Fish and Wildlife Service October 17, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice advises the public that RB & JH Properties, LLC (applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The proposed permit would authorize incidental take of the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus) (DFS) that is likely to occur on the Pleasant Rifts Housing Development, a 29.6-acre property owned by the applicant near Secretary, in Dorchester County, Maryland. We also announce the availability for public comment of a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) prepared under the Act in support of the permit application and a draft environmental assessment (EA) for the action prepared in accordance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Citygate Development, LLC and CG II, LLC (Applicants) request an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) for the take of the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and the Florida panther (Puma (=Felis) concolor coryi). The Applicants propose to develop 240 acres of occupied red-cockaded woodpecker and Florida panther habitat to construct a mixed-use, nonresidential, commercial/industrial office park complex (Project) in Collier County, Florida. The modification of this habitat is expected to result in incidental take, in the form of harm, of one group of red-cockaded woodpeckers and harassment of the Florida panther. The Applicants' Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of the Project on the red-cockaded woodpecker and Florida panther. These measures are outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are designating final revised critical habitat for the San Bernardino kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami parvus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Approximately 7,779 acres (ac) (3,148 hectares (ha)) of habitat in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California, are being designated as critical habitat for the San Bernardino kangaroo rat. This final revised designation constitutes a reduction of approximately 25,516 ac (10,326 ha) from the 2002 designation of critical habitat for the San Bernardino kangaroo rat.