Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol.31,No.52, December 30, 2005 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announces a change to the above-referenced proposed rule, as a result of the final public hearing on the rule, begun on February 1, 2006, in Gainesville, Florida, and continued on April 5, 2006, in Tallahassee, Florida. The rule as changed will now read as follows:

68A-27.005 Designation of Species of Special Concern; Prohibitions; Permits.

(1) The following species are hereby declared to be of special concern, and shall be afforded the protective provisions specified.

(a) No person shall take, possess, transport, or sell any species of special concern included in this paragraph or parts thereof or their nests or eggs except as authorized by Commission regulations or by permit from the executive director or by statute or regulation of any other state agency, permits being issued upon reasonable conclusion that the permitted activity will not be detrimental to the survival potential of the species.

(b) The following species were listed prior to January 1, 2001, and have been further categorized by the numbers in parentheses under the following criteria: (1) has a significant vulnerability to habitat modification, environmental alteration, human disturbance, or human exploitation which, in the foreseeable future, may result in its becoming a threatened species unless appropriate protective or management techniques are initiated or maintained; (2) may already meet certain criteria for designation as a threatened species but for which conclusive data are limited or lacking; (3) may occupy such an unusually vital or essential ecological niche that should it decline significantly in numbers or distribution other species would be adversely affected to a significant degree; (4) has not sufficiently recovered from past population depletion, and (5) occurs as a population either intentionally introduced or being experimentally managed to attain specific objectives, and the species of special concern prohibitions in Rule 68A-27.002, F.A.C., shall not apply to species so designated, provided that the intentional killing, attempting to kill, possession or sale of such species is prohibited.

1. – 16. No Change.

17. Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) (1, 2, 3). The definition of take set forth in subsection (3) of this rule shall apply to gopher tortoises.

18. – 49. No Change.

(2) No Change.

(3) No person shall take, attempt to take, pursue, hunt, harass, capture, possess, sell or transport any gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) or parts thereof or their eggs, or take or attempt to take gopher tortoise burrows, except as authorized by Commission permit. For the purpose of this definition of take, a gopher tortoise burrow is a tunnel with a cross-section that closely approximates the shape of a gopher tortoise.

Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 8-1-79, Amended 6-22-80, 6-21-82, 7-1-84, 7-1-85, Formerly 39-27.05, Amended 6-1-86, 5-10-87, 4-27-89, 10-22-92, 5-26-94, 6-23-99, Formerly 39-27.005, Amended 2-27-01,5-1-01, 9-29-03, .