APPLICATION FOR INCLUSION IN THE MITIGATION BANK

Private property owners become aware of their need for an incidental take permit when they are notified by the Mobile County Health Department that their sewage disposal system permit is being held in abeyance pending clearance from the Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service"). The Health Department notifies the Service simultaneously and the Service writes a letter to the property owner outlining their responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act. Once they receive the letter, most property owners call the Service for guidance and to discuss the options available to them. Their options include avoiding the tortoise burrow and leaving adequate habitat on the site or applying for an incidental take permit to move the tortoise. This requires the development of a Habitat Conservation Plan, or requesting a Certificate of Inclusion from the Board. If they decide to pursue a Certificate of Inclusion, the following steps are taken:

1. Private property owners will have their property surveyed for gopher tortoises and make the determination that their actions will result in a take to gopher tortoise(s). The property owner will provide the Service with a vicinity map showing the location of the property, the planned development and the location of each burrow.

2. The Service will review the request to determine eligibility for inclusion in the Conservation Bank. If the proposal is appropriate, based on guidance in the Habitat Conservation Plan ("HCP"), the Service will inspect the site, verify that the proposal fits the guidelines for inclusion and coordinate the proposal with the regional archaeologist for National Historic Preservation Act compliance.

3. The Service will furnish the applicant with the Board's contact. At that point, a mitigation fee will be set by the Board based on the number of tortoises.

4. The Board will sign the Certificate of Inclusion after the mitigation fees are paid. The original copy of the certification will be sent to the Service via mail and a copy will be faxed to the Service.

5. The Service's Daphne Field Office will sign the Certificate of Inclusion and arrange for the relocation of tortoise(s) to the Conservation Bank. The Service will be responsible for trapping the tortoise on the private property and will agree to accomplish trapping within 60 days of the request. NOTE: In the event the property owner cannot wait for the Service to trap the tortoise, the property owner may elect to enlist a qualified biologist to trap or excavate the tortoise at the owner's expense.

6. The Service will be responsible for testing the tortoise(s) for URTD's ("Upper Respiratory Tract Disease"), to include drawing blood from the tortoise(s), sending the samples to the testing laboratory in Gainesville, FL, holding the tortoise(s) until test results are received, marking the tortoise(s), and relocating the tortoise(s) into a suitable burrow at the conservation bank site.

7. The Board will be responsible for all habitat management activities set forth in the HCP to include prescribed burning, cogon grass treatment, regeneration activities, site preparation, flagging of burrows, herbicide application, establishment of firelanes a minimum distance of 25 feet from burrows, and adaptive management activities set forth in the HCP.

8. The Service will be responsible for monitoring of gopher tortoises at the Conservation Bank in order to evaluate the progress of the plan in establishing a self-sustaining gopher tortoise population as follows:

a. All resident tortoises will be affixed with radio transmitters to monitor dispersion rates. The tortoises will be located twice a year for 2 years.

b. Twenty-five translocated tortoises will be affixed with radio transmitters and will be located daily for the first week following relocation, weekly during the subsequent 4 weeks, and then twice during each of the following 2 years; once in the summer and once in the winter. For each tortoise, data will be collected regarding presence of the tortoise on the Conservation Bank and, if located, distance from the release site. This data will be analyzed to compare emigration from and movement within the Conservation Bank of both resident and translocated tortoises. The data will also be analyzed as to differing emigration and movement patterns for male and female tortoises.

9. The Board will conduct a survey every 2 years for active and inactive burrows following prescribed burns to establish population trends at the Conservation Bank. This will be done until year 10 of the bank's existence. Note will be made of juvenile burrows, and egg fragments on burrow aprons as indicators of post-relocation reproductive status.

10. The Board will annually measure pine and hardwood basal area, canopy cover, and herbaceous ground cover at the Conservation Bank and will annually estimate the number of acres impacted by cogon grass. A report will be made to the Service including the relationship between stand basal area, canopy cover, and herbaceous ground cover.

11. The Service will test 10% of the tortoise population at the Conservation Bank for URTD every two years until the Board has sold all of the available Certificates of Inclusion.

12. The Board will prepare an annual report to the Service containing information on the incidental take authorized under the HCP during the preceding year, number of translocations, and restoration and management activities at the Conservation Bank as described in the HCP.

13. The Scientific Advisory Panel will meet at least once annually in person or by conference call for 10 years to review the results of the monitoring program and to participate in the adaptive management framework described in the HCP.