Foreign Endangered Species; Receipt of Permit Applications
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on applications to conduct certain activities with foreign species that are listed as endangered u...
Notice of receipt of permit applications; request for comments.
SUMMARY:
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the public to comment on applications to conduct certain activities with foreign species that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such activities. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing permits for any activity otherwise prohibited by the ESA with respect to any endangered species.
DATES:
Comments will be accepted on or before June 10, 2026. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see
ADDRESSES
, below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing date.
To ensure your comment is received and considered, you must submit it using one of the methods identified in the
ADDRESSES
section of this document. Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be considered.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents:
The applications, application supporting materials, and any comments and other materials that we receive will be available for public inspection at
https://www.regulations.gov
in Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2026-1057.
Comment submission:
All submissions must include the docket number FWS-HQ-IA-2026-1057 for this document. You must submit comments using one of the following methods:
Electronic submission:
Federal eRulemaking Portal at:
https://www.regulations.gov.
In the Search box, enter FWS-HQ-IA-2026-1057, which is the docket number for this action. Then click the Search button. On the resulting page, you may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment.” Please ensure that you have found the correct document before submitting your comments.
U.S. mail:
Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2026-1057, Policy and Regulations Branch, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
Comments submitted through any method not authorized in this document, or sent to an address not listed here, will not be considered. We will not accept comments via email, fax, or hand delivery. We are not required to consider comments that are submitted after the comment period ends or that are submitted via a method outside of these instructions. Comments containing profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate content will not be considered.
We will post all comments at
https://www.regulations.gov.
You may request that we withhold personal identifying information from public review; however, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. For more information, see Public Comment
( printed page 25592)
Procedures under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Timothy MacDonald, by phone at 703-358-2185 or via email at
DMAFR@fws.gov.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment Procedures
A. How do I comment on submitted applications?
We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on these applications. Before issuing any of the requested permits, we will take into consideration any information that we receive during the public comment period.
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods in
ADDRESSES
. We will not consider comments sent by email or to an address not in
ADDRESSES
. We will not consider or include in our administrative record comments we receive after the close of the comment period (see
DATES
).
When submitting comments, please specify the name of the applicant and the permit number at the beginning of your comment. Provide sufficient information to allow us to authenticate any scientific or commercial data you include. The comments and recommendations that will be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are: (1) Those supported by quantitative information or studies; and (2) those that include citations to, and analyses of, the applicable laws and regulations.
If you submit a comment at
https://www.regulations.gov,
your entire comment, including any personal identifying information, will be posted on the website. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes personal identifying information, such as your address, phone number, or email address, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Moreover, all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their entirety.
II. Background
To help us carry out our conservation responsibilities for affected species, and in consideration of section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531et seq.), we invite public comments on permit applications before final action is taken. With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits certain activities with listed species unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such activities. Permits issued under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA allow otherwise prohibited activities for scientific purposes or to enhance the propagation or survival of the affected species. Service regulations regarding prohibited activities with endangered species, captive-bred wildlife registrations, and permits for any activity otherwise prohibited by the ESA with respect to any endangered species are available in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in part 17.
The applicant requests a permit to import two live, captive-bred male siamangs (
Symphalangus syndactylus) from Safari Niagara, Stevensville, Canada, for the purpose of enhancing the propagation or survival of the species. This notification is for a single import.
The applicant requests a permit to import two Siamese crocodiles (
Crocodylus siamensis) of unknown origin from the Republic of Korea for the purpose of enhancing the propagation or survival of the species. This notification is for a single import.
The applicant requests a captive-bred wildlife registration under 50 CFR 17.21(g) for the following species, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species. This notification covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year period.
Common name
Scientific name
Arabian oryx
Oryx leucoryx.
Swamp deer
Cervus duvaucelii.
Eld's brow-antlered deer
Cervus eldi.
Red lechwe
Kobus leche.
Applicant: Zoological Subdistrict of the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District dba Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, MO; Permit No. PER30725674
The applicant requests a captive-bred wildlife registration under 50 CFR 17.21(g) for the following species, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species. This notification covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year period.
The applicant requests a captive-bred wildlife registration under 50 CFR 17.21(g) for the following species, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species. This notification covers
( printed page 25593)
activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year period.
The applicant requests a captive-bred wildlife registration under 50 CFR 17.21(g) for the following species, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species. This notification covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year period.
The applicant requests a permit authorizing the culling of excess Arabian oryx (
Oryx leucoryx),
Swamp deer
(Cervus duvaucelii),
Eld's brow-antlered deer
(Cervus eldi), and red lechwe (
Kobus leche) from the captive herd maintained at their facility, to enhance the species' propagation and survival. This notification covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year period.
The applicant requests a permit authorizing the culling of excess Arabian oryx (
Oryx leucoryx) from the captive herd maintained at their facility, to enhance the species' propagation and survival. This notification covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year period.
Multiple Trophy Applicants
The following applicants request permits to import sport-hunted trophies of male bontebok (
Damaliscus pygargus pygargus) culled from a captive herd in the Republic of South Africa, for the purpose of enhancing the propagation or survival of the species.
Applicant: John William Poole III, Spring Hill, KS; Permit No. PER30592949
Applicant: Stephen Worzella, Plover, WI; Permit No. PER30597024
Applicant: George Indorf, Jamestown, KS; Permit No. PER30603518
Applicant: Tom E. Altmann, Plover, WI; Permit No. PER30722154
Applicant: Jay Dee Hunt III, Slidell, LA; Permit No. PER30871371
IV. Next Steps
After the comment period closes, we will make decisions regarding permit issuance. If we issue permits to any of the applicants listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the
Federal Register
. You may locate the notice announcing the permit issuance by searching
https://www.regulations.gov
for the permit number listed above in this document. For example, to find information about the potential issuance of Permit No. 12345A, you would go to regulations.gov and search for “12345A”.
V. Authority
We issue this notice under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531et seq.), and its implementing regulations.
Scott Carleton,
Acting Branch Chief, Branch of Permits, Division of Management Authority.