Fish and Wildlife Service January 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This request is for an extension of a currently approved collection. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2017. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

In accordance with a January 20, 2017, memo from the White House, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (Services), are delaying the effective date of a policy we published on December 27, 2016.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), have prepared a record of decision (ROD) on the final environmental impact statement (Final EIS) for Eagle Take Permits for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Phase I Wind Energy Project (CCSM Phase I Project). The ROD and Final EIS were prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, in response to an application from Power Company of Wyoming LLC (PCW) for eagle take permits (ETPs) pursuant to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and its implementing regulations. PCW has applied for both a standard and a programmatic ETP for the CCSM Phase I Project in Carbon County, Wyoming. The ROD is a concise statement of the purpose and need for the action, description of the project, the action alternatives considered, decisions made, and acceptable mitigation measures identified and committed to for avoiding or minimizing environmental impacts. The ROD also summarizes potential effects of the selected alternative, the public involvement process, and comments on the Final EIS.

We (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2017. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

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) prohibit activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is acquired that allows such activities.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the opening of an information gathering period regarding the status of the fisher (Pekania pennanti) throughout the range of its northern Rocky Mountain distinct population segment (DPS) in the United States. The status review will include analysis of whether the northern Rocky Mountain DPS of the fisher warrants listing as an endangered or a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We encourage all interested parties to provide us information regarding the status of, and any potential threats to, the northern Rocky Mountain DPS of the fisher.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and environmental assessment (EA) for Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for public review and comment. Plum Tree Island NWR is located in Poquoson, Virginia, and is administered by staff at Eastern Virginia Rivers NWR Complex based in Warsaw, Virginia. The draft CCP and EA describes two alternatives for managing Plum Tree Island NWR for the next 15 years. Alternative B is identified as the Service-preferred alternative. Also available for public review and comment are the draft compatibility determinations, which are included as appendix B in the draft CCP and EA.

Notice is hereby given that the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (DOI), together with the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), reached agreement on a proposed settlement with Atlantic Richfield Company regarding natural resource damages arising from environmental contamination at the Sinclair Refinery Superfund Site, located in Allegany County, New York. The settlement will resolve claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; the Oil Pollution Act; the Clean Water Act; and applicable State law.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, for the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), a species that occurs in the eastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada. The effect of this regulation will be to add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of our Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan (Polar Bear Plan). The polar bear is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), and is also considered ``depleted'' under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA). The Polar Bear Plan identifies objective, measurable ESA recovery criteria, site-specific recovery actions, as well as time and cost estimates. It also serves as an MMPA conservation plan.

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 Eriogonum gypsophilum (gypsum wild-buckwheat) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (List) due to recovery. This determination is based on thoroughly reviewing the best scientific and commercial data available, which indicates the species has recovered and no longer meets the Act's endangered or threatened definitions. We are seeking information, data and public comments on this proposed rule. This document also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to remove Eriogonum gypsophilum (gypsum wild-buckwheat) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.

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 lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae) 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 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. This document also serves as the 12-month finding on a petition to reclassify this subspecies from endangered to threatened on the List. We are seeking information, data, and comments from the public on the proposed rule to remove the lesser long-nosed bat from the List.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to remove the plant Trichostema austromontanum ssp. compactum (Hidden Lake bluecurls) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants on the basis of recovery. This determination is based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, which indicates that the threats to T. a. ssp. compactum have been eliminated or reduced to the point where it no longer meets the definition of an endangered species or a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are seeking information and comments from the public regarding this proposed rule and the draft post- delisting monitoring (PDM) plan for T. a. ssp. compactum.