Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 166 / Monday, August 29, 2005 / Notices 51083 

accommodate this concern, language 

was inserted stating that the Tribe/ 

Consortium retains legal custody and 

determines access to those records. 

Further, language was inserted stating 

that such records shall not be treated as 

Federal records for purposes of chapter 

5 of Title 5 of the United States Code, 

unless expressly agreed to by the Tribe. 

Dated: August 19, 2005. 

Abraham E. Haspel, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary—Office of the 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 05–17137 Filed 8–26–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–W8–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Receipt of an Application for an 

Incidental Take Permit for the Florida 

Scrub-jay Resulting From Construction 

of a Single-Family Home in Charlotte 

County, FL 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas 

Tamburri (Applicants) request an 

incidental take permit (ITP) for a period 

of one year, pursuant to section 

10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.). The Applicants anticipate 

removal of about 1.2 acres of occupied 

Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma 

coerulescens) (scrub-jay) nesting, 

foraging, and sheltering habitat, 

incidental to partial land clearing of 

their 5-acre lot and subsequent 

residential construction of a singlefamily home and supporting 

infrastructure in Charlotte County, 

Florida. Up to three scrub-jay 

individuals could be taken as a result of 

the Applicants’ proposed action. It is 

not currently known if these three 

scrub-jays are part of the same scrub-jay 

family. 

The Applicants’ Habitat Conservation 

Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and 

minimization measures proposed to 

address the effects of the project to the 

scrub-jay. These measures are outlined 

in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section below. We announce the 

availability of the ITP application, HCP, 

and accompanying Environmental 

Assessment (EA). Copies of the 

application, HCP, and EA may be 

obtained by making a request to the 

Southeast Regional Office (see 

ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing 

to be processed. This notice is provided 

pursuant to section 10 of the Act and 

National Environmental Policy Act 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

DATES: Written comments on the ITP 

application and HCP, and EA should be 

sent to the Service’s Southeast Regional 

Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be 

received on or before October 28, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review 

the application, HCP, and EA may 

obtain a copy by writing the Service’s 

Southeast Regional Office at the address 

below. Please reference permit number 

TE093169–0 in such requests. 

Documents will also be available for 

public inspection by appointment 

during normal business hours at the 

Southeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 1875 Century 

Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 

30345 (Attn: Endangered Species 

Permits), or also at the South Florida 

Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 1339 20th Street, Vero 

Beach, Florida 32960–3559 (Attn: Field 

Supervisor). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Dell, Regional HCP Coordinator, 

Southeast Regional Office (see 

ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/679–

7313, facsimile: 404/679–7081; or Ms. 

Constance Cassler, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, South Florida Ecological 

Services Office (see ADDRESSES above), 

telephone: 772/562–3909, ext. 243. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you 

wish to comment, you may submit 

comments by any one of several 

methods. Please reference permit 

number TE093169–0 in such comments. 

You may mail comments to the 

Service’s Southeast 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 e-mail 

message. If you do not receive a 

confirmation from us that we have 

received your e-mail message, contact 

us directly at either telephone number 

listed above (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). Finally, you may 

hand-deliver comments to either Service 

office listed above (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 addresses 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. 

The Florida scrub-jay (scrub-jay) is 

geographically isolated from other 

species 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 (well-drained, sandy soil 

habitats supporting a growth of oakdominated scrub). Increasing urban and 

agricultural development has 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 scrubjays in Florida has been exacerbated by 

tremendous urban growth in the past 50 

years. 

Xeric upland vegetative communities 

in southwestern Florida are restricted 

primarily to ancient coastal dunes 

which are typically much dryer and less 

susceptible to flooding due to their 

deep, well-drained soils. Historically, 

these areas extended in a nearly 

continuous, narrow band along the 

western mainland portions of northern 

Charlotte to southern Hillsborough 

County. However, the same physical 

attributes that resulted in the evolution 

of xeric vegetation on these sandy dunes 

also provided sites for both agricultural 

and urban development. Over the past 

50 years, these ancient dunes have 

served as the backbone of residential 

and commercial growth in southwestern 

Florida. The project area is under 

tremendous development pressure, as is 

much of Charlotte County. Much of the 

remaining scrub-jay habitat is now 

relatively small and isolated. What 

remains is largely degraded, due to 

interruption of the natural fire regime 

that is needed to maintain xeric uplands 

in conditions suitable for scrub-jays. 

Florida scrub-jays were documented 

using this residential lot on ten separate 

occasions between October 9 and 

October 16, 2002, by consultants from 

AMS Engineering and Environmental, 

Incorporated. Based on the consultant’s 

report, it appears that at least three 

scrub-jays use this residential lot. It is 

not known whether these scrub-jays 

previously nested on the subject lot, 

though the birds roost regularly on a 

turkey oak there. Scrub-jays using the 

51084 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 166 / Monday, August 29, 2005 / Notices 

project site are part of a metapopulation 

of scrub-jays in Charlotte County that 

occurs east of the Peace River and Punta 

Gorda. The continued survival and 

recovery of scrub-jays in this area may 

be dependent on the maintenance of 

suitable habitat and the restoration of 

unsuitable habitat. 

Scrub-jays in urban areas are 

particularly vulnerable and typically do 

not successfully produce young that 

survive to adulthood. Persistent urban 

growth in the vicinity of the project will 

likely continue to reduce the amount of 

suitable habitat for scrub-jays. 

Increasing urban pressures are also 

likely to result in the continued 

degradation of scrub-jay habitat, as fire 

exclusion slowly results in vegetative 

overgrowth. Thus, over the long-term, 

scrub-jays are unlikely to persist in 

urban settings, and conservation efforts 

for this species should include 

acquisition and management of large 

parcels of land outside the direct 

influence of urbanization. 

Construction of the project’s 

infrastructure and facilities could result 

in harm to scrub-jays, incidental to the 

carrying out of these otherwise lawful 

activities. Habitat alteration associated 

with the proposed residential 

construction would reduce the 

availability of nesting, foraging, and 

sheltering habitat for three scrub-jays. 

The Applicants propose to minimize 

take of scrub-jays by avoiding landclearing activities during the breeding or 

nesting season (March through June), by 

not planting additional trees which 

would allow perching of predatory 

birds, by eliminating most predatory 

bird perches (slash pines) to possibly 

reduce the risk of scrub-jays being killed 

by raptors, and by preserving and 

maintaining 3.8 acres of scrub-jay 

habitat on their 5-acre lot in perpetuity. 

The preserve would be accomplished 

through recorded deed restriction which 

must be in place within 30 days of ITP 

issuance and prior to any land-clearing 

activities. 

The Applicants also propose to 

mitigate the take of scrub-jays through 

contribution of $1,200 to an approved 

scrub-jay mitigation fund. This 

contribution must be made within 30 

days of ITP issuance and prior to any 

land-clearing activities. The fund would 

be used to acquire and manage larger 

tracts of scrub habitat in the County. 

The Service has made a preliminary 

determination that the issuance of the 

ITP is not a major Federal action 

significantly affecting the quality of the 

human environment within the meaning 

of section 102(2)(C) of the National 

Environmental Policy Act. This 

preliminary information may be revised 

due to public comment received in 

response to this notice and is based on 

information contained in the EA and 

HCP. 

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. If it is determined that those 

requirements are met, the ITP will be 

issued for the incidental take of the 

Florida scrub-jay. 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. 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. 

Dated: August 4, 2005. 

Cynthia K. Dohner, 

Acting Regional Director. 

[FR Doc. 05–17064 Filed 8–26–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Receipt of an Application for an 

Incidental Take Permit for the Florida 

Scrub-Jay Resulting From 

Construction of a Single-Family Home 

in Brevard County, FL 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Maronda Homes, Inc. 

(Applicant) requests an incidental take 

permit (ITP) for a duration of 10 years, 

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

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), 

as amended (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The 

Applicant requests a permit to remove 

about 0.24 acre of Florida scrub-jay 

(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) 

foraging, sheltering, and possibly 

nesting habitat incidental to lot 

preparation for the construction of a 

single-family home and supporting 

infrastructure in Section 23, Township 

23 South, Range 35 East, Port St. John, 

Brevard County, Florida. The proposed 

destruction of 0.24 acre of foraging, 

sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat 

could result in the take of one family of 

scrub-jays. 

The Applicant’s Habitat Conservation 

Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and 

minimization measures proposed to 

address the effects of the project to the 

scrub-jay. These measures are outlined 

in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section below. The Fish and Wildlife 

Service (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 ‘‘loweffect’’ 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). We 

announce the availability of the ITP 

application and HCP for the incidental 

take application. Copies of the 

application and HCP may be obtained 

by making a request to the Southeast 

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). 

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 September 28, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review 

the application and HCP may obtain a 

copy by writing the Service’s Southeast 

Regional Office at the address below. 

Please reference permit number 

TE103390–0 in such requests. 

Documents will also be available for 

public inspection by appointment 

during normal business hours at the 

Southeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 1875 Century 

Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 

30345 (Attn: Endangered Species 

Permits), or at the Jacksonville Field 

Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

6620 Southpoint Drive South, Suite 310, 

Jacksonville, Florida 32216–0912 (Attn: 

Field Supervisor). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David Dell, Regional HCP Coordinator, 

Southeast Regional Office (see 

ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/679–

7313, facsimile: 404/679–7081; or Ms. 

Erin Gawera, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, Jacksonville Field Office (see 

ADDRESSES above), telephone: 904/232–

2580, ext. 121. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you 

wish to comment, you may submit 

comments by any one of several 

methods. Please reference permit 

number TE103390–0 in such comments. 

You may mail comments to the 

Service’s Southeast 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