[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 141 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41833-41834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11719]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Receipt of Two Applications for Incidental Take Permits for 
Construction of Two Single-Family Homes in Volusia County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and Habitat 
Conservation Plan (HCP). Cory Palmateer (Applicant) and America's First 
Home (Applicant) each request an ITP pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Applicants 
anticipate taking about 0.4 acre combined of Florida scrub-jay 
(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) foraging and sheltering habitat 
incidental to lot preparation for the construction of two single-family 
homes and supporting infrastructure in Volusia County, Florida 
(Project). The destruction of 0.4 acre of foraging and sheltering 
habitat is expected to result in the take of two families of scrub-
jays. The Applicants' Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) describe the 
mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of 
the Projects to the Florida scrub-jay.

DATES: Written comments on the ITP applications and HCPs should be sent 
to the Jacksonville Field Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be received 
on or before August 23, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the applications and HCPs may 
obtain a copy by writing the Service's Jacksonville Field Office. 
Please reference permit number TE128571-0, for Palmateer, and TE128569-
0, for America's First Home, in such requests. Documents will also be 
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business 
hours at the Jacksonville Field Office, 6620 Southpoint Drive South, 
Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216-0912.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Jennings, Fish and 
Wildlife Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office, Jacksonville, Florida 
(see ADDRESSES), telephone: 904/232-2580, ext. 113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit 
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number 
TE128571-0, for Palmateer, and TE128569-0, for America's First Home, in 
such requests. You may mail comments to the Service's Jacksonville 
Field Office (see ADDRESSES). You may also comment via the Internet to 
[email protected]. Please also include your name and return 
address in your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation 
from us that we have received your internet message, contact us 
directly at the telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Finally, you may hand deliver comments to the Service office 
listed under 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 organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.
    Residential construction for Palmateer will take place within 
Section 09, Township 18, Range 30, Orange City, Volusia County, 
Florida, on lots 17, 18, and 19, East Dorseys Blue Spring Park. 
Residential construction for America's First Home will take place 
within Section 30, Township 18, Range 31, Deltona, Volusia County, 
Florida, on lot 10, Block 103, Deltona Lakes. Each of these lots is 
within scrub-jay occupied habitat.
    The lots combined encompass about 0.4 acre, and the footprint of 
the homes, infrastructure, and landscaping preclude retention of scrub-
jay habitat on each of these respective lots. In order to minimize take 
on site the Applicants propose to mitigate for the loss of 0.4 acre of 
scrub-jay habitat by contributing a total of $18,180.96 ($7,727 for 
Palmateer and $10,453.96 for America's

[[Page 41834]]

First Home) to the Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund administered by 
The Nature Conservancy. Funds in this account are ear-marked for use in 
the conservation and recovery of scrub-jays and may include habitat 
acquisition, restoration, and/or management.
    The Service has determined that the Applicants' proposals, 
including the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will 
individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the 
species covered in the HCPs. Therefore, the ITPs are ``low-effect'' 
projects and qualify as categorical exclusions under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by the Department of the 
Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). This 
preliminary information may be revised based on our review of public 
comments that we receive in response to this notice. Low-effect HCPs 
are those involving (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed 
or candidate species and their habitats, and (2) minor or negligible 
effects on other environmental values or resources.
    The Service will evaluate the HCPs and comments submitted thereon 
to determine whether the applications meet the requirements of section 
10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If it is determined that 
those requirements are met, the ITPs will be issued for the incidental 
take of the Florida scrub-jay. The Service will also evaluate whether 
issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITPs comply 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 
ITPs.

    Authority: This notice is provided pursuant to section 10 of the 
Endangered Species Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: July 18, 2006.
David L. Hankla,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office.
[FR Doc. E6-11719 Filed 7-21-06; 8:45 am]
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