58784 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 191 / Monday, October 2, 2000 / Notices

Departments of State, Transportation,

the Treasury and the Environmental

Protection Agency. The Plan seeks to

address invasive species in the areas of

prevention, coordination, control, rapid

response, monitoring, and information

sharing.

DATES: All Comments must be received

by close of business (6:00 p.m.—eastern

time) on November 16, 2000.

ADDRESSES: National Invasive Species

Council, 1951 Constitution Avenue,

N.W., Suite 320, Washington, D.C.

20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kelsey Passe, National Invasive Species

Council Program Analyst; E-mail:

Kelsey_Passe@ios.doi.gov; Phone: (202)

208–6336; Fax: (202) 208–1526.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of

the draft Plan can be obtained via the

Council’s website:

www.invasivespecies.gov; by contacting

the Council Staff at 202–208–6336

(phone); 202–208–1526 (Fax); or by email at invasivespecies@ios.doi.gov.

Comments can be submitted to the

Council Staff at the fax, e-mail, or

mailing address given above.

Dated: September 28, 2000.

Lori Williams,

Executive Director, National Invasive Species

Council.

[FR Doc. 00–25338 Filed 9–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–RK–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Draft

Recovery Plan for the Virginia

Sneezeweed for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service announces the availability for

public review of a draft Recovery Plan

for the Virginia sneezeweed (Helenium

virginicum).

The Virginia sneezeweed is a rare

herb in the Asteraceae family found in

the Shenandoah Valley of western

Virginia, with a single possible disjunct

population in southern Missouri. The

species was listed as threatened in

December 1998 due to its restricted

range, small number of occurrences, and

growing threats from loss and

degradation of its sinkhole pond habitat.

The objective of the proposed Recovery

Plan is to protect Heleniuim virginicum

populations and their habitat, thereby

enabling the species’ removal from the

Federal list of endangered and

threatened wildlife and plants. To

accomplish this, the draft Plan

recommends protection and

management of extant populations,

definitively establishing the distribution

of the plant, and strategies for

maintaining the genetic diversity of the

species. If the Recovery Plan is

successfully implemented, full recovery

may be possible by 2020. The Service

solicits review and comment from the

public on this draft Plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft Recovery

Plan must be received by November 16,

2000, to receive consideration by the

Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the draft Recovery Plan can obtain a

copy from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office,

177 Admiral Cochrane Drive,

Annapolis, Maryland 21401, telephone

410/573–4537 and fax 410/269–0832.

Comments should be sent to the same

address, to the attention of G. Andrew

Moser.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: G.

Andrew Moser at 410/573–4537 (see

ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restoring an endangered or

threatened animal or plant to the point

where it is again a secure, selfsustaining member of its ecosystem is a

primary goal of the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service’s endangered species

program. To help guide the recovery

effort, the Service is working to prepare

Recovery Plans for most of the listed

species native to the United States.

Recovery Plans describe actions

considered necessary for conservation of

the species, establish criteria for

downlisting or delisting them, and

estimate time and cost for implementing

the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973

(Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.) requires the development of

Recovery Plans for listed species unless

such a Plan would not promote the

conservation of a particular species.

Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in

1988, requires that public notice and an

opportunity for public review and

comment be provided during Recovery

Plan development. The Service will

consider all information presented

during a public comment period prior to

approval of each new or revised

Recovery Plan. The Service and other

Federal agencies will also take these

comments into account in the course of

implementing Recovery Plans.

The document submitted for review is

the draft Virginia Sneezeweed

(Helenium virginicum) Recovery Plan.

The Virginia sneezeweed, a rare herb in

the Asteraceae family, has been found in

30 sites in the Shenandoah Valley of

western Virginia, although plants have

not been seen at 4 of these sites for

several years. Recent studies of a

Helenium sp. from a sinkhole pond in

southern Missouri suggest that it may

represent a disjunct population of H.

virginicum, but further research is

needed to resolve this. The Virginia

sneezeweed is limited to seasonally

flooded sinkhole ponds, a restricted and

threatened habitat type that is in some

cases closely associated with

agricultural and residential land uses. In

addition, there is some indication that

the species may have a selfincompatible breeding system, which

could increase the threat of local

extinctions in small populations. For

these reasons, H. virginicum was listed

as a threatened species in December

1998.

The objective of the draft Recovery

Plan is to protect Helenium virginicum

populations and their habitat, thereby

enabling the species’ removal from the

Federal list of endangered and

threatened wildlife and plants. Delisting

of H. virginicum may be considered

when: (1) 20 self-sustaining populations

and their habitats have received

permanent protection across the species’

Virginia range; (2) monitoring over 15

years indicates that populations in the

20 sites are viable; (3) life history and

ecological requirements are understood

sufficiently to allow for effective

protection monitoring, and, as needed,

management; (4) seeds representing the

range of genetic diversity in H.

virginicum are placed in long-term

storage to provide a source of genetic

material in the event of in situ

extinction; and (5) if determined to be

H. virginicum, the Missouri population

and its habitat are permanently

protected and seeds placed in long-term

storage.

Recovery activities designed to

achieve these objectives include

protection, management, and

monitoring of extant populations and

their habitat; definitive identification of

the range and distribution of the

species; continuing investigations into

the life history and ecology of H.

virginicum; maintenance of seed sources

for the species; and development of

informational materials to create more

awareness of H. virginicum and its

status. Contingent on successful

implementation of all recovery tasks,

full recovery is anticipated by the year

2020.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 191 / Monday, October 2, 2000 / Notices 58785

The draft Recovery Plan is being

submitted for technical and agency

review. After consideration of

comments received during the review

period, the Plan will be submitted for

final approval.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments

on the Recovery Plan described. All

comments received by the date specified

above will be considered prior to

approval of the Plan.

Authority: The authority for this action is

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act,

16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: September 21, 2000.

J. Mitch King,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 00–25107 Filed 9–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Receipt of an Application for an

Incidental Take Permit for

Construction of a Single-family Home

in the Town of Venice, Sarasota

County, Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

Mr. Jack Grimes (Applicant) requests

an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant

to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered

Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1531 et

seq.), as amended (Act). The Applicant

anticipates taking about one-half acre of

Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma

coerulescens) habitat, incidental to land

clearing in preparation for the

construction of a single-family home

and supporting infrastruture. Land

clearing will take place within section

33, Township 39 South, Range 19 East,

Venice, Sarasota County, Florida. The

Applicant proposes to mitigate the

taking of scrub-jays through

contribution of $1,000 to the Florida

Scrub-jay Conservation Fund.

Land clearing and infrastructure

installation will destroy about one-half

acre of habitat known to be occupied by

one family of scrub-jays. A more

detailed description of the mitigation

and minimization measures to address

the effects of the Project to the scrub-jay

are outlined in the Applicant’s Habitat

Conservation Plan (HCP) and in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section

below. The Service has determined that

the Applicant’s proposal, 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, the ITP is a ‘‘low effect’’

project and would qualify as a

categorical exclusion under the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as

provided by the Department of Interior

Manual (516 DM2, Appendix 1 and 516

DM 6, Appendix 1).

The Service announces the

availability of the HCP for the incidental

take application. Copies of the HCP may

be obtained by making a request to the

Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).

Requests must be in writing to be

processed. This notice is provided

pursuant to Section 10 of the

Endangered Species Act and NEPA

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

The Service specifically requests

information, views, and opinions from

the public via this Notice on the Federal

action. Further, the Service specifically

solicits information regarding the

adequacy of the HCP as measured

against the Service’s Permit issuance

criteria found in 50 CFR Parts 13 and

17.

If you wish to comment, you may

submit comments by any one of several

methods. Please reference permit

number TE033098–0 in such comments.

You may mail comments to the

Service’s Regional Office (see

ADDRESSES). You may also comment via

the internet to ‘‘david_dell@fws.gov’’.

Please submit comments over the

internet as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. Please also include your

name and return address in your

internet message. If you do not receive

a confirmation from the Service that we

have received your internet message,

contact us directly at either telephone

number listed below (see FURTHER

INFORMATION). Finally, you may hand

deliver comments to either Service

office listed below (see 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.

DATES: Written comments on the ITP

application and HCP should be sent to

the Service’s Regional Office (see

ADDRESSES) and should be received on

or before November 1, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the application, supporting

documentation, and HCP may obtain a

copy by writing the Service’s Southeast

Regional Office, Atlanta, Georgia.

Documents will also be available for

public inspection by appointment

during normal business hours at the

Regional Office, 1875 Century

Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia

30345 (Attn: Endangered Species

Permits), or Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Post Office Box

2676, Vero Beach, Florida 32961–2676.

Written data or comments concerning

the application, or HCP should be

submitted to the Regional Office. Please

reference permit number TE033098–0 in

requests for the documents discussed

herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

David Dell, Regional HCP Coordinator,

(see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/

679–7313, facsimile: 404/679–7081; or

Mr. Mike Jennings, Fish and Wildlife

Biologist, South Florida Ecosystem

Office, Vero Beach, Florida (see

ADDRESSES above), telephone: 561/562–

3909.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Florida scrub-jay (scrub-jay) is

geographically isolated from other

subspecies of scrub-jays found in

Mexico and the western United States.

The scrub-jay is found exclusively in

peninsular Florida and is restricted to

xeric uplands (predominately in oakdominated scrub). Increasing urban and

agricultural development have resulted

in habitat loss and fragmentation which

has adversely affected the distribution

and numbers of scrub-jays. The total

estimated population is between 7,000

and 11,000 individuals.

The decline in the number and

distribution of scrub-jays in

southwestern Florida has been

exacerbated by tremendous urban

growth in the past 50 years. Much of the

historic commercial and residential

development has occurred on the dry

soils which previously supported scrubjay habitat. Based on existing soils data,

much of the historic and current scrubjay habitat of coastal southwest Florida

occurs proximal to the current shoreline

and larger river basins. Much of this

area of Florida was settled early because

few wetlands restricted urban and

agricultural development. Due to the