[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39418-39419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-18985]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an 
Application Submitted by Jack Primus Partners, L.P. for an Incidental 
Take Permit for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in Association With the Sale 
and Development of a Property in Berkeley County, South Carolina

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Jack Primus Partners, L.P. (Applicant) has applied to the Fish 
and Wildlife Service for an incidental take permit pursuant to Section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). 
The proposed permit would authorize for a period of 99 years the 
incidental take of a federally endangered species, the red-cockaded 
woodpecker Picoides borealis (RCW) known to occur on a property owned 
by the Applicant in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The Applicant 
proposes to sell the 996-acre property located on the Cainhoy 
Peninsula, 5 miles northeast of North Charleston, for development 
purposes. The proposed permit would authorize incidental take of RCWs 
on this property in exchange for mitigation elsewhere as described 
further in the Supplementary Information Section below.
    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 
sent to the Regional Permit Coordinator in Atlanta, Georgia, at the 
address below and should be received on or before September 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, HCP, or 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 Asheville, North Carolina, Field Office. Written data or 
comments concerning the application, EA, or HCP should be submitted to 
the Regional Office. Please reference permit number PRT-804465 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 404/679-7280).
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 160 Zillicoa Street, 
Asheville, North Carolina 28801, (telephone 704/258-3939).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Janice Nicholls at the Asheville, 
North Carolina, Field Office, or Mr. Rick G. Gooch at the Atlanta, 
Georgia, Regional Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The red-cockaded woodpecker is a 
territorial, non-migratory cooperative breeding bird species. RCWs live 
in social units called groups which generally consist of a breeding 
pair, the current year's offspring, and one or more helpers (normally 
adult male offspring of the breeding pair from previous years). Groups 
maintain year-round territories near their roost and nest trees. The 
RCW is unique among North American woodpeckers in that it is the only 
woodpecker that excavates its roost and nest cavities in living pine 
trees. Each group member has its own cavity, although there may be 
multiple cavities in a single pine tree. The aggregate of cavity trees 
used by a breeding group is called a cluster. RCWs forage almost 
exclusively on pine trees and they generally prefer pines greater than 
10 inches diameter at breast height. Foraging habitat is contiguous 
with the cluster. The number of acres required to supply adequate 
foraging habitat depends on the quantity and quality of the pine stems 
available.
    The RCW is endemic to the pine forests of the Southeastern United 
States and was once widely distributed across 16 States. The species 
evolved in a mature, fire-maintained, ecosystem. The RCW has declined 
primarily due to the conversion of mature pine forests to young pine 
plantations, agricultural fields, residential and commercial 
developments, and to hardwood encroachment in existing pine forests due 
to fire suppression. The species is still widely distributed (presently 
occurs in 13 southeastern States), but remaining populations are highly 
fragmented and isolated. Presently, the largest populations occur on 
federally owned lands such as military installations and national 
forests.
    In South Carolina there are an estimated 681 active RCW clusters as 
of 1994; 67 percent are on Federal lands, 6 percent are on State lands, 
and 27 percent are on private lands. The populations on public lands 
are generally stable, and in some cases are increasing. The overall 
population trend on private lands in South Carolina, on the other hand, 
is downward. Most RCW populations on private lands are relatively small 
and isolated.
    The Applicant's land in Berkeley County hosts a small and isolated 
population of RCWs. As of 1993, there were two active RCW clusters; one 
breeding group and one solitary adult male. The nearest known RCW 
groups occur on private lands approximately 1 to 2 miles to the north 
of the Jack Primus Tract. The nearest known population occurs several 
miles away on the Francis Marion National Forest to the northeast, and 
on the privately owned Medway Plantation located opposite the Cooper 
River from the Jack Primus Tract. The Applicant proposes to sell the 
Jack Primus Tract for development. Development of the tract may result 
in death of, or harm to, any remaining RCWs through the loss of nesting 
and foraging habitat.
    The EA considers the environmental consequences of three 
alternatives, including the proposed action. The proposed action 
alternative is issuance of the incidental take permit and 
implementation of the HCP as submitted by the Applicant. The HCP will 
provide for the provisioning of six clusters with artificial starts and 
cavities on suitable habitat on the Medway Plantation. The Medway 
Plantation is under a long-term conservation easement with the primary 
objective of perpetuating and conserving the natural values of the 
property, which includes managing a portion of the property to 
perpetuate a mature 

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longleaf pine ecosystem. The HCP will also involve the implementation 
of a population monitoring program for a specified time period at 
Medway Plantation to determine success of the provisioning efforts. The 
HCP provides a funding source for these mitigation measures.

    Dated: July 26, 1995.
Garland B. Pardue,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 95-18985 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P