U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 Endangered Species Act Update January 30, 2019
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 Endangered Species Act Update January 30, 2019 Proposed Regulation Changes On July 25, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service published in the Federal Register proposed rules to revise the regulations at: - 50 CFR 402, which implements consultation provisions found in section 7 of the ESA. The proposed revisions would address alternative consultation mechanisms (e.g., programmatic consultations), revise the definitions of “destruction or adverse modification” and “effects of the action”, address certainty of mitigation proposed by action agencies, otherwise improve the consultation process, and seek public comment on several other potential improvements. - 50 CFR 424, which implements listing and critical habitat provisions found in section 4 of the Act. The proposed revisions would add a framework for interpreting foreseeable future; clarify that the standards for delisting, reclassification, and listing are the same; re-define and expand considerations determining that designating critical habitat is not prudent; require that occupied habitat be evaluated before unoccupied habitat when designating critical habitat; and clarify when unoccupied areas would be determined to be essential for the conservation of the species. In addition, the FWS has proposed to rescind the “blanket” 4(d) rules at 50 CFR 17 addressing protective regulations for threatened species. Since the mid-1970s, we have operated under “blanket” 4(d) rules, which conveyed endangered species protections to threatened plants and wildlife unless a species-specific rule was promulgated. The proposed regulations would require the Service to determine what, if any, protective regulations and section 9 prohibitions are appropriate for species that the Service in the future determines to be a threatened species. Species already listed as threatened species that included the blanket protections and prohibitions or those with existing species-specific 4(d) rules will remain unchanged. The Federal Register notice initiated a 60-day public comment period, which closed on September 24, 2018. A date for issuance of final rules has not been set. The proposed rules can be found at: https://www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/regulation-revisions.html Recovery Planning and Implementation 1) White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) (All States) – WNS has now been confirmed in 33 states and 7 Canadian provinces. The causative fungus (Pd for short) has also been detected in three additional states (MS, TX, and WY). • WNS Surveillance: Surveillance is underway for winter 2018/2019 with priority samples being collected in Texas, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming. o The national surveillance and diagnostics working group has initiated a project to harmonize diagnostic laboratory procedures and reporting. The effort will standardize procedures and produce a framework for proficiency and sensitivity testing among participating diagnostics laboratories. This effort is being coordinated by the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. o The USGS National Wildlife Health Center is distributing surveillance kits to partners to collect samples from bats and the environment where Pd is not yet endemic. o WNS State Capacity Grants awarded to 39 states in 2018 are supporting surveillance and monitoring activities around the country. • WNS Grants: o The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Service offered funding targeting research to develop and implement management tools through the Bats for the Future Fund (BFF) again in 2018. Four projects have been selected for funding and will be announced this month. o The Service selected 10 grants through our research funding opportunity in 2018. Approximately $1.5 million will be awarded to these projects, which will be announced over the coming months. The projects address key research and management needs identified through the WNS National Response Team. o The Service selected 10 projects through the WNS Small Grants Program. Three communications projects and seven research/conservation projects are being awarded through the Wildlife Management Institute for a total of $170,000. • Treatment Field Trials: In winter 2018/2019, we anticipate continued and new testing efforts for several treatments, including those funded through the BFF, in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. • To foster continuing innovation in the development of tools to manage white-nose syndrome, the Service is planning to work with new partners, including www.challenge.gov, to hold ideation and prize challenges in 2019. Ideation challenges support new ways of understanding and framing problems, new processes to solve problems, and innovative solutions to problems. • Monthly Conference Calls: The Service continues to host two monthly WNS conference calls, held on the first and third Thursdays of each month, to discuss WNS-related topics with state, Federal, tribal, and nongovernmental partners in the United States and Canada. Please contact Jeremy Coleman, National WNS Coordinator ([email protected]), with requests to be added to the email list. More information on the national response to WNS can be found at https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/. For more information, contact Jeremy Coleman, [email protected], or Jonathan Reichard, [email protected], at the Regional Office. 2) Atlantic Salmon – Final Recovery Plan (ME) – On May 31, 2016, the public comment for the Draft Recovery Plan for the expanded Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) closed. The Service and National Marine Fisheries Service share jurisdiction of the species and jointly prepared the draft plan, which includes recovery objectives that, when met, would allow us to consider reclassifying the DPS from endangered to threatened and, ultimately, to delist the DPS. The agencies have addressed independent peer review comments, and the final plan is going through internal agency review. Release of the final plan is expected this winter. The draft plan can be found at http://atlanticsalmonrestoration.org/resources/documents/atlantic-salmon-recovery-plan- 2015 For more information, contact Anna Harris of our Maine Field Office at [email protected]. 3) Big Sandy Crayfish and Guyandotte River Crayfish – Recovery Outline and Start of Recovery Planning (VA, WV, KY) – The recovery outline for the Big Sandy crayfish (Cambarus callainus) and Guyandotte River crayfish (C. veteranus) has been approved and will be posted on the national Endangered Species website: https//www.fws.gov/endangered. Recovery planning for these species will start this fiscal year. For more information, contact Barbara Douglas in our West Virginia Field Office at [email protected]. 4) Rufa Red Knot – Recovery Outline and Start of Recovery Planning (All States) – The Service has drafted a recovery outline for the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) that will guide the Service’s recovery implementation efforts until a recovery plan for the species is completed. The recovery outline is undergoing internal review and, upon approval, will be posted on the national Endangered Species website: https//www.fws.gov/endangered. Recovery planning for this species will start this fiscal year. For more information, contact Wendy Walsh in our New Jersey Office at [email protected]. 5) Virginia Big-Eared Bat – 5-Year Review and Recovery Plan Amendment (VA, WV) – The Service is conducting a 5-year review of the Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus (=Plecotus) townsendii virginianus) and preparing a recovery plan amendment. The Service’s West Virginia Field Office has coordinated these efforts with state natural resource agency and Service field office personnel in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The draft documents are undergoing internal review. The Service expects to publish in the Federal Register a Notice of Availability of the draft recovery plan amendment for public comment in spring or summer 2019. For more information, contact Barbara Douglas in our West Virginia Field Office at [email protected]. 6) Jesup’s Milk-vetch – Recovery Plan Revision (NH, VT) – The Service is revising the Jesup’s milk-vetch (Astragalus robbinsii var. jesupii) recovery plan. The Service’s New England Field Office has coordinated this effort with state natural resource agency personnel and experts in New Hampshire and Vermont. The draft recovery plan revision is undergoing internal review. The Service expects to publish in the Federal Register a Notice of Availability of the draft recovery plan revision for public comment in spring or summer 2019. For more information, contact Susi vonOettingen in our New England Field Office at [email protected]. Section 10 Incidental Take Permits - Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) 1) Pennsylvania Forestry HCP (PA) – The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) are developing an HCP for take of the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) resulting from forest management-related activities on 1.4 million acres of PGC State Game Lands, 2.2 million acres of DCNR State Forests, and 295,000 acres of DCNR State Parks. In 2018, the PGC and DCNR were awarded another section 6 grant to fund the final phase of the HCP and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis. In March 2018, the Service received a