12632 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 

DATES: Written comments on the ITP 

applications and HCPs should be sent to 

the South Florida Ecological Services 

Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be 

received on or before April 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review 

the application and HCP may obtain a 

copy by writing the Service’s South 

Florida Ecological Services Office. 

Please reference permit number TE 

136147–0 in such requests. Documents 

will also be available for public 

inspection by appointment during 

normal business hours at the South 

Florida Ecological Services Office, 1339 

20th Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960–

3559. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Trish Adams, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, South Florida Ecological 

Services Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see 

ADDRESSES), telephone: 772/562–3909, 

ext. 232. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you 

wish to comment, you may submit 

comments by any one of several 

methods. Please reference permit 

number TE 136147–0 in such requests. 

You may mail comments to the 

Service’s South Florida Ecological 

Services Office (see ADDRESSES). You 

may also comment via the Internet to 

trish_adams@fws.gov. Please also 

include your name and return address 

in your Internet message. If you do not 

receive a confirmation from us that we 

have received your internet message, 

contact us directly at the telephone 

number listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. Finally, you may 

hand deliver comments to the Service 

office listed under ADDRESSES. Our 

practice is to make comments, including 

names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home address from 

the administrative record. We will 

honor such requests to the extent 

allowable by law. There may also be 

other circumstances in which we would 

withhold from the administrative record 

a respondent’s identity, as allowable by 

law. If you wish us to withhold your 

name and address, you must state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comments. We will not, however, 

consider anonymous comments. We 

will make all submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

Construction of the Project will take 

place within Section 30, Township 40 

South, Range 43 East, Tequesta, Palm 

Beach County, Florida. The Project site 

is bounded by the Casa del Sol 

development project on the north, 

County Line Plaza on the south, U.S. 

Highway 1 on the east, and by the 

Village of Tequesta water treatment 

plant on the west. Scrub-jays occupy 

3.58 acres of the 6-acre site. 

The Applicant proposes to minimize 

take of scrub-jays by avoiding land 

clearing activities during the breeding or 

nesting season (March through June) 

and by preserving, restoring, and 

maintaining 1.34 acres of scrub-jay 

habitat on their 6-acre lot in perpetuity. 

The Applicants propose to mitigate for 

the loss of 2.24 acres of occupied scrubjay habitat by contributing a total of 

$384,017.78 to the Florida Scrub-jay 

Conservation Program Fund 

administered by The Nature 

Conservancy. Funds in this account are 

ear-marked for use in the conservation 

and recovery of scrub-jays and may 

include habitat acquisition, restoration, 

and management. 

The Service has 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 for a 

‘‘low-effect’’ project and qualifies as a 

categorical exclusion under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as 

provided by the Department of the 

Interior Manual (516 DM 2, Appendix 1 

and 516 DM 6, Appendix 1). This 

preliminary information may be revised 

based on our review of public comments 

that we receive in response to this 

notice. Low-effect 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. 

The Service 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 it 

is determined that those requirements 

are met, the ITP will be issued for the 

incidental take of the Florida scrub-jay. 

The Service will also evaluate whether 

issuance of the section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP 

complies with section 7 of the Act by 

conducting an intra-Service section 7 

consultation. The results of this 

consultation, in combination with the 

above findings, will be used in the final 

analysis to determine whether or not to 

issue the ITP. 

Authority: This notice is provided 

pursuant to Section 10 of the Endangered 

Species Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 

1506.6). 

Dated: March 9, 2007. 

Paul Souza, 

Field Supervisor, South Florida Ecological 

Services Office. 

[FR Doc. E7–4853 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Draft Comprehensive Conservation 

Plan and Environmental Assessment 

for Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Department of the Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service) announces the 

availability of the Missisquoi National 

Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Draft 

Comprehensive Conservation Plan 

(CCP) and Environmental Assessment 

(EA). It describes how we intend to 

manage Missisquoi NWR during the 

next 15 years. We prepared this Draft 

CCP/EA in conformance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and the National Wildlife 

Refuge System Administration Act, as 

amended. 

DATES: The Draft CCP/EA will be 

available for public review and 

comment for a 30-day period starting 

with the publication of this notice. 

ADDRESSES: You may obtain copies of 

the draft CCP/EA on compact diskette or 

in print by writing to Carl Melberg, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast 

Regional Office, 300 Westgate Center 

Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035–

9589, or by electronic mail at 

northeastplanning@fws.gov, noting in 

the subject line ‘‘Missisquoi National 

Wildlife Refuge.’’ You may also view 

the draft on the Web at http:// 

library.fws.gov/ccps.htm. During the 30- 

day comment period, we plan to host 

public meetings in the local area. We 

will post the details of each meeting at 

least 2 weeks in advance to our project 

mailing list in local papers, at the refuge 

and at our Web site, http:// 

www.fws.gov/northeast/ 

missisquoirefuge/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carl 

Melberg, 413–253–8521. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Wildlife Refuge System 

Administration Act of 1966, as amended 

by the National Wildlife Refuge System 

Improvement Act of 1997, requires the 

Service to develop a CCP for each 

refuge. The purpose of developing a 

CCP is to provide refuge managers with 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 12633 

a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge 

purposes and contributing to the 

mission of the National Wildlife Refuge 

System (NWRS), in conformance with 

the sound principles of fish and wildlife 

science, natural resources conservation, 

legal mandates, and Service policies. In 

addition to outlining broad management 

direction on conserving wildlife and 

habitats, CCPs identify wildlifedependent recreational opportunities 

available to the public, including 

opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

wildlife observation and photography, 

and environmental interpretation and 

education. The Service will review and 

update each CCP at least once every 15 

years, in accordance with the National 

Wildlife Refuge System Improvement 

Act of 1997 and the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA). 

This Draft CCP/EA identifies goals, 

long-range objectives, and strategies for 

achieving the purposes for which this 

refuge was established. The document 

poses two management alternatives: 

Alternative A (Current Management): 

This alternative is the ‘‘No Action’’

alternative required by NEPA. 

Alternative A defines our current 

management activities, including those 

planned, funded, or underway, and 

serves as the baseline for comparing 

Alternative B, our preferred alternative. 

It would maintain our present levels of 

approved refuge staffing and the 

biological and visitor programs now in 

place. The refuge would continue to 

pursue acquisition of the eight parcels 

composing 253 acres that remain within 

the original approved acquisition 

boundary of the refuge, and the 

occasional parcel that becomes available 

adjacent to the refuge. 

Alternative B (the Service-preferred 

alternative): This alternative represents 

the combination of actions that we 

believe will most effectively achieve the 

purposes and goals of the refuge and 

address the major issues. It builds on 

the programs identified under 

Alternative A. Funding and staffing 

would need to increase to adequately 

support the program expansions we 

propose. Key strategies in this 

alternative include greater inventory, 

monitoring, and management of the 

Missisquoi River Delta wetlands to 

maintain their ecological integrity and 

diversity of plants and animals on the 

refuge; increased management of highquality grasslands, shrublands, and 

other early successional habitats for a 

range of wildlife species of conservation 

concern; enhanced, expanded programs 

of outreach, and environmental 

education and interpretation; expanded 

wildlife-dependent recreational 

opportunities, including hunting, 

fishing, wildlife observation and 

photography; greater inventory, 

protection, and interpretation of the rich 

cultural history of the Missisquoi River 

Delta and enhanced partnerships with 

the local Abenaki Tribe; a new $1.00 

Refuge Activity Fee that will raise 

additional funds for trail maintenance, 

informational kiosks, educational 

programs, and other actions to benefit 

all visitors to the refuge; a critical new 

law enforcement position to enhance 

staff and visitor safety; other new 

critical positions, including a park 

ranger, maintenance worker, and 

biological technician. Alternative B also 

proposes that, within 1 year of CCP 

completion, upon Director’s approval, 

we will conduct a study with our 

partners to determine if undeveloped 

lands within 5 miles of the refuge 

warrant additional Service protection to 

conserve Federal trust resources and aid 

in fulfilling the mission of the NWRS 

and the purposes of the refuge. 

A wilderness review of the refuge was 

completed in 1974. This review, based 

on refuge management needs and public 

input at the time, proposed that Shad 

Island be designated wilderness under 

the Wilderness Act of 1964. As part of 

the CCP process, we completed a 

wilderness review, evaluating all refuge 

land for its current wilderness potential. 

The review concluded no lands at the 

refuge are suitable for inclusion into the 

National Wilderness Preservation 

System, and we propose to withdraw 

Shad Island as a proposed wilderness to 

the U.S. Congress. 

After the 30-day review and comment 

period ends, we will analyze, address, 

and consider all comments received and 

prepare a final CCP. Availability of the 

final CCP will be published in the 

Federal Register. All comments, 

including names and addresses, become 

part of the official public record. 

Requests for the public record of this 

plan will be handled in accordance with 

the Freedom of Information Act, the 

Council on Environmental Quality’s 

NEPA regulations, and other Service 

and Departmental policies and 

procedures. 

Dated: August 2, 2006. 

Marvin E. Moriarty, 

Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Hadley, MA 01035–9589. 

This document was received at the Office 

of the Federal Register on March 13, 2007. 

[FR Doc. E7–4854 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[CA–110] 

Meeting of the Central California 

Resource Advisory Council 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S. 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) Central 

California Resource Advisory Council 

will meet as indicated below. 

DATES: The meeting will be held Friday 

and Saturday, April 20 and 21, 2007, in 

the University of California Lindcove 

Research and Extension Center meeting 

room, 22963 Carson Ave., Exeter, 

California. On April 20, the members 

will convene at 8 a.m. for a business 

meeting, followed by a field trip to 

Atwell Island beginning at noon. 

Members of the public are welcome to 

attend the tour and meeting. Field tour 

participants must provide their own 

transportation and lunch. The Advisory 

Council will resume its meeting at 8 

a.m. on April 21 in the Lindcove 

Research and Extension Center meeting 

room. Time for public comment is 

reserved from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on 

April 21. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

BLM Bakersfield Field Office Acting 

Manager Patty Gradek, (661) 391–6006; 

or BLM Central California Public Affairs 

Officer David Christy, (916) 985–4474. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

twelve-member Central California 

Resource Advisory Council advises the 

Secretary of the Interior, through the 

Bureau of Land Management, on a 

variety of public land issues associated 

with public land management in the 

Central California. At this meeting, 

agenda items include discussion of the 

Caliente Resource Management Plan 

update by the Bakersfield Field Office 

and preparation of an Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Carrizo Plain 

National Monument. The RAC members 

will also hear status reports from 

managers for the Folsom, Hollister, 

Bakersfield and Bishop field offices. The 

meeting is open to the public. The 

public may present written comments to 

the Council, and time will be allocated 

for hearing public comments. 

Depending on the number of persons 

wishing to comment and the time 

available, the time for individual oral 

comments may be limited. Individuals 

who plan to attend and need special 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES