[Federal Register: January 10, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 6)]
[Notices]
[Page 1550]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ja06-43]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered Species Recovery Permit Application
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of a permit application.
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SUMMARY: The following applicant has applied for an enhancement of
propagation or survival permit to conduct certain activities with
endangered species pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered
Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (``we'') solicits
review and comment from local, State and Federal agencies, and the
public on the following permit request.
DATES: Comments on this permit application must be received on or
before February 9, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Written data or comments should be submitted to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Chief, Endangered Species, Ecological
Services, 911 NE. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-4181 (fax: 503-
231-6243). Please refer to the permit number when submitting comments.
All comments received, including names and addresses, will become part
of the official administrative record and may be made available to the
public.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Documents and other information
submitted with this application are available for review, subject to
the requirements of the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, by
any party who submits a written request for a copy of such documents
within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice to the address
above (telephone: 503-231-2063). Please refer to the permit number when
requesting copies of documents.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Permit No. TE-114934
Applicant: Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho.
The applicant requests a permit to take (harass by survey, capture,
handle, collar, take blood samples, relocate, sacrifice, and release)
the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in conjunction with wolf management
activities in the State of Idaho north of Interstate 90, for the
purpose of enhancing its survival.
The applicant proposes to: (a) Conduct monitoring of wolf
populations; and (b) coordinate non-lethal and lethal control actions
to reduce wolf conflicts with livestock and dogs. These actions are
currently coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service).
If the permit is issued, the applicant would take on responsibility for
managing wolves in northern Idaho. Wolf management activities would be
in accordance with the requirements of the State of Idaho Wolf
Conservation and Management Plan (March 2002) and the Service's Interim
Wolf Control Plan for Northwestern Montana and the Panhandle of
Northern Idaho (Control Plan) (September 1999).
If issued, the permit would not affect ongoing wolf management in
the remainder of the State of Idaho conducted in accordance with the
non-essential experimental population regulations found at 50 CFR
17.84(n).
We have determined that a practical, responsive management program
is essential to enhancing survival of the wolf in the wild (Service
1987; Service 1994; Service 1999). The program must respond to wolf-
livestock conflicts, while promoting wolf recovery objectives. The
Control Plan provides guidelines for: (a) Determining problem wolf
status (including investigative procedures and criteria), (b)
conducting wolf control actions, and (c) disposition of problem wolves.
We have made a preliminary determination that issuance of this
permit would be categorically excluded from further consideration under
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). If issued, the
permit would authorize Idaho Department of Fish and Game to manage
wolves in the same manner that the Service has in the 6 years since the
Control Plan was adopted for northern Idaho. No additional
environmental impacts would be expected beyond those analyzed in the
Service's 1988 Environmental Assessment, the Service's 1999
Environmental Action Memorandum, and the Control Plan. The effect of
the permit would be to allow continuation of previously analyzed and
authorized activities; therefore, its issuance would be an
administrative action.
Our preliminary NEPA categorical exclusion determination, the two
wolf plans noted above, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
permit application, can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/default.htm
.
Additional information about wolf recovery and conservation in the
northwestern United States, including control of problem wolves, can be
found in various reports at: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov/.
All comments received from individuals become part of the official
public record. Requests for such comments will be handled in accordance
with the Freedom of Information Act and the Council on Environmental
Quality's National Environmental Protection Act regulations [40 CFR
1506.6(f)]. Our practice is to make comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home address from the record, but this must be stated prominently
at the beginning of their comments. We will honor these requests to the
extent allowable by law.
We solicit public review and comment on this recovery permit
application.
Authority: This document is published under the authority of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: December 13, 2005.
David J. Wesley,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E6-93 Filed 1-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P