# 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 October 29, 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:* 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 | Applicant | Species | Location | Activity | Type of take | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TE 88789B-1 | Sharon Davis, Evening Shade, AR | Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), northern long-eared bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
), and Virginia big-eared bat (
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, 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, population monitoring | Enter hibernacula or maternity roost caves, salvage dead bats, capture with mist nets or harp traps, handle, identify, band, radio-tag, collect hair samples, swab, and wing-punch | Amendment. |
| TE 06338C-2 | David Foltz II, Weirton, WV | Fish: Candy darter (
), diamond darter (
), and Roanoke logperch (
); Mussels: Clubshell (
), cracking pearlymussel (
), Cumberland combshell (
), dromedary pearlymussel (
), fanshell (
), fat pocketbook (
), fluted kidneyshell (
), Higgins eye pearlymussel (
), James River spinymussel (
), northern riffleshell (
), orangefoot pimpleback (
), oyster mussel (
), pink mucket (
), purple cat's paw (
), rabbitsfoot (
spp.
), rayed bean (
), ring pink (
), rough pigtoe (
), sheepnose (
), snuffbox (
), spectaclecase (
), tubercled blossom (
), white cat's paw (
), and white wartyback (
); Crayfish: Nashville crayfish (
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin | Presence/absence surveys, population monitoring | Fish: Electro-shock, seine, capture, handle, identify, and release; Mussels: Remove from the substrate for identification, identify, return, and salvage relic shells; Crayfish: Capture via seining, handle, identify, and release | Amendment. |
| TE 64232B-1 | Joshua Young, Lexington, KY | Bats: Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), northern long-eared bat (
), and Virginia big-eared bat (
); Mussels: Clubshell (
), cracking pearlymussel (
), Cumberland bean pearlymussel (
), Cumberlandian combshell (
), Cumberland elktoe (
), dromedary pearlymussel (
), fanshell (
), fat pocketbook (
), fluted kidneyshell (
), little-wing pearlymussel (
), northern riffleshell (
), orange-foot pimpleback pearlymussel (
), oyster mussel (
), pink mucket pearlymussel (
), purple cat's paw (
), rabbitsfoot (
), rink ping (
), rough pigtoe (
), scaleshell (
), sheepnose (
slabside pearlymussel (
), snuffbox (
), spectaclecase mussel (
), tan riffleshell (
), tubercled-blossom pearlymussel (
), and white wartyback pearlymussel (
) | Bats: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia; Mussels: Kentucky | Presence/absence surveys, studies to document habitat use, and population monitoring | Bats: Enter hibernacula and maternity roost caves, capture with mist nets or harp traps, handle, identify, band, and radio-tag; Mussels: capture, identify, tag, release, and collect relict shells | Renewal. |
| TE 206741-2 | Metro Water Services, Nashville, TN | Nashville crayfish (
) | Mill Creek Watershed, Davidson County, TN | Presence/absence surveys, population monitoring | Capture, handle, identify, measure, sex, and release | Renewal/Amendment. |
| TE 98596B-2 | Sarah Veselka, Morgantown, WV | Big Sandy crayfish (
) and Guyandotte River crayfish (
) | Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia | Presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, identify, measure, and release | Amendment. |
| TE 82659D-0 | Sarah Messer, Huntington, WV | American burying beetle (
) | Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Capture, handle, identify, and release | New. |
| TE 83157D-0 | Matthew Miller, Ashland, OR | (green pitcher-plant),
ssp.
(Alabama canebrake pitcher-plant), and
ssp.
(Mountain sweet pitcher-plant) | Oregon | Interstate commerce | Sell artificially propagated plants in interstate commerce | New. |
| TE 68616B-2 | Carla Atkinson, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL | Mussels: Alabama (=inflated) heelsplitter (
), Alabama lampmussel (
), Alabama moccasinshell (
), Chipola slabshell (
), Coosa moccasinshell (
), cracking pearlymussel (
), Cumberlandian combshell (
), dark pigtoe (
), fat threeridge (
), fine-lined pocketbook (
), fine-rayed pigtoe (
), fluted kidneyshell (
), Georgia pigtoe (
), Gulf moccasinshell (
), heavy pigtoe (
), orange-nacre mucket (
), oval pigtoe (
), ovate clubshell (
), oyster mussel (
), pale lilliput pearlymussel (
), purple bankclimber (
), rabbitsfoot (
), ring pink (
), round ebonyshell (
), shiny pigtoe (
), shinyrayed pocketbook (
), slabside pearlymussel (
), snuffbox mussel (
), southern clubshell (
), southern combshell (
), southern pigtoe (
), and triangular kidneyshell (
); Gastropods: Tulotoma snail (
) | Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee | Presence/absence surveys and excretion/respiration Studies | Capture, handle, identify, hold temporarily in containers in stream, and release | Renewal. |
**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.* ).
John Tirpak,
Deputy Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.