Notice2026-03428
General Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse; Categorical Exclusion; Baldwin County, AL
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
February 20, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt of an application from Lisa Eldredge, two from Sean and Dawn Carmichael, and one from Joseph and Sherrie Thompson (applicant/ applicants) for four separate incidental take permits (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act under the Service's approved General Conservation Plan (GCP) and final environmental impact statement for the Alabama beach mouse. A GCP is a conservation plan under the ESA that 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 or to the addition of a deck or pool to a single-family home in Baldwin County, Alabama. We request public comment on these applications, which include each applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan, as well as on the Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting actions may qualify under the terms of the Alabama beach mouse GCP. We certify that each of the applications is statutorily complete and includes the necessary information to enroll in the GCP.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 34 (Friday, February 20, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8262-8264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03428]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2025-1596; FXES11140400000-267-FF04AL4000]
General Conservation Plan for the Alabama Beach Mouse;
Categorical Exclusion; Baldwin County, AL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Lisa Eldredge, two from Sean and Dawn
Carmichael, and one from Joseph and Sherrie Thompson (applicant/
applicants) for four separate incidental take permits (ITP) pursuant to
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy
Act under the Service's approved General Conservation Plan (GCP) and
final environmental impact statement for the Alabama beach mouse. A GCP
is a conservation plan under the ESA that 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 or to the
addition of a deck or pool to a single-family home in Baldwin County,
Alabama. We request public comment on these applications, which include
each applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan, as well as on the
Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting
actions
[[Page 8263]]
may qualify under the terms of the Alabama beach mouse GCP. We certify
that each of the applications is statutorily complete and includes the
necessary information to enroll in the GCP.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before March 23,
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-2025-1596 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-2025-1596.
<bullet> U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R4-ES-2025-1596; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Lynn, by U.S. mail (see
ADDRESSES), by telephone at 1-251-538-2065 or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e3948a8f8f8a828ebc8f9a8d8da3859490cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f08161313161e1220130611113f19080c51181009">[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 under the approved General
Conservation Plan (GCP) for the Alabama beach mouse from Lisa Eldredge,
two applications from Dawn Carmichael, and one from Joseph and Sherrie
Thompson for an ITP under the Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Each applicant requests an ITP to take the
federally listed Alabama beach mouse (ABM; Peromyscus polionotus
ammobates). All applicants will take ABM incidental to the
construction, maintenance, and operation of a single-family home or to
the addition of a deck or pool to a single-family home in Baldwin
County, Alabama. We request public comment on the applications, on the
applicants' HCPs, and on the Service's preliminary determination that
the proposed ITPs may qualify for a categorical exclusion under the GCP
and final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the ABM published
on March 28, 2012 (FWS-R4-ES-2012-N063).
Proposed Projects
Permit Number: PER23229509
Lisa Eldredge, applicant, requests a 50-year ITP to take ABM via
the conversion of 0.030 acres (ac) of occupied nesting, foraging, and
sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a deck and to the
tear down and reconstruction of a single-family home on a 0.460-ac
parcel located at 3413 Ponce de Leon Court in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The
applicant proposes to mitigate for the take of ABM through an in-lieu
fee of $3,068.20 to the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust's ABM
conservation fund.
Permit Number: PER23299702
Sean and Dawn Carmichael, applicants, request a 50-year ITP to take
ABM via the conversion of 0.147 ac of occupied nesting, foraging, and
sheltering habitat incidental to the construction of a single-family
home on a 1.01-ac parcel located at 2124 West Beach Boulevard in Gulf
Shores, Alabama. They were approved for the long driveway option of the
GCP (driveway needed longer than 100 feet). The applicants propose to
mitigate for the take of ABM through an in-lieu fee of $14,692.40 to
the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust's ABM conservation fund.
Permit Number: PER23304933
The Sean and Dawn Carmichael, applicants, request a 50-year ITP to
take Alabama beach mice via the conversion of approximately 0.147 ac of
occupied nesting, foraging, and sheltering ABM habitat incidental to
the construction of a single-family home on a 0.91-ac parcel located at
2130 West Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores, Alabama. They were approved
for the long driveway option of the GCP (driveway longer than 100
feet). The applicant proposes to mitigate for the take of ABM through
an in-lieu fee of $14,692.40 to the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust's
ABM conservation fund.
Permit Number: PER23318025
Joseph and Sherrie Thompson, applicants, request a transfer and to
modify an existing 30-year ITP to take Alabama beach mice via the
conversion of 0.099-ac of occupied nesting, foraging, and sheltering
ABM habitat incidental to the construction of a pool with deck to an
existing house on a 0.464-ac lot located Driftwood Drive, Gulf Shores,
Alabama. The applicant proposes to mitigate for the take of ABM through
an in-lieu fee of $9,954.40 to the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust's ABM
conservation fund.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that reasonably
foreseeable effects of the applicants' proposed projects, including the
construction of single-family homes and associated infrastructure
(e.g., electric, water, and sewer lines) and of pool and deck
additions, would have a minor effect on ABM and the human environment.
Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) permit would meet the requirements of the GCP and
FEIS.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the applications and the comments to
determine whether to issue the requested ITP. We also will 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 PER23229509 to Lisa Eldredge, ITP number(s)
PER23299702 and PER23304933 to Sean and Dawn Carmichael, and ITP Number
PER23318025 to Joseph and Sherrie Thompson.
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
hard copy 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.
[[Page 8264]]
Authority
The Service provides this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.32),
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), as
amended, and the Department of the Interior's implementing regulations
(43 CFR part 46).
Jeffrey Powell,
Field Supervisor, Alabama Ecological Service Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2026-03428 Filed 2-19-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 20, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.