66456 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 / Notices 

Action 

Completion 

time 

(hours) 

Annual 

number of 

responses 

Annual hour 

burden 

Initial Proposal ............................................................................................................................. 80 4,000 320,000 

Amendment .................................................................................................................................. 2 1,750 3,500 

Totals .................................................................................................................................... ........................ 5,750 323,500 

We again invite comments on: (1) 

Whether or not the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether or not the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the 

burden of the collection of information; 

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Dated: October 5, 2005. 

Hope Grey, 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–21796 Filed 11–1–05; 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 the 

Proposed Construction of a 

Combination of Office Space and 

Three-Story Townhomes in the Village 

of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, FL 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Sundown Development and 

Realty (Applicant) is requesting an 

incidental take permit (ITP) for a period 

of five years, pursuant to section 

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

Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Applicant 

anticipates take of three federally 

threatened Florida scrub-jays 

(Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) 

incidental to clearing approximately 

0.70 acre of scrub-jay foraging and 

roosting habitat in preparation for 

construction of a combination of office 

space and three-story townhomes on a 

5.25-acre parcel (project). The 

anticipated take would occur in section 

30, Township 40 South, Range 43 East, 

Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, 

Florida. The Applicant’s Habitat 

Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the 

mitigation and minimization measures 

proposed to address the effects of the 

project on the scrub-jay. These measures 

are also outlined in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below. 

The Service announces the 

availability of the Applicant’s ITP 

application, HCP and 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 

(NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1506.6). 

DATES: Written comments on the ITP 

application, EA, and HCP should be 

sent to the Service’s Southeast Regional 

Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be 

received on or before January 3, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review 

the application, EA, and HCP, may 

obtain a copy by writing the Service’s 

Southeast Regional Office, at the 

address below. Please reference permit 

application number TE095780–0 in 

such requests. Documents will also be 

available for public inspection by 

appointment during normal business 

hours at either 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 

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), at 404–679–7313, 

facsimile: 404–679–7081; or Ms. 

Constance Cassler, Fish and Wildlife 

Biologist, South Florida Ecological 

Services Office (see ADDRESSES above), 

at 772–562–3909, extension 243. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you 

wish to comment, you may submit 

comments by any one of several 

methods. Please reference permit 

application number TE095780–0 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 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 scrub-jay is geographically 

isolated from other subspecies of scrubjays 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 soils supporting a 

growth of oak dominated 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. 

Although little is known about the 

historic distribution and abundance of 

scrub-jays in southeastern Florida, it can 

be reasonably assumed that this species 

once occupied most of the non-forested 

xeric uplands along the Atlantic Coast 

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.