2018-02878. U.S. Endangered Species; Receipt of Recovery and Interstate Commerce 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 applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered species. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits certain activities that constitute take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.

DATES:

To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments by March 15, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Requesting Copies of Applications or Public Comments: Copies of applications or public comments concerning any of the applications in this notice may be obtained by any party who submits a written request for a copy of such documents to the following office within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552): Program Manager, Restoration and Endangered Species Classification, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Regional Office, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-4181.

Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the following methods. Please specify applicant name(s) and application number(s) to which your comments pertain (e.g., TE-XXXXXX).

• Email: [e-mail]. Please refer to the respective permit number (e.g., Application No. TE-XXXXXX) in the subject line of your email message.
• U.S. Mail: Program Manager, Restoration and Endangered Species Classification, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Regional Office, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-4181.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Colleen Henson, Recovery Permits Coordinator, Ecological Services, [phone] (phone); [e-mail] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on applications for permits to conduct activities intended to promote recovery of endangered species. With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits certain activities with 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.

Permit Applications Available for Review and Comment

We invite local, State, Tribes, Federal agencies and the public to comment on the following applications.

Application No.	Applicant	Species	Location	Activity	Type of take	Permit action
TE-003483	U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Hawaii National Park, Hawaii	Add the following species: Hawaiian hawk or `Io (Buteo solitarius), Maui parrotbill or Kiwikiu (Pseudonestor xanthophrys), Crested honeycreeper or Akohekohe (Palmeria dolei), Oahu elepaio (Chasiempis ibidis)	Hawaii	Population surveys and ecological research	For all species: survey, record and/or use tape-playback vocalizations, capture, handle, band, mark, measure, weigh, biosample, release, recapture, and salvage For Hawaiian hawk: attach radio and/or satellite transmitters, survey and monitor nests For `i`iwi: attach radio transmitters and monitor nests	Amend.
TE-056557	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho	Snake River physa snail (Physa natricina)	Idaho	Population surveys and ecological research	Survey, capture, mark, transport, release, and sacrifice	Renew.
TE-060179	San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, California	Add the following species: Hawaiian hawk or `Io (Buteo solitarius)	Hawaii	Population surveys and ecological research	Survey, capture, handle, biosample, attach GPS biologgers, release, recapture, and salvage	Amend.
TE-068803	Jerry Lynn Kinser, Conroe, Texas	Hawaiian goose or Nene (Branta sandvicensis)	Texas	Captive propagation	Purchase, in interstate commerce, two male and two female captive bred goslings	New.
TE-25955C	Melissa Price, University of Hawaii—Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii	Band-rumped storm petrel (Oceanodroma castro), Hawaiian stilt or Aeo (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)	Hawaii	Population, predation, mortality, and genetic studies	For both species: survey, capture, handle, measure, weigh, release, recapture, and salvage For petrels: biosample For stilts: band, attach radio-transmitters, and monitor nests	Amend.
TE-62696C	Assured Bio Labs, LLC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee	Bidens amplectens (Ko`oko`olau)	Hawaii	Hybridization study	Remove/reduce to possession from lands under Federal jurisdiction—collect leaves, flowering portions, stems, and herbarium specimens	New.
TE-64600C	University of Guam, Center for Island Sustainability, Mangilqo, Guam	Serianthes nelsonii ( Hayun lagu, Tronkon guafi), Eugenia bryanii (No Common Name (NCN)), Hedyotis megalantha (Paudedo), Heritiera longipetiolata (Ufa-halomtano), Phyllanthus saffordii (NCN), Psychotria malaspinae (Aplokating-palaoan), Tinospora homosepala (NCN)	Guam, Rota	Population surveys, captive propagation, genetic studies, and recovery actions	Remove/reduce to possession from lands under Federal jurisdiction—collect seeds and leaves; survey, propagate, outplant, genetic analysis, and salvage	New.

Public Availability of Comments

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. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold this information from public review; however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Contents of Public Comments

Please make your comments as specific as possible. Please confine your comments to issues for which we seek comments in this notice, and explain the basis for your comments. Include sufficient information with your comments to allow us to authenticate any scientific or commercial data you include.

The comments and recommendations that will be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are: (1) Those supported by quantitative information or studies; and (2) Those that include citations to, and analyses of, the applicable laws and regulations.

Next Steps

If the Service decides to issue permits to any of the applicants listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register.

Authority

Section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Eric Hein,

Acting Assistant Regional Director—Ecological Services, Pacific Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.