Fish and Wildlife Service October 15, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The public is invited to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species.

The following permits were issued.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) as amended, notice is hereby given that Letters of Authorization to take Pacific walruses and polar bears incidental to oil and gas industry exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and adjacent western coast of Alaska have been issued.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the least chub (Iotichthys phlegethontis) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing of the least chub may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a status review of the species, and we will issue a 12-month finding to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial data regarding this species. We will make a determination on critical habitat for this species if, and when, we initiate a listing action.