2017-17710. U.S. Endangered Species; Recovery Permit Applications

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of receipt of permit applications; 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 recover and enhance the survival of endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), prohibits certain activities that may impact endangered species unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by September 21, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Request documents or submit comments to Susan Jacobsen, Chief, Division of Classification and Restoration, by U.S. mail at Division of Classification and Recovery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103. Please specify the permit you are interested in by number (e.g., Permit No. TE-123456).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan Jacobsen, Chief, Division of Classification and Restoration, by U.S. mail at P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103; or by telephone at 505-248-6641.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 recover and enhance the survival of endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.; ESA), prohibits certain activities that may impact endangered species, unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

Background

The ESA prohibits certain activities with endangered and threatened species unless 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 recovery permit issued by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or for enhancement of propagation or survival of the species. Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) 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.

In accordance with section 10(c) of the ESA; Executive Order 13576, “Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and Accountable Government”; and the President's Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies of January 21, 2009, “Transparency and Open Government” (74 FR 4685; January 26, 2009), all of which call on Federal agencies to promote openness and transparency in Government by disclosing information to the public, we invite public comment on these permit applications before final action is taken.

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 for the application when submitting comments.

Documents and other information submitted with these applications are available for review by any party who submits a written request to the Program Manager for Restoration and Endangered Species Classification at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section. Requests must be submitted within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice. Release of documents is subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the 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.

Application No.	Applicant	Species	Location	Activity	Type of take	Permit action
TE-22964C	Memphis Zoo, Memphis, Tennessee	Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis)	Tennessee	Captive propagation and genetic research	Harm and harass	New.
TE-25105C	Heidi Kloeppel Trathnigg, Flagstaff, Arizona	Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)	Arizona	Presence/absence surveys	Harass	New.
TE-829761	Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces, New Mexico	Gila chub (Gila intermedia)	New Mexico	Presence/absence surveys	Capture and harass	Amend.
TE-216075	Martin R. Heaney, Rosenberg, Texas	Pink mucket (Lampsilis abrupta) and winged mapleleaf (Quadrula fragosa)	Arkansas	Presence/absence surveys	Capture and harass	Amend.
TE-048464	Joanne M. Roberts, Hereford, Arizona	Lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae), southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus), and Lilaeopsis schaffneriana var. recurva (Huachuca water umbel)	Arizona	Presence/absence surveys	Capture, harm, and harass	Amend and Renew.
TE-29890C	Matrix Consulting NM, Albuquerque, New Mexico	Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)	Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah	Presence/absence surveys	Harass	New.
TE-794593	Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi, Texas	Masked bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)	Texas	Enhancement of propagation or survival of species	None	Amend.
TE-232639	DESCO Environmental Consultants, LP, Magnolia, Texas	American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus)	Oklahoma and Texas	Presence/absence surveys	Capture and harass	Amend.
TE-21840C	Wildwood Environmental Credit Company, Tyler, Texas	Gray bat (Myotis grisescens), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus (=plecotus) townsendii ingens), and Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus (=plecotus) townsendii virginianus)	Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas	Presence/absence surveys	Capture, harm, and harass	New.
TE-72079A	John N. Rinne, Flagstaff, Arizona	Loach minnow (Tiaroga cobitis), and spikedace (Meda fulgida)	New Mexico	Presence/absence surveys	Capture, harm, and harass	Renew.
TE-32832C	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Sasabe, Arizona	Masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)	Arizona	Captive propagation, research, and reintroduction	Capture, harm, and harass	New.
TE-32916C	G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center	Masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)	Oklahoma	Captive breeding, and subsequent tracking and monitoring of released birds	Capture, harm, and harass	New.
TE-32917C	Ashley M. Long	Golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), Black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla)	Texas	Presence/absence surveys, mist netting and banding, use of geolocators and radiotrackers	Capture, harm, and harass	New.
TE-40886B	Jennifer Zahratka, Durango, Colorado	New Mexico meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius luteus)	Colorado, New Mexico	Radio-collaring and collecting tissue samples to confirm taxonomic identification with genetic analysis	Capture, harm, and harass	Amend.
TE43754A	Turner Endangered Species Fund, Bozeman, Montana	Chupadera springsnail (Pyrgulopsis chupaderae)	New Mexico	Monitor, survey, handle, and collect	Capture, harm, and harass.	Amend.
TE34460C	Grouse Mountain Environmental Consultants, Santa Fe, New Mexico	Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)	Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Wyoming	Presence/absence surveys	Harm and harass	New.
TE35802C	Geodata Crawler Research Institute, Fort Smith, Arkansas	American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus)	Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas	Presence/absence surveys	Harm and harass	New.
TE00479C	Kevin Johnson, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), Red cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)	Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia	Presence/absence surveys	Harm and harass	New.

Public Availability of Comments

All comments and materials we receive in response to these requests will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the address listed 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 Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: June 7, 2017.

Benjamin N. Tuggle,

Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.