Receipt of Two Incidental Take Permit Applications for Participation in the General Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse; Categorical Exclusion; Baldwin County, AL

Issuing agencies

Abstract

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Lydia Carpenter and one from Joshua Milligan 1031, LLC (applicant/applicants) for two separate incidental take permits (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act under the approved General Conservation Plan (GCP) and final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the Alabama beach mouse. A GCP is a mechanism that meets the definition of a conservation plan in the ESA and enables the programmatic permitting and conservation process to address a defined suite of proposed activities over a defined planning area. Each applicant requests an ITP to take the federally listed Alabama beach mouse incidental to the construction of a single-family home in Baldwin County, Alabama. We request public comment on these applications, which include the applicants' proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) and on the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may qualify under the terms of the Alabama beach mouse GCP. We certify that the applications received are statutorily complete and include the necessary information to enroll in the GCP.