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

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Betteravia Farms, LLC, for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The permit would authorize take of the federally endangered California tiger salamander (Santa Barbara distinct population segment) incidental to otherwise lawful activities associated with the Curletti Farm Employee Housing Project Habitat Conservation Plan. We invite public comment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for an enhancement of survival permit (permit) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The permit application includes a proposed programmatic candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) for the Louisiana pinesnake. The term of the agreement would be 99 years. If approved, the CCAA would allow the applicant to enter into conservation management agreements with eligible non-Federal landowners throughout Bienville, Beauregard, Jackson, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, Vernon, Winn, Grant, and Allen Parishes, Louisiana, and to issue certificates of inclusion to enrollees. We invite public comments on these documents.

The best available scientific and commercial data indicate that the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) population of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) is a valid distinct population segment (DPS) and that this DPS has recovered and no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act). Therefore, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), hereby revise the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, under the authority of the Act, by establishing a DPS and removing the GYE grizzly bear DPS. The Service has determined that the GYE grizzly bear population has increased in size and more than tripled its occupied range since being listed as threatened under the Act in 1975 and that threats to the population are sufficiently minimized. The participating States of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and Federal agencies have adopted the necessary post-delisting plans and regulations, which adequately ensure that the GYE population of grizzly bears remains recovered. Concurrent to this final rule, we are appending the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Supplement: Revised Demographic Criteria to the 1993 Recovery Plan. Moreover, prior to publication of this final rule, the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee finalized the 2016 Conservation Strategy that will guide post-delisting monitoring and management of the grizzly bear in the GYE. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service finalized in 2006 the Forest Plan Amendment for Grizzly Bear Conservation for the GYE National Forests and made a decision to incorporate this Amendment into the affected National Forests' Land Management Plans. Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park appended the habitat standards to their Park Superintendent's Compendia, thereby ensuring that these national parks would manage habitat in accordance with the habitat standards. The States of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have signed a Tri-State Memorandum of Agreement and enacted regulatory mechanisms to ensure that State management of mortality limits is consistent with the demographic recovery criteria.

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 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 October 31, 2017. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that of our Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina) draft recovery plan is available. The cactus is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This plant species is currently found in southern Arizona and in northern Sonora, Mexico. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to be met in order to enable us to remove this species from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. We request that local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public review and comment. We will also accept any new species status information throughout its range to assist with recovery plan finalization.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), with the support of the State of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), will reestablish the Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta)a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, as amended (Act)within its historical range at two sites in northwestern Oregon: Saddle Mountain State Natural Area (SNA) in Clatsop County, and Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Tillamook County. This final rule classifies the reintroduced populations as a nonessential experimental population (NEP) under the authority of section 10(j) of the Act and provides for allowable legal incidental taking of the Oregon silverspot butterfly within the defined NEP areas.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended and its implementing regulations, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have developed draft revised marine mammal stock assessment reports for each of the two polar bear (Ursus maritimus) stocks in Alaska: The Southern Beaufort Sea polar bear stock and the Chukchi/Bering Seas polar bear stock. These two draft stock assessment reports are available for public review and comment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on 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 (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 June 30, 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.

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 June 30, 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.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have issued the following permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species, marine mammals, or both. We issue these permits under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

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, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to enhance the survival of endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), prohibits certain activities that may impact endangered species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The Act also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that we are reopening the comment periods for our proposed rules to list Festuca ligulata (Guadalupe fescue) as an endangered species; to designate Festuca ligulata critical habitat; to reclassify Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii (Tobusch fishhook cactus) from endangered to threatened; to reclassify Echinocereus fendleri var. kuenzleri (Kuenzler hedgehog cactus) from endangered to threatened; and to remove Eriogonum gypsophilum (gypsum wild-buckwheat) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. We are reopening the comment period for each of these proposed rules for 30 days in order to publish a legal notice and to give all interested parties further opportunity to comment on the proposed rules. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparing the final listing determinations.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of a draft environmental impact statement and draft environmental impact report (EIS/EIR), which evaluates the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (SSHCP). The SSHCP was submitted by six permit applicants in support of permit applications under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (ESA), for the incidental take of federally listed and other covered species resulting from the implementation or approval of future SSHCP covered activities, including urban development projects, within a 317,656-acre planning area. We request review and comment on the draft SSHCP and the draft EIS/EIR from local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of our draft Texas Coastal Bend Shortgrass Prairie Multi- Species Recovery Plan that includes the slender rush-pea (Hoffmannseggia tenella) and South Texas ambrosia (Ambrosia cheiranthifolia). Both species are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Slender rush-pea and South Texas ambrosia are currently found in remnant patches of shortgrass prairie within the Texas Coastal Bend in Nueces and Kleberg Counties, Texas. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria that, when achieved, will enable us to remove both species from the list of endangered and threatened plants. We request review and comment on this plan from local, State, and Federal agencies; tribes; and the public. We will also accept any new information on the status of the slender rush-pea and South Texas ambrosia throughout their ranges to assist in finalizing the recovery plan.