Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of a Joint Application for an Incidental Take Permit for a Residential Project Called Pineda Crossing/Windover Farms, Located in Brevard County, FL

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of a

Joint Application for an Incidental Take Permit for a Residential

Project Called Pineda Crossing/Windover Farms, Located in Brevard

County, FL

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EKS Properties, Incorporated and Pineda Crossing Corporation

(Applicants), are 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 endangered red-cockaded

woodpecker, Picoides borealis in Brevard County, Florida. The proposed

taking is incidental to construction of two adjacent projects, Windover

Farms and Pineda Crossing residential developments encompassing 940

acres and 323 acres, respectively (Project). The two project sites are

located on the western side of the city of Melbourne, between Wickham

Road and Interstate 95, in Sections 36 and 25, Township 26 south, Range

36 east, in Brevard County, Florida. Windover Farms of Melbourne occur

north and west of the intersection of Post and Wickham Roads. The

Pineda Crossing site lies immediately north of Windover Farms. Both

sites have been partially developed, including construction of roads,

single-family houses, and recreational centers. The Applicants are

seeking an incidental take permit to proceed with development in areas

currently occupied by the red-cockaded woodpecker.

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. Requests must be

submitted in writing to be adequately processed. 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 December 14, 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, 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

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temporary foraging, nesting, and roosting habitat. Construction within

RCW habitat will not occur until translocation 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 consist 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: November 7, 1995.

Noreen K. Clough,

Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 95-28016 Filed 11-13-95; 8:45 am]

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