Notice2025-22352
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole-Skink; Highlands County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
Primary source
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Published
December 9, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Park Square Homes (Avon Park) (applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the construction of a multi- family housing development in Highlands 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 (DM). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement for HCPs, both of which are 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 234 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57093-57094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22352]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-1034; FXES11140400000-267-FF04EF4000]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Sand Skink and Blue-Tailed Mole-
Skink; Highlands County, FL; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Park Square Homes (Avon Park) (applicant) for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed sand skink
and blue-tailed mole skink incidental to the construction of a multi-
family housing development in Highlands 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
[[Page 57094]]
Departmental Manual (DM). To make this preliminary determination, we
prepared a draft screening form and NEPA statement for HCPs, both of
which are 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 January 8,
2026.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-1034 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-2025-1034.
<bullet> U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2025-1034; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Needs, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at (772) 226-8158 or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#74181d1a1007150d2b1a11111007341203075a131b02"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1b7772757f687a6244757e7e7f685b7d6c68357c746d">[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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce receipt of an application from Park Square Homes
(applicant) for an ITP, also known as a section 10(a)(1)(B) permit,
under the ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The applicant
requests the ITP to take the federally listed threatened sand skink
(Neopseps (=Plestiodon) reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces
egregius lividus) (skinks) incidental to the construction of a multi-
family housing development in Highlands County, Florida.
We request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's HCP, and on the Service's preliminary determination that
this proposed ITP may qualify for a categorical exclusion pursuant to
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), DOI's NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46),
and DOI's DM (516 DM 1, DOI NEPA Handbook appendix 2, 8.5 C.(2)). To
make this preliminary determination, we prepared a draft screening form
and NEPA statement for HCPs, both of which are available for public
review.
Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 5-year ITP to take skinks via the
conversion of approximately 1.64 acres (ac) of occupied nesting,
foraging, and sheltering skink habitat incidental to the construction
and operation of a multi-family housing development on 324-ac on Parcel
#s A-02-34-28-090-0000-0050, #A-03-34-28-A00-0060-0000, #A-03-34-28-
A00-0070-0000, #A-03-34-28-A00-0110-0000, #C-02-34-28-090-0000-0010,
#C-02-34-28-A00-0110-0000 and #C-02-34-28-A00-0180-0000 in Section 2,
3, 10 and 11, Township 34S, and Range 28E, in both the City of Avon
Park and unincorporated Highlands County, Florida.
The applicant proposes to mitigate for take of the skinks by
purchasing credits equivalent to 3.28 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 made a preliminary determination that reasonably
foreseeable effects of the applicant's proposed project, including the
construction of a multi-family housing development and associated
infrastructure, would have a minor effect on the skinks and the human
environment, and that extraordinary circumstances in 43 CFR 46.215 do
not 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 qualify
for application of a categorical exclusion, pursuant to NEPA, DOI's
NEPA regulations, and the DOI DM. 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 effect 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 any comments received
resulting from this notice to determine whether to issue the requested
ITP. 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 ESA section 10(a)(1)(B) have
been met. If met, the Service will issue ITP number PER13883616 to Park
Square Homes.
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 NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the
DOI's implementing regulations (43 CFR part 46).
Jose Rivera,
Manager, Division of Environmental Review, Florida Ecological Services
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-22352 Filed 12-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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