[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2118-2119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00551]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-ES-2015-N003; FXES11130200000-156-FF02ENEH00]


Endangered and Threatened Species Permit Applications

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to 
comment on the following applications to conduct certain activities 
with endangered or threatened species. The Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (Act), prohibits activities with endangered and 
threatened species unless a Federal permit allows such activities. Both 
the Act and the National Environmental Policy Act require that we 
invite public comment before issuing these permits.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be received on or 
before February 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Susan Jacobsen, Chief, Division of Classification and 
Restoration, by U.S. mail at Division of Classification and Recovery, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103; 
or by telephone at 505-248-6920. Please refer to the respective permit 
number for each application when submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Jacobsen, Chief, Division of 
Classification and Restoration, by U.S. mail at P.O. Box 1306, 
Albuquerque, NM 87103; or by telephone at 505-248-6920.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) prohibits 
activities with endangered and threatened species unless a Federal 
permit allows such activities. Along with our implementing regulations 
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17, the Act provides 
for permits, and requires that we invite public comment before issuing 
these permits.
    A permit granted by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Act 
authorizes applicants to conduct activities with U.S. endangered or 
threatened species for scientific purposes, enhancement of survival or 
propagation, or interstate commerce. Our regulations regarding 
implementation of section 10(a)(1)(A) 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.

Applications Available for Review and Comment

    We invite local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the public 
to comment on the following applications. Please refer to the 
appropriate permit number (e.g., Permit No. TE-123456) when requesting 
application documents and when submitting comments.
    Documents and other information the applicants have submitted with 
these applications are available for review, subject to the 
requirements of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

Permit TE-819477

Applicant: Parametrix, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico.

    Applicant requests a renewal to a current permit for research and 
recovery purposes to conduct presence/absence surveys of the following 
species within New Mexico:

<bullet> Interior least tern (Sterna antillarum)
<bullet> Jemez Mountain salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus)
<bullet> Loach minnow (Tiaroga cobitis)
<bullet> Northern aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis)
<bullet> Piping plover (Charadrius melodus)
<bullet> Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)
<bullet> Spikedace (Meda fulgida)

Permit TE-829761

Applicant: U.S. Bureau of Land Management--Las Cruces District Office, 
Las Cruces, New Mexico.

    Applicant requests a renewal to a current permit for research and 
recovery purposes to conduct presence/absence surveys of the following 
species within Arizona and New Mexico:

<bullet> Lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae)
<bullet> Loach minnow (Tiaroga cobitis)
<bullet> Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis)
<bullet> Northern aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis)
<bullet> Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)
<bullet> Spikedace (Meda fulgida)

Permit TE-819528

Applicant: Natural Heritage New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

    Applicant requests a renewal to a current permit for research and 
recovery purposes to conduct presence/absence surveys for northern 
aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis) and presence/absence surveys and nest 
monitoring of southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii 
extimus) within New Mexico.

Permit TE-66055A

Applicant: Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park, Window Rock, 
Arizona.

    Applicant requests a new permit for research and recovery purposes 
to conduct husbandry and holding of black footed ferrets (Mustela 
nigripes) at the zoo within Arizona.

Permit TE-833866

Applicant: Texas Forest Service, Lufkin, Texas.

    Applicant requests a renewal to a current permit for research and 
recovery purposes to conduct presence/absence surveys, cavity 
searchers, capture and band, and install restrictor plates for red-
cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) within Texas.

Permit TE-094365

Applicant: Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

    Applicant requests a new permit for research and recovery purposes 
to conduct presence/absence surveys, seining, and capture and release 
of leopard darter (Percina pantherina) and Neosho madtom (Noturus 
placidus) within Oklahoma.

Permit TE-54802B

Applicant: Megan Phillips-Schaap, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    Applicant requests a new permit for research and recovery purposes 
to conduct presence/absence surveys of American burying beetle 
(Nicrophorus americanus) within Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, 
Oklahoma, and Texas.

Permit TE-091551

Applicant: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--Mexican Wolf Recovery 
Program, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

    Applicant requests a renewal to a current permit for research and 
recovery purposes to conduct the following activities for Mexican gray 
wolf (Canis lupis baileyi) within Arizona and New Mexico: Capture, 
including, but not limited to, leg-hold traps, helicopter or ground 
darting and net-gunning, and captive capture methods; handle; 
possession; administration of health care; propagation; radio collar or 
other

[[Page 2119]]

marking techniques; release; obtain and preserve blood, tissue, semen, 
ova, and other samples that are considered parts of wolves (scat is not 
considered a part of a wolf and can be collected without a permit); 
translocate; transport between approved Mexican wolf captive management 
facilities in the United States and Mexico, to approved release sites, 
and to and from the Vermejo Park Ranch; purposeful lethal take (lethal 
control is limited to Mexican wolves within the MWEPA in Arizona and 
New Mexico); hazing via less-than-lethal projectiles; injurious 
harassment; research; and any other USFWS-approved husbandry practice 
or management action for Mexican wolves.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

    In compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we have made an 
initial determination that the proposed activities in these permits are 
categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental 
assessment or environmental impact statement (516 DM 6 Appendix 1, 
1.4C(1)).

Public Availability of Comments

    All comments and materials we receive in response to this request 
will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal 
business hours at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice.
    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 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

Authority

    We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.)

    Dated: January 8, 2015.
Joy E. Nicholopoulos,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-00551 Filed 1-14-15; 8:45 am]
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