This page has links to Federal Register notices published in 2005 by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (and occasionally other agencies), most of them ESA-related. I post every FR notice from FWS (including subsistence notices), but in 2005 I stopped including every fishery-related item from NMFS (aka NOAA Fisheries). Instead, on this page you will find NMFS ESA and MMPA items, as well as DOJ notices of proposed consent decrees in CWA Section 404 enforcement cases. Go here for current NEPA notices.

• 2004, 2003, and 2002

• About five months of 2001 are here.

2005 notices

• No FWS or NMFS notices today

• FWS: Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Jackson County, MS, and Mobile County, AL
• We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce public meetings on American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). These meetings will help us gather information from the public in preparation of our 2006 findings on the export of American ginseng roots, for the issuance of permits under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES
• NMFS issues this 30-day temporary rule to allow shrimp fishermen to continue to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in inshore and offshore waters from the Florida/Alabama border, westward to the Louisiana/Texas border, and extending offshore 20 nautical miles.

• FWS corrects email address in Dec. 5 notice re: Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge
• FWS "announc[es] a change in two regional partners, one representing Southeast Alaska and the other one representing the Kodiak Archipelago, both on the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council. For Southeast Alaska, the Central Council, Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, has elected to step down, and the Co- management Council has voted to replace that partner with the Southeast Alaska Inter-Tribal Fish and Wildlife Commission. For Kodiak, the Kodiak Area Native Association has elected to step down, and the Co- Management Council has voted to replace that partner with the Shoonaq' Tribe of Kodiak.
• NMFS: Notice of Intent to Conduct Public Scoping Meetings and Prepare an EIS on the Activities of the National Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
  • Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program
• NMFS: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on Impacts of Research on Steller Sea Lions and Northern Fur Seals Throughout Their Range in the United States

• FWS, FS final rule "revises and clarifies the jurisdiction of the Federal Subsistence Management Program for certain coastal areas in Alaska in order to further define, in part, certain waters that maynever have been intended to fall under the Subsistence Management Program jurisdiction.
• NMFS releases "proposed Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan for the Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). ("This Plan consists of a Draft Puget Sound Recovery Plan prepared by the Shared Strategy and a NMFS supplement to the Shared Strategy Plan."
  • Go to shared strategy page for recovery plan

Dec. 26 - Federal holiday

Friday, Dec. 23 (Dec. 23 Table of Contents from GPO)

• FWS releases draft CCP and EA for Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, Maxwell, NM
• FWS, NMFS: Museum of Natural History Collections, Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 [Principal Investigator: Tonya Haff], has been issued an amendment to scientific research
• NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management will evaluate the performances of the Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto Basin (South Carolina) National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Jobos Bay (Puerto Rico) National Estuarine Research Reserve, the North Carolina Coastal Management Program, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Coastal Management Program
• NOAA "announces a second availability of grant funds for Fiscal Year 2006." ("The purpose of this notice is to provide the general public with a consolidated source of program and application information related to NOAA's competitive grant offerings.") >

• Wetlands enforcement: DOJ announces proposed consent decree "to obtain injunctive relief from and impose civil penalties against the Defendants for filling wetlands without a permit." (U.S. v. Jimenez Landscaping, et al., 04-C-2806, N.D. Ill.) (Consent decree here and here) (filed 12/14/05)
• FWS, FS propose to establish regulations for fishing seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means related to taking of fish and shellfish for subsistence uses during the 2007-08 regulatory year.
• FWS corrects Dec. 15 proposed rule to revise critical habitat for the endangered Perdido Key beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis) and Choctawhatchee beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus allophrys), and designate critical habitat for the endangered St. Andrew beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis). Correct email address is floridabeachmouse@fws.gov
• FWS: Riverside Development Group, Inc. requests ITP for Florida Scrub-jays resulting from the proposed construction of a combination single-family home subdivision and commercial facilities in the City of Melbourne, Brevard County, FL

• FWS releases final Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the North Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which consists of three National Wildlife Refuges (Coldwater River, Dahomey, and Tallahatchie), as well as a number of Farm Service Agency tracts in the Northern Section of the Mississippi Delta
• FWS - Southeast Division of Planning
• NMFS releases ICR on Puget Sound killer whales ("The main goal of this study is to describe the whale watching tourism industry as it pertains to the SRKW."

• FWS proposes to designate a total of approximately 633 river miles (mi) (1018.7 kilometers (km)) of critical habitat for spikedace and loach minnow. Proposed critical habitat is located in New Mexico and Arizona.
• FWS releases final CCP for Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Baldwin and Mobile Counties, AL
• FWS corrects email in previous notice on Draft CCP/EA for Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge
• NMFS, FWS release Final Recovery Plan for the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon (Plan is here
• FWS issues ES permits
• FWS receives ES, marine mammal permit applications
• FWS, NMFS will conduct Public Scoping, prepare an EIS "related to the Port of Vancouver's Columbia Gateway Site Habitat Conservation Plan."

• FWS declines to list a karst meshweaver. "Since receiving the petition, both a genetic assessment and a re-assessment of morphological characters have failed to support the distinctness of C. cueva from two other named Cicurina, C. bandida and C. reyesi. After reviewing all available scientific and commercial information, we find that current information available to us does not support the taxonomic standing of C. cueva as a species, and therefore it is not a listable entity and listing is therefore not warranted."
• FWS: Notice of Availability for the Renewal of an Expired Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permit for Incidental Take of the Golden-Cheeked Warbler in Travis County, TX (Lake) (" The permit (TE-005497) was for a period of five years and expired on February 26, 2004. The requested permit renewal by Ralph Lake will extend the permit expiration by five years from the date the permit is reissued. ")
• FWS receives ES, marine mammal permit applications
• FWS receives ES, marine mammal permit applications (Here's one: "Applicant: Hollywood Animals, Los Angeles, CA, PRT-060470, 060471, 060472, 060473, and 060474: The applicant requests permits to export and re-import five captive-born leopards (Panthera pardus) to worldwide locations for the purpose of enhancement of the species through conservation education. The permit numbers and animals are: 060470, Sheena; 060471, Flynn; 060472, Whoopi; 060473, Satchmo; and 060474, Athari. This notification covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a three-year period and the import of any potential progeny born while overseas.")
• FWS: "Draft Environmental Assessment/Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of Applications for Incidental Take Permits for the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, the Town of Castle Rock and the Town of Parker for the Douglas County Habitat Conservation Plan, in Douglas County, CO "
• FWS RELEASES Environmental Assessment/Habitat Conservation Plan and Receipt of Application for Construction and Operation of a Residential and Commercial Development on the 307.85- acre Shadow Canyon Property, Williamson County, TX (Incidental take requested for 30 years for endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia), Bone Cave harvestman (Texella reyesi), and Coffin Cave mold beetle)
• FWS will conduct an open meeting on Feb. 1, 2006, to identify and discuss preliminary issues concerning the 2006-07 migratory bird hunting regulations (at Embassy Suites Hotel, Denver International Airport)
• NMFS issues final rule: " Depending on the fishing method and area where the vessels operate, owners and operators of longline fishing vessels must either side-set (deploy longline gear from the side of the vessel rather than from the stern) or use a combination of other seabird mitigation measures to prevent seabirds from being accidentally hooked, entangled, and killed during fishing operations."

• FWS includes alligator Snapping Turtle (Macroclemys [=Macrochelys] temminckii) and All Species of Map Turtle (Graptemys spp.) in Appendix III to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; 1018-0119; Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions
• NMFS to prepare a Recovery Plan for Central California Coast Coho Salmon

• FWS opens comment period for status review on Queen Charlotte goshawk. (

  "We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the opening of a public comment period to update the 1997 status review for the Queen Charlotte goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi), a subspecies of the northern goshawk that lives in the temperate rainforests of Southeast Alaska and insular British Columbia. This update has been initiated in response to a recent Court order remanding a previous 12- month finding with instructions to determine if Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, is a significant portion of this goshawk's range and, if so, to determine whether the bird is endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. This public comment period will allow all interested parties an opportunity to provide information on the status of the subspecies throughout its range, thereby assisting us in evaluating the significance of the Vancouver Island population of the goshawk in relation to the taxon as a whole."

  )
• FWS proposes critical habitat for the Perdido Key Beach Mouse, Choctawhatchee Beach Mouse, and St. Andrew Beach Mouse
• NOAA solicits funding applications to establish new Cooperative Science Centers under NOAA's Educational Partnership Program (EPP) With Minority Serving Institutions in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Environmental Sciences, Living Marine Resources Science and Management, and Remote Sensing Technology at Minority Serving Institutions

• FWS designates no critical habitat for Sonoma County Distinct Population Segment of the California Tiger Salamander; Final Rule
• FWS designates no critical habitat for Coachella Valley milk-vetch ("In total, we are designating zero acres of critical habitat for Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae. We identified 17,746 ac (7,182 ha) of local, County, State, Federal, and private lands containing features essential to the conservation of A.l. var. coachellae in Riverside County. However, all habitat with essential features is located within areas to be conserved and managed by the draft Coachella Valley MSHCP/NNCP or within areas conserved within the Coachella Valley Preserve System under the Coachella Valley fringe-toed HCP, and therefore is excluded or exempted from critical habitat under section 4(b)(2) or 3(5)(A) of the Act.")
• FWS begins five-year review of Greenback Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki stomias)
• NOAA asks for comment on U.S. Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product Prospectuses

• FWS designates critical habitat for the threatened Brodiaea filifolia (thread-leaved brodiaea). "In total, approximately 597 acres (ac) (242 hectares (ha)) fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation."
• FWS proposes to designate CH for the Laguna Mountains skipper (Pyrgus ruralis lagunae). "In total, approximately 6,662 acres (ac) (2,696 hectares (ha)) fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat in two units that are divided into a total of seven subunits on Laguna and Palomar Mountains in San Diego County, California."
• NMFS issues Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to Glenn R. VanBlaricom to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to the assessment of black abalone populations at San Nicolas Island (SNI), CA.

• No FWS notices today
• NMFS considering whether to propose regulations to protect wild spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in the main Hawaiian Islands from ``take,'' as defined in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and its implementing regulations, or to otherwise adversely affect the dolphins.

• FWS issues negative 90-day finding on petition to delist the gray wolf in Nevada
• FWS receives scientific research permit application
• FWS receives scientific research permit applications

• FWS issues revised 12-month finding for Greater Adams Cave Beetle and the Lesser Adams Cave Beetle. ("We find that proposing a rule to list these species is not warranted, and we no longer consider them to be candidate species for listing. The Service will continue to seek new information on the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of these species, as well as potential threats to their continued existence."
• FWS receives endangered species permit applications (Southeast Region)

• FWS reproposes listing flat-tailed horned lizard as threatened

• FWS receives endangered species, marine mammal permit applications
• FWS receives endangered species permit applications
• North American Wetlands Conservation Council Meeting Announcement--Shepherdston, W.V., Dec. 7
• See TOC for a few information collection requests sent by NMFS to OMB

• FWS releases draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EA for Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge
  • CCPs here
• FWS releases Supplement to the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (More here)

• FWS releases Final Recovery Plan for Six Mobile Basin Aquatic Snails
  • Plan
  • Recovery plans by date

• NMFS denies sea turtle petition submitted by Oceana. ("Oceana failed to request specific and discrete actions that are properly within the scope of a rulemaking petition pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA); instead the petitioner challenged the agency's general pattern, practice, or policy. NMFS is denying the petition because the agency is already addressing aspects of the petition and has determined that additional regulations dictating the choice of method used to achieve agency goals are unwarranted at this time."

• FWS issues positive 90-day finding on petition to delist Peirson's milk-vetch
• FWS publishes priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects submitted by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA) for funding under the Multistate Conservation Grant Program.
• NSF receives request to amend killer whale research permit (" The Foundation issued a permit (2004-009) to Dr. Robert L. Pitman on January 15, 2004. The issued permit allows the applicant to collect biopsy samples of up to 200 Killer whales and skin and tissue samples from approximately 10 Minke and 4 Arnoux's Beaked whales. The applicant requests a modification to his permit to attach satellite tags on approximately 20 Killer whales to monitor their distribution. The tabs will be embedded at the base of the dorsal fin until such time the tissue rejects it and the tag falls off.")
• OMB asks for comments on Proposed Bulletin for Good Guidance Practices
  • More here

• FWS receives endangered species and marine mammal permit applications
• Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management in NOAA's National Ocean Service "is soliciting coastal and estuarine land conservation acquisition projects from eligible coastal states."
• NMFS issues 30-day temporary rule to allow shrimp fishermen to continue to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in inshore and offshore waters from the Florida/Alabama border, westward to the boundary shared by Matagorda and Brazoria Counties, Texas, and extending offshore 20 nautical miles.

• NMFS, in coordination with the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, is preparing a Supplemental EIS to the FEIS Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fishery of the Western Pacific Region.

• NMFS receives application from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for a permit "for the incidental take of ESA-listed anadromous fish species associated with recreational fisheries on non-ESA-listed fish species in the middle and upper Columbia River Basin in Washington State." Species are steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss): endangered Upper Columbia River (UCR); Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha): endangered Upper Columbia River spring-run and threatened Snake River spring/summer-run
• NMFS says that Permit No. 774-1649-02 issued to its Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California 92038 (Principal Investigator: Rennie Holt, Ph.D.) has been amended.

Wednesday, Nov. 23 (Nov. 23 Table of Contents from GPO)

• FWS reopens comment period on proposal to delist Mexican bobcat
• FWS sends ICR to OMB for approval re:Grants Programs Authorized by the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
• Information Collection Renewal To Be Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; OMB Control Number 1018-0120; Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council Member Application/Nomination and Interview Forms
• FWS to prepare Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Logan Cave National Wildlife Refuge in Benton County, AR
• FWS releases Draft Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for the Douglas County Distinct Population Segment of the Columbian White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) (Go here )
• FWS receives applications for scientific research permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species (Southwest region)
• FWS releases EA, receives application for a permit to enhance the survival of the Fluvial Arctic Grayling in the Upper Big Hole River in Southwestern Montana through an umbrella Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances
  • Arctic grayling page
• NMFS: Squalus, Inc. (P.O. Box 301, Myakka City, FL 34251) has applied for a permit to import four South American (Patagonian) sea lions (Otaria flavescens) for the purposes of public display.

• FWS releases "draft document reassessing methods to estimate population size and sustainable mortality limits for the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) population" ("Once comments are received, analyzed, and addressed, the final revised population methodology will be appended to the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan and the Final Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the Greater Yellowstone Area. The service solicits review and comment from the public...")
  • Report
• NMFS: "NMFS publishes this final rule to implement the 2005 and 2006 management measures to prevent overfishing of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) tuna stocks, consistent with recommendations by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) that have been approved by the Department of State (DOS) under the Tuna Conventions Act. The purse seine fishery for tuna in the ETP will be closed for a 6-week period beginning November 20, 2005, through December 31, 2005, and beginning November 20, 2006, through December 31, 2006. In this final rule, NMFS also announces that the longline fishery will close when a 150-mt limit has been reached. These actions are taken to limit fishing mortality on tuna stocks caused by purse seine fishing and longline fishing in the Convention Area and contribute to the long-term conservation of tuna stocks at levels that support healthy fisheries." (" On October 4, 2005, NMFS concluded that the Hawaii-based pelagic, deep-set, tuna longline fishery managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species under the jurisdiction of NMFS or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. This final rule will not result in any changes in the fishery such that there would be impacts beyond those considered in that BO. Therefore, NMFS has determined that additional ESA consultation is not required for this action.")

• FWS releases draft CCP/EA for Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Jet, OK
  • Plans here; scroll down
• FWS says it's received permit renewal request for Golden-Cheeked Warbler ITP in Travis County, TX (Caster)
• FWS receives endangered species permit applications
• FWS issues MMPA permits
• NMFS and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) announce their intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 to analyze proposals to allocate groundfish among various sectors of the non-tribal Pacific Coast groundfish fishery.

• FWS reopens comment period on proposal to list 12 species of Hawaiian picture-wings as endangered to allow peer reviewers and all interested parties another opportunity to submit comments on the rule.
• FWS releases FEIS on resident Canada goose management. DEIS was published n March 2002.
  • FEIS is here
• NOAA: The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for vacant seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council
• NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to Bay Marina Management Incorporated (BMMI) to take marine mammals by Level B harassment incidental to dredging on the west side of the Pier 39 Marina on the San Francisco waterfront, CA.
• NMFS lists the Southern Resident killer whale distinct population segment (DPS) as endangered

• FWS reopens comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Sonoma County population of the California tiger salamander. ("We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties an opportunity to comment simultaneously on the proposed rule and an alternative we are considering in our approach to this designation. We are considering a final designation of 21,298 ac (8,519 ha) or less due to an alternative methodology for designating critical habitat.")
• FWS proposes delisting Yellowstone population of grizzly bears
• Kristen M. Hart, Ph.D, United States Geologic Survey, Florida Integrated Science Center, Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies, has been issued a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.
• Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, 418 North Pitt Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 [Kristi West, Ph.D., Principal Investigator], has applied in due form for a permit to import and export parts from all cetaceans and pinniped species (excluding walrus) for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS adds White abalone and U.S. DPS of the smalltooth sawfish to the list of endangered and threatened wildlife (based on NMFS' previous determination)
• OPA enforcement: DOJ says proposed Settlement Agreement in In re Equinox Oil Co., Inc., et al., Civil Action Nos. 99-12688 and 99-13071 was lodged with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. ("Elysium agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve the United States' and the State's natural resource damage claims, including costs to implement restoration projects on property near the location of the oil spill, past assessment costs, and estimated future restoration costs. ")
• CWA enforcement: DOJ files proposed consent decree in U.S.A. v. Lone Moose Meadows 05-76-BU-SEH, D. Mt.). (discharging pollutants without a permit into waters of the United States.)
  • Both are s'posed to be posted here; soon, I would guess.

• FWS issues negative 90-day finding on Uinta mountainsnail ("there is insufficient evidence to indicate that O. e. uinta is a valid subspecies, and, therefore, cannot be considered a listable entity.")
• FWS: Notice of Intent to Conduct Public Scoping Meetings and to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement Related to the Bi-State Water Diversion Habitat Conservation Plan for the Walla Walla River Basin
• FS, NMFS will prepare EIS "on a site-specific proposal to improve forest health and sustainability on National Forest lands in the Natapoc Mountain area of the Wenatchee River Ranger District, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests."

• NMFS ceases evaluation of petition to list eastern oyter, at request of petitioner Wolf-Dieter Busch ("However, in recognition of the considerable work that has been completed to date on the status review report and the value of this comprehensive resource to the management of this species, NMFS will ask the Biological Review Team (BRT) to complete the status review report.")

Veterans Day -- No Federal Register

Thursday, Nov. 10 (Nov. 10 Table of Contents from GPO)

• FWS proposes to designate critical habitat within 3,638 acres in Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange counties, California, for Astralagus brauntonii (Braunton's milk-vetch) and 4,212 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties for Pentachaeta lyonii (Lyon's pentachaeta).
• FWS: Draft Environmental Assessment/Habitat Conservation Plan; Incidental Take Permit Amendment for the Struthers Ranch Property, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, CO (Preble's meadow jumping mouse)
• NMFS receives applications for permits or permit modifications for scientific research on shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

• Wetlands enforcement: Consent decree filed in U.S. v. California Olive Ranch, E.D. Cal. 05-2205-LKK-PAN, E.D. Cal.)
• Consent decree in NPDES enforcement case proposed (U.S. and state of Indiana v. Town of Newburgh, Civ. No. 05-199-RLY-WGH, S.D. Ind.)
• FWS says it cannot find "any habitat on the four islands occupied" by the San Miguel Island fox (Urocyon littoralis littoralis), Santa Rosa Island fox (U. l. santarosae), Santa Cruz Island fox (U. l. santacruzae), and Santa Catalina Island fox that meets the definition of critical habitat
• FWS issues proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Canada lynx. "In total, approximately 26,935 square miles (mi\2\) (69,760 square kilometers (km\2\)) fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation, in four units in the States of Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, and Washington. However, we are not proposing to designate all of the area with the boundaries. In particular, we are not including lands within Lynx Analysis Units in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, because they do not meet the definition of critical habitat pursuant to section 3(5)(A) of the Act as a consequence of the Superior National Forest having amended its Forest Plan to adopt the Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy. In addition, we are not proposing to designate critical habitat on the Federal lands within seven National Forests in Idaho, Montana, and Washington that are covered by the May 2005 Conservation Agreement and therefore do not meet the definition of critical habitat."
• FWS designates approximately 2,539 acres (ac) (1,028 hectares (ha)) of land within San Diego County, California, contain the physical and biological features essential to the conservation of M. l. ssp. viminea. Of that, we are proposing to designate as critical habitat approximately 115 acres (47 ha) of private lands and the Padre Dam Municipal Water District lands within the City of Santee.
• Southeast Alaska Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council to meet Dec. 1, by teleconference.

• NMFS: Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary seeks applicants for the following seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council

• No FWS notices today
• NMFS: Texas A&M University, Department of Marine Biology, P.O. Box 1675, Galveston, TX 77551 (Principal Investigator: Randall W. Davis, Ph.D.) has withdrawn its application to amendment Permit No. 821-1588-03 to conduct research Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus).

• FWS: Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group to meet Dec. 7 in Weaverville, Calif.
• NMFS reopens comment period on steelhead listing proposal for six months "to consider whether [its] final rule should delineate 10 steelhead-only DPSs, list one DPS in California as endangered (Southern California), and list the remaining nine DPSs in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho as threatened (South-Central California, Central California Coast, California Central Valley, Northern California, Upper Willamette River, Lower Columbia River, Middle Columbia River, Snake River Basin, and Upper Columbia)

  From summary: "We have reconsidered the preliminary decision to apply the Pacific salmon ESU Policy to these stocks and seek comment on our proposed application of the joint NMFS/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) ``Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments under the ESA'' (DPS Policy) to the delineation of Oncorhynchus mykiss distinct population segments (DPSs)."

• NMFS receives applications for permits for scientific research on shortnose sturgeon

• FWS issues revised proposal to designate critical habitat for the California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) (New proposal is for 737,912 acres, down from 4.1 million acres in 4/13/04 proposal. FWS says news proposal "better reflect[s] lands containing essential features for the California red-legged frog.")
  • Press release will be posted here, we assume
• FWS sends ICR to OMB for review: Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program
• FWS extends comment period to Jan. 3, 2006, for status reviews on: Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle, Smith's Blue Butterfly, Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly, Morro Shoulderband Snail, Giant Garter Snake, San Francisco Garter Snake, Island Night Lizard, California Least Tern, Least Bell's Vireo, Chinese Camp Brodiaea, Mariposa Pussypaws, San Clemente Island Indian Paintbrush, Spring-Loving Centaury, Springville Clarkia, San Clemente Island Larkspur, Santa Barbara Island Dudleya, Ash Meadows Gumplant, San Clemente Island Woodland Star, San Clemente Island Lotus, San Clemente Island Bush Mallow, Amargosa Niterwort, Eureka Valley Evening Primrose, Yreka Phlox, Hartweg's Golden Sunburst, San Joaquin Adobe Sunburst, Santa Cruz Island Rock-Cress, Keck's Checker-mallow, Eureka Dune Grass, Kneeland Prairie Pennycress, Hidden Lake Bluecurls, and Red Hills Vervain 5-Year Reviews.
• FWS releases Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
  • FWS releases draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EA for St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Adams and Wilkinson Counties, Mississippi.
• "This final rule amends current regulatory text regarding boundaries for the essential fish habitat (EFH) closures that were established by Framework 16 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop (Scallop) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and Framework 39 to the Northeast Multispecies (NE Multispecies) FMP (Joint Frameworks 16/39) in order to reflect recent court orders in Oceana v. Evans, vacating such text and reinstating boundaries for EFH closures established by Amendment 10 to the Scallop FMP (Amendment 10). This final rule also revises the Scallop Access Area boundaries to be consistent with the redefined EFH closed areas."

• EPA: "This document describes how EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs intends to implement its Endangered Species Protection Program. The goal of the ESPP is to carry out responsibilities under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), while at the same time not placing unnecessary burden on agriculture and other pesticide users."
• NMFS proposes to revise critical habitat for the northern Pacific right whale. "Two specific areas proposed for designation, one in the Gulf of Alaska and another in the Bering Sea, comprise approximately 95,200 square kilometers (36,750 square miles) of marine habitat. Based upon the impacts analysis prepared for this action, NMFS has concluded that the benefits of exclusion of any area from the proposed critical habitat designation do not outweigh the benefits of inclusion. Consequently, no exclusions are proposed."
• FWS lists Gila chub as endangered with critical habitat
• FWS proposes to designate critical habitat for the Fender's blue butterfly and two plants, Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii (Kincaid's lupine), and Erigeron decumbens var. decumbens (Willamette daisy). Service proposes 3,089 acres as critical habitat for Fender's blue butterfly and 724 acres as CH for L. sulphureus ssp. kincaidii, and 718 acres as CH for E. decumbens var. decumbens. The proposed critical habitat is located in Polk, Benton, Yamhill, Lane, Marion, Linn, and Douglas Counties, Oregon, and Lewis County, Washington.
• FWS: "Sundown Development and Realty is requesting an incidental take permit (ITP) for a period of five years..... The Applicant anticipates take of three federally threatened Florida scrub-jays incidental to clearing approximately 0.70 acre of scrub-jay foraging and roosting habitat in preparation for construction of a combination of office space and three-story townhomes on a 5.25-acre parcel."
• FWS asks OMB for approval of information collection associated with the Federal Assistance Grant Application Booklet.
• FWS: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are soliciting project proposals for Federal assistance under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program
• FWS solicits project proposals for federal assistance under the Tribal Wildlife Grants program (TWG). The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 authorized an appropriation of $68,174,000
• FWS: Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council to meet in San Diego.

• FWS to prepare a CCP/EA for the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge
• FWS receives application for permit amendment to take the white catspaw (Epioblasma obliquata perobliqua) and purple catspaw (E. o. obliquata) throughout Indiana and Ohio (scientific research)
• FWS, Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, as Natural Resource Trustees, announce the release for public review of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Massachusetts Housatonic River Watershed Restoration Program. (GE, PCBs)
  • More here

• Interior Dept. released its semi-annual agenda
• FWS releases Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EIS for Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge in Bertie County, NC (Final CCps in Southeast are here)
• FWS asks OMB to approve information collection associated with the mourning dove call count survey
• FWS asks OMB to renew approval of information collection associated with the North American woodcock singing ground survey.
• FWS receives endangered species permit applications
• FWS receives endangered species permit applications
• FWS issues marine mammal permits
• NMFS grants Jane Provancha, Dynamac Corp., 100 Spaceport Way, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920, a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS: Notice of Suspension of Trade in Threatened Beluga Sturgeon (Huso huso) From the Black Sea Basin

• FWS extends comment period on a proposed rule to add all forms of live black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), including gametes and viable eggs, to the list of injurious fish under the Lacey Act and on the draft environmental assessment and draft economic analysis prepared in association with the proposed rule.
• FWS releases draft Recovery Plan for the Short-Tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
• NMFS issues temporary rule "to allow shrimp fishermen to continue to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in inshore and offshore waters from the Florida/Alabama border, westward to the boundary shared by Matagorda and Brazoria Counties, Texas, and extending offshore 50 nautical miles, as initially authorized in rules published on September 28 and October 14, 2005. This action is necessary because environmental conditions resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita persist on the fishing grounds, preventing some fishermen from using TEDs effectively.
• NMFS: Carlos Diez, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Abmientales de Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 9066600, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00906-6600, has requested a modification to scientific research Permit No. 1518. (Permit No. 1518 currently authorizes the permit holder to study green and hawksbill sea turtles.)

• FWS begins status review to determine whether to delist the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves.

• FWS reopens comment period on proposed Critical Habitat for the Distinct Population Segment of the California Tiger Salamander in Sonoma County (Econ. analysis is posted on FWS Sacramento page
• NOAA: Fisheries off the West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment for Fishing Conducted Under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
• NMFS issues permit to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC), Florida Marine Research Institute (Richard E. Matheson, Principal Investigator), 1481 Market Circle, Unit 1, Port Charlotte, FL 33953 to take smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS announces proposed Safe Harbor Agreement between the owners of the Burrows Ranch and Big Bluff Ranch and the service for the threatened California red-legged frog and the valley elderberry longhorn beetle for the Burrows and Big Bluff Ranches in Tehama County, CA

• FWS: Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks "requests a permit to take the gray wolf (Canis lupus) throughout locations in northern Montana where the species is listed as endangered. The applicant proposes to conduct research and monitoring of wolf populations, implement proactive strategies, and conduct, or direct, non-lethal and lethal control actions to reduce or resolve wolf-livestock and dog conflicts and human safety concerns, as is currently conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and in accordance with the 1999 Interim Wolf Control Plan."
• NMFS clarifies certain requirements and delays the effective date for the implementation of some of the measures specified in Framework 17 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (Framework 17), which was developed and submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council and approved by NMFS.

• FWS: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment of an Incidental Take Permit and the 1997 Habitat Conservation Plan for Kern County Waste Facilities, Kern County, CA

• FWS designates critical habitat for the southwestern willow flycatcher ("In total, approximately 48,896 hectares (ha) (120,824 acres (ac)) or 1,186 kilometers (km) (737 miles (mi)) fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. The critical habitat is located in Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Maricopa, Mohave, Pinal, Pima, and Yavapai counties in Arizona (AZ), Kern, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties in southern California (CA), Clark County in southeastern Nevada (NV), Grant, Hidalgo, Mora, Rio Arriba, Soccoro, Taos, and Valencia counties in New Mexico (NM), and Washington County in Southwestern Utah (UT)."
• FWS to prepare an EIS for a proposed land exchange in Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, AK
• NMFS, Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149, has applied for a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS designates 652 acres as critical habitat for Navarretia fossalis, spreading navarettia
• FWS proposes 203,342 acres as critical habitat for the Alameda whipsnake
• NMFS: Public Hearing on the Draft Programmatic EIS and Draft Management Plan for the Proposed Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve in Texas

• FWS releases Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Williamson, Jackson, and Union Counties, IL
• FWS: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge
• "NMFS corrects an earlier version of this action that was published on October 3, 2005, in which the ACTION statement was omitted." (" The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has submitted a Fishery Management and Evaluation Plan (FMEP) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has submitted an amendment to an FMEP pursuant to the protective regulations promulgated for Lower Columbia River (LCR) coho salmon under the [ESA]")
• Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on Issuance of Permits for Research on Northern Right Whales in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• NMFS has received an application from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a part of the University of California, for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to conducting an oceanographic survey in the southwestern Pacific Ocean

• FWS reopens comment period until Oct. 28 for California Spotted Owl status review (Service issued positive 90-day finding )
• "NMFS issues this temporary rule for a period of 30 days, to allow shrimp fishermen to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in state and Federal waters off Cameron Parish, Louisiana (approximately 92[deg]37' W. long.), westward to the boundary shared by Matagorda and Brazoria Counties, Texas, and extending offshore 50 nautical miles. This action is necessary because environmental conditions resulting from Hurricane Rita are preventing some fishermen from using TEDs effectively."
• NMFS issues letter of authorization for take of Marine Mammals Incidental to Operation of a Low Frequency Sound Source by the North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory

• FWS designates critical habitat for the Arkansas River Basin population of the Arkansas River shiner. "In total, approximately 856 kilometers (532 miles) of linear distance of rivers, including 91.4 meters (300 feet) of adjacent riparian areas measured laterally from each bank are included within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation."
• FWS designates "zero acres of critical habitat for A. coronata var. notatior," San Jacinto Valley crownscale. "We identified 15,232 acres (ac) (6,167 hectares (ha)) of habitat with features essential to the conservation of this taxon. However, all habitat with essential features for this taxon is located either within our estimate of the areas to be conserved and managed by the approved Western Riverside MSHCP on existing Public/Quasi-Public Lands (PQP) lands, or within areas where the MSHCP will ensure that future projects will not adversely alter essential hydrological processes, and therefore is excluded from critical habitat under section 4(b)(2) of the Act."
• FWS solicits public comments "to help us develop permit regulations governing possession of live migratory birds and eagles for educational use."
• FWS: Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment is available for the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Sherman, Texas.
• FWS releases Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EA for the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which consists of five national wildlife refuges--Yazoo, Panther Swamp, Hillside, Morgan Brake, and Mathews Brake--as well as a number of smaller fee title properties and floodplain and conservation easements in the Mississippi Delta
• FWS: "Southern Multicapital Corporation requests a 10-year] incidental take permit (ITP)" to destroy about 93 acres of occupied Florida scrub-jay habitat in Marion County, Florida. "Habitat destruction would be expected due to vegetation clearing and the subsequent construction of infrastructure and single-family homes. Up to four scrub-jay families could be taken as a result of the Applicant's proposed actions."
• FWS receives application for an Incidental Take Permit for Sand Skinks and Bluetail Mole Skinks Resulting From the Proposed Construction of a Planned Unit Development in Polk County, FL
• FWS: Notice of Meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group
• Wetlands enforcement: DOJ files proposed consent decree (The decree "concerns a complaint filed by the [U.S.] against Moniteau County, Missouri and the Commissioners of Moniteau County ... to obtain injunctive relief ... for violating the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants without a permit into waters of the United States. The proposed Consent Decree resolves these allegations by enjoining Moniteau County from further violations, requiring it to take certain affirmative measures to avoid future violations, requiring restoration and mitigation with regard to an impacted area, and requiring an environmental project.")
• The Georgia Aquarium, 2451 Cumberland Parkway, Suite 3639, Atlanta, GA 30339-6157 [Jeffery S. Swanagan, Responsible Party] has been issued a permit to import two beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) for public display.

• FWS receives scientific research permit applciations to conduct certain activities with endangered species
• FWS receives survival enhancement permit applications
• FWS announces that a Revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EIS for the Alaska Peninsula and Becharof National Wildlife Refuge is available for review and comment
• FWS issues marine mammal permits
• Dr. Anton Tucker, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, has been issued a modification to scientific research Permit No. 1377.
• NMFS has received one scientific research permit application and 18 modification requests relating to Pacific salmon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of listed species and to help guide management and conservation efforts

• FWS to prepare Comprehensive Conservation Plan/EA for the Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge and the Louisiana Wetland Management District
• FWS: Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force to meet in Herndon, Va., Oct. 19-20
• NMFS releases Draft EA for analysis of Remediation Alternatives for the Pacific Crossing--1 North and East Submarine Fiber Optic Cables in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
• e National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service publishes this notice to amend the Final Guidelines for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program
• Pacific Fishery Management Council to meet Oct. 25 in Portland, Ore.

Nothing Monday, Columbus Day

Friday, Oct. 7 (Oct. 7 Table of Contents from GPO)

• FWS to prepare supplement to the Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EIS for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
• FWS releases Draft Supplemental EIS on the Translocation of Southern Sea Otters
• FWS receives species, marine mammal permit applications
• NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management's releases DEIS, schedules public hearings on amendments to the Alaska Coastal Management Program

• FWS lists Salt Creek Tiger Beetle as endangered ("This species is endemic to the saline wetlands of eastern Nebraska (NE) and associated streams in the northern third of Lancaster County and southern margin of Saunders County. Only three small populations of this subspecies remain, and the known adult population size in 2005 was only 153 individuals.")
• FWS releases economic analysis on proposed designation of critical habitat for Brodiaea filifolia (Thread-Leaved Brodiaea)
  • More info here

• FWS releases combined Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for the 39 North Dakota Limited-Interest National Wildlife Refuges
• FWS seeks comment on applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and marine mammals.
• FWS seeks comment on applications to conduct certain activities with endangered species and marine mammals.
• FWS issues ES, marine mammal permits
• FWS issues ES, marine mammal permits
• FWS issues emergency permit to Virginia Tech to import carcasses from dead chimpanzees found in the Mahale Mountains National Park in Kigoma, Tanzania and the Rubondo Island National Park in Mwanza, Tanzania, for emergency and ongoing health and disease evaluation purposes

• FWS reopens comment period on a proposal to list 12 species of Hawaiian picture-wings as endangered to allow peer reviewers and all interested parties another opportunity to submit comments.
• FWS considers Incidental Take Permit pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
• NMFS grants enhancement of survival permit to Lower Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, a non-profit organization based in southwest Washington State, to take coho and chinook salmon, and steelhead
• The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will prepare draft supplemental EIS to describe and analyze management alternatives to be included in a joint amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Shrimp FMP) and the FMP for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP)
• NMFS announces its intent to conduct an additional public scoping meeting to gather information to prepare an EIS related to the Makah Tribe's request that NMFS waive the take moratorium of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to allow for treaty right hunting of eastern North Pacific gray whales in usual and accustomed grounds off the coast of Washington State.

• NMFS: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has submitted a Fishery Management and Evaluation Plan (FMEP) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has ubmitted an amendment to an FMEP pursuant to the protective regulations promulgated for Lower Columbia River (LCR) coho salmon under the Endangered Species Act
• NMFS releases proposed conservation plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales ("The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended, requires the Secretary of Commerce to prepare a conservation plan for any species or stock of marine mammals designated as depleted under the Act. The Southern Resident stock of killer whales (Orcinus orca) was designated as depleted on May 29, 2003, and a conservation plan was developed to promote the conservation and recovery of these whales.")
• NMFS: Southwest Fisheries Science Center requests amendment to scientific research Permit No. 774-1649-02.

• FWS proposes to open private lands within the boundaries of Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to public use, with a permit, complying with our commitments made under a Conservation Easement among the United States, the State of Alaska, and Koniag Inc.
• FWS suspends "import of and foreign commerce in beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) caviar and meat originating in the Caspian Sea littoral states of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan effective immediately. This suspension includes shipments that have been exported directly from these countries, re-exported through an intermediary country, or transported as personal or household effects, and it prohibits foreign commerce in the course of a commercial activity. We are taking this action under the special rule that was promulgated to control the trade of threatened beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) (70 FR 10493; March 4, 2005). Interstate commerce in beluga sturgeon caviar or meat from the Caspian Sea basin that was legally imported into the United States before the trade suspension is not prohibited."

• FWS designates critical habitat for the Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus). "In total, approximately 12,145 acres (ac) (4,921 hectares (ha)) fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. The critical habitat is located within 3 states, and a total of 20 counties."
• FWS says in revised 12-month determination that listing is not warranted for the Southern Rocky Mountain population of the boreal toad because it "does not constitute a species, subspecies, or distinct population segment (DPS) under the ESA."
• NMFS says petition requesting emergency rulemaking to protect right whales by slowing ships down is not warranted ("Promulgating a separate 12-knot speed limit, at this time, would curtail full public notice, comment and environmental analysis, duplicate agency efforts and reduce agency resources for a more comprehensive strategy, as well as risk delaying implementation of the draft Strategy. Instead of imposing measures in piecemeal fashion, NMFS continues to believe that putting a comprehensive strategy in place is the best course of long-term action.")
• NOAA Fisheries has received applications to grant permit to (Permit 1090), Mattole Salmon Group, Petrolia, CA. This permit would affect SONCC coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), California Coastal (CC) Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) and Northern California (NC) steelhead (O. mykiss) This document serves to notify the public of the availability of the permit application for review and comment before a final approval or disapproval is made by NMFS.

• FWS issues recovery plan for Blackburn's Sphinx Moth
• FWS receives applications for scientific research permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.
• NMFS issues 30-day rule "to allow shrimp fishermen to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in state and Federal waters from the Florida/Alabama border, westward to the boundary of Cameron Parish, Louisiana (approximately 92[deg] 37' W. long.), and extending offshore 50 nautical miles. This action is necessary because environmental conditions resulting from Hurricane Katrina are preventing some fishermen from using TEDs effectively."
• "NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) announces its intent to evaluate the performance of the Rhode Island Coastal Management Program, the Chesapeake Bay-Maryland National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Delaware Coastal Management Program and Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Georgia Coastal Management Program."

• FWS says listing is not warranted for Gentry indigo bush
• FWS releases draft economic analysis on proposed designation of critical habitat for Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae (Coachella Valley milk-vetch)
  • Analysis is here
• FWS final rule "prescribes special late-season migratory bird hunting regulations for certain tribes on Federal Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands."
• FWS makes technical corrections to 2005-2006 Refuge-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations

• FWS designates critical habitat for the Klamath River, Columbia River, Jarbidge River, Coastal-Puget Sound, and Saint Mary-Belly River populations of bull trout. "This final designation totals approximately 3,828 miles (mi) (6,161 kilometers (km) of streams, 143,218 acres (ac) (57,958 hectares (ha) of lakes in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, and 985 mi (1,585 km) of shoreline paralleling marine habitat in Washington. We solicited data and comments from the public on all aspects of the proposed rules, including data on economic and other impacts of the designations." (More information, including news release, is here)

• FWS rule "prescribes the hunting seasons, hours, areas, and daily bag and possession limits for general waterfowl seasons and those early seasons for which States previously deferred selection."

• FWS "prescribes final late-season frameworks from which States may select season dates, limits, and other options for the 2005-06 migratory bird hunting seasons."
• FWS proposes migratory bird subsistence harvest regulations in Alaska for the 2006 season.
• CWA enforcement: Sewerage District No. 1 of Iberia Parish gets year-long extension from Dec. 30, 2008, to Dec. 30, 2009, for the completion of collection system rehabilitation projects (Consent decree was approved in December 2004)

• FWS releases Barton Springs Salamander Recovery Plan (Plans sorted by date)
• FWS: Notice of Decision and Availability of the Record of Decision for the Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge
  • More here
• MMC to meet in Anchorage Oct. 14
• NMFS issues tempirary rule: Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Inseason Action 8 - Adjustment of the Recreational Fishery from the U.S.-Canada Border to Cape Alava, Washington
• NMFS announces that the commercial salmon fishery in the area from the U.S.-Canada Border to Cape Falcon, OR, was modified to close at midnight on Tuesday, August 23, 2005. On August 23, 2005, NMFS determined that available catch and effort data indicated that the modified quota of 15,700 Chinook salmon would be reached by midnight. This action was necessary to conform to the 2005 management goals.

• FWS to conduct five-year review of 14 Southeastern Species: red wolf (Canis rufus), Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana), Cumberland elktoe (Alasmidonta atropurpurea), Cumberland monkeyface (Quadrula intermedia), Cumberlandian combshell (Epioblasma brevidens), green blossom (Epioblasma torulosa gubernaculum), oyster mussel (Epioblasma capsaeformis), tubercled blossom (Epioblasma torulosa torulosa), turgid blossom (Epioblasma turgidula), yellow blossom (Epioblasma florentina florentina), painted snake coiled forest snail (Anguispira picta), dwarf-flowered heartleaf (Hexastylis naniflora), Schweinitz's sunflower (Helianthus schweinitzii), and seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus)
• FWS receives Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances and Enhancement of Survival Permit Application for the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
• Notice of Availability of a Draft Safe Harbor Agreement and Receipt of an Application for an Enhancement of Survival Permit Associated With Proposed Restoration Activities for the Karner Blue Butterfly in the West Gary, Indiana Recovery Unit (More here)

• FWS receives endangered species and marine mammal permit applications
• NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program says Commercial Fishing Seat available for the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council

• FWS reopens public comment period for proposed rule to establish an experimental population of northern aplomado falcons (Falco femoralis septentrionalis) into their historic habitat in southern New Mexico and Arizona.
• FWS proposes to update and amend the standards for the humane and healthful transport of wild mammals and birds to the United States.
• FWS releases EA on HCP and application for ITP to take the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia). The proposed take would occur as a result of the construction and operation of a residential development on 1,758-acres (717 hectares) of the White Water Springs property, Burnet County, Texas.
• FWS requests comments on the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) criteria for awarding conservation grants to States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Territories of Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa

• FWS corrects Aug. 31 final rule on migratory bird hunting. ". This document corrects errors in the season dates and other pertinent information for the States of Hawaii and Texas."
• FWS releases Final Recovery Plan for the Pecos Sunflower (Helianthus paradoxus)
• FWS receives Endangered and Threatened Species Permit Applications

• FWS proposes to designate 3,958 acres as critical habitat for Rota Bridled White-Eye
• FWS receives Endangered and Threatened Species Permit Applications
• Notice of Intent To Prepare a Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Associated Environmental Assessment for Howland Island, Baker Island, and Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuges
• Notice of Scoping Meetings and Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Designation of a Nonessential Experimental Population of Rio Grande Silvery Minnow; Correction
• NMFS receives marine mammal permit applications

• FWS adds six refuges to the list of areas open for hunting and/or sport fishing programs and increases activities available at seven other refuges.
• FWS proposes to designate 8,283 acres (3,352 hectares) of streams and riparian areas as critical habitat within 3 units in southern California, for the distinct vertebrate population segment (DPS) of the mountain yellow-legged frog
• FWS releases final Devils River Minnow Recovery Plan
  • Go here for plan
• NMFS issues Incidental Harassment Authorization to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to seismic retrofit construction of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, San Francisco Bay, CA.

• FWS announces a 5-year review of the Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata), Puerto Rican plain pigeon (Columba (=Patagioenas) inornata wetmorei), red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Puerto Rican boa (Epicrates inornatus), Virgin Islands tree boa (Epicrates monensis granti), guajón (Eleutherodactylus cooki), Harrisia portoricensis (higo chumbo), and Adiantum vivesii (no common name
• FWS releases technical agency draft Recovery Plan for the endangered Spring Creek Bladderpod (Lesquerella perforata) for review and comment

• Wetlands enforcement: DOJ: Proposed consent decree lodged in U.S. v. Congaree Downs Limited Partnership, 05-2505, D.S.C.)
• NMFS issues Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Northeast Multispecies, Atlantic Sea Scallop, Monkfish, Atlantic Herring, Skates, Atlantic Salmon, and Red Crab. (The New England Fishery Management Council intends to complete Omnibus Amendment 2 in a "two-phased approach.")

• FWS will prepare an SEIS on the Sport Hunting of Migratory Birds
• FWS solicits proposals to conduct commercial big game guide services in six guide use areas on five national wildlife refuges in Alaska.
• NOAA "provides notice that Irizarry Garcia has filed an administrative appeal with the Department of Commerce asking that the Secretary override the Puerto Rico Planning Board's objection to a consistency certification prepared in conjunction with the proposed reconstruction of a private pier."
• NOAA: Availability of Seats for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council

• FWS will hold public hearing on proposed delisting of (and withdrawal of proposed critical habitat designation for) the Arizona Distinct Population Segment of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl. (meeting will be held at Tucson Convention Center, Apache-Greenlee meeting rooms, 260 South Church Avenue, Tuscon, AZ 85710)
• FWS receives application for an ITP to take 43 acres of suitable habitat for the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel in association with development ("additional downhill ski slopes"; "a parking area expansion"; and an equipment storage area) proposed by Snowshoe Mountain, Inc., Pocahontas County, W.V.
• FWS: Mitchel Pace has applied to FWS for an Enhancement of Survival Permit (ESP) for the Utah prairie dog pursuant. Application includes a proposed Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA)
• Eugene T. Butler, Carlos E. Gauthier, Robert Moren, and Kheino A. Phidd individually request a permit to take about 1 acre of Florida scrub-jay foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of single-family homes and supporting infrastructure in Brevard County, Florida.
• FWS: St. Johns County is seeking an incidental take permit from FWS. "The applicant anticipates that authorization of beach driving and related activities, over a requested permit term of 20 years, will result in the incidental taking of the endangered Anastasia Island beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus phasma), leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempi), and hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), as well as the threatened loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)."
• NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research releases for public comment the Science Advisory Board's draft report on the evaluation of NOAA's response to the Research Review Report ()

• FWS announces joint meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Western Regional Panel and Mississippi River Basin Regional Panel.
• The Marine Mammal Commission will hold the sixth meeting of its Advisory Committee on Acoustic Impacts on Marine Mammals Sept. 20-22 in Bethesda, Maryland.
• NMFS issues incidental take permit (Permit 1528) to the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries to take sea turtles in connection with a conservation plan." ("Permit 1528 includes measures to limit the commercial fall gill net fishery for flounder such that the impacts on ESA-listed sea turtles will be minimized.")
• NMFS has received an application from Bay Marina Management Incorporated (BMMI) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to dredging on the west side of the Pier 39 Marina on the San Francisco waterfront, CA.

• Labor Day: No FR

• FWS adds new regulations "authoriz[ing] certain otherwise prohibited activities that enhance the propagation or survival" of U.S. captive-bred scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), addax (Addax nasomaculatus), and dama gazelle (Gazella dama), which have been listed as endangered. International trade in specimens of these species will continue to be subject to CITES.
• FWS lists as endangered the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), addax (Addax nasomaculatus), and dama gazelle (Gazella dama) throughout their ranges. "The best available information indicates that the causes of decline of these antelopes are (1) habitat loss through desertification, permanent human settlement, and competition with domestic livestock, and (2) regional military activity and uncontrolled killing."
• FWS releases DEIS/EIR, receives ITP application for East Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP, Contra Costa County, CA
• NMFS final rule designates critical habitat for two Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and five ESUs of steelhead (O. mykiss) in California
• NMFS designates Critical Habitat for 12 Evolutionarily Significant Units of West Coast Salmon and Steelhead in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

• FWS opens comment period on 12-Month finding on a petition to list the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout as threatened or endangered (FWS has a Feb 14, 2006, court-ordered deadline to complete the review and finding)
• FWS Calif-Nevada office requests recovery permit addressing dozens of listed species

• FWS: "This rule prescribes the hunting seasons, hours, areas, and daily bag and possession limits of mourning, white-winged, and white- tipped doves; band-tailed pigeons; rails; moorhens and gallinules; woodcock; common snipe; sandhill cranes; sea ducks; early (September) waterfowl seasons; migratory game birds in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; and some extended falconry seasons."
• FWS: "This rule prescribes special early season migratory bird hunting regulations for certain tribes on Federal Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands, and ceded lands. This responds to tribal requests for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (hereinafter Service or we) recognition of their authority to regulate hunting under established guidelines. This rule allows the establishment of season bag limits and, thus, harvest at levels compatible with populations and habitat conditions."
• FWS issues draft economic analysis and draft environmental assessment for the proposal to list as endangered and designate critical habitat for the Gila chub
  • More here
• FWS releases draft economic analysis, reopens public comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for Atriplex coronata var. notatior (San Jacinto Valley crownscale)
  • More here
• FWS releases draft economic analysis, reopens public comment period on the proposed designation of critical habitat for Navarretia fossalis (spreading navarretia)
  • More here
• FWS announces five-year review for Aleutian shield fern
• FWS receives ES/marine mammal permit applications
• FWS receives ES/marine mammal permit applications
• FWS, USGS BRD issue combined Calendar Years 1999 and 2000 annual report on marine mammals
• FWS: Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Mid-Atlantic Regional Panel to meet Sept. 7 and 8
• NMFS proposes to issue ITP to David N. Hata, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, for the incidental take of ESA-listed sea turtles associated with otherwise lawful research to assess horseshoe crab abundance from Cape Cod, Massachusetts south to the Georgia-Florida border. The duration of the proposed Permit is for 7 years.
• NMFS: Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR), 142 Dairy Road, Mangilao, Guam 96913, has been issued a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS final rule prescribes final early-season frameworks from which the states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands may select season dates, limits, and other options for the 2005-06 migratory bird hunting seasons.
• FWS releases draft environmental assessment and draft economic analysis on proposal to add all forms (diploid and triploid) of live black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), gametes, and viable eggs to the list of injurious fish, mollusks, and crustaceans under the Lacey Act
• NMFS issues Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to Eglin Air Force Base (EAFB) to take marine mammals by Level B harassment incidental to Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal School (NEODS) training operations, which include up to 30 detonations per year of small C-4 charges, off Santa Rosa Island (SRI) at EAFB.

• FWS, FS: "This provides notice of the Federal Subsistence Board's in-season management actions to protect moose populations in Unit 22 and caribou populations in Unit 9. These actions will provide an exception to the Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska, published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2005. Those regulations established seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means relating to the taking of wildlife for subsistence uses during the 2005 regulatory year."
• FWS, FS: "On December 8, 2004, we, the Federal Subsistence Board, published a proposed rule to revise and clarify the jurisdiction of the Federal Subsistence Management Program in coastal areas in southwestern Alaska. This rulemaking is necessary in order to exclude numerous saltwater embayments within National Wildlife Refuge boundaries that were never intended to fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Subsistence Management Program. We are now reopening the comment period for this rulemaking action because of newly available maps of the specific embayments in southwestern Alaska to be excluded from the jurisdiction of the Federal Subsistence Management Program."
• FWS receives application from Maronda Homes for a 10-year ITP to take habitat of Florida scrub-jay (Brevard County, Florida)
• FWS receives application from Maronda Homes and Duke Construction for ITPs to take about a half-acre of Florida scrub-jay "foraging, sheltering, and possibly nesting habitat incidental to lot preparation for the construction of single-family homes and supporting infrastructure in Brevard County, Florida. Up to three scrub-jay individuals could be taken as a result of the applicants' proposed action. It is not currently known if these three scrub-jays are part of the same scrub-jay family."
• FWS receives application for an ITP for the Florida Scrub-jay Resulting From Construction of a Single-Family Home in Charlotte County, FL
• Environmental Defense asks FWS to add 12 counties in the Hill Country of Texas to its Safe Harbor Agreement and associated ESA Safe Harbor Enhancement of Survival permit for habitat restoration activities on private lands for the endangered Black-capped vireo (BCVI) and Golden-cheeked warbler (GCWA).

• FWS releases Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Marshall County, MN (More here)
• FWS releases Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Squaw Creek NWR, Mound City, Missouri (More here)
• FWS issues endangered species and marine mammal permits
• FWS receives T&E species permit applications
• NMFS receives permit application to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) marine turtles, and shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrom) for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS: Information Collection Renewal Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; OMB Control No. 1018-0100; Information Collection in Support of Grant Programs Authorized by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)
• NMFS reopens comment period on the Dec. 2, 2004, proposed 2005 List of Fisheries. Service prepared an EA on the proposal (EA is here) ("NMFS must categorize each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based on the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to the fishery.")
• NMFS to conduct public scoping meetings and prepare an EIS related to the Makah Tribe's Continuation of Treaty Right Hunting of Gray Whales
• NMFS issues two 1-year Letters of Authorization (LOAs) to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to the U.S. Navy's operation of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) sonar operations

• FWS releases EA's on proposal to approve four shot types or alloys for hunting waterfowl and coots and to change the listing of approved nontoxic shot types in 50 CFR 20.21(j) to reflect the cumulative approvals of nontoxic shot types and alloys.
• FWS issues Draft Revised Recovery Plan for Hawaiian Waterbirds -- Second Draft of Second Revision
• NMFS "has received a request from the Minerals Management Service (MMS), for authorization to harass small numbers of marine mammals incidental to explosive severance activities at offshore oil and gas structures in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) outer continental shelf (OCS). As a result of this request, NMFS is considering whether to promulgate rulemaking, that if implemented, would govern the incidental taking of marine mammals under individual Letters of Authorization (LOAs) issued to participants in this industry to take marine mammals by Level A and Level B harassment."
• John A. Musick, Ph.D., Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), Gloucester Point, VA 23062, has applied in due form for a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS designates critical habitat for the Central population of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense). "In total, approximately 199,109 acres (ac) (80,576 hectares (ha)) fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. The critical habitat is located within 19 counties in California." Final number is about half of what was in proposed rule
• FWS: "Summary: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, us, or USFWS) approves shot formulated of 62 percent iron, 25 percent tungsten, and 13 percent nickel as nontoxic for waterfowl and coot hunting in the United States. We assessed possible toxicity effects of the Iron-Tungsten-Nickel (ITN) shot, and determined that it is not a threat to wildlife or their habitats, and that further testing of ITN shot is not necessary. We have prepared a Final Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact in support of this decision."
• NMFS says it's received two scientific research permit applications relating to Pacific salmon.

• FWS makes "not substantive" corrections to March 4, 2005, Special Rule to Control the Trade of Threatened Beluga Sturgeon
• FWS proposes 2005-06 late-season hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds. Comments due by Sept. 1.

• NMFS issues Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals incidental to testing and training during Precision Strike Weapon (PSW) tests in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), a military readiness activity, to Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin AFB).

• Enforcement: DOJ announces proposed consent decree in U.S. v. Atlantic Richfield Company, 89-39-BU-SEH, D. Mont.). "The Consent Decree pertains to the Milltown Reservoir Sediments Operable Unit in southwestern Montana." The settlement resolves the claims brought by against ARCO and NorthWestern Corporation under CERCLA Section 107 (Consent decree and press release)
• FWS removes Eggert's Sunflower from the list of T&E species ("...because recovery actions have secured a number of populations and identified additional populations not previously known.")
• FWS releases Draft Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan for Eggert's Sunflower (Helianthus eggertii)
• FWS releases final recovery plan for Catesbaea melanocarpa (no common name). "This endangered plant species is a small spiny shrub of the family Rubiacea. It is extremely rare and is known from Puerto Rico, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbuda, Antigua, and Guadeloupe." (Go here for plan
• NMFS proposes to issue a 1-year Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to the Corps to incidentally take bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) as a result of expanding and deepening the Port Sutton Navigation Channel in Tampa Harbor, FL

• FWS revises its existing definition of ``authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing'' in MMPA to reflect a Dec 28, 1992, court ruling, which found that the regulation defining ``authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing'' is inconsistent with MMPA.
• FWS corrects listing information and names for the Mariana crow (Corvus kubaryi) and the Mariana fruit bat that appeared in five-year review announcement July 6
• FWS releases draft National Management Plan for the Genus Caulerpa for public review and comment. "The draft was prepared by the Caulerpa Working Group of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, as authorized by the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.). Comments received will be considered in preparing the final NMP, which will guide cooperative and integrated management of Caulerpa species in the United States."

• FWS releases draft economic analysis re: proposed CH designation for the Pacific coast distinct population segment of the western snowy plover. It "finds that, over the next 20 years, costs associated with western snowy plover conservation activities are forecast to range from $272.8 to $645.3 million. In constant dollars, the draft economic analysis estimates there will be an economic impact of $514.9 to $1.2 [billion]."
• FWS reopens public comment period for the status review initiated by the 90-day finding on a petition to list Cicurina cueva as an endangered species.
• FWS: Information Collection To Be Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; OMB Control Number 1018-0128; Marine Turtle Conservation Fund Grant Program
• FWS releases draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and EA for Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Monroe County, Florida. (More here)
• FWS receives application for an ITP for the Florida Scrub-Jay Resulting From the Proposed Construction of a Single-Family Home in Sarasota County, FL
• FWS announces a 5-year review of the Tooth Cave ground beetle
• FWS receives applications for scientific research permits to conduct certain activities with endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.

• FWS: Information Collection Renewal To Be Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; OMB Control Number 1018-0119; Policy for Evaluating Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions
• FWS: Notice of Intent To Conduct Restoration Planning: M/V Citrus Natural Resource Damage Assessment ("In mid-February of 1996, a large number of various species of oiled migratory waterfowl and seabirds were discovered on the Bering Sea islands of St. Paul and St. George, in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Laboratory analysis of oil samples taken from vessels in the area and from the carcasses of oiled birds resulted in the identification by the United States Coast Guard of the cargo freighter M/V Citrus as the source of the oil.")
• FWS: Notice of Meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group
• FWS: Notice of Availability of the Assessment Plan for the Palmerton Natural Resource Damage Assessment in Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton Counties, PA
  • Palmerton site
• NMFS: This proposed rule would set requirements for attending protected species workshops, for handling, resuscitating, and releasing sea turtles that are hooked or entangled in fishing gear, and for fishing gear configuration
• NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) to take marine mammals by Level B harassment incidental to conducting a marine seismic survey across the Arctic Ocean from northern Alaska to Svalbard.
• NMFS issues Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting a barging operation within the U.S. Beaufort Sea, to FEX L.P. (FEX), a subsidiary of Talisman Energy, Inc., for a period of 1 year.
• NMFS: Carlos Diez, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 9066600, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00906-6600, has been issued a permit to take hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.
• NMFS: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division, P.O. Box 12559, Charleston, SC 29422-2559, has applied in due form for a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), green (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.
• NMFS: SCANA Services, Inc. (Stephen E. Summer, Principal Investigator), 6248 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29212, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS releases Draft Recovery Plan for Running Buffalo Clover
  • Should be here soon
• FWS: Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment/ Habitat Conservation Plan Related to Application for an Incidental Take Permit for the Predevelopment LTD Development (Lake Erie Water snake; 6.45-acre property on Long Point, Kelleys Island, Erie County, Ohio).

• FWS designates 858,846 acres as critical habitat for 15 vernal pool species in California. (final rule, text; PDF
  (Go to FWS page for news release, more materials) (From release: "[T]he Service is exempting 23 census tracts in 11 counties that had been proposed or designated as critical habitat where that designation would have the highest costs. Twenty tracts are excluded because housing development in them will incur the highest cost impacts from critical habitat. Those 20 census tracts are in Sacramento, Butte, Placer, Solano, Monterey, Fresno, Stanislaus, Madera and Shasta counties.")

  From FR notice summary: "This designation also reflects the lands previously confirmed for exclusion under 4(b)(2) of the Act for non-economic reasons (70 FR 11140; March 8, 2005). The non-economic exclusions include the boundaries of various Habitat Conservation Plans, National Wildlife Refuges and National fish hatchery lands (33,097 ac (13,394 ha)), State lands within ecological reserves and wildlife management areas (20,933 ac (8,471 ha)), Department of Defense lands within Beale and Travis Air Force Bases as well as Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts Army installations (64,259 ac (26,005 ha)), Tribal lands managed by the Mechoopda Tribe (644 ac (261 ha)), and the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve (10,200 ac (4,128 ha)) from the final designation." Rule becomes effective Sept. 12.

• FWS, FS: "This provides notice of the Federal Subsistence Board's in-season management action to protect sockeye salmon escapement in the Copper River, while still providing for a subsistence harvest."
• This proposed rule would establish regulations for hunting and trapping seasons, harvest limits, methods and means related to taking of wildlife for subsistence uses during the 2006-2007 regulatory year.
• CWA enforcement: DOJ consent decree: "In this action, the United States seeks civil penalties and natural resource damages against Sunoco for violations under section 311(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(3), and section 1002(b)(2)(A) of the Oil Pollution Act, 33 U.S.C. 2702(b)(2)(A), resulting from a February 2, 2000 oil spill from Sunoco's North Ship Pipeline into a wetland located in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The proposed decree provides that Sunoco will pay a civil penalty of $2,742,600, and natural resource damages in the amount of $865,000."
• CWA enforcement: DOJ: "A proposed Consent Decree in United States of America, State of Maryland, Anacostia Watershed Society, Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States, Inc., Friends of Sligo Creek and Natural Resources Defense Council v. Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission, was lodged on July 26, 2005, with the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division.

• FWS issues negative 90-day finding on petition to delist Furbish lousewort; service begins 5-year status review
• FWS issues negative 90-day finding on petition to delist Slackwater darter; service begins 5-year status review
• NOAA: The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) is seeking applicants for both primary and alternate members of the following seats on its Sanctuary Advisory Council
• National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149, has applied in due form for a permit to take smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) for purposes of scientific research

• FWS lists the Roswell springsnail (Pyrgulopsis roswellensis), Koster's springsnail (Juturnia kosteri), and Noel's amphipod (Gammarus desperatus) as endangered and the Pecos assiminea (Assiminea pecos) as endangered with critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). These four invertebrates occur at sinkholes, springs, and associated spring runs and wetland habitats. They are found at one site in Chaves County, New Mexico, and Pecos assiminea is also found at one site in Pecos County, Texas, and one site in Reeves County, Texas.
• FWS lists southwest Alaska distinct population segment of the northern sea otter as threatened
  • FWS proposes special rule allowing "limited, noncommercial import and export of items that qualify as authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing that were derived from sea otters legally taken for subsistence purposes by Alaska Natives from the listed population."
• Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; 1018-0118; Private Stewardship Grants Program; Correction to Aug. 2 notice
• FWS: Notice of Scoping Meeting and Notice of Intent to Prepare an HCP and EIS for the Barton Springs Ecosystem in the Barton Springs Segment of the Edwards Aquifer
• FWS receives endangered species, marine mammal permit applications
• FWS receives endangered species, marine mammal permit applications
• FWS receives endangered species, marine mammal permit applications
• FWS receives scientific research permit applications
• FWS receives recovery permit applications
• FWS issues permit to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (CVM Phase 2), Blacksburg, Va., to import biological samples from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Tanzania for the purpose of scientific research

• NMFS: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Kathryn Hattala, Principal Investigator; Gregg Kenney, Primary Contact/Co-Investigator), 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

• FWS: Migratory Bird Hunting; Proposed Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations on Certain Federal Indian Reservations and Ceded Lands for the 2005-06 Season

• Klamath Fishery Management Council to meet Oct 18-19 in Klamath Falls, Ore. It "will hear technical reports and discuss Klamath River salmon management. On the second day, the Klamath Fishery Management Council will join a meeting of the Klamath River Basin Fisheries Task Force to hear reports on the status of fish health and habitat in the Klamath River."
• "[NMFS] proposes to serve as the lead agency under NEPA in the preparation of a joint [EIS/EIR] for the ... [a]doption and implementation of the `Settlement Agreement Regarding Water Rights of the Santa Clara Valley Water District On Coyote, Guadalupe, and Stevens Creeks,' (Settlement Agreement), the State Water Resources Control Board's approval of modifications of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's ... appropriative water rights to allow for implementation of the Settlement Agreement with supporting findings and implementation of those modifications, the District's adoption of a Conservation Plan (CP), NMFS's issuance of an incidental take permit (ITP) to the District, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) issuance of an ITP to the District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) issuance of a permit to the District, and the California Department of Fish and Game's issuance of an incidental take permit or consistency determination to the District. The project/proposed action is also known as ``FAHCE'' (Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort)."
• NMFS issues an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting oceanographic seismic surveys in the Aleutian Island area to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO).
• NOAA "is proposing to clarify its internal Policy on Partnerships in the Provision of Environmental Information, issued December 1, 2004. This clarification is intended to address apparent misunderstanding regarding the intent of the policy with respect to the role played by the private sector in the environmental information enterprise as a whole."

• FWS proposes to delist cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, withdraw proposed rule to desgnate critical habitat
• FWS issues negative 90-day finding on petition to delist Wright fishhook cactus. However, service begins five-year status review.
• FWS: Information Collection To Be Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; 1018-0127; Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) Tagging Program
• Information Collection Renewal To Be Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA); 1018-0109; Federal Aid Grant Application Booklet
• FWS: Notice of Availability of the Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Finding of No Significant Impact, and Summary for Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge, Tehama, Butte, Glenn and Colusa counties, CA (More here)
• FWS receives endangered species and marine mammal permit applications.
• FWS issues endangered species permits
• FWS: Notice of Scoping Meetings and Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Designation of a Nonessential Experimental Population of Rio Grande Silvery Minnow

• FWS publishes proposed CH designation for California tiger salamander in Sonma County. Service says "74,223 acres (ac) (30,037 hectares (ha)) fall within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation."
• FWS: Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; 1018-0118; Private Stewardship Grants Program
• FWS releases Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Folkston, Georgia. (More here)
• NMFS announcs DAM zone for right whales

• FWS releases draft economic analysis and Environmental Assessment for proposed designation of critical habitat for Arkansas River shiner
  • Documents are here
  • Econ. analysis and assessment from ESWR web page
• FWS proposes to establish the 2005-06 early-season hunting regulations for certain migratory game birds
• NMFS: Andre Landry, Sea Turtle and Fisheries Ecology Research Lab, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 5007 Avenue U, Galveston, TX 77553 has been issued a permit to take Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

• Information Collection Renewal to Be Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction Act; 1018-0113; Grants Program Authorized by the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA)

• Nothing today. A rarity. A couple of NMFS notices on fisheries, but no mention of listed species

• FWS releases draft CCP/EA for Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
• FWS releases draft CCP/EA for Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Sebastian, Florida.
  • More here
• FWS: Notice of application for a natural gas pipeline right-of-way on Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Washington and Hyde Counties, North Carolina. ("Eastern North Carolina Natural Gas Company has applied for a permit to construct an 8-inch natural gas pipeline in a 35 foot wide right-of-way. The right-of-way will start at where Canal E Road enters Pungo Unit of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and running approximately for 8.1 miles.")
• NOAA closes decision record in CZMA consistency appeal. "The Fenners appeal an objection raised by the New York Department of State to a consistency certification contained within their application to the Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to build a catwalk and dock at West Hampton." Dune.
• NMFS extends deadline to Aug. 15 on solicitation of Right Whale research grants
• NMFS extends research permit for shortnose sturgeon

• FWS to conduct five-year status reviews for 13 SE species: Bachman's warbler (Vermivora bachmanii), Conasauga logperch (Percina jenkinsi), Cumberland bean (Villosa trabalis), speckled pocketbook (Lampsilis streckeri), little amphianthus (