[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 40 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9350-9351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3573]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for 
Construction of a Single-Family Residence in Sarasota County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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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). Joseph Pansulla (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 about 0.79 acre of Florida scrub-jay 
(Aphelocoma coerulescens)(scrub-jay) foraging, sheltering, and possibly 
nesting habitat, incidental to lot preparation for the construction of 
a single-family residence and supporting infrastructure in Sarasota 
County, Florida (Project). The destruction of 0.79 acre of foraging and 
sheltering 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 Projects to the Florida scrub-jay.

DATES: Written comments on the ITP application and HCP should be sent 
to the South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES) and 
should be received on or before April 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application and HCP may obtain 
a copy by writing the Service's South Florida Ecological Services 
Office. Please reference permit number TE143178-0 in such requests. 
Documents will also be available for public inspection by appointment 
during normal business hours at the South Florida Ecological Services 
Office, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Trish Adams, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office, Vero Beach, 
Florida (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 772/562-3909, ext. 232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit 
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference Pansulla SFL 
HCP in such requests. You may mail comments to the Service's South 
Florida Ecological Services 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 the Pansulla SFL HCP will take place 
within Section 15, Township 40, Range 19, Englewood, Sarasota County, 
Florida, on 1 lot. This lot is within scrub-jay occupied habitat.
    The lot encompasses about 1.22 acres, and the footprint of the 
homes, infrastructure, and landscaping preclude retention on 0.79 acre 
of scrub-jay habitat on this lot. In order to minimize take on site the 
Applicant proposes to mitigate for the loss of 0.79

[[Page 9351]]

acre of scrub-jay habitat by contributing a total of $40,000.00 to the 
Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund administered by The Nature 
Conservancy. The Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund is earmarked 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 Applicant's proposal, including 
the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will individually 
and cumulatively 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: February 23, 2007.
Paul Souza,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. E7-3573 Filed 2-28-07; 8:45 am]
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