North Key Largo, Florida Habitat Conservation Plan, Study Committee Final Report

North Key Largo is the habitat of four species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§1351 et seq. -- the American crocodile, the Key Largo woodrat, the Key Largo cotton mouse and the Schaus swallowtail butterfly. Development of lands within North Key Largo may "harass, harm or kill" these endangered species in violation of the Endangered Species Act; however, section 10 of the Act provides a mechanism for the "incidental" taking of endangered species. An incidental taking permit may be issued by the Secretary of the Interior if the Secretary finds that a Habitat Conservation Plan ensures that: 1) the taking will be incidental (that is, ancillary to a principal lawful activity}; 2) the applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize and mitigate the impacts of such taking; 3) the applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan will be provided; and 4) the taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the species in the wild. This Habitat Conservation Plan has been prepared as a means of reconciling the habitat needs of the endangered species on North Key Largo and the investment and development expectations of the owners of land in the area. Figure 1 shows the general location of North Key Largo. The area contains approximately 10,000 acres of hardwood hammock and mangrove wetland, the vast majority of which is currently in a natural state, although a significant portion of the upland on the Key was cleared for agricultural purposes in the early years of this century.