[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65540-65541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18822]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Construction of a Commercial Park, Brevard County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice: receipt of application for an incidental take permit; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of one ITP and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)/Application 
for one incidental take permit. Marsol Development Corporation 
(Applicant) requests an incidental take permit (ITP) for a duration of 
2 years pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973, as amended (Act). The Applicant anticipates taking about 7.5 
acres of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) 
foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat incidental to lot 
preparation for the construction of a commercial park and supporting 
infrastructure in Brevard County, Florida (Project). The destruction of 
7.5 acres of foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat is 
expected to result in the take of one family of scrub-jays. The 
Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation 
and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of the 
Project to the Florida scrub-jay.

DATES: We must receive any written comments on the ITP application and 
HCP at the Jacksonville Field Office (see ADDRESSES) on or before 
December 8, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application and HCP may obtain 
a copy by writing the Service's Jacksonville Field Office. Please 
reference permit number TE126179-0 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: Ms. Erin Gawera, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 904/
232-2580, ext. 121.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit 
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number 
TE126179-0 in all requests or comments. You may mail comments to the 
Service's Jacksonville Field Office

[[Page 65541]]

(see ADDRESSES). You may also comment via the internet to [email protected]. Please 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 above (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.
    Commercial construction for Marsol Development Corporation will 
take place within Section 31, Township 26 South, Range 37 East, Port 
St. Johns, Brevard County, Florida, on the southeast corner of Wickham 
Road and Summer Brook Drive. This parcel is within locations where 
scrub-jays were sighted during surveys for this species during the 
period 1999-2003.
    The project encompasses about 9.0 acres, of which there is 7.5 
acres of scrub-jay foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat. 
The footprint of the commercial park, infrastructure, and landscaping 
preclude retention of scrub-jay habitat. In order to minimize take on 
site, the Applicant agrees to avoid construction during the nesting 
season if active nests are found on site, but no other on-site 
minimization measures are proposed to reduce take of scrub-jays.
    The Applicant proposes to mitigate for the loss of 7.5 acres of 
scrub-jay habitat by purchasing a minimum of 15 acres of occupied 
scrub-jay habitat within property in holdings mapped within the 
Valkaria portion of the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands 
Program (EEL) Coastal Scrub Ecosystem. In addition, $1,200 per acre 
will be provided for management of this land.
    The Service has determined that the Applicant's proposal, including 
the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will have a minor or 
negligible effect on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, the ITP 
is a ``low-effect'' project and qualifies as a categorical exclusion 
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 HCP and comments submitted thereon to 
determine whether the application meets 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 ITP 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) 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.

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

    Dated: October 17, 2006.
David L. Hankla,
Field Supervisor, Jacksonville Field Office.
[FR Doc. E6-18822 Filed 11-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P