Endangered Species; Receipt of Recovery Permit Applications

Notice

Endangered Species; Receipt of Recovery Permit Applications

A Notice by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 04/09/2026

• This document has a comment period that ends in 32 days.
  (05/11/2026) View Comment Instructions

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-06798 (91 FR 17981) Document Headings ###### Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

1. [Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2026-0992; FXES11130100000-267-FF01E00000]

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, have received applications for permits to conduct activities intended to enhance the propagation and survival of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies 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:

Comments will be accepted on or before May 11, 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:

Document availability: Submit a request for copies of the applications and related documents by one of the following methods. All requests should specify the applicant name and application number (e.g., Dana Ross, ES001705):

• Email: permitsR1ES@fws.gov.

• U.S. Mail: Tanya Sommer, Threatened and Endangered Species Program Manager, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Regional Office, 911 NE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-4181.
  Comment submission: All submissions must include the docket number [FWS-R1-ES-2026-0992] 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-R1-ES-2026-0992, 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-R1-ES-2026-0992, 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 ( printed page 17982) containing profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate content will not be considered.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen Colson, Regional Recovery Permit Coordinator, Ecological Services, (503) 231-6283 (telephone); permitsR1ES@fws.gov (email). 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 the public to comment on applications for permits under section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The requested permits would allow the applicants to conduct activities intended to promote recovery of a species listed as endangered under the ESA.

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 with endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or for enhancement of propagation or survival of the species. These activities often include such prohibited actions as capture and collection. Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 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

Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild. The ESA requires that we invite public comment before issuing the requested permits. Accordingly, we invite local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the public to submit written data, views, or arguments with respect to these applications. The comments and recommendations that will be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are those supported by quantitative information or studies.

| Application No. | Applicant, city, state | Species | Location | Take activity | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ES72088A-4 | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI | Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), and Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) | Hawai'i, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, and Pacific Remote Islands Areas | Survey, monitor, capture, handle, excavate nests, collect eggs, captive rear hatchlings, biosample, identify, tag, deploy data loggers in nests, attach biotelemetry devices and satellite transmitters, release, research, including reproduction, food, and growth rates, and salvage | Renew. |
| ES19045C-5 | Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife; Honolulu, HI | No common name (NCN) (Eua zebrina) and NCN (Ostodes strigatus) | American Samoa | Survey and biosample | Amend. |
| PER26029064 | Woodland Park Zoological Gardens, Seattle, Washington | Island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus) | Washington | Collect/capture, handle, captive rear, release, salvage, and emergency relocate | New. |
| ES40123A-4 | U.S. Army Garrison, Pohakuloa Training Area, Hilo, Hawaii | No common name (NCN) (Asplenium peruvianum var. insulare), Menzies ballart/heau (Exocarpos menziesii), NCN (Festuca hawaiiensis), honohono (Haplostachys haplostachya), kio'ele (Kadua coriacea), aupaka (Isodendrion hosakae), NCN (Lipochaeta venosa) also known as nehe (Melanthera venosa), NCN (Neraudia ovata), po'e (Portulaca sclerocarpa), 'ihi (Portulaca villosa), ma'oli'oli (Schiedea hawaiiensis), anunu (Sicyos macrophyllus), NCN (Silene lanceolata), pōpolu kū mai (Solanum incompletum), NCN (Spermolepis hawaiiensis), NCN (Stenogyne angustifolia var. angustifolia), NCN (Tetramolopium arenarium), NCN (Vigna o-wahuensis), and 'e (Zanthoxylum hawaiiense) | Hawai'i | Collect plants and propagules for propagation, outplanting, and herbarium specimens | Renew with changes. |
| | | 'Akē'akē or Band-rumped Storm-petrel (Hydrobates castro) | Hawai'i | Survey and monitor with detector dog, nest cameras, and acoustic recording devices, predator control, and salvage | |

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. 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.

Next Steps

If we decide to issue a permit to any of the applicants listed in this notice, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register.

Authority

We publish this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Tanya Sommer,

Threatened and Endangered Species Program Manager, Pacific Region.

[FR Doc. 2026-06798 Filed 4-8-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4333-15-P

Published Document: 2026-06798 (91 FR 17981)