Fish and Wildlife Service July 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these applications. Before issuing any of the requested permits, we will take into consideration any information that we receive during the public comment period.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce we are withdrawing the Mitigation Policy published November 21, 2016, which guides Service recommendations on mitigating the adverse impacts of land and water developments on fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. In our document of November 6, 2017, we requested additional public comments regarding this policy's overall mitigation planning goal of net conservation gain. We are now withdrawing this policy as it is no longer appropriate to retain the ``net conservation gain'' standard throughout various Service-related activities and is inconsistent with current Executive branch policy. Until further notice, all policies that were superseded by the 2016 Mitigation Policy are reinstated, including the Fish and Wildlife Service Mitigation Policy (46 FR 7644-7663) published in the Federal Register on January 23, 1981.

We, FWS and NMFS (collectively referred to as the ``Services'' or ``we''), propose to amend portions of our regulations that implement section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The Services are proposing these changes to improve and clarify the interagency consultation processes and make them more efficient and consistent.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the ``Services'' or ``we''), propose to revise portions of our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The proposed revisions to the regulations clarify, interpret, and implement portions of the Act concerning the procedures and criteria used for listing or removing species from the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants and designating critical habitat. We also propose to make multiple technical revisions to update existing sections or to refer appropriately to other sections.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the Draft Recovery Plan for the Southern California Distinct Population Segment of the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog (Rana muscosa) for public review and comment. The draft recovery plan includes objective, measurable criteria, and site-specific management actions as may be necessary to reclassify the species from endangered to threatened and also for removal from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are issuing this final rule to comply with a court order that vacated provisions of regulations governing control of depredating double-crested cormorants at aquaculture facilities and for control of double-crested cormorants to protect public resources. Pursuant to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia order dated May 25, 2016, this rule removes regulatory provisions that allowed take of double-crested cormorants at aquaculture facilities and to protect public resources without the need for a permit.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the draft recovery plan for the endangered coqu[iacute] llanero, a frog endemic to Puerto Rico. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria that must be met in order for us to remove this species from listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We request review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), announce the availability of the environmental impact statement (EIS) and habitat conservation plan (HCP) for incidental take permit (ITP) application under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. American Electric Power (AEP) requested a 30-year American burying beetle (ABB) ITP in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. If granted, the ITP would authorize ABB take resulting from AEP's electrical lines and support facilities repair, maintenance, and construction, as well as activities carried out as part of the HCP's conservation strategy.