[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25843]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 19, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 

Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an 
Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Timbering Harvesting 
Activities in Monroe County, AL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Ms. Sara N. Bradley (Applicant) is seeking an incidental take 
permit from the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to 
Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as 
amended. The permit would authorize the take of the Red Hills 
salamander Phaeognathus hubrichti, a threatened species, in Monroe 
County, Alabama, for a period of 2 years. The proposed taking is 
incidental to a planned timber harvest on an 80-acre tract of land 
owned by the Applicant. The tract is located in the eastern 1/2 of the 
southwest 1/4 of Section 9, Townships 8 North, Range 8 East, Monroe 
County, Alabama.
    The Service also announces the availability of an environmental 
assessment (EA) and habitat conservation plan (HCP) for the incidental 
take application. Copies of the EA or HCP may be obtained by making a 
request to the Regional Office address below. This notice also advises 
the public that the Service has made a preliminary determination that 
issuing the incidental take permit 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 
of 1969, as amended. The Finding of No Significant Impact is based on 
information contained in the EA and HCP. The final determination will 
be made no sooner than 30 days from the date of this notice. This 
notice is provided pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Act and National 
Environmental Policy Act Regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

DATES: Written comments on the permit application, EA and HCP should be 
received on or before November 18, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, HCP, and EA may 
obtain a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office, 
Atlanta, Georgia. Documents will also be available for public 
inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the Regional 
Office, or the Jackson, Mississippi, Field Office. Written data or 
comments concerning the application, EA, or HCP should be submitted to 
the Regional Office. Please reference permit under PRT-795455 in such 
comments.
    Regional Permit Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 
Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345, (telephone 404/
679-7110, fax 404/679-7081).
    Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View 
Parkway, Suite A, Jackson, Mississippi 39213 (telephone 601/965-4900 
extension 27, fax 601/965-4340).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendell Neal at the Jackson, 
Mississippi, Field Office, or Rick G. Gooch at the Atlanta, Georgia, 
Regional Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Red Hills salamander is a plethodontid 
salamander and the sole member of its genus. Its range is confined to a 
small area of southern Alabama. Portions of the Applicant's lands in 
the Red Hills physiographic province of south-central Alabama are 
occupied by this species. The applicant owns 80 acres of timberland 
within the Red Hills salamander's historic range in Monroe County. The 
Applicant's HCP identifies a 15-acre preserve area characterized as 
having steep slopes (>30 percent), within the Tallahatta and/or 
Hatchetigbee geologic formations, have moist loamy topsoils, and 
forested with naturally occurring mixed hardwood/pine and pine/hardwood 
trees. Previous status surveys for the species indicate this to be 
optimal habitat, with burrow density as high as 5 per 100 square 
meters. Timber harvesting in the adjacent streamside management zones, 
encompassing 16 acres of the property, will be restricted to removal of 
approximately 20 percent of the canopy coverage. These areas are 
considered marginal habitat for the Red Hills salamander. On the 
remainder of the site (49 acres), normal timber harvesting will be 
conducted and will result in approximately 40 percent of the canopy 
coverage.
    Take incidental to the applicant's harvest plan is expected to 
occur in the marginally suitable areas, through the physical crushing 
of burrows (and thus individuals) from timber felling and removal of 
large pine trees. Incidental take of this nature is expected in 
approximately 5 acres of marginally suitable habitat. Mitigation and 
minimization measures identified in the HCP include the preservation of 
15 acres of optimal habitat, restrictions of cutting in marginally 
suitable areas, restrictions of the use of chemical pesticides and 
herbicides within and in a 50-foot buffer of optimum habitat, and 
training and education of logging personnel.
    The EA considers the environmental consequences of three 
alternatives, including acceptance of the HCP as submitted, no action, 
or the HCP modified for a different mitigation strategy.

(Notice: Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of 
an Application for a Section 10(a)(1)(B) Incidental Take Permit of 
the Endangered Species Act.)

    Dated: October 12, 1994.
Gloria Lee,
Acting Chief, Division of Endangered Species.
[FR Doc. 94-25843 Filed 10-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P