# 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, permit renewals, and/or permit amendments to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. 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 December 19, 2022.
**ADDRESSES:**
*Reviewing Documents:* Submit requests for copies of applications and other information submitted with the applications to Karen Marlowe (see *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* ). All requests and comments should specify the applicant name and application number ( *e.g.,* Mary Smith, ESPER0001234).
*Submitting Comments:* If you wish to comment, you may submit comments by one of the following methods:
• *Email (preferred method): [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.*
• *U.S. mail:* U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office, Ecological Services, 1875 Century Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30345 (Attn: Karen Marlowe, Permit Coordinator).
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Karen Marlowe, Permit Coordinator, 404-679-7097 (telephone) or *[email protected]* (email). Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite review and comment from the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies 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. Documents and other information submitted with the applications are available for review, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
**Background**
With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that authorizes such take. 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 take endangered or threatened species while engaging in activities that are conducted for scientific purposes that promote recovery of species or for enhancement of propagation or survival of species. These activities often include the capture and collection of species, which would result in prohibited take if a permit were not issued. 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**
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. Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild.
| Permit | Applicant | Species | Location | Activity | Type of take | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ES03305C-1 | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District; Memphis, TN | Chipola slabshell (
), clubshell (
), Curtis pearlymussel (
), fanshell (
), fat pocketbook (
), fat threeridge (
), Higgins eye (
), inflated heelsplitter (
), Louisiana pearlshell (
), northern riffleshell (
), orangefoot pimpleback (
), Ouachita rock pocketbook (
), oval pigtoe (
), ovate clubshell (
), pink mucket (
), purple bankclimber (
), rabbitsfoot (
), rayed bean (
), ring pink (
), rough pigtoe (
), scaleshell (
), sheepnose (
), snuffbox (
), southern clubshell (
), spectaclecase (
), white wartyback (
), and winged mapleleaf (
) | Alabama. Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin | Presence/probable absence surveys | Capture, handle, identify, and release | Renewal and amendment. |
| ES55292B-3 | University of Florida; Gainesville, FL | Everglade snail kite (
) | Florida | Demographic and movement studies, genetic analyses, and avian vacuolar myelinopathy research | Install cameras at nests and collect deceased individuals, unviable eggs, and eggshells | Amendment. |
| ES011542-11 | Conservation Fisheries, Inc.; Knoxville, TN | Barrens topminnow (
) | Tennessee | Presence/probable absence surveys | Capture, handle, identify, and release | Amendment. |
| PER0055231-0 | Matthew A. Bolton; Gainesville, GA | Fishes: amber darter (
blue shiner (
), Cherokee darter (
), Conasauga logperch (
), Etowah darter (
), goldline darter (
), snail darter (
), and trispot darter (
); Mussels: Alabama moccasinshell (
), Altamaha spinymussel (
), Atlantic pigtoe (
), Coosa moccasinshell (
), fat threeridge (
), finelined pocketbook (
), Georgia pigtoe (
), Gulf moccasinshell (
), Ochlockonee moccasinshell (
), ovate clubshell (
), oval pigtoe (
), purple bankclimber (
), shinyrayed pocketbook (
), southern acornshell (
), southern clubshell (
), southern pigtoe (
), Suwannee moccasinshell (
), and triangular kidneyshell (
) | Georgia | Presence/probable absence surveys | Fishes: Capture, handle, identify, and release; Mussels: Remove from substrate, handle, identify, release, and salvage relic shells | New. |
**Public Availability of Comments**
Written comments we receive become part of the administrative record associated with this action. 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. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their entirety.
**Next Steps**
If we decide to issue a permit to an applicant listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the *Federal Register* .
**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, Southeast Region.