[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8603-8604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3278]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the
Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting From the Proposed Construction of a Single-
Family Home in Charlotte County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Mr. and Mrs. Glen A. Van Brunt (Applicants) request 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 Applicants anticipate taking about 1.0 acre of occupied Florida
scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) nesting, foraging, and
sheltering habitat, incidental to land clearing of their 5.5-acre lot
and subsequent residential construction of a single-family home and
supporting infrastructure in Charlotte County, Florida (Project).
The Applicants' Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the
mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of
the Project on the Florida scrub-jay. These measures are outlined in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service) announces the availability of the HCP and the
Environmental Assessment for the ITP application. Copies of the HCP may
be obtained by making a request to the Service's Southeast Regional
Office (see ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing to be processed.
This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the Endangered
Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations
(40 CFR 1506.6).
The Service specifically requests information, views, and opinions
from the public via this Notice on the Federal action. Further, the
Service specifically solicits information regarding the adequacy of the
HCP as measured against the Service's permit issuance criteria found in
50 CFR Parts 13 and 17.
DATES: Written comments on the ITP application, supporting
documentation, EA, and HCP should be sent to the Service's Southeast
Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be received on or before
April 25, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, supporting
documentation, EA, and HCP may obtain a copy by writing the Service's
Southeast Regional Office at the address below. Please reference permit
number TE095181-0 in such requests. Documents will also be available
for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at
the Southeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875
Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345 (Attn: Endangered
Species Permits), or the Service's South Florida Ecological Services
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach,
Florida, 32960-3559 (Attn: Field Supervisor). Written data or comments
concerning the application, supporting documentation, EA, or HCP should
be submitted to the Southeast Regional Office. Requests for
documentation must be in writing to be processed. Comments must be
submitted in writing to be adequately considered in the Service's
decision-making process. Please reference permit number
[[Page 8604]]
TE095181-0 in such comments, or in requests of the documents discussed
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, Southeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES above),
telephone: 404/679-7313, facsimile: 404/679-7081; or George Dennis,
Fish and Wildlife Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office,
Vero Beach, Florida (see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 772/562-3909,
ext. 309.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit
comments by any one of several methods. You may mail comments to the
Service's Southeast 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 above
(see FURTHER INFORMATION). Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to
either Service office listed above (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 addresses 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 organizations
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
The Florida scrub-jay (scrub-jay) is geographically isolated from
other species of scrub-jays found in Mexico and the western United
States. The scrub-jay is found exclusively in peninsular Florida and is
restricted to xeric uplands (mostly consisting of oak-dominated scrub).
Increasing urban and agricultural development has resulted in habitat
loss and fragmentation, which has adversely affected the distribution
and numbers of scrub-jays. The total estimated population is between
7,000 and 11,000 individuals. The decline in the number and
distribution of scrub-jays in Florida has been exacerbated by
tremendous urban growth in the past 50 years.
Xeric upland vegetative communities in southwestern Florida are
restricted primarily to ancient coastal dunes which are typically much
dryer and less susceptible to flooding due to their deep, well-drained
soils. Historically, these areas extended in a nearly continuous,
narrow band along the western mainland portions of northern Charlotte
to southern Hillsborough County. However, the same physical attributes
that resulted in the evolution of xeric vegetation on these sandy dunes
also provided sites for both agriculture and urban development. Over
the past 50 years, these ancient dunes have served as the backbone of
residential and commercial growth in southwestern Florida. The Project
area is under tremendous development pressure, as is much of Charlotte
County. Much of the remaining scrub-jay habitat is now relatively small
and isolated. What remains is largely degraded due to interruption of
the natural fire regime, which is needed to maintain xeric uplands in
conditions suitable for scrub-jays.
Florida scrub-jays using the Project area were documented on
several occasions by researchers collecting data on scrub-jays in the
subdivision and surrounding areas. Based on preliminary information, it
appears that a family of scrub-jays, of up to five individuals
maintains a territory that includes the Project area. It is not known
whether these families of scrub-jays previously nested on the subject
lot, though the birds apparently use the scrub vegetation on site for
foraging and shelter. Scrub-jays using the Project site are part of a
metapopulation of scrub-jays in Charlotte County that occurs east of
the Peace River and Punta Gorda. The continued survival and recovery of
scrub-jays in this area may be dependent on the maintenance of suitable
habitat and the restoration of unsuitable habitat.
Scrub-jays in urban areas are particularly vulnerable and typically
do not successfully produce young that survive to adulthood. Persistent
urban growth in the Project area will likely result in further
reductions in the amount of suitable habitat for scrub-jays. Increasing
urban pressures are also likely to result in the continued degradation
of scrub-jay habitat as exclusion of the natural fire regime slowly
results in vegetative overgrowth. Thus, over the long term, scrub-jays
are unlikely to persist in urban settings, and conservation efforts for
this species should target acquisition and management of large parcels
of land outside the direct influence of urbanization.
Construction of the Project's infrastructure and facilities will
result in harm to scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying out of these
otherwise lawful activities. Habitat alteration associated with the
proposed residential construction will reduce the availability of
nesting, foraging, and sheltering habitat for a family of scrub-jays.
The Applicants propose to minimize take of scrub-jays by preserving 4.5
acres of scrub-jay habitat on their 5.5-acre lot in perpetuity. This is
a 4.5:1 mitigation ratio.
The Service will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to
determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a) of the Act. If it is determined that those requirements are met,
the ITP will be issued for incidental take of the Florida scrub-jay. We
will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP
complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service
section 7 consultation. The results of this consultation, in
combination with the above findings, will be used in the final analysis
to determine whether or not to issue the ITP.
Dated: February 9, 2005.
Noreen Walsh,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 05-3278 Filed 2-18-05; 8:45 am]
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