Endangered Species; Recovery Permit Applications

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-ES-2026-1024; FXES11140400000-267-FF04E00000]

Endangered Species; Recovery Permit Applications

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of availability; receipt of permit applications and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct scientific research to promote conservation or other activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (Act). We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to provide written data, views, or arguments with respect to any application noticed within 30 days following the publication of this notice. Before issuing any of the requested permits, we will take into consideration all information that we receive during the public comment period.

DATES:

Comments will be accepted on or before June 29, 2026. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see

ADDRESSES

, below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing date.

To ensure your comment is received and considered, you must submit it using one of the methods identified in the

ADDRESSES

section of this document. Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be considered.

ADDRESSES:

Reviewing Documents:

Submit requests for copies of applications and supporting materials to

permitsr4es@fws.gov

(see

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

). All requests for application information and comments should specify the applicant's name and application number accordingly to facilitate the request.

Comment submission:

All submissions must include the docket number [FWS-R4-ES-2026-1024] for this document. You must submit comments using one of the following methods:

•

Electronic submission:

Federal eRulemaking Portal at:

https://www.regulations.gov.

In the Search box, enter FWS-R4-ES-2026-1024, which is the docket number for this action. Then

click the Search button. On the resulting page, you may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment.” Please ensure that you have found the correct docket before submitting your comments.

•

U.S. mail:

Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2026-1024, Policy and Regulations Branch, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be considered. We will not accept comments via email, fax, or hand delivery. We are not required to consider comments that are submitted after the comment period ends or that are submitted via a method outside of these instructions.

We will post all comments at

https://www.regulations.gov.

You may request that we withhold personal identifying information from public review; however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. See Public Availability of Comments for more information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kaye London via telephone at 404-679-7097 or via email at

permitsr4es@fws.gov.

Individuals in the U.S. 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 (Service), invite review and comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies on applications we have received for permits to conduct certain activities with endangered and threatened species under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531

et seq.

), and our regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 17. Documents and other information submitted with the applications are available for review, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a), and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

Background

With some exceptions, the Act prohibits take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that authorizes such take. As defined in Section 3 of the Act, “the term `take' means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.

A recovery permit issued under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act authorizes the permittee to take endangered or threatened species while engaging in activities that are conducted for scientific purposes that promote recovery of species or for enhancement of propagation or survival of species. These activities often include the capture and collection of species, which would result in prohibited take if a permit were not issued. The regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act 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

The Act requires that we invite public comments on permit applications before issuing respective permits. Accordingly, we also invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies 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 with substantive content supported by quantitative information or published research results. Proposed activities in the following applications for permits are for scientific purposes or enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild.

Permit application No.

Applicant

Species

Location(s)

Activity(ies)

Type of Take

Permit action

ES136808-4

Loggerhead Marinelife Center; Juno Beach, FL

Add Endangered species: loggerhead sea turtle (

Caretta caretta

) and green sea turtle (

Chelonia mydas

)

Florida

Collection of blood and tissues, and transport

Handling

Renewal & Amendment.

ES35594A-6

Alabama Power Company; Calera, AL

Gray bat (

Myotis grisescens

), Indiana bat (

Myotis sodalis

), northern long-eared bat (

Myotis septentrionalis

), and tricolored bat (

Perimyotis subflavus

)

Alabama

Presence/absence surveys

Capture and handle

Amendment.

ES48582B-3

Kim Chase; Woodstock, GA

Gray bat (

Myotis grisescens

), Indiana bat (

Myotis sodalis

), northern long-eared bat (

Myotis septentrionalis

), and tricolored bat (

Perimyotis subflavus

)

North Carolina

Presence/absence surveys

Capture and handle

Renewal & Amendment.

ES59340D

Ashley Long; Baton Rouge, LA

Northern long-eared bat (

Myotis septentrionalis

)

Louisiana

Mist-netting

Capture and handle

Renewal.

ES66039A-2

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; Little Rock, AR

Add the following endangered mussels: Pink mucket (

Lampsilis abrupta

), scaleshell mussel (

Leptodea leptodon

), and spectaclecase (

Cumberlandia monodonta

)

Arkansas

Captive propagation and release for population augmentation and reintroduction activities

Handling

Renewal & Amendment.

ES68453D-1

Andrew Edelman; Carrolton, GA

Gray bat (

Myotis grisescens

), Indiana bat (

Myotis sodalis

), northern long-eared bat (

Myotis septentrionalis

), and tricolored bat (

Perimyotis subflavus

)

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Presence/absence surveys, mist-netting, banding, and tagging

Capture and handle

Renewal & Amendment.

ES75914D-1

North Carolina State Parks; Durham, NC

Spruce-fir moss spider (

Microhexura montivaga

)

North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

Presence surveys, and population monitoring

Capture and handling

Renewal & Amendment.

ES83157D-2

Matthew Miller; Festus, MO

Sarracenia oreophila

(green pitcher plant),

Sarracenia rubra

ssp.

alabamensis

(Alabama canebrake pitcher plant), and

Sarracenia rubra

ssp.

jonesii

(mountain sweet pitcher plant)

Multiple states

Interstate Commerce with propagated plants

N/A

Renewal.

PER0013669-1

Alyssa Jones; Huntington, WV

Add Endangered species: James spinymussel (

Parvaspina collina

), and purple cat's paw (

Epioblasma obliquata

)

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia

Presence/absence surveys

Handling

Amendment.

PER0018443-2

U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center; Vicksburg, MS

Add Endangered species: Balcones spike (

Fusconaia ihering

i), false spike (

Fusconaia mitchelli

), fanshell (

Cyprogenia stegaria

), fat pocketbook (

Potamilus capax

), Guadalupe fatmucket (

Lampsilis bergmanni

), Guadalupe orb (

Cyclonaias necki

), Texas fawnsfoot (

Truncilla macrodon

), Texas fatmucket (

Lampsilis bracteata

), and Texas pimpleback (

Cyclonaias petrina

)

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia

Capture, handle, identify, transport, hold in captivity, and release

Capture and handling

Amendment.

PER22396505-0

Paula Marcinek; Athens, GA

Amber darter (

Percina antesella

), Conasauga logperch (

Percina jenkinsi

), and Etowah darter (

Etheostoma etowahae

)

Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee

Presence/absence surveys, and fin clipping

Capture and handling

New.

PER24430188-0

Luke Sparreo; Bronz, NY

Alabama canebrake pitcher plant (

Sarracenia rubra

ssp.

alabamensis

)

,

mountain sweet pitcher plant (

Sarracenia rubra

ssp.

jonesii

)

,

and green pitcher plant (

Sarracenia oreophila

)

Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina

Collection of leaves/pitchers

N/A

New.

PER24808879-0

Crystal Birdsall; Lancaster, KY

Gray bat (

Myotis grisescens

), Indiana bat (

Myotis sodalis

), northern long-eared bat (

Myotis septentrionalis

), Virginia big-eared bat (

Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus

), Ozark big-eared bat (

Corynorhinus townsendii ingens

), and tricolored bat (

Perimyotis subflavus

)

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

Presence/absence surveys, mist-netting/harp trapping, radio transmitter application, and guano swabbing/collection

Capture and handling

New.

PER25382284-0

Mackenzie Milner; Winchester, TN

Gray bat (

Myotis grisescens

)

Tennessee

Population monitoring

Possible disturbance

New.

PER25652385-0

National Park Service, Gulf Islands National Seashore; Ocean Springs, MS

Green sea turtle (

Chelonia mydas

), hawksbill sea turtle (

Eretmochelys imbricata

), Kemp's ridley sea turtle (

Lepidochelys kempii

), leatherback sea turtle (

Dermochelys coriacea

), and loggerhead sea turtle (

Caretta caretta

)

Mississippi

Inventory sea turtle nests from land and air

Possible disturbance

New.

PER26279328-0

Ecological Resource Consultants, Inc.; Panama City, FL

Choctaw bean (

Obovaria choctawensis

), fat threeridge (

Amblema neislerii

), Gulf moccasinshell (

Medionidus penicillatus

), Ochlockonee moccasinshell (

Medionidus simpsonianus

), oval pigtoe (

Pleurobema pyriforme

), shinyrayed pocketbook (

Hamiota subangulata

), and southern kidneyshell (

Ptychobranchus jonesi

)

Florida

Presence/absence surveys

Handling

New.

PER26929349-0

Atlanta Botanical Garden; Atlanta, GA

Aristida chaseae

(no common name), pelos del diablo (

Aristida portoricensis

), Vahl's boxwood (

Buxus vahlii

), capá rosa (

Callicarpa ampla

),

Calyptranthes thomasiana

(no common name),

Catesbaea melanocarpa

(no common name),

Cordia bellonis

(no common name), palo de nigua (

Cornutia obovate

),

Cranichis ricartii

(no common name)

,

higuero de Sierra (

Crescentia portoricensis

), uvillo (

Eugenia haematocarpa

), beautiful goetzea (

Goetzea elegans

), Cook's holly (

Ilex cookie

),

Ilex sintenisii

(no common name), West Indian walnut (

Juglans jamaicensis

),

Lyonia truncata

var.

proctorii

(no common name) , marron bacora (

Solanum conocarpum

), palo de jazmin (

Styrax portoricensis

), palo colorado (

Ternstroemia luquillensis

),

Ternstroemia subsessilis

(no common name),

Vernonia proctorii

(no common name), St. Thomas prickly-ash (

Zanthoxylum thomasianum

), eugenia (

Eugenia woodburyana

),

Gesneria pauciflora

(no common name),

Stahlia monospermaI

(cóbana negra), and

Varronia rupicola

(no common name)

Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Croix and St. John)

Collection of seed, leaf, pollen, root, and cuttings

N/A

New.

PER27158305-0

Jonathan Lopez; Oxford, MS

Black clubshell (

Pleurobema curtum

), heavy pigtoe (

Pleurobema taitianum

), Neosho mucket (

Lampsilis rafinesqueana

),

Obovaria

spp., Ouachita rock pocketbook (

Arcidens wheeleri

), ovate clubshell (

Pleurobema perovatum

),

Pleurobema

spp., scaleshell mussel (

Leptodea leptodon

), sheepnose mussel (

Plethobasus cyphyus

), southern clubshell (

Pleurobema decisum

), southern combshell (

Epioblasma penita

), and triangular kidneyshell (

Ptychobranchus greenii

)

Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma

Surveys to determine population trends, assemblage health, and community structure. Listed species are not the target of the study, however, may be encountered within the study area

Handling

New.

PER30017987

Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research; Gainesville, FL

Leatherback sea turtle (

Dermochelys coriacea

)

Florida

Genetic sample collection from eggs and analysis

Collection

New.

PER30397395

Vanessa Vest; Ludlow, KY

Spectaclecase mussel (

Cumberlandia monodonta

), fanshell (

Cyprogenia stegaria

), purple catspaw (

Epioblasma obliquata

), white catspaw (pearlymussel) (

Epioblasma perobliqua

), northern riffleshell (

Epioblasma rangiana

), snuffbox (

Epioblasma triquetra

), longsolid (

Fusconaia subrotunda

), pink mucket (

Lampsilis abrupta

), Higgins eye pearlymussel (

Lampsilis higginsii

), scaleshell (

Leptodea leptodon

), ring pink (

Obovaria retusa

), round hickorynut (

Obovaria subrotunda

), James spinymussel (

Parvaspina collina

), Orangefoot pimpleback (

Plethobasus cooperianus

), sheepnose mussel (

Plethobasus cyphyus

), clubshell (

Pleurobema clava

), rough pigtoe (

Pleurobema plenum

), fat pocketbook (

Potamilus capax

), rabbitsfoot (

Quadrula cylindrica cylindrica

), and rayed bean (

Villosa fabalis

)

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

Presence/absence surveys

Handling

New.

PER30815306

Bat Education and Rehabilitation of Grainger County Inc.; Blain, TN

Gray bat (

Myotis grisescens

)

Tennessee

Housing, care, and display of unreleasable injured bat for education

Handling

New.

Public Availability of Comments

Written comments we receive become part of the administrative record associated with this action. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to 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

After the comment period closes, we will make decisions regarding permit issuance. If we issue permits to any of the applicants listed above in this notice, we will publish a subsequent notice in the

Federal Register

. The notice announcing the permit issuance may be located by searching regulations.gov for the permit application number listed in the table above. Enter the search exactly as the permit application number appears above, with spaces and hyphens as necessary. For example, to find information about the potential issuance of Permit No. PER1234567-0, go to

https://www.regulations.gov

and enter “PER1234567-0” in the Search field.

An interested party opposed to a recovery permit's issuance may object by following the requirements in 50 CFR 17.22(d). The Service will notify the interested party of the Service's decision on the permit application under that section.

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.

).

Christopher Cooley,

Deputy Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Southeast Region.

[FR Doc. 2026-10774 Filed 5-28-26; 8:45 am]

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