# 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 May 1, 2024.
**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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PER6195945 | Wildlife World Zoo, Inc.; Litchfield Park, Arizona | Kemp's ridley sea turtle (
) | Arizona | Educational display | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER5348794 | Vaughn, Caryn; Norman, Oklahoma | Ouachita rock pocketbook (
), scaleshell mussel (
), winged mapleleaf (
) | Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER5348793 | Cantu, Eric; Edinburg, Texas | Texas hornshell (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER5530131 | Martin, Keith; Claremore, Oklahoma | Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
(=
)
), northern long-eared bat (
) | Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER5699079 | McLean, Jesse; Dallas, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER6816223 | Gonzales, Kelly; Houston, Texas | Gulf coast jaguarundi (
), ocelot (
(=
)
), northern aplomado falcon (
) | Arizona, New Mexico, Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew/amend. |
| PER7135821 | Tulsa District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Tulsa, Oklahoma | Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
(=
)
) Ouachita rock pocketbook (
), winged mapleleaf (
) | Kansas, Oklahoma | Presence/absence surveys, handle, tag, salvage, bio-sample, band | Capture, harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER8668105 | Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management; Carlsbad, New Mexico | Lesser prairie-chicken (
) | New Mexico | Presence/absence surveys, lek tours | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER6353114 | Solari, Whitney; Bryan, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER7248560 | Raven Environmental Services, Inc.; Huntsville, Texas | Red-cockaded woodpecker (
) | Louisiana, Texas | Presence/absence surveys, nest monitoring, band, sexing, translocation, artificial cavity installation | Capture, harass, harm | Renew/amend. |
| PER7365932 | Kutz, Julie; Albuquerque, New Mexico | Southwestern willow flycatcher (
) | New Mexico | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER7032540 | Blankenship, Ryan; Duncanville, Texas | Gray bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
(=
)
), northern long-eared bat (
), Indiana bat (
), lesser prairie-chicken (
), fountain darter (
), Neosho mucket (
), Ouachita rock pocketbook (
), scaleshell mussel (
), winged mapleleaf (
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, 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 Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming | Presence/absence surveys, handle, tag, salvage, bio-sample, band | Capture, harass, harm | New. |
| PER8778179 | Baer Engineering and Environmental Consulting, Inc.; Austin, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Amend. |
| PER9199896 | Bey, Trinity; Boerne, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER8778158 | Blackland Environmental, LLC.; Garden Ridge, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
), red-cockaded woodpecker (
), Houston toad (
) | Louisiana, Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER8668106 | Hall, Ellen; Fort Worth, Texas | Gray bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
(=
)
), northern long-eared bat (
), Indiana 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, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming | Presence/absence surveys, handle, tag, salvage, bio-sample, band | Capture, harass, harm | New. |
| PER9200393 | SeaWorld of Texas; San Antonio, Texas | Kemp's ridley sea turtle (
), hawksbill sea turtle (
) | Texas | Rehabilitate, educational display | Capture, harass, harm | Renew. |
| PER8748209 | University of Texas Austin; Austin, Texas | Big Bend gambusia (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, trap, anesthetize | Capture, harass, harm | New. |
| PER9229906 | Gluesenkamp, Andrew; Driftwood, Texas | Barton Springs salamander (
), Austin blind salamander (
), Peck's Cave amphipod (
(=
)
), Comal Springs riffle beetle (
), Comal Springs dryopid beetle (
), Texas blind salamander (
), Mexican blindcat (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys, collect, voucher specimen | Capture, harass, harm, kill | New. |
| PER9229948 | Bureau of Reclamation—Boulder City; Boulder City, Nevada | Southwestern willow flycatcher (
), Yuma Ridgway's rail (
) | Arizona, California | Presence/absence surveys, band, tag | Capture, harass, harm | Amend. |
| PER9229950 | Burns, Jodie; Bentonville, Arkansas | Red-cockaded woodpecker (
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Amend. |
**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.