# Endangered Wildlife; 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, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to recover and enhance endangered species survival. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits certain activities that may impact endangered species, unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.
**DATES:**
To ensure consideration, please submit your written comments by January 19, 2023.
**ADDRESSES:**
*Document availability:* Request documents from the contact in the *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* section.
*Comment submission:* Submit comments by email to *[email protected].* Please specify the permit application you are interested in by number ( *e.g.,* Permit Record No. PER1234567).
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Marty Tuegel, Supervisor, Environmental Review Division, by phone at 505-248-6651, or via email at *[email protected].* 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:**
**Background**
With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ), prohibits activities that constitute take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. The ESA's definition of “take” includes hunting, shooting, harming, wounding, or killing, and also such activities as pursuing, harassing, trapping, capturing, or collecting.
The ESA and our implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 50, part 17, provide for issuing such permits and require that we invite public comment before issuing permits for activities involving listed species.
A recovery permit we issue under the ESA, section 10(a)(1)(A), authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or enhance the species' propagation or survival. 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**
Documents and other information submitted with these applications are available for review by any party who submits a request as specified in *ADDRESSES* . Our release of documents is subject to Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) requirements.
Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild. 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. Please refer to the permit record number when submitting comments.
| Permit Record No. | Applicant | Species | Location | Activity | Type of take | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PER0055320 | George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center; Bartlesville, Oklahoma | Masked bobwhite quail (
) | Arizona, Oklahoma | Captive propagation | Harass, harm, capture | Renew. |
| PER0055321 | Boatright, Patrick; Dripping Springs, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, habitat assessment | Harass, harm | Amend. |
| PER0055322 | East Foundation; San Antonio, Texas | Ocelot (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, live capture, chemical immobilization, handling, tagging, bio-sample collection | Harass, harm, capture, collect | Renew/Amend. |
| PER0055325 | Gladstone, Nicholas; Austin, Texas | Coffin Cave mold beetle (
), Kretschmarr Cave mold beetle (
), Tooth Cave ground beetle (
), Bee Creek Cave harvestman (
), Bone Cave harvestman (
), Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion (
), Tooth Cave spider (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, habitat assessment | Harass, harm | Amend. |
| PER0055729 | Francke, Christopher; Cedar Park, Texas | Barton Springs salamander (
), Austin blind salamander (
), Texas blind salamander (
), Tooth Cave spider (
), Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion (
), Bee Creek Cave harvestman (
), Kretschmarr Cave mold beetle (
), Tooth Cave ground beetle (
), Bone Cave harvestman (
), Coffin Cave mold beetle (
), ground beetle (
), ground beetle (
), Helotes mold beetle (
), Cokendolpher Cave harvestman (
), Robber Baron Cave meshweaver (
), Madla Cave meshweaver (
), Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver (
), Government Canyon Bat Cave spider (
), Comal Springs riffle beetle (
), Comal Springs dryopid beetle (
), Peck's Cave amphipod (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, handling, capture, voucher specimen collection | Harass, harm, kill, capture | Renew. |
| PER0055763 | Texas State Aquarium; Corpus Christi, Texas | Kemp's ridley sea turtle (
), hawksbill sea turtle (
), leatherback sea turtle (
) | Texas | Document, examine, and salvage stranded sea turtles, capture/handle, tag, transport, receive, rehabilitate, and release stranded sea turtles, tissue/blood sample collection, educational display | Harass, harm, capture, collect | Renew/Amend. |
| PER0056417 | Cowan, Casey; San Antonio, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER0070221 | Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute; Kingsville, Texas | Ocelot (
), Gulf Coast jaguarundi (
) | Texas | Tissue sample collection | Harass, harm, capture, collect | Amend. |
| PER0065413 | Travis Audubon Society, Inc.; Leander, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, habitat assessment | Harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER0070375 | Clemens, Brad; Sierra Vista, Arizona | Southwestern willow flycatcher (
) | Arizona | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER0052843 | Pernicano, Martina; Golden, Colorado | Southwestern willow flycatcher (
) | Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER0018550 | Mowad, Gary; Scottsdale, Arizona | Ocelot (
), Gulf Coast jaguarundi (
) | Arizona, Texas | Camera monitoring using scents/attractants | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER0075733 | USFWS Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge; Sasabe, Arizona | Masked bobwhite quail (
) | Arizona | Maintain, propagate, release, monitor, conduct research, habitat management | Harass, harm, capture | Renew. |
**Public Availability of Comments**
All comments we receive become part of the public record associated with this action. Requests for copies of comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Service and Department of the Interior policies and procedures. 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 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.
**Authority**
We provide this notice under section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ).
Amy Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.