# Endangered Species; Recovery 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, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. 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 written data or comments on the applications by March 23, 2020.
**ADDRESSES:**
*Reviewing Documents:* Documents and other information submitted with the applications are available for review, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act. Submit a request for a copy of such documents to Karen Marlowe (see *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* ).
*Submitting Comments:* If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by one of the following methods:
• *U.S. mail or hand-delivery:* U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office, Ecological Services, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345 (Attn: Karen Marlowe, Permit Coordinator).
• *Email: [email protected].* Please include your name and return address in your email message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that we have received your email message, contact us directly at the telephone number listed in *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* .
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Karen Marlowe, Permit Coordinator, 404-679-7097 (telephone), *[email protected]* (email), or 404-679-7081 (fax). Individuals who are hearing or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
We invite review and comment from local, State, and Federal agencies and the public on applications we have received for permits to conduct certain activities with endangered and threatened species under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ), and our regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR part 17. With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits activities that constitute take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activities. The ESA's definition of “take” includes hunting, shooting, harming, wounding, or killing, and also such activities as pursuing, harassing, trapping, capturing, or collecting.
A recovery permit issued by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or for enhancement of propagation or survival of the species. These activities often include such prohibited actions as capture and collection. 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**
Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild. The ESA requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits. Accordingly, we invite local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the public to submit written data, views, or arguments with respect to these applications. The comments and recommendations that will be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are those supported by quantitative information or studies.
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.
| Permit Application No. | Applicant | Species/numbers | Location | Activity | Type of take | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TE 56515D-0 | Leslie Meade, Olympia, WA | Virginia big-eared bat (
), gray bat (
), northern long-eared bat (
), and Indiana bat (
) | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee | Presence/absence surveys | Capture with mist nets, handle, identify, band, radio-tag, and release | New. |
| TE 56588D-0 | Martin Melville, Marietta, GA | Laurel dace (
), blue shiner (
(=
)
), bluemask darter (
), Etowah darter (
), Okaloosa darter (
), duskytail darter (
), Cherokee darter (
), Cumberland darter (
), trispot darter (
), boulder darter (
), smoky madtom (
), chucky madtom (
), pygmy madtom (
), amber darter (
), goldline darter (
), Conasauga logperch (
), snail darter (
), blackside dace (
)
Cumberland elktoe (
), Appalachian elktoe (
), fat threeridge (
), spectaclecase (
), fanshell (
), dromedary pearlymussel (
), Chipola slabshell (
), Altamaha spinymussel (
), purple bankclimber (
), Cumberlandian combshell (
), oyster mussel (
), yellow blossom (
), tan riffleshell (
), upland combshell (
), southern acornshell (
), southern combshell (
), green blossom (
), tubercled blossom (
), snuffbox mussel (
),turgid blossom (
), tapered pigtoe (
), shiny pigtoe (
), finerayed pigtoe (
), narrow pigtoe (
), round ebonyshell (
), southern sandshell (
), cracking pearlymussel (
), pink mucket (
), finelined pocketbook (
), orangenacre (
), shinyrayed pocketbook (
), Alabama lampmussel (
), Carolina heelsplitter (
), birdwing pearlymussel (
), Alabama moccasinshell (
), Coosa moccasinshell (
), Gulf moccasinshell (
), Ochlockonee moccasinshell (
), Suwannee moccasinshell (
), ring pink (
), littlewing pearlymussel (
), white wartyback (
), orangefoot pimpleback (
), sheepnose mussel (
), clubshell (
), southern clubshell (
), southern pigtoe (
), Cumberland pigtoe (
), Georgia pigtoe (
), ovate clubshell (
), rough pigtoe (
), oval pigtoe (
), fuzzy pigtoe (
), slabside pearlymussel (
), fat pocketbook (
), triangular kidneyshell (
), fluted kidneyshell (
), rabbitsfoot (
), rough rabbitsfoot (
), winged mapleleaf (
), Cumberland monkeyface (
), Appalachian monkeyface (
), pale lilliput (
), Choctaw bean (
), rayed bean (
),purple bean (
), Cumberland bean (
), and
Nashville crayfish (
) | Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee | Presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, identify, and release | New. |
| TE 61239D-0 | Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington, DC | Red wolf (
) | Washington, D.C | Genome banking | Sperm collection and cryopreservation | New. |
| TE 62026D-0 | Catherine Haase, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN | Gray bat (
), northern long-eared bat (
), and Indiana bat (
) | Fort Campbell Army Base, Kentucky and Tennessee | Assessment of bat community structure and habitat use | Capture with mist nets, band, radio-tag, and release | New. |
| TE 064740-2 | Fort Stewart Fish and Wildlife Branch, Fort Stewart, GA | Red-cockaded woodpecker (
), eastern indigo snake (
), frosted flatwoods salamander (
), and smooth coneflower (
) | Georgia | Population monitoring and management; surveys; and captive rearing trials | Red-cockaded woodpecker: capture, band, construct and monitor artificial nest cavities and restrictors, and translocate; eastern indigo snake: capture, measure, weigh, and PIT-tag; frosted flatwoods salamander: capture with dip-nets and minnow traps, drift fences and buckets and collect larvae for captive rearing trials; smooth coneflower: remove and reduce to possession (collect) seeds for sowing on-site | Renewal and amendment. |
| TE 66005D-0 | Joseph T. Johnson, Todd, NC | Gray bat (
), Indiana bat (
), northern long-eared bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
(=
)
), and Virginia big-eared bat (
(=
)
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming | Presence/absence surveys, habitat assessments, habitat use studies, population monitoring, and studies to evaluate the effectiveness of acoustic identification methods | Enter hibernacula or maternity roost caves, capture with mist-nets or harp traps, handle, collect hair, fungal lift tape, swab, wing-punch, band, radio-tag, light-tag, PIT-tag, and salvage | New. |
| TE 56746B-4 | Joseph Johnson, Ohio University, Athens, OH | Indiana bat (
) and northern long-eared bat (
) | Ohio | Migration study | Capture with harp-traps, band, and radio-tag | Amendment. |
| TE 59318D-0 | Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, FL | (=
)
(=
) (aboriginal prickly-apple) | J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, FL | Genetic research and artificial propagation | Remove and reduce to possession (collect) spines, areoles, and seeds | New. |
| TE 65875D-0 | William Pruitt, Roswell, GA | blue shiner (
(=
)
), bluemask darter (
), relict darter (
), vermilion darter (
), Etowah darter (
), yellowcheek darter (
), watercress darter (
), duskytail darter (
), rush darter (
), Cherokee darter (
), Cumberland darter (
), trispot darter (
), boulder darter (
), Cahaba shiner (
), Cape Fear shiner (
), smoky madtom (
), pygmy madtom (
), goldline darter (
), Conasauga logperch (
), Roanoke logperch (
), snail darter (
), and blackside dace (
).
fat threeridge (
), purple bankclimber (
), shiny-rayed pocketbook (
), Gulf moccasinshell (
), and oval pigtoe (
) | Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia | Presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, identify, and release | New. |
**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.* ).
Matthew Dekar,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, South Atlantic, Gulf & Mississippi Basin Regions.