[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21019-21020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07916]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R3-ES-2020-N061; FXES11130300000-201-FF03E00000]


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.

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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 or threatened 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 on or before May 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Document availability and comment submission: Submit 
requests for copies of the applications and related documents, as well 
as any comments, by one of the following methods. All requests and 
comments should specify the applicant name(s) and application number(s) 
(e.g., TEXXXXXX; see table in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION):
     Email: [email protected]. Please refer to the respective 
application number (e.g., Application No. TEXXXXXX) in the subject line 
of your email message.
     U.S. Mail: Regional Director, Attn: Nathan Rathbun, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, 5600 American Blvd. 
West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan Rathbun, 612-713-5343 (phone); 
[email protected] (email). Individuals who are hearing or speech 
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY 
assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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

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

[[Page 21020]]



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  Application                                                                                           Permit
      No.           Applicant         Species          Location         Activity       Type of take     action
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TE53616C......  University of     Rusty patched    IL.............  Conduct          Add new          Amend
                 Illinois/         bumble bee                        presence/        activity--coll
                 Illinois          (Bombus                           absence          ect DNA,
                 Natural History   affinis).                         surveys,         fecal, and
                 Survey.                                             document         pollen
                                                                     habitat use,     samples,
                                                                     conduct          temporary
                                                                     population       hold--to
                                                                     monitoring,      existing
                                                                     evaluate         authorized
                                                                     impacts.         activities:
                                                                                      Capture,
                                                                                      handle,
                                                                                      release.
TE43541A......  Francesca J.      Piping plover    Add new          Conduct          Add new          Amend
                 Cuthbert, Saint   (Charadrius      locations--PA    presence/        activity--coll
                 Paul, MN.         melodus).        and NY--to       absence          ect DNA,
                                                    existing         surveys,         geolocator
                                                    authorized       document         tag--to
                                                    locations: IL,   habitat use,     existing
                                                    MI, WI.          conduct          authorized
                                                                     population       activities:
                                                                     monitoring,      Capture,
                                                                     evaluate         handle, band,
                                                                     impacts.         feather
                                                                                      sample, blood
                                                                                      sample, erect
                                                                                      exclosures,
                                                                                      salvage eggs
                                                                                      and chicks,
                                                                                      release.
TE70877D......  Jo Daviess        Rusty patched    IL.............  Conduct          Capture,         New
                 Conservation      bumble bee                        presence/        handle,
                 Foundation,       (Bombus                           absence          release.
                 Elizabeth, IL.    affinis).                         surveys,
                                                                     document
                                                                     habitat use,
                                                                     conduct
                                                                     population
                                                                     monitoring,
                                                                     evaluate
                                                                     impacts.
TE74312D......  Boone County      Rusty patched    IL.............  Conduct          Capture,         New
                 Conservation      bumble bee                        presence/        handle,
                 District,         (Bombus                           absence          release.
                 Belvidere, IL.    affinis).                         surveys,
                                                                     document
                                                                     habitat use,
                                                                     conduct
                                                                     population
                                                                     monitoring,
                                                                     evaluate
                                                                     impacts.
TE62311A......  Mary Gilmore,     Add gray bat     AL, AR, FL, GA,  Conduct          Capture,         Amend
                 Stow, OH.         (Myotis          IL, IN, IA,      presence/        handle, mist-
                                   grisescens) to   KS, KY, MD,      absence          net, harp
                                   existing         MI, MN, MS,      surveys,         trap, band,
                                   permitted        MO, MT, NE,      document         radio-tag,
                                   species:         NJ, NY, NC,      habitat use,     collect hair,
                                   Indiana bat      ND, OH, OK,      conduct          fungal lift
                                   (M. sodalis),    PA, SD, TN,      population       tap, wing
                                   northern long-   VT, VA, WV,      monitoring,      biopsy, and
                                   eared bat (M.    WI, WY.          evaluate         swab samples,
                                   septentrionali                    impacts.         release.
                                   s).
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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, 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. Moreover, 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.).

Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2020-07916 Filed 4-14-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P