Fish and Wildlife Service April 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to enhance the survival of endangered or threatened species. Federal law prohibits certain activities with endangered species unless a permit is obtained.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have issued the following permits to conduct activities with endangered and threatened species under the authority of the Endangered Species Act (Act), as amended. With some exceptions, the Act prohibits activities involving listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. We provide this list for the convenience of the public as a summary of our permit issuances for the second half of calendar year 2016.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are initiating 5-year status reviews for 138 species in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and California under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). A 5-year status review is based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review; therefore, we are requesting submission of any new information on these species that has become available since the last review.

Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the receipt and availability of a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) and accompanying documents for activities associated with the construction of the Suncoast Parkway 2, a four-lane limited-access toll facility (project) in Citrus and Hernando Counties, Florida. If issued, the permit would authorize take of the federally threatened eastern indigo snake (indigo snake) and the Federal candidate gopher tortoise incidental to project construction. We invite the public to comment on these documents.

On November 18, 2016, the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission (Commission), established under the Agreement Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population (2000 Agreement), unanimously agreed to maintain the annual taking limit adopted in 2010 for the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population. In 2010, the Commission established an annual taking limit of the number of bears that may be removed from this population as a result of human activities, such as bears taken for subsistence purposes and in defense of human life. This annual taking limit, which corresponds with the annual sustainable harvest level for this population, is 58 polar bears per year, of which no more than one-third will be females. Under the 2000 Agreement, the annual taking limit is to be shared equally between the United States of America and the Russian Federation.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), withdraw the proposed rule to list the headwater chub (Gila nigra) and a distinct population segment (DPS) of the roundtail chub (Gila robusta) from the lower Colorado River basin as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (Act). This withdrawal is based on a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, which indicate that the headwater chub and the roundtail chub DPS are not discrete taxonomic entities and do not meet the definition of a species under the Act. These fish are now recognized as a part of a single taxonomic speciesthe roundtail chub (Gila robusta). Because the entities previously proposed for listing are no longer recognized as species, as defined by the Act, we have determined that they are not listable entities and we are withdrawing our proposed rule to add them to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Section 4(b)(6) of the Act and implementing regulations at 50 CFR 424.17 provide that the Service must, within 1 year of a proposed rule to list, delist, or reclassify species, or to designate or revise critical habitat, withdraw the proposal if the available evidence does not justify the proposed action. The document withdrawing the rule must set forth the basis upon which the proposed rule has been found not to be supported by available evidence. Once withdrawn, the action may not be re-proposed unless sufficient new information is available.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) from New Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). New Beginnings of Central Florida, Inc. requests a 5-year ITP. We request public comment on the permit application and accompanying proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), as well as on our preliminary determination that the plan qualifies as low-effect under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this determination, we used our environmental action statement and low- effect screening form, which are also available for review.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the scarlet-chested parrot (Neophema splendida) and the turquoise parrot (Neophema pulchella) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Our review of the status of these parrots shows that the threats have been eliminated or reduced and populations of both species are stable, with potential increases noted for the turquoise parrot in some areas. These species are not currently in danger of extinction, and are not likely to again become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future in all or significant portions of their ranges. After the effective date of this final rule, the scarlet-chested and the turquoise parrots will remain protected under the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). To date, the scarlet-chested and turquoise parrots remain on the Approved List of Captive-bred Species under the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA).

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (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 March 31, 2017. 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.