[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9913-9914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03670]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R4-ES-2013-N215; 40120-1112-0000-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Programmatic
Incidental Take Permit Application and Environmental Assessment for
Development Activities; Charlotte County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act),
we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the receipt and
availability of a proposed county-wide programmatic habitat
conservation plan (HCP) and accompanying documents for private and
commercial development projects, public works, and municipal
infrastructure improvements (activities) regulated or authorized by the
Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners (applicant). If
approved, the permit would authorize incidental take of Florida scrub-
jay (scrub-jay) and eastern indigo snake (indigo snake), in the course
of activities conducted or permitted by the applicant in Charlotte
County, FL. We invite the public to comment on these documents.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
April 22, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Documents are available for public inspection by appointment
during regular business hours at the Fish and Wildlife Service's
Regional Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30345;
or the South Florida Field Office, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 20th
Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional HCP
Coordinator, (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 404-679-7313; or Ms. Elizabeth
Landrum, Field Office Project Manager, at the South Florida Field
Office (see ADDRESSES), telephone: 772-469-4304. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We announce the availability of the proposed
HCP, accompanying incidental take permit (ITP) application, and an
environmental assessment (EA), which analyze the take of the scrub-jay
(Aphelocoma coerulescens) and indigo snake (Drymarchon courais
cooperii) incidental to activities conducted or permitted by the
applicant. The applicant requests a 30-year ITP under section
10(a)(1)(B) of the Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The
applicant's HCP describes the mitigation and minimization measures
proposed to address the impacts to the species.
We specifically request information, views, and opinions from the
public 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
[[Page 9914]]
1506.6. Further, we specifically solicit information regarding the
adequacy of the HCP per 50 CFR parts 13 and 17.
The EA assesses the likely environmental impacts associated with
the implementation of the activities, including 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 applicant anticipates
taking a total of approximately 3,056 acres of scrub-jay and indigo
snake habitat incidental to construction of residential, commercial,
and public facilities, as well as the associated infrastructure. The
minimization and mitigation measures proposed in the HCP include
habitat management activities on a total of 4,496 acres of mitigation
land. Most of this total is already owned by the applicant, while an
additional 1,336 acres would be acquired during the ITP's term. Typical
management activities include prescribed burning, mechanical cutting,
and related measures to restore dry scrub habitats to support scrub-
jays and indigo snakes.
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 TE09117B-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
message. If you do not receive a confirmation from us that we have
received your 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
Scrub-jays and indigo snakes historically occurred in dry scrub
habitats throughout Charlotte County. The area encompassed by the HCP
and ITP application consists of private and applicant-owned lands
currently occupied, or suitable for restoration as, scrub-jay and
indigo snake habitat in Charlotte County, Florida.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the ITP application, including the HCP and any
comments we receive, to determine whether the application meets 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 ITP. If we determine that the requirements are met, we will
issue the ITP for the incidental take of Florida scrub-jay and eastern
indigo snake.
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 21, 2013.
Mike Oetker,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-03670 Filed 2-20-14; 8:45 am]
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