[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41287-41288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17578]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2011-N124; 40120-1112-0000-F2]


Incidental Take Permits and Joint Environmental Assessment for 
Four Single Family Residences in Escambia County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the Endangered Species Act (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, announce the receipt and availability of four 
proposed habitat conservation plans (HCPs) and accompanying documents 
for four independently proposed developments. The take would involve 
the Federally endangered Perdido Key beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus 
trissyllepsis) on Perdido Key in Escambia County, Florida. Each HCP 
analyzes the take incidental to construction and occupation of four 
single-family residences (Projects). We invite public comments on these 
documents.

DATES: We must receive any written comments at our Regional Office (see 
ADDRESSES) on or before September 12, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Documents are available for public inspection by appointment 
during normal business hours at the

[[Page 41288]]

Fish and Wildlife Service's Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, 
Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30345; 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 four 
proposed HCPs, accompanying incidental take permit (ITP) applications, 
and a joint environmental assessment (EA), which analyze the take of 
the Perdido Key beach mouse incidental to each of the four planned 
Projects. Patrick and Cheryl Whalen, Larry K. and Dianna Evans, 
Christopher Carbone, and Scott Stern (Applicants) each request a 30-
year ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 
as amended. The Applicants' HCPs describe the mitigation and 
minimization measures proposed to address the effects on the species.
    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 National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 
CFR 1506.6. Further, we specifically solicit information regarding the 
adequacy of the HCPs per 50 CFR Parts 13 and 17.
    An assessment of the likely environmental impacts associated with 
the implementation of the Applicants' HCPs, the EA considers the 
environmental consequences of the no-action alternative and the 
proposed action. The proposed action alternative is issuance of the 
ITPs and implementation of the HCPs as submitted by the Applicants. 
Each of the four HCPs covers activities associated with the 
construction and occupancy of a single-family residence. 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 funding off-site habitat acquisition and 
management.

Public Comments

    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.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by any one of 
several methods. Please reference TE17700A-0, TE17698A-0, TE43105A-0, 
or TE17697A-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.

Covered Area

    Perdido Key, a barrier island 16.9 miles long, constitutes the 
entire historic range of the Perdido Key beach mouse. The areas 
encompassed by the HCPs and ITP applications are 1.26-acre (Whalen) and 
1.29-acre (Evans) parcels located on the Gulf of Mexico on the central 
portion of Perdido Key, a 0.13-acre landlocked parcel (Stern) on the 
eastern portion of Perdido Key, and a 0.16-acre landlocked parcel 
(Carbone) on the central portion of Perdido Key.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate each of these ITP applications, including the HCPs 
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 each section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with 
section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service section 7 
consultation on each action. We will consider the results of each 
consultation, in combination with the above findings, in our final 
analysis to determine whether or not to issue each ITP. If we determine 
that the requirements are met, we will issue the ITPs 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: June 15, 2011.
Mark J. Musaus,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-17578 Filed 7-12-11; 8:45 am]
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