Fish and Wildlife Service January 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of incidental take permit (ITP) and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). V.P. Properties (under the name of International Airport Business Park) (applicant) requests an ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The applicant anticipates taking about 1.0 acre of Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) (scrub-jay) breeding, feeding, and sheltering habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of a gas station, convenience store, several light industrial warehouse condominiums, and supporting infrastructure in St. Lucie County, Florida (Project). The destruction of 1.0 acre of foraging and sheltering habitat is expected to result in the take of one family of scrub-jays. The applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) describes the mitigation and

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the environmental assessment for Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In the final CCP, we describe how we will manage this refuge for the next 15 years.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications for permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species and/or marine mammals. Both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that we invite public comment on these permit applications.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and environmental assessment (EA) for Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge, NWR) for public review and comment. In these documents, we describe alternatives, including our preferred alternative, to manage this Refuge for the 15 years following approval of the final CCP. Draft compatibility determinations for several public uses are also available for review and public comment in the Draft CCP/EA.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to remove the Washington/ Oregon/California population of the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) (murrelet) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Based on a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, we find that the Washington/Oregon/California population of the murrelet is a valid distinct population segment (DPS) in accordance with the discreteness and significance criteria in our 1996 DPS policy. Furthermore, we find that this DPS continues to be subject to a broad range of threats, such as nesting habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and predation. Although some threats, such as gillnet bycatch and lack of regulatory mechanisms, have been reduced since the murrelet's 1992 listing, the primary threats to the species' persistence continue. Furthermore, the species faces newly identified threats, such as abandoned fishing gear, harmful algal blooms, and observed changes in the quality of the bird's marine food supply. Population surveys conducted from 2000 through 2008 from San Francisco Bay to the Canadian border document a population decline during this period. Given our current understanding of the species' population size and trajectory, and in light of the scope and magnitude of existing threats, we conclude that the species continues to meet the definition of a threatened species under the ESA. Therefore, we have determined that removing the murrelet from the List is not warranted.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for public review and comment. In this Draft CCP/ EA, we describe the alternative we propose to use to manage this refuge for the 15 years following approval of the final CCP.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have issued the following permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species and/or marine mammals.

This proposed rule would establish regulations for fishing seasons, harvest limits, methods and means related to taking of fish and shellfish for subsistence uses during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 regulatory years. The Federal Subsistence Board is presently on a schedule of completing the process of revising subsistence taking of fish and shellfish regulations in odd-numbered years and subsistence taking of wildlife regulations in even-numbered years; public proposal and review processes take place during the preceding year. The Board

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare an environmental impact statement to evaluate eradication of nonnative rats on Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). We provide this notice to advise the public and other agencies of our intent, and obtain public comments, suggestions, and information on the scope of issues to consider in the EIS.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), announce the reopening of the comment period for our September 22, 2009, proposed rule to treat the shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) as threatened under the ``Similarity of Appearance'' provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the location and time of a public hearing to receive public comments on the proposal. If you have previously submitted comments, please do not resubmit them because we have already incorporated them in the public record and will fully consider them in our final decision.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), have reconsidered our prudency determination concerning the designation of critical habitat for the jaguar (Panthera onca) and now find that designation of critical habitat is prudent. We are preparing a proposed designation of critical habitat for the jaguar in accordance with the Act this fiscal year and anticipate we will publish a proposed designation in January 2011.

The following applicants have applied for scientific research permits, or the Fish and Wildlife Service is amending their existing permit, to conduct certain activities with endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Act requires that we invite public comment on these permit applications.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the FY 2010 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000, AFWA submits a list of projects to us each year to consider for funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant program. We then review and award grants from this list.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for two plants, Limnanthes floccosa ssp. grandiflora (large- flowered woolly meadowfoam) and Lomatium cookii (Cook's lomatium, also known as Cook's desert parsley), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis (DEA) and an amended required determinations section of the proposal. We are reopening the comment period for an additional 30 days to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed designation of critical habitat for L.f. ssp. grandiflora and Lomatium cookii, the associated DEA, and the amended required determinations section. If you submitted comments previously, you do not need to resubmit them because we have already incorporated previously submitted comments into the public record and will fully consider them in preparation of the final rule. We also announce a public hearing; the public is invited to review and comment on any of the above actions associated with the proposed critical habitat designation at the public hearing or in writing.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the record of decision (ROD) for the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, Refuge). The Refuge is located within the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. We completed a thorough analysis of the environmental, social, and economic considerations and presented it in our final EIS, which we released to the public on September 18, 2009.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published a final rule in the Federal Register on October 8, 2008, to revise our regulations governing falconry in the United States. With this action, we make several changes to those regulations to correct inconsistencies and oversights and make the regulations clearer.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications for permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species. The Endangered Species Act requires that we invite public comment on these permit applications.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the following six South American bird species (collectively referred to as ``species'' for purposes of this proposed rule) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.): ash-breasted tit-tyrant (Anairetes alpinus), Junin grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii), Junin rail (Laterallus tuerosi), Peruvian plantcutter (Phytotoma raimondii), royal cinclodes (Cinclodes aricomae), and white-browed tit-spinetail (Leptasthenura xenothorax) all native to Peru. The ash-breasted tit-tyrant and royal cinclodes are also native to Bolivia. This proposal, if made final, would extend the Act's protection to these species. The Service seeks data and comments from the public on this proposed rule.