Fish and Wildlife Service December 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service) will conduct an open meeting on February 5, 2014, to identify and discuss preliminary issues concerning the 2014-15 migratory bird hunting regulations.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

On October 28, 2013, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announced a proposal to list the bi-State distinct population segment (DPS) of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, with a special rule, and to designate critical habitat. We announce the extension of the comment periods for our October 28, 2013, proposed rules to ensure the public has sufficient time to comment on these proposals, which involve many stakeholders. The Service seeks data and comments from the public on the October 28, 2013, proposed listing rule and proposed critical habitat rule for the bi-State DPS of greater sage-grouse.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the environmental action statement screening form and the draft amendment to the Agricultural Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) (LEPC) in Oklahoma, under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) (applicant) has applied for an amendment of their existing CCAA, with a major amendment to increase enrollment from 200,000 acres to 400,000 acres by 2037 throughout the 14 Oklahoma counties described in the CCAA.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, affirm our determination to list Eriogonum codium (Umtanum desert buckwheat) and Physaria douglasii subsp. tuplashensis (White Bluffs bladderpod) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This affirmation of a previously published final rule implements the Federal protections provided by the Act for these species. We also affirm our designation of critical habitat for Umtanum desert buckwheat and revise our designation of critical habitat for White Bluffs bladderpod under the Act. In total, approximately 344 acres (139 hectares) are designated as critical habitat for Umtanum desert buckwheat in Benton County, Washington, and approximately 2,033 acres (823 hectares) are designated as critical habitat for White Bluffs bladderpod in Franklin County, Washington.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received an application for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), for take associated with implementation of a lesser prairie-chicken Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) throughout the species' range in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The intent of the CCAA is to provide the oil and gas industry with the opportunity to voluntarily conserve the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat, in a manner that would contribute to precluding the need to list the species, while carrying out their oil and gas activities. The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) is the permit applicant and proposes to convey incidental take authorization to oil and gas companies that enroll in the CCAA through certificates of inclusion. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we have prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes the potential impacts of issuance of the permit and implementation of the proposed CCAA, as well as two alternatives to the proposed action. The permit application, draft CCAA, and draft EA are available for public review, and we seek public comment on these documents and potential issuance of the permit.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), announce that the record of decision (ROD) for the Llano Seco Riparian Sanctuary Unit Restoration and Princeton, Codora, Glenn & Provident Irrigation Districts (PCGID-PID) Pumping Plan/Fish Screen Facility Protection Project is now available. The ROD includes a statement of the decisions made, the basis for the decisions, a description of the alternative considered, a description of the environmentally preferable alternative, an overview of the measures to minimize environmental impacts, and a summary of public involvement in the decision-making process.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2013. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the final comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Patuxent Research Refuge (Patuxent RR, refuge), located in Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties, Maryland. In this final CCP, we describe how we will manage the refuge for the next 15 years.

This notice announces the availability of the Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan (BDCP, or the Plan) and Draft BDCP Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for public review and comment. In response to receipt of an application from the California Department of Water Resources and certain State and Federal water contractors (the Applicants), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are considering the proposed action of issuing 50-year incidental take permits (ITPs) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. The proposed ITPs would authorize the take of individual species listed under the ESA. The permits are needed because take of species could occur as a result of implementation of activities, including those associated with water operations of the California State Water Project by the California Department of Water Resources. Covered activities in the Plan include the construction, operation, monitoring, and maintenance associated with water conveyance, ecosystem restoration, and other activities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and vicinity as described in the BDCP. The Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation's) proposed Federal action is to change operation of Central Valley Project (CVP) facilities in the Delta consistent with the BDCP; this operations change would support implementation of coordinated operation of the CVP with the California State Water Project. Reclamation may also make decisions regarding wheeling CVP water through new Delta conveyance facilities, and implementing habitat restoration and monitoring actions proposed by the BDCP that are consistent with Reclamation's regulatory requirements, programs, authorities, and appropriations. These three Federal co-lead agencies have not selected a preferred alternative at this time.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 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.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) proposes migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska for the 2014 season. These regulations would enable the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and prescribe regional information on when and where the harvesting of birds may occur. These regulations were developed under a co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. The rulemaking is necessary because the regulations governing the subsistence harvest of migratory birds in Alaska are subject to annual review. This rulemaking proposes region- specific regulations that would go into effect on April 2, 2014, and expire on August 31, 2014.

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 Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), intend to prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge located in San Luis Obispo County of California. We provide this notice in compliance with our CCP policy to advise other Federal and State agencies, Tribes, and the public of our intentions, and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to consider in the planning process.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting of the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (Council).

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our intent to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Phase I of the Chokecherry-Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project. Our draft EIS will analyze the environmental impacts associated with our decision on whether to issue a permit authorizing take of eagles for Phase I of the project. Programmatic eagle take permits are authorized under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), and its implementing regulations. We are requesting public comments on issues that should be addressed in our draft EIS.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list 11 tarantula species in the genus Poecilotheria as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific and commercial information indicating that listing these species may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of these species to determine if listing these 11 species is warranted. To ensure that this status review is comprehensive, we request scientific and commercial data and other information regarding these species. At the conclusion of this review, we will issue a 12-month finding on the petition, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Act.