Fish and Wildlife Service May 8, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are announcing a new deadline for submittal of public comments on draft documents prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service received an application from the City of Tumwater Public Works Department for an incidental take permit pursuant to the ESA. The applicant has requested a permit that would authorize ``take'' of the threatened Olympia pocket gopher incidental to construction of safety and infrastructure improvements in Thurston County, Washington. The application includes a HCP that describes the actions the applicant will take to minimize and mitigate the impacts of the taking on the covered species. A Federal Register notice of availability for the HCP and the draft environmental assessment (EA) addressing the HCP was published on December 26, 2018. As a result of the U.S. government partial lapse in appropriations, the website cited in the notice was not updated during the entire comment period. In response, we are allowing additional time for public input on these draft documents. If you submitted a comment already, you need not resubmit it.