Endangered Species; Receipt of Recovery Permit Applications
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct scientific research to promote conservation or other activities intended to enhance the...
Notice of receipt of permit applications; request for comments.
SUMMARY:
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received applications for permits to conduct scientific research to promote conservation or other activities intended to enhance the propagation or survival of endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. We invite local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public to comment on these applications. Before issuing the requested permits, we will take into consideration any information that we receive during the public comment period.
DATES:
We must receive your written comments on or before July 1, 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:
Comment submission:
All submissions must include the docket number [FWS-R5-ES-2026-1321] for this document. You must submit comments using one of the following methods:
Electronic submission:
Federal eRulemaking Portal at:
www.regulations.gov.
In the Search box, enter FWS-R5-ES-2026-1321, 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-R5-ES-2026-1321, 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
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. See Public Availability of Comments for more information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Abby Goldstein, 413-253-8212 (phone), or
permitsR5ES@fws.gov
(email). Submit requests for copies of the applications and related documents, by one of these methods. All requests should specify the applicant name(s) and application number(s) (
e.g.,
ESXXXXXX; see table in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
). 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:
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public to review and comment on applications we have received for permits under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531et seq.), and our implementing regulations in part 17 of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The requested permits would allow the applicants to conduct activities intended to promote recovery of species that are listed as endangered under the ESA. Documents and other information submitted with the applications are available for review, subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
Background
With some exceptions, the ESA prohibits activities that constitute take of listed species, unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. The ESA's definition of “take” includes such activities as pursuing, harassing, trapping, capturing, or collecting, in addition to hunting, shooting, harming, wounding, or killing.
A recovery permit issued by us under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA authorizes the permittee to conduct activities constituting or resulting in take of endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or for enhancement of propagation or survival of the species. Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.62 for endangered plant species, and 50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant species.
Permit Applications Available for Review and Comment
In accordance with the ESA, we invite local, State, and Federal agencies; Tribes; and the public to submit written data, views, or arguments with respect to the applications in table 1.
Table 1—Permit Applications Received
Application No.
Applicant
Species
Location
Activity
Type of take
Permit action
PER31379402-0
Fort Drum Military Reservation, U.S. Army; Fort Drum, NY
Indiana bat (
Myotis sodalis), northern long-eared bat (
Myotis septentrionalis)
New York
Capture via mistnet, band, telemetry, release
Capture
New.
( printed page 32425)
CS18420331
Hillary Mower; Crab Orchard, WV
Indiana bat (
Myotis sodalis), northern long-eared bat (
Myotis septentrionalis), tricolored bat (
Perimyotis subflavus), gray bat (
Myotis grisescens), Virginia big-eared bat (
Corynorhinus (=Plecotus) townsendii virginianus)
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
Capture via mistnet and harp trap, band, telemetry, release
Add: Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas
Capture, release
Capture
Amend.
PER26044385-0
Walter Veselka; Reedsville, WV
Rusty patched bumble bee (
Bombus affinis)
West Virginia
Capture, photograph, release
Capture
New.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the administrative record associated with this action. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can request in your comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from public review, 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.
( printed page 32426)
Next Steps
If we decide to issue permits to the applicants listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the
Federal Register
.
Authority:
Section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531et seq.).
www.regulations.gov
16 U.S.C. 1531
part 17 of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations