[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63052-63053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29941]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Extension of the Public Comment Period--Availability of an
Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an Application for a Residental
Project Called Pineda Crossing/Windover Farms, Located in Brevard
County, FL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of extension of the public comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service gives notice that the pubilc
comment period on the environmental assessment/habitat conservation
plan for the Pineda Crossing/Windover Farms projects (Applicant)
application for an incidental take permit pursuant to Section 10(a) of
the Endangered Species Act (Act) is being extended. The Applicant has
been assigned permit number PRT-808474. The original 30-day comment
period was to end on/about December 15, 1995 (FR 60:57247-48). In the
intervening period, the Fish and Wildlife Service was forced to cease
operations due to the lapse in Congressional appropriations during the
period of November 14 through 19. The Fish and Wildlife Service was
unable to expeditiously respond to the public requesting the
documentation announced in the original Federal Register notice. The
Fish and Wildlife Service is therefore extending the formal public
comment period to allow opportunity for public review and submittal of
comments.
DATES: The public comment period for this proposal, which originally
closed on December 15, 1995, is now extended until December 26, 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-808474 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, 6620 Southpoint
Drive,
[[Page 63053]]
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: The red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) is a
territorial, non-migratory cooperative breeding bird species. RCWs live
in social units called groups which generally consist of a breeding
pair, the current year's offspring, and one or more helpers (normally
adult male offspring of the breeding pair from previous years). Groups
maintain year-round territories near their roost and nest trees. The
RCW is unique among North American woodpeckers in that it is the only
woodpecker that excavates its roost and nest cavities in living pine
trees. Each group member has its own cavity, although there may be
multiple cavities in a single pine tree. The aggregate of cavity trees
used by a breeding group is called a cluster. RCWs forage almost
exclusively on pine trees and they generally prefer pines greater than
10 inches diameter at breast height. Foraging habitat is contiguous
with the cluster. The number of acres required to supply adequate
foraging habitat depends on the quantity and quality of the pine stems
available.
The RCW is endemic to the pine forests of the Southeastern United
States and was once widely distributed across 16 States. The species
evolved in a mature, fire-maintained, ecosystem. The RCW has declined
primarily due to the conversion of mature pine forests to young pine
plantations, agricultural fields, residential and commercial
developments, and to hardwood encroachment in existing pine forests due
to fire suppression. The species is still widely distributed (presently
occurs in 13 southeastern States), but remaining populations are highly
fragmented and isolated. Presently, the largest populations occur on
federally owned lands such as military installations and national
forests. Continued development of the two tracts may result in death
of, or harm to, any remaining RCWs through the loss of nesting and
foraging habitat. The Service's EA outlines two alternatives in
response to this application. The first alternative is a no-action
alternative, which would result in the Service's denial of the request
for incidental take. The second alternative is to accept the
application as sufficient and issue an incidental take permit. Under
Alternative 2, the applicants' HCP proposes to offset the anticipated
level of incidental take, by implementing the following mitigation/
minimization measures, including providing adequate funding to ensure
their success:
1. For Pineda Crossing, temporary restrictions on construction
activities at the project site will continue during the proposed
period of 3 to 5 years of reproductive monitoring and
translocations. This will provide temporary foraging, nesting, and
roosting habitat. Construction within RCW habitat will not occur
until translocations success is noted at the mitigation site or for
3 years, whichever comes first. If young birds are not available for
3 years, the HCP period will be extended to 5 years.
2. Three new cluster sites will be created at the Hal Scott
Preserve in Orange County. Each cluster site will con-sist of three
completed cavities and two start holes. New cavities will be caged
and inspected for 6 months for sap leakage. Any trees leaking sap
will not be opened for use by RCW.
3. Annual monitoring of nesting and roosting activity will be
conducted at the project sites. During nesting season, weekly visits
to occupied cavity trees will be conducted.
4. At Windover Farms, the single male RCW will be relocated to
the newly created clusters at Hal Scott Preserve, along with a young
female from Pineda Crossing (if available), or from the Big
Econlockhatchee population, of which the RCWs occupying Hal Scott
are a part.
5. The young birds from Pineda Crossing will be translocated to
the newly created clusters at Hal Scott Preserve. Weekly visits will
be conducted to the mitigation site once a week for 1 month after
translocation to inspect the cavity and the surrounding area for the
presence of these birds. Checks of the cluster sites will also be
made four times during the following nesting season to monitor
reproductive status and success.
6. Young birds from the surrounding population in the Big Econ
River area will be used, if necessary, to augment these created
cluster sites during years of no reproduction on the Pineda Crossing
site.
7. At the mitigation site, inspections will be conducted in the
fall and winter to locate the roost sites.
Dated: December 1, 1995.
Noreen K. Clough,
Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 95-29941 Filed 12-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
