Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for “Guidelines for Living With Florida Panthers and the Interagency Florida Panther Response Plan” and Notice of Receipt of an Application for Amendment to an Endangered Species Permit, 30156-30157 [E6-8013]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 101 (Thursday, May 25, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30156-30157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8013]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for ``Guidelines for Living 
With Florida Panthers and the Interagency Florida Panther Response 
Plan'' and Notice of Receipt of an Application for Amendment to an 
Endangered Species Permit

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: The Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) is one of the rarest 
large mammals in the United States. The panther is protected as an 
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (Act) and Florida 
statutes. Due to the panther's potential for extinction, conflicts with 
humans raise issues that require careful consideration and action such 
that the intent and ability to conserve the species is unaltered while 
the safety of the public remains paramount. We announce the 
availability of an Environmental Assessment (EA) that considers 
alternatives for managing panther-human conflicts. The alternatives are 
intended to result in nonsignificant impacts to panthers, humans and 
the environment.
    The public is also invited to comment on an application for 
amendment to a permit to conduct certain activities with endangered and 
threatened species. This notice is provided under section 10(c) of the 
Act.

DATES: Written comments on the EA should be sent to the Service's Field 
or Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be received on or before 
July 24, 2006.
    Written comments and/or data must be received on the application 
for amendment to the Endangered Species Permit at the address given 
below, by July 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Layne Hamilton, Refuge Manager, Florida Panther and Ten 
Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges, 3860 Tollgate Blvd., Suite 
300, Naples, Florida 34114, or Southeast Regional Office, Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 420, Atlanta, Georgia 
30345 (Attn: Elizabeth Souheaver). Persons wishing to review the 
Environmental Assessment may obtain a copy on the Internet at https://
www.fws.gov/verobeach. They may also obtain a copy by writing the 
Service's Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, Georgia (see ADDRESSES.) 
Please reference the Environmental Assessment associated with an 
interagency-developed management guidelines in such requests. Documents 
will also be available for public inspection by appointment during 
normal business hours at the Regional Office (see ADDRESSES.) If you 
wish to comment, you may submit comments by any one of several methods. 
Please reference the Environmental Assessment associated with an 
interagency-developed management guidelines in such comments. You may 
mail comments to the Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). You may 
also comment via electronic mail (e-mail) to 
pantherresponseplan@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 under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Finally, 
you may hand deliver comments to either Service office listed under 
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 names and home address from the administrative record. We will 
honor such requests to the extent allowed by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or 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.
    If you wish to comment on the application for amendment to the 
permit to conduct certain activities with endangered and threatened 
species, you may submit comments by any one of the following methods. 
You may mail comments to the Service's Southeast Regional Office, 1875 
Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia or via electronic mail 
(e-mail) to victoria_davis@fws.gov. Please include your name and 
return address in your e-mail message. If you do not receive a 
confirmation from the Service that we have received your e-mail 
message, contact us directly at the telephone number listed below. 
Finally, you may hand deliver comments to the Service office listed 
above (see ADDRESSES section).
    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 address 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. However, we will not 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Layne Hamilton, Refuge Manager, 
Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges, 
(see ADDRESSES), telephone: 239/353-8442 extension 227; or Ms. 
Elizabeth Souheaver, Area IV Supervisor (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 
404/679-7163, facsimile: 404/679-4082. Amendment to the Endangered 
Species Permit contact: Victoria Davis, Endangered Species Biologist 
(see ADDRESSES), telephone 404-679-4176; facsimile 404-679-7081.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Florida panthers occur primarily in southern 
Florida, and most individuals reside south of Lake Okeechobee. Recovery 
actions over the past 25 years, particularly genetic augmentation 
initiated in 1995, enabled the population to grow from 30-50 animals to 
80-100 animals in 2005. During this same period, the Florida human

[[Page 30157]]

population has grown 223 percent, from about 5 million to over 16 
million people. Because of increases in numbers of people and panthers, 
urban/suburban areas now interface with panther habitat, increasing the 
possibility of panther-human interactions. Management guidelines are 
needed to provide more definitive guidance to respond and manage 
panther and human interactions and to educate the public about 
appropriate behavior when living and recreating in panther habitat.
    Three alternatives were analyzed. Alternative A (Preferred Action) 
proposes managing panther-human interactions with an interagency 
response team and an established plan that prioritizes public safety 
and evaluates each situation by analyzing panther behavior and human 
activity. Alternative B does not utilize an interagency team or a 
response plan, but responds to panther-human interactions on a case-by-
case basis without established protocols or guidelines. Alternative C 
includes a response team and plan that differs from Alternative A by 
providing rigid protocols based on frequency of panther sightings and 
proximity to human-occupied structures, without considering panther 
behavior or influences of human activity on panther behavior. In 
accordance with mandates established under the National Environmental 
Policy Act, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service 
are required to consider a full range of reasonable alternatives for 
addressing and responding to major public issues, management concerns, 
and resource conservation opportunities associated with issues arising 
from panther-human interactions.
    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the preferred 
management plan is not a major Federal action significantly affecting 
the quality of the human environment within the meaning of Section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act. This preliminary 
information may be revised due to public comments received in response 
to this notice and is based on information contained in the 
Environmental Assessment.
    The Service will evaluate the comments submitted thereon to 
determine whether the Environmental Assessment meets the issuance 
criteria requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.). By conducting an intra-Service section 7 consultation, the 
Service will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) 
ITP would comply with section 7 of the Act. 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 ITPs.

Application for Amendment to an Endangered Species Permit

Applicant: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, TE051553-
3

    The applicant requests authorization to take (capture, harass, 
remove) the Florida panther (Puma (=Felis) concolor coryi) while 
implementing the ``Guidelines for Living with Florida Panthers and the 
Interagency Florida Panther Response Plan.'' The proposed activities 
would occur throughout the species' range in Florida.

Public Comments

    Authority: This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the 
Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act 
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: May 19, 2006.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
 [FR Doc. E6-8013 Filed 5-24-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P