Fish and Wildlife Service September 2013 – 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. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availably of a draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the issuance of a take permit for golden eagles pursuant to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act), in association with the operation of the Shiloh IV Wind Project in Solano County, California. The DEA was prepared in response to an application from Shiloh IV Wind Project, LLC (applicant), an affiliate of EDF Renewable Development, Incorporated, for a 5-year programmatic take permit for golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) under the Eagle Act. The applicant would implement a conservation program to avoid, minimize, and compensate for the project's impacts to eagles, as described in the applicant's Eagle Conservation Plan (ECP). We invite public comment on the DEA, which evaluates alternatives for this permit.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the fluted kidneyshell (Ptychobranchus subtentum) and slabside pearlymussel (Pleuronaia dolabelloides) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). These two species are endemic to portions of the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. In total, approximately 2,218 river kilometers (1,380 river miles) in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. The effect of this regulation is to designate critical habitat for the fluted kidneyshell and slabside pearlymussel under the Act for the conservation of the species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose to designate revised critical habitat for the contiguous U.S. distinct population segment (DPS) of the Canada lynx under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and to revise the boundary of the Canada lynx DPS. These proposed revisions fulfill our obligations under two settlement agreements. The revised critical habitat proposed rule also addresses issues raised by two courts in 2010. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Endangered Species Act's protections to the Canada lynx wherever it occurs in the contiguous United States, including New Mexico, and it would revise this species' critical habitat. The effect of this regulation is to conserve the Canada lynx and its habitats in the contiguous United States under the Endangered Species Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, exclude all areas that were proposed as critical habitat for the grotto sculpin (Cottus specus) under the Endangered Species Act in this final rule. In total, approximately 94 km\2\ (36.28 mi\2\) plus 31 kilometers (19.2 miles) of surface stream that were proposed as critical habitat are excluded under section 4(b)(2) of the Act from this final designation for sites within Perry County, Missouri, due to the commitment of city, county, and private entities in the implementation of a Perry County Community Conservation Plan for the grotto sculpin.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to add 6 national wildlife refuges (NWRs) to the list of areas open for hunting and/or sport fishing, add new hunts at 6 refuges, increase the hunting activities available at 20 other refuges, and increase fishing opportunities at two refuges, along with pertinent refuge-specific regulations on other refuges that pertain to migratory game bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting, and sport fishing for the 2013-2014 season.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that our draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and environmental assessment (EA) for the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) is available for public review and comment. The draft CCP/EA describes how the Service intends to manage this Refuge for the next 15 years. We provide this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise the public, other Federal and State agencies, and Tribes of the availability of the draft CCP/EA and to solicit comments.

This rule prescribes the hunting seasons, hours, areas, and daily bag and possession limits for general waterfowl seasons and those early seasons for which States previously deferred selection. Taking of migratory birds is prohibited unless specifically provided for by annual regulations. This rule permits the taking of designated species during the 2013-14 season.

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI), acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), acting through the U.S. Forest Service (USFS); and the State of Missouri, acting through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources have written a Draft Southeast Missouri Regional Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan), which describes proposed alternatives for restoring injured natural resources in the Southeast Missouri Ozarks region, and an environmental assessment as required pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability of the Draft Plan and to seek written comments. This notice is provided pursuant to Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) regulations and NEPA regulations.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, intend to prepare either an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (NEPA), for the proposed Los Osos Community-wide Habitat Conservation Plan (LOHCP or plan). The LOHCP is being prepared by the County of San Luis Obispo (County or applicant) in support of its application for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The decision to prepare an EA or EIS will be, in part, contingent on the complexity of issues identified during, and following, the scoping phase of the NEPA process. The proposed permit would authorize the incidental take of threatened and endangered wildlife species that could result from the activities covered under the LOHCP and would include conservation measures to an endangered plant species that would also be covered under the plan. We announce meetings and invite comments from other agencies, Tribes, and the public.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the reopening of the public comment periods on our January 11, 2013, proposed rules to list the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) as endangered and to designate critical habitat for the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). For the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Gunnison sage-grouse, we also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis (DEA), a draft environmental assessment (EA), and an amended required determinations section. In addition, we announce two public informational sessions and public hearings for both the proposed listing and proposed critical habitat, and we provide information on several conservation efforts that may be considered in our final determinations. We are reopening the comment periods to allow all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed listing and the proposed designation of critical habitat, and to comment on the proposed critical habitat's associated DEA, draft EA, and amended required determinations section. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparation of the final rules.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have issued the following permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species under the authority of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the record of decision (ROD) for the final environmental impact statement (Final EIS) for experimental removal of barred owls to benefit threatened northern spotted owls. 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 July 24, 2013.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine the Neosho mucket, a freshwater mussel, as endangered, and the rabbitsfoot, a freshwater mussel, as threatened, under the Endangered Species Act. The Neosho mucket occurs in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The rabbitsfoot occurs in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. This final rule implements the protections provided by the Act for these species. We will issue a final determination on the designation of critical habitat for these species in the near future.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in coordination with the California State Coastal Conservancy, are preparing a joint environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) for the proposed restoration of ponds R3, R4, R5, S5, A1, A2W, A8, A8S, A19, A20, and A21 at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, California. The proposed project is Phase 2 of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project and consists of restoring and enhancing over 2,000 acres of tidal wetlands and managed pond habitats in the South San Francisco Bay. It would also include storage and use of upland fill and dredged material in one or more of the seasonal ponds in the Refuge or on the levees that surround them. Phase 2 may also include collaborative restoration and/or flood management activities with non- USFWS landowners or managers of public infrastructure on adjacent properties. This notice advises the public that we intend to gather information necessary to prepare an EIS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We encourage the public and other agencies to participate in the NEPA scoping process by attending the public scoping meeting and/or by sending written suggestions and information on the issues and concerns that should be addressed in the draft EIS/EIR, including the range of alternatives, appropriate mitigation measures, and the nature and extent of potential environmental impacts.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose to list Arabis georgiana (Georgia rockcress), a plant species in Georgia and Alabama, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants and extend the Act's protections to this species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), determine to list the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) as threatened under the authority of section 4(e) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), due to the similarity in appearance with the endangered Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus), Sumatran (Dicerorhinos sumatrensis), Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis), black (Diceros bicornis) and northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). Differentiating between the horns and other products made from the southern white rhino and the endangered Javan, Sumatran, Indian, black, and northern white rhino is difficult for law enforcement, decreasing their ability to enforce and further the provisions and policies of the Act. This similarity of appearance has resulted in the documented trade of listed rhinoceros species, often under the guise of being the unprotected southern white rhinoceros, and this difficulty in distinguishing between the rhino species protected under the Act and the southern white rhino constitutes an additional threat to all endangered rhinoceros species. The determination that the southern white rhino should be treated as threatened due to similarity of appearance will substantially facilitate law enforcement actions to protect and conserve all endangered rhino species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for two Texas plants, Leavenworthia texana (Texas golden gladecress) and Hibiscus dasycalyx (Neches River rose-mallow), under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Critical habitat for the Texas golden gladecress is located in Sabine and San Augustine Counties, Texas, and for the Neches River rose-mallow in Nacogdoches, Houston, Trinity, Cherokee, and Harrison Counties, Texas. The effect of this regulation is to designate critical habitat for these two East Texas plants under the Endangered Species Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the approved recovery plan for the dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris), a species that is federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). This plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to achieve removal of the species from the protections of the Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered or threatened species. The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), prohibits activities with endangered and threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activities. The Act and the National Environmental Policy Act also require that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our recovery plan for the southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni), listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Our recovery plan describes the status, current management, recovery objectives and criteria, and specific actions needed to enable us to delist the southwest Alaska DPS of the northern sea otter.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), recently published a proposal to remove the gray wolf from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) but to maintain endangered status for the Mexican wolf by listing it as a subspecies (Canis lupus baileyi), and we announced the opening of a 90-day public comment period on the proposed action, ending September 11, 2013. We now extend the public comment period to October 28, 2013. We are extending the public comment period to allow all interested parties additional time to comment on the proposed rule. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule. We also announce three public hearings on our proposed rule.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.