Federal Register: March 16, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 49)
DOCID: fr16mr09-83 FR Doc E9-5591
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
FWS ID: [FWS-R4-ES-2009-N0046; 40120-1112-0000-F2]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr16mr09-83
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit for a Training Facility in Charlotte County, FL
DATES: We must receive your written comments on the ITP application and HCP on or before April 15, 2009.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of an incidental take permit (ITP) and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Visually Impaired Persons of Charlotte County (applicant) requests an ITP pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 1.91 acres of Florida scrubjay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrubjay) foraging and sheltering habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of a training facility and supporting infrastructure in Charlotte County, Florida (Project). The applicant's HCP describes the mitigation and minimization measures proposed to address the effects of the Project to the scrubjay.
SUMMARY:
Application for an Incidental Take Permit for a Training Facility in Charlotte County, FL
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
If you wish to comment on the ITP application and HCP, you may submit comments by any one of the following methods. Please reference permit number TE2071510 in such comments.
1. Mail or handdeliver comments to our South Florida Ecological Services Office address (see ADDRESSES).
2. Email comments to trish_adams@fws.gov. If you do not [[Page 11128]]
receive a confirmation that we have received your email message,
contact us directly at the telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be aware that your entire commentincluding your personal identifying informationmay 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.
Construction of a training facility for the Visually Impaired Persons of Charlotte County HCP will take place at latitude 27.0168 and longitude 82.0189 in Punta Gorda, Charlotte County, Florida. This lot is within scrubjay occupied habitat.
The lot encompasses about 1.91 acres, and the footprint of the training facility, infrastructure, and landscaping preclude retention of scrubjay habitat. In order to minimize take on site, the applicant proposes to mitigate for the loss of 1.91 acres of scrubjay habitat by contribution of 4.3 acres of suitable scrubjay habitat to nearby existing conservation lands.
We have determined that the applicant's proposal, including the proposed mitigation and minimization measures, will have a minor or negligible effect on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, the ITP is a ``loweffect'' 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). Loweffect HCPs are those involving (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed or candidate species and their habitats and (2) minor or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. Based on our review of public comments that we receive in response to this notice, we may revise this preliminary determination.
We will evaluate the HCP and comments submitted thereon to determine whether the application meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we determine that the application meets the requirements, we will issue the ITP for incidental take of the scrubjay. We will also evaluate whether issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intraService section 7 consultation. We will use the results of this consultation, in combination with the above findings, in the final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP.
Authority: We provide this notice pursuant to Section 10 of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: February 13, 2009.
Paul Souza,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office. [FR Doc. E95591 Filed 31309; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 431055P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ms. Trish Adams, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES); telephone: (772) 5623909, ext. 232.