83 FR 40080 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Availability of Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for Florida Scrub-Jay; Sarasota County, Florida

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 156 (August 13, 2018)

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. Residential Development Corporation (applicant) is requesting a 2-year ITP for take of the Florida scrub-jay. We request public comment on the permit application, which includes a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and our preliminary determination that the HCP qualifies as low effect under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). To make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, which are also available for review.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40080-40081]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17325]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2018-N092; FXES11120400000-134-FF04EF2000]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Availability of 
Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for Florida Scrub-Jay; 
Sarasota County, Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment/information.

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

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an 
application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered 
Species Act. Residential Development Corporation (applicant) is 
requesting a 2-year ITP for take of the Florida scrub-jay. We request 
public comment on the permit application, which includes a proposed 
habitat conservation plan (HCP), and our preliminary determination that 
the HCP qualifies as low effect under the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). To make this determination, we used our environmental 
action statement and low-effect screening form, which are also 
available for review.

DATES: We must receive written comments on or before September 12, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents for Review:
     U.S. mail: You may obtain a copy of the ITP application 
and HCP by writing to the South Florida Ecological Services Office, 
Attn: Permit number TE84046C-0, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1339 
20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
     In-Person Review: The ITP application and HCP are 
available for public inspection by appointment during normal business 
hours at the above address. Call the contact in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT to make an appointment. See Public Comments under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for information on how to submit your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Adam Knutson, Fish and Wildlife 
Biologist, South Florida Ecological Services Office (see ADDRESSES); 
telephone: 772-469-4252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), 
have received an application for an ITP under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Residential 
Development Corporation (applicant) is requesting a 2-year ITP for take 
of the federally listed Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) 
(scrub-jay). We request public comment on the permit application, which 
includes a proposed HCP, and our preliminary determination that the HCP 
qualifies as low effect under the NEPA. To make this determination, we 
used our environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, 
which are also available for review.

Public Comments

Submitting Comments

    If you wish to comment on the ITP application and HCP, you may 
submit comments by any one of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Use Attn: Permit number 
``TE84046C-0'' as your message subject line.
     Fax: Adam Knutson, 772-562-4288, Attn.: Permit number 
``TE84046C-0''.
     U.S. mail: Adam Knutson, South Florida Ecological Services 
Field Office, Attn: Permit number ``TE84046C-0,'' U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960-3559.
     In-person drop-off: You may drop off comments or request 
information during regular business hours at the above office address.

[[Page 40081]]

Public Availability of Comments

    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comments, 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.

Applicant's Proposed Project

    We received an application for an ITP, along with a proposed HCP. 
The applicant requests a 2-year permit under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the 
ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). If we issue the permit, the applicant 
anticipates taking 1.41 acres of scrub-jay breeding, feeding, and 
sheltering habitat for construction of six single-family residences and 
associated infrastructure in North Port, Sarasota County, Florida.
    The applicant proposes to mitigate for the loss of 1.41 acres of 
occupied scrub-jay habitat through the purchase of 2.82 credits from a 
Service-approved conservation bank within 30 days of permit issuance.

Our Preliminary Determination

    The Service has made a preliminary determination that the 
applicant's project, including the proposed mitigation and minimization 
measures, will individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible 
effect on the species covered in the HCP. Therefore, issuance of the 
ITP is a ``low-effect'' action and qualifies as a categorical exclusion 
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as provided by 43 
CFR 46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is one involving; (1) minor or 
negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, and candidate species 
and their habitats; (2) minor or negligible effects on other 
environmental values or resources; and (3) impacts when, 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.

Next Steps

    We will evaluate the HCP and comments we receive to determine 
whether the ITP application meets the requirements of section 
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. We will also conduct an intra-Service 
consultation to evaluate take of the scrub-jay in accordance with 
section 7 of the ESA. We will use the results of the consultation, in 
combination with the above findings, in our analysis of whether or not 
to issue the ITP. If the requirements are met we will issue ITP number 
TE84046C-0 to the applicant.

Authority

    We provide this notice under Section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

Roxanna Hinzman,
Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological Services Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-17325 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P