Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink, Putnam County, FL; Categorical Exclusion

Issuing agencies

Abstract

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Vulcan Materials Company (applicant) to amend of an existing incidental take permit (TE82956B-0) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the amendment of an incidental take permit (ITP) to take an additional number of the federally listed sand skink incidental sand mining operation in Putman County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed amended habitat conservation plan (HCP), and the Service's preliminary determination that this HCP qualifies as "low-effect," categorically excluded, under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and low- effect screening form, both of which are also available for public review.