[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38888-38889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12718]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2023-0079; FXES11140400000EA-234-FF04EA1000]


Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed 
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse, Baldwin County, 
AL; Categorical Exclusion

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt 
of an application from David Clampitt (applicant) for an incidental 
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant 
requests the ITP to take the federally listed Alabama beach mouse 
(Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) incidental to construction in the 
City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama. We request public 
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed 
habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary 
determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, the 
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations, and the DOI 
Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we 
prepared a draft environmental action statement and low-effect 
screening form, both of which are also available for public review. We 
invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal 
agencies.

DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before July 14, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online 
in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0079 at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the 
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
     Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2023-0079.
     U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-R4-ES-2023-0079; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William Lynn, Project Manager, by 
telephone at 251-441-5868 or via email at [email protected]. 
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in 
the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
announce receipt of an application from David Clampitt (applicant) for 
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant requests 
the ITP to take the federally listed Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus 
polionotus ammobates) (ABM) incidental to the construction of a single-
family home (project) in the City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County, 
Alabama. We request public comment on the application, which includes 
the applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's 
preliminary determination that this proposed ITP qualifies as low 
effect, and may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the 
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1501.4), the Department of the Interior's 
(DOI) NEPA regulations (43 CFR 46), and the DOI's Departmental Manual 
(516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared 
a draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, 
both of which are also available for public review.

Proposed Project

    The applicant requests a 30-year ITP to take ABM by destroying 
approximately 0.160 acre (ac) of occupied ABM foraging and sheltering 
habitat incidental to the construction of a single-family home located 
on a 1.67-ac parcel in Baldwin County, Alabama. The previous single-
family home that was located on the site was destroyed in 2004 by 
Hurricane Ivan.
    The applicant proposes 1.10 ac of on-site mitigation through the 
restoration (0.01 ac), enhancement (0.41 ac), and protection (0.68 ac) 
of ABM habitat. This proposed onsite mitigation would be protected and 
maintained in the event of landfalling tropical cyclones for the 
duration of the permit. In addition to the on[hyphen]site conservation 
measures, the applicant will purchase and dedicate to conservation a 
0.232-ac platted lot that contains existing ABM habitat. This 
off[hyphen]site mitigation area is near Federal lands and will remove 
the parcel from development pressure and future ITP processes. In 
total, the plan proposes restoring, enhancing, and protecting 1.332 ac 
of ABM habitat.
    The standard mitigation and minimization measures to be implemented 
on the site include installing sea turtle-friendly lighting and tinted 
windows, landscaping with native vegetation, enhancing the frontal dune 
area, constructing a concrete

[[Page 38889]]

driveway that will not disperse in a storm surge, implementing refuse-
control measures during construction and requiring that future 
residents utilize such measures, and restoring ABM habitat after 
tropical storms. Free-roaming cats and the use of exterior rodenticide 
would be prohibited within the parcel.

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made available to the public. While you may request that we 
withhold your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee 
that we will be able to do so.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project, including land clearing, infrastructure building, 
landscaping, and the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, 
would individually and cumulatively have a minor effect on the Alabama 
beach mouse and the human environment. Therefore, we have preliminarily 
determined that the proposed ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a 
low-effect ITP that individually or cumulatively would have a minor 
effect on the Alabama beach mouse and may qualify for application of a 
categorical exclusion pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality's NEPA regulations, DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI 
Departmental Manual. A low-effect incidental take permit is one that 
would result in (1) minor or nonsignificant effects on species covered 
in the HCP; (2) nonsignificant effects on the human environment; and 
(3) impacts that, when added together with the impacts of other past, 
present, and reasonable foreseeable actions, would not result in 
significant cumulative effects to the human environment.

Next Steps

    The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received 
to determine whether to issue the requested permit. We will also 
conduct an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA 
to evaluate the effects of the proposed take on the species. We will 
consider the above in determining whether the permit issuance criteria 
of section 10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service 
will issue ITP number PER0284585 to David Clampitt.

Authority

    The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the 
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing 
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-
1508 and 43 CFR 46).

William J. Pearson,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Service Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2023-12718 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P