[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25843]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: October 19, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an
Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Timbering Harvesting
Activities in Monroe County, AL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Ms. Sara N. Bradley (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 the Red Hills
salamander Phaeognathus hubrichti, a threatened species, in Monroe
County, Alabama, for a period of 2 years. The proposed taking is
incidental to a planned timber harvest on an 80-acre tract of land
owned by the Applicant. The tract is located in the eastern 1/2 of the
southwest 1/4 of Section 9, Townships 8 North, Range 8 East, Monroe
County, Alabama.
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 November 18, 1994.
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 Jackson, Mississippi, Field Office. Written data or
comments concerning the application, EA, or HCP should be submitted to
the Regional Office. Please reference permit under PRT-795455 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 404/679-7081).
Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View
Parkway, Suite A, Jackson, Mississippi 39213 (telephone 601/965-4900
extension 27, fax 601/965-4340).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendell Neal at the Jackson,
Mississippi, Field Office, or Rick G. Gooch at the Atlanta, Georgia,
Regional Office.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Red Hills salamander is a plethodontid
salamander and the sole member of its genus. Its range is confined to a
small area of southern Alabama. Portions of the Applicant's lands in
the Red Hills physiographic province of south-central Alabama are
occupied by this species. The applicant owns 80 acres of timberland
within the Red Hills salamander's historic range in Monroe County. The
Applicant's HCP identifies a 15-acre preserve area characterized as
having steep slopes (>30 percent), within the Tallahatta and/or
Hatchetigbee geologic formations, have moist loamy topsoils, and
forested with naturally occurring mixed hardwood/pine and pine/hardwood
trees. Previous status surveys for the species indicate this to be
optimal habitat, with burrow density as high as 5 per 100 square
meters. Timber harvesting in the adjacent streamside management zones,
encompassing 16 acres of the property, will be restricted to removal of
approximately 20 percent of the canopy coverage. These areas are
considered marginal habitat for the Red Hills salamander. On the
remainder of the site (49 acres), normal timber harvesting will be
conducted and will result in approximately 40 percent of the canopy
coverage.
Take incidental to the applicant's harvest plan is expected to
occur in the marginally suitable areas, through the physical crushing
of burrows (and thus individuals) from timber felling and removal of
large pine trees. Incidental take of this nature is expected in
approximately 5 acres of marginally suitable habitat. Mitigation and
minimization measures identified in the HCP include the preservation of
15 acres of optimal habitat, restrictions of cutting in marginally
suitable areas, restrictions of the use of chemical pesticides and
herbicides within and in a 50-foot buffer of optimum habitat, and
training and education of logging personnel.
The EA considers the environmental consequences of three
alternatives, including acceptance of the HCP as submitted, no action,
or the HCP modified for a different mitigation strategy.
(Notice: Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of
an Application for a Section 10(a)(1)(B) Incidental Take Permit of
the Endangered Species Act.)
Dated: October 12, 1994.
Gloria Lee,
Acting Chief, Division of Endangered Species.
[FR Doc. 94-25843 Filed 10-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
