78060 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2023–0217; 

FXIA16710900000–234–FF09A30000] 

Foreign Endangered Species; Receipt 

of 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 to conduct 

certain activities with foreign species 

that are listed as endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). With 

some exceptions, the ESA prohibits 

activities with listed species unless 

Federal authorization is issued that 

allows such activities. The ESA also 

requires that we invite public comment 

before issuing permits for any activity 

otherwise prohibited by the ESA with 

respect to any endangered species. 

DATES: We must receive comments by 

December 14, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The 

applications, application supporting 

materials, and any comments and other 

materials that we receive will be 

available for public inspection at 

https://www.regulations.gov in Docket 

No. FWS–HQ–IA–2023–0217. 

Submitting Comments: When 

submitting comments, please specify the 

name of the applicant and the permit 

number at the beginning of your 

comment. You may submit comments 

by one of the following methods: 

• Internet: https://

www.regulations.gov. Search for and 

submit comments on Docket No. FWS– 

HQ–IA–2023–0217. 

• U.S. mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–HQ– 

IA–2023–0217; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W; 

5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 

22041–3803. 

For more information, see Public 

Comment Procedures under 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy MacDonald, by phone at 703– 

358–2185 or via email at DMAFR@

fws.gov. 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-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Comment Procedures 

A. How do I comment on submitted 

applications? 

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. 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods in 

ADDRESSES. We will not consider 

comments sent by email or to an address 

not in ADDRESSES. We will not consider 

or include in our administrative record 

comments we receive after the close of 

the comment period (see DATES). 

When submitting comments, please 

specify the name of the applicant and 

the permit number at the beginning of 

your comment. Provide sufficient 

information 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. 

B. May I review comments submitted by 

others? 

You may view and comment on 

others’ public comments at https://

www.regulations.gov unless our 

allowing so would violate the Privacy 

Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) or Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). 

C. Who will see my comments? 

If you submit a comment at https://

www.regulations.gov, your entire 

comment, including any personal 

identifying information, will be posted 

on the website. If you submit a 

hardcopy comment that includes 

personal identifying information, such 

as your address, phone number, or 

email address, 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. 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. 

II. Background 

To help us carry out our conservation 

responsibilities for affected species, and 

in consideration of section 10(c) of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 

we invite public comments on permit 

applications before final action is taken. 

With some exceptions, the ESA 

prohibits certain activities with listed 

species unless Federal authorization is 

issued that allows such activities. 

Permits issued under section 10(a)(1)(A) 

of the ESA allow otherwise prohibited 

activities for scientific purposes or to 

enhance the propagation or survival of 

the affected species. Service regulations 

regarding prohibited activities with 

endangered species, captive-bred 

wildlife registrations, and permits for 

any activity otherwise prohibited by the 

ESA with respect to any endangered 

species are available in title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations in part 17. 

III. Permit Applications 

We invite comments on the following 

applications. 

Applicant: International Crane 

Foundation, Baraboo, WI; Permit No. 

PER4959507 

The applicant requests a permit to 

export biological samples derived from 

wild whooping crane (Grus americana) 

taken in Arkansas National Wildlife 

Refuge, Austwell, Texas, for the purpose 

of enhancing the propagation or survival 

of the species through scientific 

research. This notification is for a single 

export. 

Applicant: Los Angeles Zoo, Los 

Angeles, CA; Permit No. PER4743691 

The applicant requests a permit to 

export one live captive-bred giant otter 

(Pteronura brasiliensis) to Fundacion 

Rewilding Argentina, Buenos Aires, 

Argentina, for the purpose of enhancing 

the propagation or survival of the 

species. This notification is for a single 

export. 

Applicant: The Wildcat Sanctuary, 

Sandstone, MN; Permit No. PER5170171 

The applicant requests a permit to 

import two live captive-bred Bengal 

tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) from 

Mendoza, Argentina, for the purpose of 

enhancing the propagation or survival of 

the species. This notification is for a 

single import. 

Applicant: Rancho Santa Ana Botanic 

Garden, Claremont, CA; Permit No. 

PER5068413 

The applicant requests authorization 

to export and re-import nonliving 

museum specimens of endangered 

species previously accessioned into the 

applicant’s collection for scientific 

research. This notification covers 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 / Notices 78061 

activities to be conducted by the 

applicant over a 5-year period. 

Multiple Trophy Applicants 

The following applicants request 

permits to import sport-hunted trophies 

of male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus 

pygargus) culled from a captive herd 

maintained under the management 

program of the Republic of South Africa, 

for the purpose of enhancing the 

propagation or survival of the species. 

• Marianne Kelley, Oklahoma City, OK; 

Permit No. 37949D 

• Donald Detweiler, Telford, PA; Permit 

No. PER4147647 

• George Ready, Hernando, MS; Permit 

No. PER5176185 

• James Frash, Naples, FL; Permit No. 

PER5176234 

• Deborah Holland, New Market, AL; 

Permit No. PER3088762 

IV. Next Steps 

After the comment period closes, we 

will make decisions regarding permit 

issuance. If we issue permits to any of 

the applicants listed in this notice, we 

will publish a notice in the Federal 

Register. You may locate the notice 

announcing the permit issuance by 

searching https://www.regulations.gov 

for the permit number listed above in 

this document. For example, to find 

information about the potential issuance 

of Permit No. 12345A, you would go to 

regulations.gov and search for 

‘‘12345A’’. 

V. Authority 

We issue this notice under the 

authority of the Endangered Species Act 

of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.), and its implementing regulations. 

Timothy MacDonald, 

Government Information Specialist, Branch 

of Permits, Division of Management 

Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24987 Filed 11–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

[23XD4523WU DS61100000 

DWUE30000.000000 DX61140] 

Environmental Justice Strategic Plan 

Draft Vision, Goals and Objectives 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Executive 

Order (E.O.) 14096, Revitalizing our 

Nation’s Commitment to Environmental 

Justice for All, the Department of the 

Interior (Department) is updating its 

Environmental Justice Strategic Plan 

and soliciting feedback on its draft 

environmental justice vision, goals, and 

objectives (included in Supplemental 

Information). The Department is also 

soliciting feedback on priority actions 

and performance metrics the 

Department should evaluate to advance 

the draft environmental justice vision, 

goals, and objectives. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

provide oral feedback on the 

Department’s draft environmental 

justice vision, goals, and objectives and 

priority actions or performance metrics 

the Department should evaluate to 

advance the draft environmental justice 

vision, goals, and objectives during one 

of three public virtual listening sessions: 

Date Time Location Registration link 

November 30, 2023 ............................... 3:00–4:30 p.m. ET ................................ Virtual .................... https://bit.ly/generalpublicsession1. 

November 30, 2023 ............................... 6:30–8:00 p.m. ET ................................ Virtual .................... https://bit.ly/generalpublicsession2. 

December 1, 2023 ................................. 3:00–4:30 p.m. ET ................................ Virtual .................... https://bit.ly/generalpublicsession3. 

Interested persons are also invited to 

provide written feedback. Consideration 

will be given to all comments received 

during the public listening sessions or 

postmarked by December 15, 2023. 

Please clearly indicate whether feedback 

is intended for the Department’s draft 

vision, draft goals, and/or draft 

objectives, priority actions and 

performance metrics. 

ADDRESSES: 

Submitting Comments: Interested 

persons may submit written comments 

by one of the following methods: 

1. By email to: Environmental_

Justice@ios.doi.gov. 

2. By hard copy to: Environmental 

Justice, U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Office of Environmental Policy and 

Compliance (MS–2629), 1849 C Street 

NW, Washington DC 20240. 

Written submissions must include 

your name and reference the 

Department’s Environmental Justice 

Strategic Plan. All feedback, including 

any personal information you provide, 

may be made public. Therefore, the 

Department cautions participants 

against providing information they do 

not want made available to the public or 

submitting materials that contain 

personal information (either about 

themselves or others). 

Accessing Documents and Additional 

Information: You may access 

information on the Department’s 

Environmental Justice program, 

information on the Environmental 

Justice Strategic Plan update, and the 

Department’s current Environmental 

Justice Strategic Plan at the 

Department’s environmental justice 

website at https://www.doi.gov/oepc/ 

resources/environmental-justice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cheryl Kelly, Office of Environmental 

Policy and Compliance, at 202 208– 

7565 or by email at cheryl_kelly@

ios.doi.gov. 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. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: Executive Order 14096 

directs Federal agencies to develop an 

Environmental Justice Strategic Plan 

that will ‘‘set forth the agency’s vision, 

goals, priority actions, and metrics to 

address and advance environmental 

justice and to fulfill the directives of 

[the E.O.], including through the 

identification of new staffing, policies, 

regulations, or guidance documents’’, as 

well as ‘‘identify and address 

opportunities through regulations, 

policies, permits, or other means to 

improve accountability and compliance 

with any statute the agency administers 

that affects the health and environment 

of communities with environmental 

justice concerns.’’ 

To advance environmental justice, the 

Department established an 

Environmental Justice Steering 

Committee, made up of representatives 

of the Department’s bureaus and offices. 

The Environmental Justice Steering 

Committee’s Policy Subcommittee 

developed the draft environmental 

justice vision, goals, and objectives on 

which feedback is being sought by 

evaluating the Department’s existing 

2016 Environmental Justice Strategic 

Plan, the Department’s 2022–2026 

Strategic Plan, recent Executive Orders, 

and input received from Departmental 

employees in feedback sessions. The 

Policy Subcommittee will evaluate all 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES