. This notice is provided pursuant
to Section 10 of the Endangered Species
Act and National Environmental Policy
Act regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: January 27, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohner
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6–1949 Filed 2–10–06; 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 the
Proposed Construction of a SingleFamily Home in Charlotte County, FL
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Carlos Bigord (Applicant)
requests an incidental take permit (ITP)
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (Act). The Applicant
anticipates taking over a one-year
permit term, about 0.23 acre of Florida
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens)(scrub-jay) foraging,
sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat,
incidental to lot preparation for the
construction of a single-family home
and supporting infrastructure in
Charlotte County, Florida (Project).
The Applicant’s Habitat Conservation
Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and
minimization measures proposed to
address the effects of the Project to the
Florida scrub-jay. These measures are
outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below. The Service
announces the availability of the HCP
for the incidental take application.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP
application and HCP should be sent to
the Service’s Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES) and should be received on
or before March 15, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review
the application and HCP may obtain a
copy by writing the Service’s Southeast
Regional Office at the address below.
Please reference permit number
TE111605–0 in such requests.
Documents will also be available for
public inspection by appointment
during normal business hours at the
Southeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1875 Century
Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia
30345 (Attn: Endangered Species
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:38 Feb 10, 2006
Jkt 208001
Permits), or Field Supervisor, South
Florida Ecological Services Field Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339
20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida, 32960–
3559.
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 Mark
Salvato, Fish and Wildlife Biologist,
South Florida Ecological Services Field
Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone: 772–562–
3909, ext. 340.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you
wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several
methods. Please reference permit
number TE111605–0 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
internet message. If you do not receive
a confirmation from us that we have
received your internet message, contact
us directly at either telephone number
listed below (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 (mostly consisting of oakdominated scrub). Increasing urban and
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 west-central
Florida has been exacerbated by
tremendous urban growth in the past 50
years. Much of the historic commercial
and residential development has
occurred on the dry soils which
previously supported scrub-jay habitat.
Based on existing soils data, much of
the historic and current scrub-jay
habitat of coastal west-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 the interruption of the natural fire
regime which is needed to maintain
xeric uplands in conditions suitable for
scrub-jays.
The scrub-jays using the subject
residential lot and adjacent properties
are part of a larger complex of scrub-jays
located in a matrix of urban and natural
settings in Charlotte County. The project
site represents a portion of an isolated
scrub-jay territory. Scrub-jays in urban
areas are particularly vulnerable and
typically do not successfully produce
young that survive to adulthood.
Persistent urban growth in this area will
likely result in further reductions in the
amount of suitable habitat for scrubjays. 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
urban settings, and conservation 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
infrastructure and facilities would result
in harm to scrub-jays, incidental to the
carrying out of these otherwise lawful
activities. The destruction of 0.23 acre
of habitat associated with the proposed
residential construction would reduce
the availability of foraging, sheltering,
and possible nesting habitat for one
family of scrub-jays. As minimization,
however, the Applicant proposes to
conduct clearing activities outside of the
nesting season.
E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM
13FEN1
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 29 / Monday, February 13, 2006 / Notices
The Applicant proposes to mitigate
the take of scrub-jays through
contribution of $14,458 to the
appropriate scrub-jay conservation fund.
Funds in this account are earmarked for
use in the conservation and recovery of
scrub-jays and may include habitat
acquisition, restoration, and
management.
The Service has determined that the
HCP is a low-effect plan that is
categorically excluded from further
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) analysis, and does not require
the preparation of an Environmental
Assessment or Environmental Impact
Statement. This preliminary information
may be revised based on our review of
public comments that we receive in
response to this notice. Low-effect HCPs
are those involving: (1) Minor or
negligible effects on federally listed or
candidate species and their habitats,
and (2) minor or negligible effects on
other environmental values or
resources. The Applicants’ HCP
qualifies for the following reasons:
1. Approval of the HCP would result
in minor or negligible effects on the
Florida scrub-jay population as a whole.
The Service does not anticipate
significant direct or cumulative effects
to the Florida scrub-jay population as a
result of the project.
2. Approval of the HCP would not
have adverse effects on known unique
geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or
involve unique or unknown
environmental risks.
3. Approval of the HCP would not
result in any significant adverse effects
on public health or safety.
4. The project does not require
compliance with Executive Order 11988
(Floodplain Management), Executive
Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), or
the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act,
nor does it threaten to violate a Federal,
State, local, or tribal law or requirement
imposed for the protection of the
environment.
5. Approval of the Plan would not
establish a precedent for future action or
represent a decision in principle about
future actions with potentially
significant environmental effects.
The Service has determined that the
Applicants’ proposal, including the
proposed mitigation and minimization
measures, will individually and
cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the species covered in the
HCP. Therefore, the ITP is a ‘‘loweffect’’ project and qualifies as a
categorical exclusion under the NEPA,
as provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1
and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:38 Feb 10, 2006
Jkt 208001
The Service has determined that
approval of the HCP qualifies as a
categorical exclusion under NEPA, as
provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1,
and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). Therefore,
no further NEPA documentation will be
prepared. This notice is provided
pursuant to Section 10 of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
The Service will evaluate the HCP
and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application
meets the requirements of section 10(a)
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 an
ITP.
Dated: January 27, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6–1962 Filed 2–10–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–55–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Campo
Solid Waste Landfill Facility on the
Campo Indian Reservation, San Diego
County, CA; Reopening of Comment
Period
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public
that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
is reopening the comment period on its
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (SEIS) for the Proposed
Campo Solid Waste Landfill Facility on
the Campo Indian Reservation in San
Diego County, California, for an
additional 30 days. The Notice of Intent
to prepare the SEIS, published in the
Federal Register on November 8, 2005
(70 FR 67738), announced a closing date
for comments of December 9, 2005.
DATES: Written comments for the new
comment period must arrive by March
17, 2006.
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
7567
You may mail or hand carry
written comments to Clay Gregory,
Regional Director, Pacific Regional
Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2800
Cottage Way, Sacramento, California
95825. Please include your name, return
address and the caption, ‘‘SEIS, Campo
Solid Waste Landfill Facility Proposal,’’
on the first page of your written
comments.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John
Rydzik, (916) 978–6042.
The
proposed action is to approve a lease
and sublease to allow a 1,150-acre
portion of the Campo Indian
Reservation to be used for the
construction and operation of an
approximately 600-acre solid waste
landfill facility, with a buffer zone.
Details on the proposed action and
previous environmental analysis may be
found in the above-referenced Notice
published in the Federal Register on
November 8, 2005.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comment Availability
Comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the BIA
address shown in the ADDRESSES
section, during business hours, 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Individual respondents
may request confidentiality. If you wish
to withhold your name and/or address
from public review or from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act,
you must state this prominently at the
beginning of your comment. Such
requests will be honored to the extent
allowed by the law. We will not,
however, consider anonymous
comments. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Authority
This notice is published in
accordance with sections 1503.1, 1506.6
and 1508.22 of the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations (40
CFR parts 1500 through 1508)
implementing the procedural
requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),
Department of the Interior Manual (516
DM 1–6), and is in the exercise of
authority delegated to the Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary—Indian
Affairs by 209 DM 8.1.
E:\FR\FM\13FEN1.SGM
13FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7566-7567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1962]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Single-
Family Home in Charlotte County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Carlos Bigord (Applicant) requests an incidental take permit
(ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (Act). The Applicant anticipates taking over a one-
year permit term, about 0.23 acre of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma
coerulescens)(scrub-jay) foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting
habitat, incidental to lot preparation for the construction of a
single-family home and supporting infrastructure in Charlotte County,
Florida (Project).
The Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the
mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of
the Project to the Florida scrub-jay. These measures are outlined in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The Service announces the
availability of the HCP for the incidental take application.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application and HCP should be sent
to the Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be received
on or before March 15, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application and HCP may obtain
a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office at the
address below. Please reference permit number TE111605-0 in such
requests. Documents will also be available for public inspection by
appointment during normal business hours at the Southeast Regional
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite
200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered Species Permits), or
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Field Office, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida,
32960-3559.
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 Mark Salvato, Fish
and Wildlife Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Field Office,
Vero Beach, Florida (see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 772-562-3909,
ext. 340.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number
TE111605-0 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 internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation
from us that we have received your internet message, contact us
directly at either telephone number listed below (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 (mostly consisting 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 west-
central Florida has been exacerbated by tremendous urban growth in the
past 50 years. Much of the historic commercial and residential
development has occurred on the dry soils which previously supported
scrub-jay habitat. Based on existing soils data, much of the historic
and current scrub-jay habitat of coastal west-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 the interruption of the natural fire regime
which is needed to maintain xeric uplands in conditions suitable for
scrub-jays.
The scrub-jays using the subject residential lot and adjacent
properties are part of a larger complex of scrub-jays located in a
matrix of urban and natural settings in Charlotte County. The project
site represents a portion of an isolated scrub-jay territory. Scrub-
jays in urban areas are particularly vulnerable and typically do not
successfully produce young that survive to adulthood. Persistent urban
growth in this area will likely 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 urban
settings, and conservation 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 infrastructure and facilities would
result in harm to scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying out of these
otherwise lawful activities. The destruction of 0.23 acre of habitat
associated with the proposed residential construction would reduce the
availability of foraging, sheltering, and possible nesting habitat for
one family of scrub-jays. As minimization, however, the Applicant
proposes to conduct clearing activities outside of the nesting season.
[[Page 7567]]
The Applicant proposes to mitigate the take of scrub-jays through
contribution of $14,458 to the appropriate scrub-jay conservation fund.
Funds in this account are earmarked for use in the conservation and
recovery of scrub-jays and may include habitat acquisition,
restoration, and management.
The Service has determined that the HCP is a low-effect plan that
is categorically excluded from further National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) analysis, and does not require the preparation of an
Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement. This
preliminary information may be revised based on our review of public
comments that we receive in response to this notice. Low-effect HCPs
are those involving: (1) Minor or negligible effects on federally
listed or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor or
negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. The
Applicants' HCP qualifies for the following reasons:
1. Approval of the HCP would result in minor or negligible effects
on the Florida scrub-jay population as a whole. The Service does not
anticipate significant direct or cumulative effects to the Florida
scrub-jay population as a result of the project.
2. Approval of the HCP would not have adverse effects on known
unique geographic, historic, or cultural sites, or involve unique or
unknown environmental risks.
3. Approval of the HCP would not result in any significant adverse
effects on public health or safety.
4. The project does not require compliance with Executive Order
11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Protection of
Wetlands), or the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, nor does it
threaten to violate a Federal, State, local, or tribal law or
requirement imposed for the protection of the environment.
5. Approval of the Plan would not establish a precedent for future
action or represent a decision in principle about future actions with
potentially significant environmental effects.
The Service has determined that the Applicants' proposal, including
the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will individually
and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the species
covered in the HCP. Therefore, the ITP is a ``low-effect'' project and
qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the NEPA, as provided by the
Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6,
Appendix 1).
The Service has determined that approval of the HCP qualifies as a
categorical exclusion under NEPA, as provided by the Department of the
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1, and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1).
Therefore, no further NEPA documentation will be prepared. This notice
is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
The Service will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a) 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 an ITP.
Dated: January 27, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. E6-1962 Filed 2-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
