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

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of the final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) and final Montana Department of Natural Resources Amended Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for forest management in Montana. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) applied to the Service for an amended incidental take permit (permit) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). DNRC is requesting authorization of additional incidental take of three federally listed and one unlisted species on 81,416 acres to be added to its HCP-covered lands. DNRC also amended the HCP to incorporate the terms of a settlement agreement from a 2013 lawsuit on the original permit. The final SEIS considers the environmental effects of amending the HCP and permit and addresses public comments received on the 2017 draft EIS.

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 endangered and threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing recovery permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species.

The U.S. District Court for Alaska in its October 17, 2011, order in Peratrovich et al. v. United States and the State of Alaska, 3:92-cv-0734-HRH (D. Alaska), enjoined the United States ``to promptly initiate regulatory proceedings for the purpose of implementing the subsistence provisions in Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) with respect to submerged public lands within Tongass National Forest'' and directed entry of judgment. To comply with the order, the Federal Subsistence Board (Board) initiated a regulatory proceeding to identify those submerged lands within the Tongass National Forest that did not pass to the State of Alaska at statehood and, therefore, remain Federal public lands subject to the subsistence provisions of ANILCA. Following the Court's decision, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the USDA-Forest Service (USDA-FS) started a review of hundreds of potential pre-statehood (January 3, 1959) withdrawals in the marine waters of the Tongass National Forest. In April and October of 2015, BLM submitted initial lists of submerged public lands to the Board. This rule adds those submerged parcels to the subsistence regulations to ensure compliance with the Court order. Additional listings will be published as BLM and the USDA-FS continue their review of pre-statehood withdrawals.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), make available the draft Western Travis County Public Utility Agency (WTCPUA) Habitat Conservation Plan, as well as the associated draft environmental assessment, for construction of a raw water pipeline in Travis County, Texas. WTCPUA has applied to the Service for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The requested ITP, which would be in effect for a period of 30 years, if granted, would authorize incidental take of the federally listed golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga [=Dendroica] chrysoparia). The proposed incidental take would occur during construction of a raw water pipeline as a result of vegetation clearing, earth-moving activities, and pipeline construction and also during operation and maintenance of the pipeline. In addition, incidental take would occur as a result of the operation and maintenance of existing facilities, including the existing water pipeline, water intake, and the Uplands Water Treatment Facility.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed project to restore coastal wetlands at the south end of San Diego Bay. The Otay River Estuary Restoration Project is located within the South San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in San Diego County, California. This notice advises the public that the final EIS is now available to the public. The final EIS describes the alternatives identified to restore two portions of the South San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay NWR to coastal wetlands to benefit native fish, wildlife, and plant species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on applications to conduct certain activities with foreign endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), reclassify Tobusch fishhook cactus (Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii; currently listed as Ancistrocactus tobuschii), from endangered to threatened on the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the threats to this plant have been reduced to the point that it is no longer in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, but it remains threatened with becoming endangered within the foreseeable future. In addition, we accept the new taxonomic classification for Tobusch fishhook cactus as the subspecies Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are initiating 5-year status reviews of 35 species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. A 5-year review is an assessment of the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We are requesting submission of information that has become available since the last reviews of these species.

In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, the natural resource Trustees for the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) site announce the availability for public comment of a Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Draft RP/EA) for TSMD natural resource damage restoration. The Draft RP/EA presents a restoration project the Trustees are proposing to implement to restore natural resources and services injured by hazardous substances released in and around the TSMD site.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), provide this notice to open a public scoping period and announce a public open house meeting in accordance with requirements of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. We intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the impacts on the human environment associated with operations of a proposed wind energy project, for which the Service anticipates receipt of an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). Incidental to its operations, the wind project is likely to take the marbled murrelet, listed as threatened under the ESA, as well as the bald eagle and golden eagle, both of which are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The project proponent is Skookumchuck Wind Energy Project, LLC, an affiliate of Renewable Energy Services. The wind project would be located near Yelm, Washington, in Lewis and Thurston Counties, and would consist of up to 38 commercial wind turbines and associated infrastructure.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our determination that our 2017 final rule to designate the population of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) as a distinct population segment and remove that population from the Endangered Species Act's List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife does not require modification. After considering the best scientific and commercial data available and public comments on this issue received during a regulatory review, we affirm our decision that the GYE population of grizzly bears is recovered and should remain delisted under the Act. Accordingly, the Service does not plan to initiate further regulatory action for the GYE grizzly bear population.

Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as amended, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on federally-listed American burying-beetle incidental take permit (ITP) applications. The applicants anticipate American burying-beetle take as a result of impacts to Oklahoma habitat the species uses for breeding, feeding, and sheltering. The take would be incidental to the applicants' activities associated with oil and gas well field and pipeline infrastructure (gathering, transmission, and distribution), including geophysical exploration (seismic), construction, maintenance, operation, repair, decommissioning, and reclamation. If approved, the permits would be issued under the approved American Burying Beetle Amended Oil and Gas Industry Conservation Plan (ICP) Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permit Issuance in Oklahoma.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a request under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended, from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC, propose to authorize nonlethal, incidental take by harassment of small numbers of northern sea otters between May 23, 2018, and September 30, 2018. The applicant has requested this authorization for take that may result from aircraft overflights in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Aerial surveys are needed to collect gravitational and magnetic data for oil and gas exploration. This proposed authorization, if finalized, will be for take by Level B harassment only; no take by injury or death will be authorized. The application package and the references cited herein are available for viewing at https://www.fws.gov/alaska/fisheries/mmm/iha.htm or may be requested as described under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are initiating 5-year status reviews under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for five animal species. 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 such information that has become available since the last review for the species.

In 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or ``we'') published a final environmental impact statement on management of resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis) that documented resident Canada goose population levels ``that are increasingly coming into conflict with people and causing personal and public property damage.'' Subsequently, the Service implemented several actions intended to reduce, manage, and control resident Canada goose populations in the continental United States and to reduce related damages; those actions included depredation and control orders that allow destruction of Canada goose nests and eggs by authorized personnel between March 1 and June 30. However, some resident Canada geese currently initiate nests in February, particularly in the southern United States, and it seems likely that in the future nest initiation dates will begin earlier and hatching of eggs will perhaps end later than dates currently experienced. Thus, the Service proposes to amend the depredation and control orders to allow destruction of resident Canada goose nests and eggs at any time of year.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have received an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Orange County Public Schools (applicant) is requesting a 3-year ITP for take of the federally listed sand skink. We request public comment on the permit application, which includes a proposed habitat conservation plan, and 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, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to recover and enhance endangered species survival. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), prohibits certain activities that may impact endangered species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are proposing to renew an information collection.

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are removing the lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife due to recovery. This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the threats to this subspecies have been eliminated or reduced to the point that the subspecies has recovered and no longer meets the definition of endangered or threatened under the Act.

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), remove the black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla, listed as Vireo atricapillus) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife due to recovery. This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the threats to this species have been reduced or managed to the point that the species has recovered and no longer meets the definition of endangered or threatened under the Act.

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to remove the Kirtland's warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) due to recovery. This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the threats to the species have been eliminated or reduced to the point that the species has recovered and no longer meets the definition of endangered or threatened under the Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on an application for a permit to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of an endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits activities that constitute take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose a rule under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act for the Louisiana pinesnake (Pituophis ruthveni), a reptile from Louisiana and Texas. This rule would provide measures to protect the species.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are proposing to renew an information collection.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an information collection.