Fish and Wildlife Service September 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the elfin-woods warbler (Setophaga angelae), a bird species in Puerto Rico, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (Act). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act's protections to this species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and migratory birds. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities. The public is also invited to comment on the following applications for approval to conduct certain activities with bird species covered under the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, which was enacted to ensure that exotic bird species are not harmed by international trade and to encourage wild bird conservation programs in countries of origin.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the final Recovery Plan for the Coterminous United States Population of Bull Trout, including six final recovery unit implementation plans, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The recovery plan includes specific goals, objectives, and criteria that should be met in order to consider removing the species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), propose to list four plants from south Florida under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act): Chamaecrista lineata var. keyensis (Big Pine partridge pea), Chamaesyce deltoidea ssp. serpyllum (wedge spurge), and Linum arenicola (sand flax) as endangered species, and Argythamnia blodgettii (Blodgett's silverbush) as a threatened species. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act's protections to these plants.

This rule prescribes special late-season migratory bird hunting regulations for certain tribes on Federal Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands. This rule responds to tribal requests for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service or we) recognition of their authority to regulate hunting under established guidelines. This rule allows the establishment of season bag limits and, thus, harvest at levels compatible with populations and habitat conditions.

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. This IC is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015. 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, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 90- day findings on various petitions to list, reclassify, or delist fish, wildlife, or plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that two petitions do not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted, and we are not initiating status reviews in response to these petitions. We refer to these as ``not-substantial petition findings.'' We also find that 23 petitions present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this notice, we are initiating a review of the status of these species to determine if the petitioned actions are warranted. To ensure that these status reviews are comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding these species. Based on the status reviews, we will issue 12-month findings on the petitions, which will address whether the petitioned action is warranted, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B) of the 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 (Service), propose to list Platanthera integrilabia (white fringeless orchid), a plant species from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (Act). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would extend the Act's protections to this species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the Michigan Attorney General, collectively acting as Trustees for natural resources, announce the availability of the Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Restoration Resulting from the Kalamazoo River Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Publication of this notice begins the public comment period for this Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft RP/PEIS). The purpose of the Draft RP/PEIS is to present the Trustees' proposed approach to restoration to compensate the public for losses to natural resources resulting from the release of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and to evaluate, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of implementing the alternative programmatic approaches to restoration in the Kalamazoo River watershed.