[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36390-36391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17521]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an 
Application Submitted by Mr. Ben Cone, Jr., for an Incidental Take 
Permit for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in Association with Management 
Activities on his Property in Pender County, North Carolina

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Mr. Ben Cone, Jr., (Applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit pursuant 
to Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as 
amended. The proposed permit would authorize the incidental take of a 
federally endangered species, the red-cockaded woodpecker Picoides 
borealis (RCW) known to occur on property owned by the Applicant in 
Pender County, North Carolina. The Applicant is requesting an 
incidental take permit in order to ensure complete flexibility in 
managing his property, which will include timber management activities 
and prescribed burning. The Applicant's property, known as Cone's 
Folly, is located in west-central Pender County between the Black River 
and the Town of Atkinson. Cone's Folly consists of approximately 7,200 
acres on the main tract and an additional 800 acres on another separate 
tract. The proposed permit would authorize incidental take of RCWs on 
Cone's Folly 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 and/or HCP may be obtained by making 
a request to the Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). 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 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 Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be 
received on or before August 9, 1996.

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, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345 
(Attn: Endangered Species Permits), or at the following Field Offices: 
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 160 Zillicoa Street, 
Asheville, North Carolina 28801, (telephone 704/258-3939); Red-cockaded 
Woodpecker Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
College of Forest and Recreational Resources, 261 Lehotsky Hall, Box 
341003, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-1003 (telephone 864/656-2432); or 
Sandhills Red-cockaded Woodpecker Recovery Biologist, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 225 N. Bennett Street, Southern Pines, North Carolina 
28388 (telephone 910/695-3323). Written data or comments concerning the 
application, EA, or HCP should be submitted to the Regional Office. 
Comments must be submitted in writing to be processed. Please reference 
permit under PRT-816491 in such comments, or in requests of the 
documents discussed herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rick G. Gooch, Regional Permit 
Coordinator, (see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/679-7110; or Ms. 
Janice Nicholls, Biologist, Asheville Field Office, (see ADDRESSES 
above), telephone: 704/258-3939.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The RCW 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 
the 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 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, and 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 known populations occur 
on federally owned lands such as military installations and national 
forests.
    In North Carolina, there are an estimated 733 active RCW clusters 
as of 1994; 56 percent are on Federal lands, 22 percent are on State 
lands, and 22 percent are on private lands. There has not been a 
complete inventory of RCWs in North Carolina so it is difficult to 
precisely assess the species' overall status in the State. However, the 
known populations on public lands are regularly monitored and generally 
considered stable. The population trend on private lands in North 
Carolina is less clear. While several new active RCW clusters have been 
discovered on private lands over the past few years, many previously 
documented RCW clusters have been lost. Most of the RCW clusters on 
private lands are in relatively small populations (i.e., 1-5 groups), 
and aside from the Sandhills Region, few are protected through any type 
of conservation agreement.
    The population of RCWs on Cone's Folly presently consists of 29 
individuals at 12 active clusters. The nearest known RCW group(s) to 
the population at Cone's Folly is approximately 1-2 miles away at Colly 
Swamp, which consists of several privately-owned tracts across the 
Black River in Bladen County. The extensive Colly Swamp area extends 
from the Black River west to near Singletary Lake State Park 
(approximately 10 miles west), which also hosts at least two active RCW 
clusters. The nearest known RCW concentration on the east side of

[[Page 36391]]

Cone's Folly is Holly Shelter Game Lands, owned and managed by the 
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Holly Shelter Game Lands 
hosts approximately 30 active RCW clusters and is located approximately 
20 to 25 miles away in Pender County.
    The Applicant proposes to continue traditional timber management 
activities and prescribed burning on his property as has been carried 
out over the past 60 years. Cone's Folly is currently managed as a 
wildlife preserve for several game species and as well as for forest 
products such as saw timber, pulpwood, pine straw, and firewood. Some 
timber harvesting activities may result in death of, or harm to, RCWs 
through the loss of nesting and foraging habitat.
    The EA considers the environmental consequences of four 
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 
provides for an off-site mitigation strategy for the existing 12 groups 
on Cone's Folly. The goal of this strategy is to create 12 new RCW 
groups through habitat enhancement activities--artificial cavity 
provisioning and hardwood midstory removal--at selected sites on 
private, State and/or Federal lands in North Carolina. The Service will 
select the candidate sites and will specifically select sites that will 
be managed and protected in perpetuity and that have the greatest 
likelihood of success in the shortest time period. The HCP will involve 
monitoring each of the 12 mitigation clusters for a specified time 
period to determine success of the habitat enhancement efforts. 
Finally, the Applicant will allow the Service to capture and 
translocate juveniles produced on Cone's Folly either to the mitigation 
sites or other sites selected by the Service. The HCP provides a 
funding source for the above-mentioned mitigation measures.

    Dated: July 2, 1996.
Noreen K. Clough,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 96-17521 Filed 7-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P