Fish and Wildlife Service January 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are listing the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti), a butterfly from New Mexico, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. This rule extends the Act's protections to the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly. We will propose the designation of critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly in a future rulemaking.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or we) is issuing this final rule, in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, to adjust for inflation the statutory civil monetary penalties that may be assessed for violations of Service-administered statutes and their implementing regulations. We are required to adjust civil monetary penalties annually for inflation according to a formula specified in the Inflation Adjustment Act. This rule replaces the previously issued amounts with the updated amounts after using the 2023 inflation adjustment multiplier provided in the OMB guidance.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Consumers Energy Company for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act, for its Crescent Wind Project (project). If approved, the permit would authorize the incidental take of two endangered species, the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat. The applicant has prepared a habitat conservation plan in support of their application. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment, which has been prepared in response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. We invite comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the San Clemente (SC) Bell's sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli clementeae) (formerly known as the SC sage sparrow, Amphispiza belli clementeae), San Clemente Island (SCI) bush-mallow (Malacothamnus clementinus), SCI paintbrush (Castilleja grisea), SCI lotus (Acmispon dendroideus var. traskiae), and SCI larkspur (Delphinium variegatum ssp. kinkiense) from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists). The bird species and four plant species occur only on SCI, one of the California Channel Islands off the southern coast of California. The delistings are based on our evaluation of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the status of each species has improved and threats to the species have been eliminated or reduced to the point that the species have recovered and no longer meet the definitions of either endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Accordingly, the protections provided by the Act will no longer apply to these species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are delaying the effective date of a final rule we published on November 25, 2022, and corrected on December 2, 2022, listing two distinct population segments (DPSs) of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) and establishing measures that are necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the Northern DPS pursuant to section 4(d) of the Act. This delay is necessary for the Service to finalize conservation tools and guidance documents to avoid confusion and disruption with Federal agencies in the implementation of section 7 of the Act and to avoid disruption to the public who would be regulated by the rule.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), received two enhancement of survival permit (permit) applications pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If granted, the requested permits would authorize take of the fisher (Pekania pennanti), incidental to otherwise lawful activities, if the species becomes federally listed under the ESA. These applications are associated with a template candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) developed by the Service for the conservation of the fisher. We have also prepared draft environmental action statements documenting our preliminary determination that the permit decisions 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.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on species for which the Service has jurisdiction under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such activities. The MMPA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing a permit for any activity otherwise prohibited with respect to any species.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are extending the comment period on our November 17, 2022, proposed rule to revise the rule for the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) promulgated under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). We are extending the comment period for 60 days to give all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted as they are already incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the proposed rule.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are initiating 5-year status reviews under the Endangered Species Act, for two plant and three 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. We invite comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), are reclassifying Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides fenderi) from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Fender's blue butterfly is endemic to the Willamette Valley of Oregon. This action is based on our evaluation of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the species' status has improved such that it is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, but that it is still likely to become so in the foreseeable future. We are also finalizing a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act that provides for the conservation of the species.

The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) announces the public meetings of the 10 Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Councils (Councils) for the winter and fall cycles of 2023. The Councils each meet approximately twice a year to provide advice and recommendations to the Board about subsistence hunting and fishing issues on Federal public lands in Alaska.