[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 122 (Friday, June 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37142-37143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15811]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2011-N126; 40120-1112-0000-F2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take 
Permit Application; Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan and 
Associated Documents; Charlotte County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment/information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) application and Habitat 
Conservation Plan (HCP). James A. Goedde (applicant) requests an ITP 
under 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) breeding, feeding, and sheltering 
habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of a single-
family residence and associated infrastructure in Charlotte County, 
Florida (project). The destruction of 0.23 acre is expected to result 
in the take of two families of scrub-jays. The applicant's HCP 
describes the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address 
the effects of the project on 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 July 25, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may request documents by email, U.S. mail, or phone (see 
below). These documents are also available for public inspection by 
appointment during normal business hours at the office below. Send your 
comments or requests by any one of the following methods.
    E-mail: [email protected]. Use ``Attn: Permit number TE45203A-
0'' as your message subject line.
    Fax: Trish Adams, (772) 562-4288, Attn.: Permit number TE45203A-0.
    U.S. mail: Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator, South Florida Ecological 
Services Field Office, Attn: Permit number TE45203A-0, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
    In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during regular 
business hours at the above office address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Trish Adams, HCP Coordinator, 
South Florida Ecological Services Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see 
ADDRESSES), telephone: 772-562-3909, extension 232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you wish to submit comments or 
information, you may do so by any one of several methods. Please 
reference permit number TE45203A-0, in such comments. You may mail 
comments to the Service's South Florida Ecological Services Office (see 
ADDRESSES). You may also comment via e-mail to [email protected]. 
Please also include your name and return address in your e-mail 
message. If you do not receive a confirmation from us that we have 
received your e-mail 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.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comments, 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

[[Page 37143]]

cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Applicant's Proposed Project: We received an application from the 
applicant for an incidental take permit, along with a proposed habitat 
conservation plan. The applicant requests a 15-year permit under 
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (87 Stat.884; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 
If we approve the permit, the applicant anticipates taking 
approximately 0.23 acre (0.1 hectares (ha)) of Florida scrub-jay 
breeding, feeding, and sheltering habitat incidental to land 
preparation for construction of a single family residence and 
associated infrastructure in Charlotte County, Florida.
    Project construction would take place at latitude 26.9777, 
longitude -82.0096 in Harbor Heights, Charlotte County, Florida. This 
lot is within occupied scrub-jay habitat. In 1987, we listed this 
species as threatened (June 3, 1987; 52 FR 20715). The listing became 
effective July 6, 1987.
    The applicant proposes to mitigate for the loss of 0.23 acre (0.1 
ha) of occupied scrub-jay habitat by contribution of 0.46 acre (0.19 
ha) of suitable scrub-jay habitat to nearby existing conservation lands 
within Charlotte County, along with a fee of $1,380.00 for perpetual 
maintenance of the donated land, within 180 days of permit issuance or 
before the commencement of clearing and construction activities, 
whichever is sooner.
    Our Preliminary Determination: The Service has made a preliminary 
determination that the applicant's project, 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) (40 CFR 1506.6), as provided by the Department of the 
Interior Manual (516 DM 2 Appendix 1 and 516 DM 6 Appendix 1), and as 
defined in our Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (November 1996). 
We base our determination that the project qualifies as a low-effect 
plan on the following three criteria: (1) Implementation of the project 
would result in minor or negligible effects on federally listed, 
proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2) Implementation 
of the project would result in minor or negligible effects on other 
environmental values or resources; and (3) Impacts of the plan, 
considered together with the impacts of other past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable similarly situated projects, would not result, 
over time, in cumulative effects to environmental values or resources 
that would be considered significant. As more fully explained in our 
environmental action statement and associated Low Effect Screening 
Form, the applicant's proposed project qualifies as a ``low-effect'' 
project. This preliminary determination may be revised based on our 
review of public comments that we receive in response to this notice.
    Next Steps: 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. 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. If it is determined that the requirements of 
the Act are met, the ITP will be issued for the incidental take of the 
Florida scrub-jay.

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

    Dated: June 14, 2011.
Spencer Simon,
Acting Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-15811 Filed 6-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P