# Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permit Applications
**AGENCY:**
Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice of availability; request for comments.
**SUMMARY:**
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to enhance the survival of endangered or threatened species. Federal law prohibits certain activities with endangered species unless a permit is obtained.
**DATES:**
We must receive any written comments on or before May 26, 2017.
**ADDRESSES:**
Send written comments by U.S. mail to the Regional Director, Attn: Carlita Payne, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, 5600 American Blvd. West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; or by electronic mail to *[email protected].*
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Carlita Payne, (612) 713-5343.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
**Background**
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ), prohibits certain activities with endangered and threatened species unless the activities are specifically 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 permit granted by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with U.S. endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes, enhancement of propagation or survival, or interstate commerce (the latter only in the event that it facilitates scientific purposes or enhancement of propagation or survival). Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA 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.
**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 permit number when you submit comments. Documents and other information the applicants have submitted with the 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 Applications**
Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of survival of the species in the wild.
| Application No. | Applicant | Species | Location | Activity | Type of take | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TE19208C | Ashley Matteson | Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), northern long- eared bat (
) | Rangewide | Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts | Capture, handle, mist-net, harp trap, radio-tag, band, release | New. |
| TE71821A | David Zanatta | Snuffbox (
), white cat's paw pearly mussel (
), northern riffleshell (
), rayed bean (
), clubshell (
), rabbitsfoot mussel (
) | Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin | Conduct presence/absence surveys, relocations, transport | Capture, handle, relocate, release | Amend, renew. |
| TE120259 | Missouri Department of Conservation | Pallid sturgeon (
) | Kansas, Missouri | Capture, collect morphological data, collect blood and tissue samples, use gill nets, conduct diet evaluation, hold and transport individuals for brood stock | Capture, handle, release, transport | Amend, renew. |
| TE73584A | Illinois Natural History Survey | 15 freshwater mussel species | Illinois | Conduct presence/absence surveys, relocations, transport | Capture, handle, release | Renew. |
| TE40128B | Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc | 27 freshwater mussel species | Rangewide | Conduct presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, release | Renew. |
| TE02344A | Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc | 20 freshwater mussel species | Rangewide | Conduct presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, release | Renew. |
| TE48835A | Applied Science and Technology Inc | Snuffbox (
), white cat's paw pearly mussel (
), purple cat's paw pearlymussel (
), northern riffleshell (
), rayed bean (
), clubshell (
) | Michigan, Ohio | Conduct presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, release | Amend, renew. |
| TE697830 | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 3 | Multiple mammal, bird, amphibian, fish, mussel, snail, insect, crustacean, and plant species | Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin | Conduct approved recovery activities for scientific purposes or the enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild | Capture, handle, harass, transport, propagate, hold, relocate, release | Amend. |
| TE207526 | U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center | Pallid sturgeon (
), Neosho madtom (
) | Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota | Capture, collect morphological data, collect blood and tissue sample, hold and transport individuals for brood stock | Capture, handle, release, transport | Amend, renew. |
| TE206781 | Ecological Specialists, Inc | 58 freshwater mussel species | Rangewide | Conduct presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, release | Amend. |
| TE07358A | Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc | Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), northern long- eared bat (
), Virginia big-eared bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
) | Rangewide | Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts | Capture, handle, mist-net, harp trap, radio-tag, band, release | Renew, amend. |
| TE06801A | Pittsburgh Wildlife & Environmental, Inc | Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), northern long- eared bat (
), Big Sandy crayfish (
), Guyandotte River crayfish (
) | Rangewide | Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts | Capture, handle, temporarily hold, release | Amend. |
| TE38842A | Sanders Environmental Inc | Indiana bat (
), northern long- eared bat (
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi | Conduct presence/absence surveys, document habitat use, conduct population monitoring, evaluate impacts | Capture, handle, mist-net, radio- tag, band, release | Amend. |
**National Environmental Policy Act**
The proposed activities in the requested permits qualify as categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act, as provided by Department of the Interior implementing regulations in part 46 of title 43 of the CFR (43 CFR 46.205, 46.210, and 46.215).
**Public Availability of Comments**
We seek public review and comments on these permit applications. Please refer to the permit number when you submit comments. Comments and materials we receive in response to this notice are available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the address listed above in *ADDRESSES* .
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 ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ).
Dated: March 3, 2017.
Sean O. Marsan,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.