Fish and Wildlife Service December 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Blue Creek Wind Farm, LLC (applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for its Blue Creek Wind Farm project. If approved, the ITP would authorize the incidental take of the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat. The applicant has prepared a draft habitat conservation plan (HCP), which is available for public review. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment, which has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. We request public comment on the application and associated documents.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a document in the December 9, 2019, Federal Register that announced the availability of a proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP) and a draft environmental impact statement for public comment. The subject heading of the document incorrectly referred to the ``Upper Santa Ana River Habitat Conservation Plan'' instead of the ``Upper Santa Ana River Wash Habitat Conservation Plan,'' which is the correct name of the HCP.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation and survival of endangered 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 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 90- day findings on two petitions to add species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Based on our review, we find that the petitions present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. Therefore, with the publication of this document, we announce that we plan to initiate status reviews of the Bethany Beach firefly (Photuris bethaniensis) and Gulf Coast solitary bee (Hesperapis oraria) to determine whether the petitioned actions are warranted. To ensure that the status reviews are comprehensive, we are requesting scientific and commercial data and other information regarding the species and factors that may affect their status. Based on the status reviews, we will issue 12-month petition findings, which will address whether or not the petitioned actions are warranted, in accordance with the Act.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 12- month findings on petitions to list three species as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) and two additional findings that current candidate species no longer warrant listing. After a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, we find that it is not warranted at this time to list the Ozark chub, purpledisk honeycombhead, red tree vole (North Oregon Coast distinct population segment (DPS)), sand verbena moth, and skiff milkvetch. However, we ask the public to submit to us at any time any new information relevant to the status of any of the species mentioned above or their habitats.

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine threatened status for the Hawaiian goose (nene) (Branta sandvicensis). This rule changes the listing status of the nene from an endangered species to a threatened species on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. We call this ``reclassifying'' or ``downlisting'' the species. We are also adopting a rule under the authority of section 4(d) of the Act (a ``4(d) rule'') to enhance conservation of the species through range expansion and management flexibility. This final rule is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific data, which indicate that the threats to this species have been reduced to the point that it no longer meets the definition of endangered under the Act, but that it is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future. In addition, this rule corrects the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to reflect that Nesochen is not currently a scientifically accepted generic name for this species, and acknowledges the Hawaiian name ``nene'' as an alternative common name.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on applications to conduct certain activities with foreign species that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such activities. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing permits for any activity otherwise prohibited by the ESA with respect to any endangered species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications from the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District (District) and the San Bernardino County Flood Control District (SBCFCD) for incidental take permits under the Endangered Species Act. We advise the public of the availability of an accompanying proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), which covers two federally listed animal species and other covered species, and a draft environmental impact statement (EIS), for public review and comment. The HCP covers activities for water conservation, aggregate mining, recreation, flood control and other public services in San Bernardino County, California. The draft EIS is a joint Environmental Impact Statement/Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (EIS/SEIR). The draft SEIR portion of the joint document was prepared by the District in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), as co-lead agencies, intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to consider a right-of-way application submitted by the Utah Department of Transportation (referred to henceforth as the Northern Corridor project), potential amendments to the St. George Field Office and Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) Resource Management Plans (RMPs), and the issuance of an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) to Washington County, Utah, under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA.

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.