Florida Scrub-Jay Umbrella Habitat Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment
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Florida Scrub-Jay Umbrella Habitat Conservation Plan And Environmental Assessment November 2007 INTRODUCTION The federally threatened Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) is found in peninsular Florida. Over the past 100 years, urban development has encroached into historically pristine habitat for this species. The current geographic range of scrub- jays within peninsular Florida overlaps with areas that have previously been platted and partially developed for a variety of urban land uses. About 25 percent of the remaining scrub-jay population is located in areas that have been developed for residential, commercial, industrial, or other urban uses. PURPOSE AND NEED Since the listing of the scrub-jay in 1987 as threatened (52 FR 42661), owners of property in urban areas that is occupied by scrub-jays have been challenged with the difficulty of complying with section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), which prohibits the take of scrub-jays. The majority of landowners with property in urban areas that is occupied by scrub-jays have been faced with the choice of complying with the Act by not clearing or constructing in occupied scrub-jay habitat, complying with the Act by obtaining a section 10(a)(1)(B) incidental take permit (ITP) prior to land clearing, or violating the take prohibitions under section 9 of the Act by clearing lots without coverage from an ITP. Each of these alternatives has limitations; landowners may incur costs associated with ongoing property tax burdens and local government assessments for infrastructure improvements while not developing property they own, or they may incur costs and time constraints associated with obtaining an ITP. Lot owners who choose not to pursue an ITP for land clearing, when such is appropriate, may be faced with violating section 9 of the Act, which can result in fines and/or imprisonment. The cost and complexity of complying with the Act is thought to have precluded many individual lot owners from seeking ITPs for otherwise lawful activities, such as land clearing and construction. Additionally, most local governments have not embraced large-scale scrub-jay conservation planning efforts and have not encouraged their residents to comply with the Act because of perceived legal and fiscal constraints the Act may impose on them. The failure of individual lot owners to seek regulatory relief from the prohibitions of take has also resulted in the continued degradation of scrub-jay habitat because their properties remain unmanaged and the impacts of habitat development are not mitigated. Indian River County and the City of Sebastian successfully completed an ITP application and received authorization to take scrub-jays within city limits resulting from residential and commercial development. Likewise, the City of Palm Bay, in Brevard County, completed their own HCP and received authorization for residential development within their jurisdiction. These planning efforts resulted in the only area-wide habitat conservation plans (HCP) currently available to landowners whose property is occupied by scrub-jays. However, these HCP and incidental take authorizations are restricted to the city limits of the City of Sebastian or the City of Palm Bay. They offer no regulatory or financial relief to landowners in other areas of the state. 1 Recognizing the limitations that the above-mentioned alternatives place on owners of property in urban areas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) considered methods to streamline the section 10(a)(1)(B) permitting process, while still providing conservation benefits to the scrub-jay. This umbrella HCP and environmental assessment (HCP/EA) is the culmination of our review of streamlining options. Although the focus of this HCP/EA is on modifications to existing permitting processes, the premise for these modifications is based on available biological information indicating that Florida scrub-jays in some urban areas will not persist long-term and are unlikely to substantially contribute to the recovery of the species. These biological principles are discussed in greater detail in the following sections. BIOLOGICAL GOALS The Service is mandated by the Act to protect and recover federally listed species, including the scrub-jay. However, the Act also requires that the Service issue ITPs when applicants submit adequate ITP applications as required by 50 CFR 17.32. The Service believes that effective minimization and mitigation measures implemented as a result of ITPs issued in response to this umbrella HCP/EA can assist in meeting our obligations for the protection and recovery of federally listed species. The goal of this HCP/EA is two-fold. First, the Service anticipates that this umbrella HCP/EA will provide landowners whose urban properties are occupied by scrub-jays with a streamlined permitting process that will assist them in obtaining timely incidental take authorization. Second, with increases in incidental take authorization resulting from this umbrella HCP/EA, we expect a corresponding increase in the amount of minimization and mitigation. As discussed later in this document, we anticipate that mitigation funding provided under this umbrella HCP/EA will aid in the protection and conservation of at-risk scrub-jay populations. This umbrella HCP/EA will provide a streamlined section 10 permitting process over a seven-year term. PLAN AREA The scrub-jay is currently distributed from the northern peninsula to south Florida, not including extreme south Florida. In total, 34 Florida counties contain occupied scrub-jay habitat or possibly occupied scrub-jay habitat (Figure 1). Within this Plan Area, landowners who meet the eligibility criteria defined below would be able to participate in the umbrella HCP/EA. In general, these areas include urbanized platted lots with remnant scrub-jay habitat. The following environmental analyses consider impacts of the umbrella HCP/EA within lands encompassed by the eligibility criteria. Eligibility Criteria Not all landowners with property in urban areas that is occupied by scrub-jays will be able to use this umbrella HCP/EA. We considered the typical affected landowner in determining which properties would be eligible to participate under this umbrella 2 HCP/EA. With respect to the size of any particular parcel of property that would be eligible to use this HCP/EA, we considered that a one-acre parcel of land likely encompasses the majority of previously-platted subdivisions and commercial inholdings in most urban environments. This is based on our experience with considering ITP applications by numerous small-lot owners. Essentially all applications for ITPs have been for less than one acre within existing urban, or other subdivided areas. Owners of larger parcels of land are likely to have flexibility in siting structures and infrastructure to minimize and possibly avoid impacts to scrub-jays. In our experience, developments with larger lot sizes more often occur in areas with more viable scrub-jay populations, and would therefore, fall beyond the intended scope of this HCP/EA. Including larger properties under this umbrella HCP/EA would necessitate that the HCP/EA address a variety of possible minimization and mitigation measures. This level of detail would lead to a more complex analysis on the part of the Service. Increasing the level of complexity of our review would compromise our ability to reach our stated goal of providing a streamlined incidental take authorization process. The Service will also reduce complexity by limiting participation to those landowners who are ready to develop their property soon after they receive individual incidental take authority, and who intend to retain ownership or control of the affected property through the time it is completely cleared and developed. Requirements for funding assurances, given below, will result in mitigation costs being paid before the permit is given to the participating landowner. Landowners who are unable, or never intend, to develop a covered property before they sell or transfer the property would create additional administrative complexity for the Service through the transfers of individual permits to new owners or purchasers. The purchaser of a previously-covered, but undeveloped lot, would need their own incidental take authority before they could develop the property. The Service would then have to consider transferring the individual permit to a new owner. In order to reduce the number of potential transfer requests, we will limit the term of an individual permit to one year and limit participation to owners who intend to complete the development of the lot themselves. Property To be eligible for participation in this HCP/EA, a property must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Each property (individually identifiable by plat number) must be one (1) acre or less in size and located within the Plan Area; 2. Each property must have been platted prior to January 1, 2006. 3. Each property must be accessible by two-wheel drive cars or trucks through a dedicated ingress and egress right-of-way that is maintained by a government entity, local taxing district, or road maintenance agreement (or similar instrument). 3 4. Each property must be located in an “urban” area. A property is considered to be located in an urban area if governmental, institutional, educational, commercial, and/or residential buildings, or infrastructure associated with such structures, are located within 425 feet of the property. In general, this HCP/EA is intended to include any property that is part of an established, partially built-out subdivision. While the term “subdivision” is loosely used in this context, it is meant to confer that the property is located in an area where historical planning efforts resulted in the approved development of roads and infrastructure that ultimately were designed and intended to create an urban environment. This umbrella HCP/EA does not restrict the number of properties for which an individual may apply for an incidental take permit, nor does it limit the number of properties that may be included in any one incidental take permit application.