2016-31700. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permit Applications

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to enhance the survival of endangered or threatened species. Federal law prohibits certain activities with endangered species unless a permit is obtained.

DATES:

We must receive any written comments on or before January 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Send written comments by U.S. mail to the Regional Director, Attn: Carlita Payne, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, 5600 American Blvd. West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; or by electronic mail to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carlita Payne, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), prohibits certain activities with endangered and threatened species unless the activities are specifically authorized by a Federal permit. The ESA and our implementing regulations in part 17 of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) provide for the issuance of such permits and require that we invite public comment before issuing permits for activities involving endangered species.

A permit granted by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with U.S. endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes, enhancement of propagation or survival, or interstate commerce (the latter only in the event that it facilitates scientific purposes or enhancement of propagation or survival). Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA for these permits are found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.62 for endangered plant species, and 50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant species.

Applications Available for Review and Comment

We invite local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the public to comment on the following applications. Please refer to the permit number when you submit comments. Documents and other information the applicants have submitted with the applications are available for review, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

Permit Applications

Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of survival of the species in the wild.

Application No.	Applicant	Species	Location	Activity	Type of take	Permit action
TE38793A	Kenneth Mierzwa	Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana)	Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin	Survey and monitor, habitat assessment	Capture and release, exuviae collection, adult counts	Renew.
TE11170C	Ashleigh Cable	Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat (M. grisescens), northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis)	Illinois	Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts	Capture, handle, radio-tag, harp trap, release	New.
TE01311C	Shawn McKinley	Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat (M. grisescens), northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis), Virginia big-eared bat (Plecotus townsendii virginianus)	Rangewide	Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts	Capture, handle, mist-net, harp trap, radio-tag, band, release	New.
TE13571C	Jennifer Moore	Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus)	Michigan	Survey and monitoring, habitat assessment, population connectivity assessment	Capture, handle, pit-tag, tissue collection, release	New.
TE14588C	Dane Smith	Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat (M. grisescens), northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis)	Missouri	Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts	Capture, handle, mist-net, radio-tag, band, tissue collection, release	New.
TE15664C	April McKay	Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat (M. grisescens), northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis)	Rangewide	Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts	Capture, handle, mist-net, harp trap, radio-tag, band, release	New.
TE106217	The Toledo Zoological Society	Mitchell's satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii)	Ohio	Propagation and transport	Capture, handle, hold, release	Amend, renew.
TE85231B	Kalamazoo Nature Center	Mitchell's satyr butterfly (N.m. mitchellii)	Michigan	Propagation and transport	Capture, handle, temporarily hold, release	Amend.
TE02373A	Environmental Solutions and Innovations	Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat (M. grisescens), northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis), Virginia big-eared bat (Plecotus townsendii virginianus), Ozark big-eared bat (P.t.ingens), American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus), Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), Mitchell's satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii), St. Francis' satyr butterfly (N.m. francisci), rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), Guyandotte River crayfish (Cambarus veteranus), Big Sandy crayfish (C. callainus), 12 fish species, 57 freshwater mussel species	Rangewide	Conduct presence/absence surveys, habitat assessment, DNA sampling, relocation, transport	Capture, handle, temporarily hold, release	Amend, renew.
TE194099	Michael Hoggarth	30 freshwater mussel species	Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia	Conduct presence/absence surveys, relocations, transport	Capture, handle, relocate, release	Renew.
TE14549C	Larissa Herrera	10 freshwater mussel species	Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin	Conduct presence/absence surveys	Capture, handle, release	New.
TE181256	Lewis Environmental Consulting, LLC	62 freshwater mussel species	Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia	Conduct presence/absence surveys, transport, propagation	Capture, handle, hold, transport, release	Amend, renew.

National Environmental Policy Act

The proposed activities in the requested permits qualify as categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by Department of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the CFR (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215).

Public Availability of Comments

We seek public review and comments on these permit applications. Please refer to the permit number when you submit comments. Comments and materials we receive in response to this notice are available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the address listed above in ADDRESSES.

Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Authority

We provide this notice under section 10 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: December 23, 2016.

Lori H. Nordstrom,

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.