[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 223 (Friday, November 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81796-81797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27766]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2016-N197; FXES11140400000-178-FF04E00000]


Incidental Take Permit Applications for Alabama Beach Mouse; Gulf 
Shores, Alabama

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: Under the Endangered Species Act, we, the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, announce the receipt and availability of three 
proposed low-effect habitat conservation plans and accompanying 
incidental take permit applications for take of Alabama beach mouse 
habitat incidental to construction in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, 
Alabama. We invite public comments on these documents.

DATES: We must receive any written comments at our Alabama Field Office 
(see ADDRESSES) on or before December 19, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: Documents are available for public 
inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and 
Wildlife Service's Alabama Field Office, 1208-B Main Street, Daphne, AL 
36526. Please submit comments by U.S. mail to the Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Alabama Field Office.
    Submitting Comments: For information on how to submit comments, see 
Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bill Lynn, Wildlife Biologist, 
Alabama Field Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: 251-441-5868.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

    We announce the availability of three proposed low-effect habitat 
conservation plans (HCPs), which analyze the take of the Alabama beach

[[Page 81797]]

mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) (ABM) incidental to 
construction of one single-family home by Charles L. Jones on a 0.779-
acre lot in Orange Beach, Alabama, and construction of two single-
family homes by Duane A. Baker and Joe Colich on two 0.68-acre lots in 
Gulf Shores, Alabama. The applicants request incidental take permits 
(ITP) under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (Act; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we approve these three ITPs, Charles L. Jones 
anticipates the taking of up to 0.11 acres of ABM habitat over a 50-
year ITP, and Duane Baker and Joe Colich anticipate the taking of up to 
0.10 acres on each lot of ABM habitat over a 50-year ITP.

Applicants' Proposals

Charles L. Jones

    The applicant proposes to minimize and mitigate the take of up to 
0.11 acres of ABM habitat at a lot off Highway 182 in Orange Beach, 
Alabama, by using standard ABM conservation measures at the proposed 
development and by donating an ``in-lieu'' fee to the Alabama Coastal 
Heritage Trust (ACHT) group (ACHT). The lot proposed for development 
currently is undeveloped, but developers will utilize an existing 
driveway to minimize impacts. The ``in-lieu'' fee will be donated to 
the ACHT group, which will use the fee to either manage, maintain, or 
acquire ABM habitat within the Gulf State Park critical habitat unit 
and/or immediately adjacent lands.

Baker-Colich

    The applicants propose to minimize and mitigate the take of up to 
0.20 acres of ABM habitat at two lots off Dacus Lane in Gulf Shores, 
Alabama, by using standard ABM conservation measures at the proposed 
development (such as minimizing construction footprint, restoration of 
native vegetation, and measures to minimize effects to ABM during 
occupancy and use of the development) and by donating a 0.14-acre lot 
in the proposed Gulf Highlands conservation area of the Fort Morgan 
Peninsula. The lots proposed for development are interior scrub lots 
that are part of a subdivided larger lot. The lot proposed for 
mitigation is within the proposed Gulf Highlands conservation area, 
contains high-quality interior scrub habitat, and will be donated to 
ACHT. ACHT will either place a conservation easement on the lot or 
eventually convey it as part of the future Gulf Highlands Conservation 
Area.

Our Preliminary Determination

    We have made a preliminary determination that the applicants' 
projects, including the mitigation measures, will individually and 
cumulatively have a minor or negligible effect on the species covered 
in the HCPs. Therefore, our proposed issuance of the requested ITPs 
qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by Department of the Interior 
implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (516 DM 8.5C(1)).
    We base our determination that issuance of each ITP qualifies as a 
low-effect action 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 applicants' proposed projects qualify as ``low-
effect'' projects. This preliminary determination may be revised based 
on our review of public comments that we receive in response to this 
notice.

Public Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email 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 TE11097C-0 (Charles L. Jones), or 
TE11183C-0 (Duane A. Baker) and TE11182C-0 (Joe Colich) in such 
comments. You may mail comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service's 
Alabama Field Office (see ADDRESSES). Alternately, you may email 
comments to: [email protected]. Please include your name and return 
address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation 
from us that we have received your email message, contact us directly 
at the telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 
Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to the Service's Alabama Field 
Office (see ADDRESSES).

Covered Area

    The area encompassed by the HCPs and applications is the 0.779-acre 
lot located at 22756 Perdido Beach Boulevard, in Orange Beach, Alabama 
and the two 0.68-acre lots located off Dacus Lane, in Gulf Shores, 
Alabama.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the ITP applications, including the HCPs and any 
comments we receive, to determine whether the applications meet the 
requirements of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We will also evaluate 
whether issuance of a section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 
of the 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 ITPs. If we determine that the requirements are met, we will 
issue the ITPs for the incidental take of ABM habitat.

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: November 14, 2016.
William J. Pearson,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Services Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-27766 Filed 11-17-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P