[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 1550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-93]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Endangered Species Recovery Permit Application

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of a permit application.

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SUMMARY: The following applicant has applied for an enhancement of 
propagation or survival permit to conduct certain activities with 
endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered 
Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (``we'') solicits 
review and comment from local, State and Federal agencies, and the 
public on the following permit request.

DATES: Comments on this permit application must be received on or 
before February 9, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written data or comments should be submitted to the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Chief, Endangered Species, Ecological 
Services, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181 (fax: 503-
231-6243). Please refer to the permit number when submitting comments. 
All comments received, including names and addresses, will become part 
of the official administrative record and may be made available to the 
public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Documents and other information 
submitted with this application are available for review, subject to 
the requirements of the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, by 
any party who submits a written request for a copy of such documents 
within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice to the address 
above (telephone: 503-231-2063). Please refer to the permit number when 
requesting copies of documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Permit No. TE-114934

Applicant: Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho.
    The applicant requests a permit to take (harass by survey, capture, 
handle, collar, take blood samples, relocate, sacrifice, and release) 
the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in conjunction with wolf management 
activities in the State of Idaho north of Interstate 90, for the 
purpose of enhancing its survival.

    The applicant proposes to: (a) Conduct monitoring of wolf 
populations; and (b) coordinate non-lethal and lethal control actions 
to reduce wolf conflicts with livestock and dogs. These actions are 
currently coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). 
If the permit is issued, the applicant would take on responsibility for 
managing wolves in northern Idaho. Wolf management activities would be 
in accordance with the requirements of the State of Idaho Wolf 
Conservation and Management Plan (March 2002) and the Service's Interim 
Wolf Control Plan for Northwestern Montana and the Panhandle of 
Northern Idaho (Control Plan) (September 1999).
    If issued, the permit would not affect ongoing wolf management in 
the remainder of the State of Idaho conducted in accordance with the 
non-essential experimental population regulations found at 50 CFR 
17.84(n).
    We have determined that a practical, responsive management program 
is essential to enhancing survival of the wolf in the wild (Service 
1987; Service 1994; Service 1999). The program must respond to wolf-
livestock conflicts, while promoting wolf recovery objectives. The 
Control Plan provides guidelines for: (a) Determining problem wolf 
status (including investigative procedures and criteria), (b) 
conducting wolf control actions, and (c) disposition of problem wolves.
    We have made a preliminary determination that issuance of this 
permit would be categorically excluded from further consideration under 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). If issued, the 
permit would authorize Idaho Department of Fish and Game to manage 
wolves in the same manner that the Service has in the 6 years since the 
Control Plan was adopted for northern Idaho. No additional 
environmental impacts would be expected beyond those analyzed in the 
Service's 1988 Environmental Assessment, the Service's 1999 
Environmental Action Memorandum, and the Control Plan. The effect of 
the permit would be to allow continuation of previously analyzed and 
authorized activities; therefore, its issuance would be an 
administrative action.
    Our preliminary NEPA categorical exclusion determination, the two 
wolf plans noted above, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game 
permit application, can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/default.htm.
    Additional information about wolf recovery and conservation in the 
northwestern United States, including control of problem wolves, can be 
found in various reports at: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov/.
    All comments received from individuals become part of the official 
public record. Requests for such comments will be handled in accordance 
with the Freedom of Information Act and the Council on Environmental 
Quality's National Environmental Protection Act regulations [40 CFR 
1506.6(f)]. Our practice is to make comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home address from the record, but this must be stated prominently 
at the beginning of their comments. We will honor these requests to the 
extent allowable by law.
    We solicit public review and comment on this recovery permit 
application.

    Authority: This document is published under the authority of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: December 13, 2005.
David J. Wesley,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-93 Filed 1-9-06; 8:45 am]
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