[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 118 (Monday, June 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37996-37997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15369]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Preliminary
Finding of No Significant Impact, and Receipt of an Application for an
Incidental Take Permit for a Proposed Commercial Development Called
Bella Vista Retail Center Located in Highlands County, Florida
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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The 81 + 3 Florida, Inc. company (Applicant) requests an incidental
take permit (ITP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as amended (Act). The
Applicant anticipates taking 20.7 acres of sand skink (Neoseps
reynoldsi) and bluetail mole skink (Eumeces egregius lividus) habitat,
incidental to the development of a commercial retail center in section
23, Township 34 South, Range 28 East, Sebring, Highlands County,
Florida. The Applicant proposes to mitigate the taking of skinks
through fee title acquisition of at least 41.4 acres of suitable skink
habitat within the range of the species.
Land clearing, infrastructure installation and commercial
construction will destroy 20.7 acres of habitat known to be occupied by
sand and bluetail mole skinks. A more detailed description of the
mitigation and minimization measures to address the effects of the
Project to the protected species are outlined in the Applicant's
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), the Service's draft Environmental
Assessment (EA), and in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
The Service also announces the availability of a draft EA and HCP
for the incidental take application. Copies of the draft EA and/or HCP
may be obtained by making a request to the Regional Office (see
ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing to be processed. This notice
also advises the public that the Service has made a preliminary
determination that issuing the ITP 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 (NEPA). The preliminary Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) is based on information contained in the draft 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 NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
The Service specifically requests information, views, and opinions
from the public via this Notice on the federal action, including the
identification of any other aspects of the human environment not
already identified in the Service's draft EA. Further, the Service is
specifically soliciting information regarding the adequacy of the HCP
as measured against the Service's ITP issuance criteria found in 50 CFR
Parts 13 and 17.
If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by any one of
several methods. Please reference permit number TE026107-0 in such
comments, or in requests of the documents discussed herein. You may
mail comments to the Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). You may
also comment via the internet to ``[email protected]''. 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 the Service that we have received your internet
message, contact us directly at either telephone number listed below
(see FURTHER INFORMATION). Finally, you may hand deliver comments to
either Service office listed below (see 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 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. 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
[[Page 37997]]
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their
entirety.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application, draft EA, and HCP
should be sent to the Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and
should be received on or before July 19, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, HCP, and draft 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 Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Post Office Box 2676, Vero Beach, Florida 32961-2676.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, (see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/679-7313, facsimile:
404/679-7081; or Mr. Mike Jennings, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, South
Florida Ecosystem Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see ADDRESSES above),
telephone: 561/562-3909.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sand skinks and bluetail mole skinks are
restricted to dry, sandy uplands (xeric communities) in southcentral
peninsular Florida. These areas are predominated by deep, well drained
soils, and drought tolerant plant species. Sand and bluetail mole
skinks are found primarily in sandy areas within xeric uplands. Sand
skinks are mostly found on the soil surface or under leaf litter.
Bluetail mole skinks are fossorial and remain underground throughout
their life.
Due to its high elevation and tendency to remain dry, historic
skink habitat was favored by early settlers and subsequently attracted
urban and agricultural development. Human settlement has resulted in an
estimated 85 percent loss of xeric communities, which has likely
adversely affected the distribution and numbers of sand and bluetail
mole skinks.
Quantification of historic or current population size and
distribution of skinks is difficult because these species are difficult
to survey; they are small and hard to locate due to their semi-(sand
skink) to completely fossorial (bluetail mole skink) habits. Although
widespread, definitive surveys are usually not practicable for these
species, existing soils data can provide insight into the distribution
of suitable habitat and the subsequent loss of such habitat to
anthropogenic causes.
Much of the historic skink habitat occurred along a 100-mile
stretch of parallel ancient dunes that were situated on a north-south
axis from Orange to Highlands counties. This area is exposed to
frequent lightning strikes which resulted in the evolution of plant and
animal species that became dependant on frequent fires to persist. Due
to the effects of urbanization and agricultural development, historic
skink habitat has been reduced in size and has become fragmented. As a
consequence of habitat fragmentation, much of the remaining habitat for
skinks is poor quality due to the lack of periodic fires brought on by
post-settlement fire exclusion.
Sand skinks and bluetail mole skinks are currently known from 115
and 36 locations, respectively, including the Project site. Issuance of
the Permit to the Applicant would result in a loss of 0.9 percent (\1/
115\) of the known localities of sand skinks and 2.8 percent (\1/36\)
of known localities of bluetail mole skinks. These figures probably
overestimate the percentage loss since not all potentially suitable
habitat throughout the range of these species has been surveyed. The
effects that loss of sand skinks and habitat within the Project site
will have on the local population of skinks is not known.
Construction of the Project's infrastructure and facilities will
result in death of, or injury to, sand skinks and bluetail mole skinks,
incidental to the carrying out of these otherwise lawful activities.
Habitat alteration associated with the proposed commercial development
will reduce the availability of feeding, nesting, and sheltering
habitat for these species.
The draft EA considers the environmental consequences of two action
alternatives, both of which would require issuance of an ITP. The
preferred alternative would affect about 20.7 acres suitable sand and
bluetail mole skink habitat. The reduced take alternative would affect
about 15 acres of suitable sand and bluetail mole skink habitat. The no
action alternative (not issue the ITP) may result in loss of habitat
for federally listed species described above and exposure of the
Applicant under Section 9 of the Act. The proposed action alternative
is issuance of the ITP according to the HCP as submitted and described
above. Under the proposed alternative, two mitigation alternatives
exists, both of which will result in the acquisition, protection, and
management suitable skink habitat off-site. Habitat acquisition and
management will be achieved through one of two mitigation alternatives;
fee-simple purchase of a minimum of 41.7 acres of suitable skink
habitat or deposit of sufficient funds into an escrow account to
acquire and manage a minimum of 41.7 acres of suitable skink habitat.
Under the first mitigation alternative, the Permittee would purchase
habitat adjacent to Archbold Biological Station (ABS) (a non-profit
conservation and research facility in southern Highlands County) and
subsequently transfer title of such lands to ABS. ABS would assume
responsibility for perpetual management of the acquired habitat. Under
the second mitigation alternative, the Permittee would escrow
sufficient funds to acquire and manage a minimum of 41.7 acres of
suitable skink habitat adjacent to ABS. The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
would act as intermediary in this case and use the escrowed funds to
acquire suitable skink habitat and subsequently convey fee-title of
acquired habitat to ABS. A conservation easement of the acquired lands
would also be developed between TNC and ABS.
As stated above, the Service has made a preliminary determination
that the issuance of the ITP is not a major Federal action
significantly effecting the quality of the human environment within the
meaning of Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. This preliminary determination
may be revised due to public comment received in response to this
notice and is based on information contained in the draft EA and HCP.
The Service will also evaluate whether the issuance of a Section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with Section 7 of the Act by conducting an
intra-Service Section 7 consultation. The results of the biological
opinion, in combination with the above findings, will be used in the
final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP.
Dated: June 12, 2000.
Sam D. Hamilton,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 00-15369 Filed 6-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P