Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 / Notices 66457 

Ridge of southeastern Florida. Martin 

and northern Palm Beach counties have 

experienced tremendous human 

population growth over the last 100 

years, and as a result, much of the 

natural environment in this area has 

been altered. Much of the commercial 

and residential development has 

occurred on the xeric uplands that 

historically supported scrub-jay 

populations. What remains is largely 

degraded, due to the invasion by exotic 

species and by interruption of the 

natural fire regime, which is needed to 

maintain xeric uplands in conditions 

suitable for scrub-jays. 

Scrub-jays using the project site are 

part of a larger complex of this species 

that occupy xeric uplands of 

southeastern Florida, from northern 

Palm Beach County northward to the St. 

Lucie River in northeastern Martin 

County. The largest assemblage of scrubjays in this metapopulation occurs in 

and around Johnathan Dickinson State 

Park. The continued survival and 

recovery of scrub-jays in this area is 

dependent on the maintenance of 

suitable habitat and the restoration of 

unsuitable habitat. 

Scrub-jay use of the project site and 

adjacent lands has been assessed on 

several occasions. Scrub-jay surveys 

were conducted by Environmental 

Services, Inc., from June 30 to July 3, 

2003. A Service biologist confirmed the 

survey results and delineated additional 

habitat being utilized for foraging by 

three scrub-jays on November 19, 2003. 

The project site comprises areas of bare 

sand, concrete pads, native and exotic 

vegetation, and can be classified as 

disturbed upland scrub. Scattered sandy 

patches interspersed with low growing 

vegetation provide foraging and caching 

opportunities for scrub-jays. 

The project site is surrounded by 

Great American RV on the south and by 

Cypress Manor Apartments on the west. 

The project site and surrounding lands 

have been negatively influenced by 

previous land clearing, development, 

and invasion by exotic species. Due to 

the proximity of the project site to 

existing residential development and 

urban infrastructure, fire has been 

actively excluded due to safety 

concerns. As a result, the condition of 

the xeric habitat within the project site 

is degraded; periodic fire or land 

management practices that mimic fire 

are required to maintain habitat 

conditions suitable for the scrub-jay. 

Land clearing in preparation for a 

combination of office space and threestory town homes would destroy habitat 

and could result in death of, or injury 

to, scrub-jays, incidental to the carrying 

out of these otherwise lawful activities. 

Habitat alteration associated with the 

proposed development would reduce 

the availability of foraging habitat for 

scrub-jays. 

The Applicant’s HCP and the 

Service’s EA describe the following 

minimization and mitigation strategy 

which would be employed by the 

Applicant to offset the impacts of the 

project to the scrub-jay: 

• The Applicant agrees to contribute 

$109,830.97 to the Florida Scrub Jay 

Conservation Fund. As discussed in the 

Applicant’s HCP, this amount will 

purchase 1.4 acres of scrub habitat 

(providing a 2:1 compensation ratio) at 

current land values, plus a fee for 

perpetual management, along with a 5 

percent administrative (overhead) fee. 

• The Applicant agrees to plant a 0.20 

acre portion of the landscape buffer, 

required by local building codes, with 

scrub vegetation as part of the Casa del 

Sol project. 

• The Applicant agrees that no land 

clearing activities will take place during 

the scrub-jay breeding or nesting season 

(March-June). 

The EA considers the environmental 

consequences of one action alternative 

that would require issuance of an ITP 

and two alternatives in which an ITP 

would not be issued. The preferred 

alternative would result in the loss of 

about 0.70 acre of occupied scrub-jay 

habitat according to the HCP as 

submitted and described above. Under 

the proposed alternative, as mitigation, 

the Applicant would contribute funding 

for scrub-jay conservation. The 

Applicant’s contribution to the Florida 

Scrub Jay Conservation Fund would be 

used to acquire and manage scrub-jay 

habitat in other areas in Palm Beach 

County, Florida and to help ensure the 

long-term survival of viable populations 

of the species. 

As stated above, 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 NEPA. This preliminary information 

may be revised based on our 

consideration of public comments 

received in response to this notice and 

is based on information contained in the 

EA and HCP. 

The Service will also evaluate 

whether the issuance of a section 

10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with section 7 

of the Act by conducting an intraService section 7 consultation. The 

results of the biological opinion, in 

combination with the above findings, 

will be used in the final analysis to 

determine whether or not to issue the 

ITP. 

Noreen Walsh, 

Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region. 

[FR Doc. 05–21799 Filed 11–1–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Fiscal Year 2006 Tribal Landowner 

Incentive Program; Request for Grant 

Proposals 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of request for proposals. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), are soliciting project 

proposals for Federal assistance under 

the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program 

(TLIP). The Department of the Interior 

and Related Agencies Appropriations 

Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 allocated 

$23,886,000 (subject to potential 

rescission to meet other important 

national priorities) from the Land and 

Water Conservation Fund for 

conservation grants to States, the 

District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, 

the Northern Mariana Islands, American 

Samoa, and Tribes under a Landowner 

Incentive Program. The Service has 

targeted $2,388,600 for TLIP. 

DATES: Project proposals must be 

postmarked by January 31, 2006 and 

submitted to the appropriate Regional 

Office (see Table 1 in ADDRESSES). 

ADDRESSES: For information regarding 

collection requirements and application 

kit, applicants should contact the Native 

American Liaison in the Service’s 

Regional Office for the State in which 

the proposed project would occur. The 

contact information for each Regional 

Office is listed in Table 1 below. 

Information on the TLIP is also available 

from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Office of the Native American Liaison, 

1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop 3251, 

Washington, DC 20240, and 

electronically at http://grants.fws.gov/ 

tribal.html. 

Project proposals should be submitted 

to the Service’s Regional Office for the 

State in which the proposed project 

would occur (see Table 1 under this 

section). You must submit one original 

and two copies of the complete 

proposal. We will not accept facsimile 

project proposals. 

66458 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 / Notices 

TABLE 1.—WHERE TO SEND PROJECT PROPOSALS AND LIST OF REGIONAL CONTACTS

Service 

region States where the project will occur Where to send your project proposal 

Regional Native 

American liaison and 

phone number 

Region 1 ...... Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and 

California.

Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Eastside Federal Complex, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232–4181.

Scott L. Aikin 

(503) 231–6123 

Region 2 ...... Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas ......... Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

500 Gold Avenue, SW., P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103–1306.

John Antonio 

(505) 248–6810 

Region 3 ...... Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1 

Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN 55111–4080.

John Leonard 

(612) 713–5108 

Region 4 ...... Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South 

Carolina, and Tennessee.

Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

1875 Century Blvd, Rm. 410, Atlanta, GA 30345.

Kyla Hastie 

(404) 679–7133 

Region 5 ...... Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, 

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, 

Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035–

9589.

D.J. Monette (413) 

253–8662 

Region 6 ...... Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

134 Union Boulevard, Suite 400, Lakewood, CO 

80228.

David Redhorse 

(303) 236–4575 

Region 7 ...... Alaska ...................................................................... Regional Director; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99503–

6199.

Sue Detwiler 

(907) 786–3868 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information, contact the Native 

American Liaison in the appropriate 

Regional Office (see Table 1 under 

ADDRESSES or Patrick Durham, Office of 

the Native American Liaison, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, 1849 C Street, 

Mail Stop 3012 MIB, Washington, DC 

20240, (202) 208–4133. 

Request for Proposals: The Service 

invites submission of grant proposals for 

the protection and management of 

habitat to benefit federally listed, 

proposed, or candidate species or other 

at-risk species from federally recognized 

Indian tribal governments (including 

Alaska Native Villages). This program 

supports the efforts of tribal 

governments in programs that develop 

or augment the capacity to manage, 

conserve, or protect fish and wildlife 

species of concern through the 

provision of funding and technical 

support. 

For complete application guidelines, 

please refer to http://www.fws.gov/ 

grants/tribal.html or contact the Native 

American Liaison in your Fish and 

Wildlife Service Region (see Table 1 in 

ADDRESSES). The Application Kit 

outlines program requirements, 

selection criteria, and award 

procedures. 

Dated: October 24, 2005. 

Paul Hoffman, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife 

and Parks. 

[FR Doc. 05–21690 Filed 11–1–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Fiscal Year 2006 Tribal Wildlife Grants; 

Request for Grant Proposals 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of request for proposals. 

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service), are soliciting project 

proposals for Federal assistance under 

the Tribal Wildlife Grants program 

(TWG). The Department of the Interior 

and Related Agencies Appropriations 

Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 authorized 

an appropriation of $68,174,000 (subject 

to potential rescission to meet other 

important national priorities) for 

wildlife conservation grants to States 

and to the District of Columbia, U.S. 

Territories, and Tribes under provisions 

of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 and 

the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 

for the development and 

implementation of programs for the 

benefit of wildlife and their habitat, 

including species that are not hunted or 

fished. The Act further specified that 

the Service use $5,971,000 of the funds 

for a competitive grant program 

available to federally recognized Indian 

Tribes. This allows the Secretary, 

through the Director of the Service, to 

manage a separate Tribal grant program 

not subject to the provisions of the 

formula-based State Wildlife Grants 

program, or other requirements of the 

State Wildlife Grants portion of Public 

Law 107–63. 

DATES: Project proposals must be 

postmarked by January 31, 2006 and 

submitted to the appropriate Regional 

Office (see Table 1 in ADDRESSES). 

ADDRESSES: For information regarding 

collection requirements and application 

kit, applicants should contact the Native 

American Liaison in the Service’s 

Regional Office for the State in which 

the proposed project would occur. The 

contact information for each Regional 

Office is listed in Table 1 below. 

Information on the TWG is also 

available from the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Office of the Native 

American Liaison, 1849 C Street, NW., 

Mail Stop 3251, Washington, DC 20240, 

fax (202) 501–3524 and electronically at 

http://grants.fws.gov/tribal.html. 

Send your project proposal to the 

Service’s Regional Office for the State in 

which the proposed project would occur 

(see Table 1 under this section). You 

must submit one original and two 

copies of the complete proposal. We 

will not accept facsimile project 

proposals.