Endangered and Threatened Species; Receipt of Recovery Permit Applications

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R6-ES-2022-N039; FXES11130600000-223-FF06E00000]

Endangered and Threatened Species; Receipt of 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, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these applications. Before issuing any of the requested permits, we will take into consideration any information that we receive during the public comment period.

DATES:

We must receive your written comments by September 12, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

Document availability and comment submission:

Use one of the following methods to request documents or submit comments. Requests and comments should specify the applicant name(s) and application number(s) (

e.g.,

Smith, PER0123456 or ES056001):

•

Email: permitsR6ES@fws.gov.

•

U.S. Mail:

Marjorie Nelson, Chief, Division of Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 134 Union Blvd., Suite 670, Lakewood, CO 80228.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert Krijgsman, Recovery Permits Coordinator, Ecological Services, 303-236-4347 (phone), or

permitsR6ES@fws.gov

(email). Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite

the public to comment on applications for permits under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.

). The requested permits would allow the applicants to conduct activities intended to promote recovery of species that are listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA.

Background

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.

), 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 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

Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild. The ESA requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits. Accordingly, we invite local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public to submit written data, views, or arguments with respect to these applications. The comments and recommendations that will be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are those supported by quantitative information or studies.

Permit No.

Applicant

Species

Location

Take activity

Permit action

PER0037587

U.S. Forest Service, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Pinedale, Wyoming

• Kendall Warm Springs dace (

Rhinichthys osculus thermalis

)

Wyoming

• Capture, handle, release, and conduct habitat enhancements by removing invasive species

Renew and amend.

ES-064682

Prairie Wildlife Research, Inc., Wellington, Colorado

• Black-footed ferret (

Mustela nigripes

)

Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming

• Survey, capture, anesthetize, vaccinate, mark, collect blood, tag, transport, and collect genetic samples

Renew.

ES-131398

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule, South Dakota

• Black-footed ferret (

Mustela nigripes

)

South Dakota

• Survey, capture, anesthetize, vaccinate, mark, collect blood, tag, transport, and collect genetic samples

Renew.

ES-186566

Western State Colorado University, Gunnison, Colorado

• Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly (

Boloria acrocnema

)

Colorado

• Capture, handle, collect tissue, collect voucher specimens, and release

Renew.

PER0047113

Friends of the Topeka Zoo, Inc., Topeka, Kansas

• Salt Creek tiger beetle (

Cicindela nevadica lincolniana

)

Kansas and Nebraska

• Receive, captively rear, maintain, and care for captive population; transport; and release into native habitat

New.

ES-41329C

Manzanita Botanical Consulting, Salt Lake City, Utah

• San Rafael cactus (

Pediocactus despainii

) • Wright fishhook cactus (

Sclerocactus wrightiae

)

Utah

• Remove and reduce to possession from lands under Federal jurisdiction

Renew and amend.

ES-37337A

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Dubuque, Iowa

• Wyoming toad (

Anaxyrus baxteri

)

Iowa, Wyoming

• Capture, handle, mark, release, propagate in captivity, transport, display for educational purposes, provide general husbandry, and research

Renew and amend.

ES-051826

Louisville Zoological Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky

• Black-footed ferret (

Mustela nigripes

)

Kentucky and other States where black-footed ferrets are being captively propagated

• Propagate and care for while in captivity, collect and store biological samples, and transfer between other zoological facilities

Renew.

Public Availability of Comments

Written comments we receive become part of the administrative record. 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 request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

Next Steps

If we decide to issue permits to any of the applicants listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the

Federal Register

.

Authority

We publish this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.

).

Marjorie Nelson,

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

[FR Doc. 2022-17280 Filed 8-10-22; 8:45 am]

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