I have been talking with Darren LeBlanc of U.S. Fish & Wildlife this month about the status of the permits that are in his possession. Darren started off by saying he hasn’t heard back from the regional office (Atlanta) but had contacted them to spur them along. What has happened is that we had a public hearing back in September of 2010, he took the information he received and the information he presented to us and formulated a draft proposal on the “area wide” permit for the regional office in Atlanta to approve. They will make suggestions and he will set up another public hearing in the near future, which will be our last chance to object to their proposals, at which point Darren will make a revised draft for the Atlanta office to approve. Darren says that if everything stays on course he should have a decision and an answer on the new process by the end of the year.
In case you do not remember what Darren and U.S. Fish & Wildlife are proposing to do to the process of obtaining an ITP permit, I have cut and pasted from the past letter. ”Please find the following article, “AlabamaBeach Mouse plan could cut permit wait”, that was printed in Saturday’sMobile Press Register. http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/new_alabama_beach_mouse_plan_c.html. This is an article on the new process for obtaining a beach mouse permit. This should be of great concern to all of us not just Fort Morgan but also Gulf Shores property owners north and south of
Beach Boulevard westof The Pass. It states that there will be a $2.30 per square foot of developed area. I understand this to mean disturbed ground, counting driveway, decks and pools. US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) usually allow you 4,350 sq. ft. or 1/10 of an acre now multiply that times $2.30 and you get $10,005. This is a $10,005 permit fee replacing the $100 permit fee we have had in the past.”
This is just a FYI letter for you to digest and if you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to explain what U.S. Fish & Wildlife are trying to do. If you would like to contact Darren directly, please feel free to do so, it might even help for you to offer your opinion on what they are proposing.
Darren LeBlanc
Fish & Wildlife Biologist
Daphne Ecological Services
Department of the Interior
1208-B Main Street
Daphne, AL 36526
251-441-5859
251-441-6222 Fax
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