14776 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 53 / Monday, March 20, 1995 / Notices

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of an Environmental

Assessment and Receipt of an

Application for an Incidental Take

Permit for a Project Called Windsor

Estates Subdivision, a Single Family

Residence Subdivision, in Brevard

County, Florida

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Forte Macaulay Development

Co., Incorporated, (Applicant), is

seeking an incidental take permit from

the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),

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

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act),

as amended. The permit would

authorize the take of two families of the

threatened Florida scrub jay,

Aphelocoma coerulescens coerulescens

in Brevard County, Florida, for a period

of 3 years. The proposed taking is

incidental to construction of 205 single

family homes, including the necessary

infrastructure, on approximately 98

acres (Project). Within the Project, 25

acres are occupied by Florida scrub jays

and will be permanently altered. The

Project is called Windsor Estates, and it

is located on the mainland of Brevard

County, north of the city of Melbourne

due west of the intersection of Pineda

Causeway and Wickham Road, Brevard

County, Florida.

The Service also announces the

availability of an environmental

assessment (EA) and habitat

conservation plan (HCP) for the

incidental take application. Copies of

the EA or HCP may be obtained by

making a request to the Regional Office

address below. This notice also advises

the public that the Service has made a

preliminary determination that issuing

the incidental take permit 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 of 1969, as amended. The Finding

of No Significant Impact is based on

information contained in the EA and

HCP. The final determination will be

made no sooner than 30 days from the

date of this notice. This notice is

provided pursuant to Section 10(c) of

the Act and National Environmental

Policy Act Regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).

DATES: Written comments on the permit

application, EA and HCP should be

received on or before April 19, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the application, HCP, and EA 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, or the

Jacksonville, Florida, Field Office.

Written data or comments concerning

the application, EA, or HCP should be

submitted to the Regional Office. Please

reference permit under PRT–799977 in

such comments.

Regional Permit Coordinator, U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century

Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia

30345, (telephone 404/679–7110, fax

404/679–7280).

Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint

Drive, South, Suite 310, Jacksonville,

Florida 32216–0912, (telephone 904/

232–2580, fax 904/232–2404).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dawn Zattau at the Jacksonville,

Florida, Field Office, or Rick G. Gooch

at the Atlanta, Georgia, Regional Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Aphelocoma coerulescens coerulescens

is geographically isolated from other

subspecies of scrub jays found in

Mexico and the Western United States.

The Florida scrub jay is found almost

exclusively in peninsular Florida and is

restricted to scrub habitat. The total

estimated population is between 7,000

and 11,000 individuals. Due to habitat

loss and degradation throughout the

State of Florida, it has been estimated

that the Florida scrub jay population has

been reduced by at least half in the last

100 years. Surveys have indicated that

two families of Florida scrub jays

inhabit the Project site. Construction of

the Project’s infrastructure and

subsequent construction of the

individual homesites will likely result

in death of, or injury to, Aphelocoma

coerulescens coerulescens incidental to

the carrying out of these otherwise

lawful activities. Habitat alteration

associated with property development

will reduce the availability of feeding,

shelter, and nesting habitat.

The EA considers the environmental

consequences of three alternatives. The

no action alternative may result in loss

of habitat for Aphelocoma coerulescens

coerulescens and exposure of the

Applicant under Section 9 of the Act. A

third alternative is the proposed Project

that is designed with a different

mitigation strategy focusing on

management of existing lands

surrounding the project area. The

proposed action alternative is issuance

of the incidental take permit. This

provides for restrictions of construction

activity, purchase of offsite habitat for

the Florida scrub jay, the establishment

of an endowment fund for the offsite

acquired habitat, and donation of

additional offsite habitat. The HCP

provides a funding mechanism for these

mitigation measures.

Dated: March 13, 1995.

Noreen K. Clough,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 95–6771 Filed 3–17–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

Endangered and Threatened Species

Permit Application

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Re-opening of Comment Period

for Availability of a Draft Environmental

Assessment and Notice of an

Application for an Incidental Take

Permit for La Costa Villages, Carlsbad,

California, by the City of Carlsbad and

Fieldstone/La Costa Associates; Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public

that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) has re-opened the comment

period for a draft environmental

assessment (EA) and application for an

incidental take permit, pursuant to

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

Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

The permit application includes a

Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), two

HCP addendums, and an Implementing

Agreement (IA). The EA package

includes an EA, EA addendum, and a

draft Finding of No Significant Impact

for La Costa Villages, a housing and

road project proposed by the applicants:

Fieldstone/La Costa Associates and the

City of Carlsbad, California

(Applicants).

The Applicants have applied to the

Service for an incidental take permit

and have included a proposed prelisting Implementation Agreement and

HCP for a proposed 1,940 acre project

(HCP area) in the southeastern corner of

Carlsbad, California. Completion of the

grading and construction activities

associated with the proposed project

would result in direct impacts to the

federally threatened coastal California

gnatcatcher (Polioptilla californica

californica).

This notice supplements an earlier

notice published on October 28, 1994

(59 FR 54207). That initial comment

period closed November 28, 1994. The

Service re-opened the comment period

from January 31, 1995 to March 2, 1995

(60 FR 5945) to allow for public

comment on the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

documents and the complete

application package, as revised. The

applicants request that 66 species be

covered by the HCP and that 1 or more