Fish and Wildlife Service April 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are delaying the effective date of a final rule we published on January 15, 2021, revising the designation of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. This second delay is necessary to avoid placing undue risk on the conservation of northern spotted owl caused by allowing exclusions from its designated critical habitat to go into effect while the Service prepares a revision or withdrawal of the January 15, 2021, rule through additional rulemaking to address apparent defects; this second delay is also necessary to avoid confusion and disruption with Federal agencies in the implementation of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act while the Service initiates and completes the rulemaking process for revising or withdrawing the January 15, 2021, rule.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently issued a final rule that revised the migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska. The final rule included an improperly worded amendatory instruction that resulted in the unintentional removal of regulatory text. This document corrects that inadvertent error and restores the regulations to their proper wording.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, received an application from Ms. Lorraine Tveten for an incidental take permit (ITP) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The ITP would authorize ``take'' of the Yelm pocket gopher, incidental to otherwise lawful activities during construction of a single-family home and agricultural buildings in Thurston County, Washington. The application includes a habitat conservation plan (HCP) with measures to minimize and mitigate the impacts of the taking on the covered species. We have also prepared a draft environmental action statement for our preliminary determination that the HCP and permit decision may be eligible for categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. We provide this notice to open a public comment period and invite comments from all interested parties regarding the documents.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reopening the public comment periods on two proposed rules to allow all interested parties additional time to comment, and to conduct a public hearing. The two relevant proposed rules are our September 30, 2020, proposed rule to reclassify the endangered Virgin Islands tree boa (Chilabothrus granti) as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended; and our October 21, 2020, proposed rule to reclassify the endangered plant Eugenia woodburyana (no common name) as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rules.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to remove the dwarf-flowered heartleaf (Hexastylis naniflora), a plant endemic to the upper Piedmont region of western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina, from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (List). This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which indicate that the threats to the species have been eliminated or reduced to the point that the species no longer meets the definition of a threatened species, and does not meet the definition of an endangered species, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We also announce the availability of a draft post-delisting monitoring (PDM) plan for the dwarf-flowered heartleaf. We seek information, data, and comments from the public regarding this proposal to delist this species and on the draft PDM plan.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS, Service, or we) is revising the migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska. These regulations allow for the continuation of customary and traditional subsistence uses of migratory birds in Alaska and prescribe regional information on when and where the harvesting of birds may occur. These regulations were developed under a co-management process involving the Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Native representatives. This rule incorporates regulatory revisions requested by these partners.

This notice advises the public that LPC Conservation LLC (applicant) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for an incidental take permit (ITP) supported by the Renewable (Wind and Solar) Energy, Power Line, and Communication Tower Habitat Conservation Plan for the Lesser Prairie-chicken; Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas (HCP). The applicant has applied to the Service for the ITP pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. The requested ITP, if approved, would authorize incidental take of the lesser prairie-chicken resulting from activities covered by the HCP (e.g., wind, solar, transmission lines, and communication towers) and incidental take resulting from conservation actions taken to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts of the incidental take of the LEPC that result from covered activities. If approved, the requested ITP would become effective should the LEPC become federally listed during the life of the ITP and HCP. With this notice we also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment (EA) that has been prepared to evaluate the ITP application in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. We are making the ITP application package, including the HCP and draft EA, available for public review and comment.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to affirm the listing of the streaked horned lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata), a bird species from Washington and Oregon, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we again conclude that listing the species as threatened is warranted. We also propose to revise the rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act (``4(d) rule'') for this bird. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it will maintain this species as a threatened species on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and continue to extend the Act's protections to the species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the yellow lance (Elliptio lanceolata) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. In total, approximately 319 river miles (mi) (514 kilometers (km)) fall within 11 units of critical habitat in Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Vance, Wake, and Warren Counties, North Carolina; Brunswick, Craig, Culpeper, Dinwiddie, Fauquier, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Nottoway, Orange, and Rappahannock Counties, Virginia; and Howard and Montgomery Counties, Maryland. This rule extends the Act's protections to the yellow lance's designated critical habitat.