[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 135 (Monday, July 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 38843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13711]



[[Page 38843]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for 
Single-family Home Construction in Charlotte 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 incidental take permit (ITP) and Habitat Conservation 
Plan (HCP). David Boxer (Applicant) requests an ITP pursuant to section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). 
The Applicant anticipates taking about 0.23 acre of Florida scrub-jay 
(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) foraging and sheltering habitat 
incidental to lot preparation for the construction of a single-family 
home and supporting infrastructure in Charlotte County, Florida 
(Project). The destruction of 0.23 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 Project to the 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 August 15, 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 the Boxer SFL HCP 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, extension 232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to comment, you may submit 
comments by any one of several methods. Please reference permit number 
TE 156306-0, in such comments. 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 Boxer SFL HCP will take place 
within Section 24, Township 40, Range 21, Port Charlotte, Charlotte 
County, Florida. This lot is within scrub-jay occupied habitat.
    The lot encompasses about 0.23 acre, and the footprint of the home, 
infrastructure, and landscaping preclude retention of scrub-jay 
habitat. In order to minimize take on site, the Applicant proposes to 
mitigate for the loss of 0.23 acre of scrub-jay habitat by contributing 
$12,190 to the Florida Scrub-jay Conservation Fund administered by The 
Nature Conservancy or acquisition of 0.46 acres of credit at a Service 
approved conservation bank. 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 
qualify as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.6), 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 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 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 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 
ITP.

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

    Dated: July 9, 2007.
Paul Souza,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
 [FR Doc. E7-13711 Filed 7-13-07; 8:45 am]
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