[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53758-53759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25140]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2009-N204; 40120-1112-0000-F2]


Receipt of Application for Incidental Take Permit for One Parking 
Facility in Escambia County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice: receipt of application for incidental take permit (ITP) 
for a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP); availability of proposed HCP and 
environmental assessment (EA); request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability 
of a proposed HCP, an accompanying ITP application, and an EA related 
to a proposed development that would take the Perdido Key beach mouse 
(Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis) on Perdido Key in Escambia 
County, Florida. The HCP analyzes the take of the Federally endangered 
Perdido Key beach mouse incidental to construction and maintenance of a 
parking facility (Project). Spanish Key Condominium (Applicant) 
requests an ITP under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as 
amended. The Applicant's HCP describes the mitigation and minimization 
measures proposed to address the effects on the species.

DATES: We must receive any written comments on the ITP application, EA, 
and HCP at our Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) on or before November 
19, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Documents will be available for public inspection by 
appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, 
GA 30345 (Attn: David Dell); or Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 1601 Balboa Avenue, Panama City, FL 32405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP 
Coordinator, (see ADDRESSES), telephone: (404) 679-7313; or Mr. Ben 
Frater, Field Office Project Manager, at the Panama City Field Office 
(see ADDRESSES), telephone: (850) 769-0552, ext. 248.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce the availability of a proposed 
HCP, accompanying ITP application, and an EA, which analyzes the take 
of the Perdido Key beach mouse incidental to the Project. The applicant 
requests a 30-year ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as amended.
    We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the 
public via this notice on our proposed Federal action, including 
identification of any other aspects of the human environment not 
already identified in the EA pursuant to NEPA regulations (40 CFR 
1506.6). Further, we specifically solicit information regarding the 
adequacy of the HCP per 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.
    An assessment of the likely environmental impacts associated with 
the implementation of the Spanish Key HCP, the EA considers the 
environmental consequences of the no-action alternative and the 
proposed action. The proposed action alternative is issuance of the ITP 
and implementation of the HCP as submitted by the Applicant. The HCP 
covers activities associated with the construction and maintenance of a 
parking facility. Avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures 
include a reduced design footprint, on-site land management to maintain 
use of the site by Perdido Key beach mice, and

[[Page 53759]]

funding off-site habitat acquisition and management.

Public Comments

    If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by any one of 
several methods. Please reference TE227165-0 in such comments. You may 
mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Regional Office (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 either 
telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to either of our offices 
listed under ADDRESSES. Before including your address, phone number, e-
mail address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

Covered Area

    The area encompassed under the HCP and ITP application is a 0.49-
acre parcel located on the bayside of the western portion of Perdido 
Key, a 16.9-mile barrier island. Perdido Key constitutes the entire 
historic range of the Perdido Key beach mouse.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate these ITP applications, including the HCP and any 
comments we receive, to determine whether these applications meet the 
requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will also evaluate 
whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act by conducting an intra-Service section 7 
consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, in 
combination with the above findings, in our final analysis to determine 
whether or not to issue the ITP. If we determine that the requirements 
are met, we will issue the ITP for the incidental take of the Perdido 
Key beach mouse.

    Authority: We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

    Dated: September 17, 2009.
David Viker,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E9-25140 Filed 10-19-09; 8:45 am]
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