Document

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...

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Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2026-2377; FXIA16710900000-267-FF09A30000]

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of receipt of permit applications; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (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 August 21, 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-HQ-IA-2026-2377 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-2026-2377, 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-2026-2377, 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 Procedures under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION .

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Brenda Tapia, 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 ( printed page 46131) 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.

B. May I review comments submitted by others?

You may view and comment on others' public comments at https://www.regulations.gov unless our allowing so would violate the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) or Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

C. Who will see my comments?

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 hard copy 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. 1531 et 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 in part 17.

III. Permit Applications

We invite comments on the following applications.

Applicant: Metro Richmond Zoo, Moseley, VA; Permit No. PER33563708

The applicant requests a permit to import four live, captive-born cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus) from Canada for the purpose of enhancing the propagation or survival of the species. This notification is for a single import.

Applicant: Peoria Zoo at Glen Oak, Peoria, IL; Permit No. PER32485361

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
Chinese alligator	Alligator sinensis.
Panamanian golden frog	Atelopus zeteki.
Grevy's Zebra	Equus grevyi.
Ring-tailed lemur	Lemur catta.
Mandrill	Mandrillus sphinx.
Siberian tiger	Panthera tigris altaica.
African lion	Panthera leo leo.
African lion	Panthera leo melanochaita.
Cotton-top tamarin	Saguinus oedipus.

Multiple Trophy Applicants

The following applicants request permits to import sport-hunted trophies of male bontebok ( Damaliscus pygargus pygargus) culled from a captive herd from the Republic of South Africa, for the purpose of enhancing the propagation or survival of the species.

Applicant: Ross Henry Dies, Shreveport, LA; Permit No. PER33485428

Applicant: James Leifeste, Aledo, TX; Permit No. PER33511301

Applicant: Gregory Header, Richland, PA; Permit No. PER33613385

Applicant: Mark Craig, Gibsonville, NC; Permit No. PER33617033

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. 1531 et seq.), and its implementing regulations.

Scott Carleton,

Acting Branch Chief, Branch of Permits, Division of Management Authority.

[FR Doc. 2026-14711 Filed 7-21-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4333-15-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 46130

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

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“Foreign Endangered Species; Receipt of Permit Applications,” thefederalregister.org (July 22, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-14711/foreign-endangered-species-receipt-of-permit-applications.