Notice2025-16627
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Lake County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 29, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Revels Road Investors, LLC (Howey Groves Development) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink incidental to the construction of a housing development in Lake County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations and the DOI Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement for HCPs, which are also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 166 (Friday, August 29, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 166 (Friday, August 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42260-42261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16627]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-0038; FXES11140400000-256-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink; Lake County, FL;
Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Revels Road Investors, LLC (Howey Groves
Development) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act. The applicant requests the ITP to take the
federally listed sand skink incidental to the construction of a housing
development in Lake County, Florida. We request public comment on the
application, which includes the applicant's proposed habitat
conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary determination
that the proposed permitting action may be eligible for a categorical
exclusion pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) NEPA regulations and the DOI
Departmental Manual. To make this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement for HCPs, which are
also available for public review. We invite comment from the public and
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before September 29,
2025.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents
online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-0038 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by one of the following methods:
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-0038.
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2025-0038; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Gawera, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 904-404-2464 or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbdec9d2d5e4dcdaccdec9dafbddccc895dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c6a3b4afa899a1a7b1a3b4a786a0b1b5e8a1a9b0">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals in the United States who are deaf,
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
announce receipt of an application from Revels Road Investors, LLC
(Howey Groves Development) (applicant) for an incidental take permit
(ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant requests the ITP to take federally
listed sand skinks (Neoseps (=Plestiodon) reynoldsi) (skink) incidental
to the construction and operation of a housing development in Lake
County, Florida. We request public comment on the application, which
includes the applicant's habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the
Service's preliminary determination that this proposed ITP may qualify
for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the Interior's (DOI) National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (43 CFR 46) and the DOI's
Departmental Manual (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)). To make this preliminary
determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement
for HCPs, which is also available for public review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 2.20 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of a housing development on 34.00 ac, Parcel numbers 02-
21-25-0001-000-00100 and 02-21-25-0001-000-00200 in Section 02,
Township 21 South, Range 25 East, Lake County, Florida. The applicant
proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by purchasing credits
equivalent to 4.40 ac of skink-occupied habitat within the Lake Wales
Ridge Conservation Bank or another Service-approved conservation bank.
The Service would require the applicant to purchase the credits prior
to engaging in any phase of the project.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that reasonably
foreseeable effects of the applicant's proposed project, including the
construction of the buildings and associated infrastructure (e.g.,
electric, water, and sewer lines), would have a minor effect on the
sand skink and the human environment, an no extraordinary circumstances
in 43 CFR 43.215 apply. Reasonably foreseeable effects encompass
effects of implementation of the action including effects of the action
in addition to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future
effects. Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed
ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would be a low-effect ITP that may
[[Page 42261]]
qualify for application of a categorical exclusion (516 DM 8.5(C)(2)),
pursuant to NEPA, the DOI's NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental
Manual. A low-effect ITP is one that would result in (1) negligible or
minor individual or cumulative effects on species covered in the HCP;
(2) no significant effects on the human environment; and (3) reasonably
foreseeable effects that would not result in significant effects to the
human environment.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments to
determine whether to issue the requested permit. We will also conduct
an intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to
evaluate the effects of the proposed take. After considering the
preceding and other matters, we will determine whether the permit
issuance criteria of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA have been met. If
met, the Service will issue ITP number PER12504739 to Revels Road
Investors, LLC (Howey Groves Development).
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that
your entire comment, including your personal identifying information,
may be made available to the public. If you submit a comment at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, your entire comment, including any personal
identifying information, will be posted on the website. If you submit a
hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying information, such
as your address, phone number, or email address, you may request at the
top of your document that we withhold this information from public
review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Moreover, all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public
disclosure in their entirety.
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (50 CFR 17.32) and the National Environmental Policy Act
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR 46).
Jos[eacute] J. Rivera,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-16627 Filed 8-28-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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