Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 229 / Friday, November 28, 1997 / Notices 63375

Summary of Activity to be

Authorized: The applicant has requested

amendment and renewal of their permit

to take captive manatees at facilities in

Florida for the purpose of scientific

research. The only amendments are

staff-related.

Source of Marine Mammals: Captive

manatees at facilities in Florida.

Period of Activity: Up to five years

from issuance date of the permit, if

issued.

Concurrent with the publication of

this notice in the Federal Register, the

Office of Management Authority is

forwarding copies of this application to

the Marine Mammal Commission and

the Committee of Scientific Advisors for

their review.

Written data or comments, requests

for copies of any of these complete

applications, or requests for a public

hearing on these applications should be

sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Office of Management

Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room

700, Arlington, Virginia 22203,

telephone 703/358–2104 or fax 703/358-

2281 and must be received on or before

December 29, 1997. Anyone requesting

a hearing should give specific reasons

why a hearing would be appropriate.

The holding of such a hearing is at the

discretion of the Director.

Documents and other information

submitted with the 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 to the above

address within 30 days of the date of

publication of this notice.

Dated: November 20, 1997.

Mary Ellen Amtower,

Acting Chief, Branch of Permits, Office of

Management Authority.

[FR Doc. 97–31200 Filed 11–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of Draft

Conservation Agreement for the

Wasatch Front and West Desert

Populations (Utah) of Spotted Frog

(Rana luteiventris) for Review and

Comment

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

announces the availability for public

review of a Draft Conservation

Agreement for the spotted frog (Rana

luteiventris) in Utah. This species is a

candidate for Federal listing pursuant to

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended. The Conservation Agreement

was developed by the Utah Department

of Natural Resources, with participation

from the following parties: Bureau of

Land Management; Utah Reclamation,

Mitigation and Conservation

Commission; Bureau of Reclamation;

Central Utah Water Conservancy

District; the Confederated Tribes of the

Goshute Reservation; and the Service.

The agreement focuses on eliminating or

minimizing threats to the spotted frog

and its habitat to the greatest extent

possible and on restoring and

maintaining populations of spotted frog

throughout its historical range in Utah.

The Service solicits review and

comment from the public on the draft

agreement.

DATES: Comments on the Draft

Conservation Agreement must be

received on or before December 29,

1997, to be considered by the Service

during preparation of the final

conservation agreement and prior to the

Service’s determination whether it will

be a signatory party to the agreement.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review

the Draft Conservation Agreement may

obtain a copy by contacting the Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 145 East 1300 South, Suite 404,

Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. Written

comments and materials regarding the

Draft Conservation Agreement should

also be directed to the same address.

Comments and written materials will be

available upon request for public

inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Reed E. Harris, Field Supervisor (see

ADDRESSES section) (telephone 801/524–

5001).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The spotted frog belongs to the family

of true frogs, the Ranidae. Adult frogs

have large, dark spots on their backs and

pigmentation on their abdomens ranging

from yellow to red (Turner 1957).

Spotted frogs along the Wasatch Front

generally possess a salmon color

ventrally, while West Desert and

Sanpete County, Utah populations

generally have a yellow to yelloworange color ventrally. Spotted frogs in

Utah are reported to have fewer and

lighter colored spots (Colburn, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, pers. comm.,

1992) than other populations. The

spotted frog is closely associated with

water (Dumas 1966, Nussbaum et al.

1983). Habitat includes the marshy

edges of ponds, lakes, slow-moving cool

water streams and springs (Licht 1974;

Nussbaum et al. 1983; Morris and

Tanner 1969; Hovingh 1987). The

present distribution of the spotted frog

includes a main population in southeast

Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia,

eastern Washington, northeastern

Oregon, northern and central Idaho, and

western Montana and Wyoming.

Additional disjunct populations occur

in northeastern California, southern

Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and western

Washington and Oregon.

On May 1, 1989, the Service received

a petition from the Board of Directors of

the Utah Nature Study Society

requesting that the Service add the

spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) to the List

of Threatened and Endangered Species

and to specifically consider the status of

the Wasatch, Utah, population. The

Service subsequently published a notice

of a 90-day finding in the Federal

Register (54 FR 42529) on October 17,

1990 and a notice of the 12-month

petition finding in the Federal Register

(58 FR 27260) on May 7, 1993. In the 12-

month petition finding the Service

found that listing of the spotted frog as

threatened in some portions of its range

was warranted but precluded by other

higher priority listing actions. The

Service found, based on geographic and

climatic separation and supported by

genetic separation, five distinct

vertebrate populations of spotted frog.

Listing of both the populations

occurring in Utah, the Wasatch Front

and West Desert populations, was found

to be warranted but precluded and both

populations were transferred from

category 2 candidates to category 1. The

Wasatch Front population was assigned

a listing priority number of 3 because

the magnitude of the threats were high

and imminent, while the West Desert

population was assigned a listing

priority of 9 because of moderate to low

threats.

In the 1997 Candidate Notice of

Review (62 FR 49398) published on

September 19, 1997, the Service, based

on newly published genetic research

(Green 1997), assigned a new scientific

name (Rana luteiventris) and common

name (Columbia spotted frog) to several

populations of the spotted frog,

including both the Wasatch Front and

West Desert populations. Additionally,

the listing priority number for the West

Desert populations was raised from a 9

to a 6.

Shortly after notice of the 12-month

petition finding was published, the Utah

Department of Natural Resources

initiated a monitoring program for the
63376 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 229 / Friday, November 28, 1997 / Notices

species in Utah and began development

of a Conservation Agreement, working

cooperatively with other agencies, in an

effort to reduce the threats affecting the

spotted frog. The Draft Conservation

Agreement focuses on identifying,

reducing and eliminating significant

threats to the species that warrant its

listing as a threatened species, and on

restoring and maintaining a minimum of

nine populations throughout Utah. This

will be accomplished through

implementation of the following

conservation actions: (1) Determining

baseline spotted frog distribution and

available habitat; (2) determining

baseline spotted frog population, life

history and habitat needs; (3)

determining and maintaining genetic

composition and integrity: (4)

augmenting or expanding spotted frog

populations and distribution through

introduction or reintroduction; (5)

enhancing and maintaining habitat; (6)

selectively controlling nonnative

species; (7) protecting and providing

habitat for spotted frog; (8) monitoring

populations and habitat; (9) developing

mitigation protocols for proposed

development projects and future habitat

alteration; and (10) protecting spotted

frog populations through the use of

regulatory mechanisms.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service will use information

received in its determination on

whether it should be a signatory party

to the agreement. Comments or

suggestions from the public, other

concerned government agencies, the

scientific community, industry, or any

other interested party concerning this

draft document are hereby solicited. All

comments and materials received will

be considered prior to the approval of

any final document.

Author: The primary author of this

document is Janet A. Mizzi (see

ADDRESSES section) (telephone 801/524–

5001).

Authority

The authority for this action is the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

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

Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, the Fish

and Wildlife Service Coordination Act

of 1964, and the National Memorandum

of Understanding (94 (SMU–058)).

Dated: November 21, 1997.

Ralph O. Morgenweek,

Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.

[FR Doc. 97–31292 Filed 11–26–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Issuance of Permit for Marine

Mammals

On September 5, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 172, Page 47040, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by Charles Ball,

Watertown, NY for a permit (PRT–

833846) to import a sport-hunted polar

bear (Ursus maritimus) trophy, taken

prior to April 30, 1994, from the Parry

Channel population (now known as

Lancaster Sound), Northwest

Territories, Canada for personal use.

Notice is hereby given that on

November 12, 1997, as authorized by

the provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

On September 5, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 172, Page 47040, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by Gary Dietrich,

Bismarck, ND for a permit (PRT–

833835) to import a sport-hunted polar

bear (Ursus maritimus) trophy, taken

from the Northern Beaufort Sea

population, Northwest Territories,

Canada for personal use.

Notice is hereby given that on

November 12, 1997, as authorized by

the provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

On September 11, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 176, Page 47825, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by Shannon

Kollmeyer, Chelan, WA for a permit

(PRT–833972) to import a sport-hunted

polar bear (Ursus maritimus) trophy,

taken prior to April 30, 1994, from the

Parry Channel population (now known

as Lancaster Sound), Northwest

Territories, Canada for personal use.

Notice is hereby given that on

November 12, 1997, as authorized by

the provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

On September 11, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 176, Page 47825, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by Lynn Herbert,

Myrtle Creek, OR for a permit (PRT–

833971) to import a sport-hunted polar

bear (Ursus maritimus) trophy, taken

from the Southern Beaufort Sea

population, Northwest Territories,

Canada for personal use.

Notice is hereby given that on

November 12, 1997, as authorized by

the provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

On June 13, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 114, Page 32364, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by Helmuth

Pfennig, Beulah, ND for a permit (PRT–

827717) to import a polar bear (Ursus

maritimus) from Canada for the purpose

of public display.

Notice is hereby given that on

November 7, 1997, as authorized by the

provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

On July 31, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 147, Page 41072, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by the Lisbon

Aquarium, c/o IDEA Co., Cambridge,

MA for a permit (PRT–834423) to collect

up to four Alaskan sea otters (Enhydra

lutris) for export to the Lisbon

Aquarium, Portugal for the purpose of

public display.

Notice is hereby given that on

September 15, 1997, as authorized by

the provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the

requested permit subject to certain

conditions set forth therein.

On August 7, 1997, a notice was

published in the Federal Register, Vol.

62, No. 152, Page 42588, that an

application had been filed with the Fish

and Wildlife Service by the Le Grand

Aquarium, c/o IDEA Co., Cambridge,

MA for a permit (PRT–832098) to collect

up to two Alaskan sea otters (Enhydra

lutris) for export to the Le Grand

Aquarium, France for the purpose of

public display.

Notice is hereby given that on

September 15, 1997, as authorized by

the provisions of the Marine Mammal

Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16

U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) the Fish and

Wildlife Service authorized the