Fish and Wildlife Service March 1, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species, marine mammals, or both. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) prohibits activities with listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activities. Both laws require that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, revise the List of Migratory Birds by both adding and removing numerous species. Reasons for the changes to the list include correcting previous mistakes including misspellings, adding species based on new evidence of occurrence in the United States or U.S. territories, removing species no longer known to occur within the United States, and changing names based on new taxonomy. The net increase of 175 species (186 added and 11 removed) brings the total number of species protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to 1007. We regulate most aspects of the taking, possession, transportation, sale, purchase, barter, exportation, and importation of migratory birds. An accurate and up-to- date list of species protected by the MBTA is essential for regulatory purposes.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, change the regulations governing control of introduced migratory birds. The muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) occurs naturally only in southern Texas. It has been introduced in other locations, where it is considered an invasive species that sometimes creates problems through competition with native species, damage to property, and transmission of disease. We amend the regulations to prohibit sale, transfer, or propagation of muscovy ducks for hunting and any other purpose other than food production, and to allow their removal in locations in which the species does not occur naturally in the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii, and in U.S. territories and possessions. This requires revision of regulations governing permit exceptions for captive-bred migratory waterfowl other than mallard ducks, and waterfowl sale and disposal permits, and the addition of an order to allow control of muscovy ducks, their nests, and eggs. We also have rewritten the affected regulations to make them easier to understand.