Search Results for keywords:"incidental take permit"

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the release of a final environmental impact statement regarding a habitat conservation plan created by the Oregon Department of State Lands. This plan seeks to obtain permits allowing incidental harm to three threatened species: the northern spotted owl, the marbled murrelet, and the Oregon Coast coho salmon. The permits would support research and management activities in the Elliott State Research Forest in Oregon for 80 years. They include steps to minimize and mitigate impacts, with ongoing monitoring and adaptive management strategies guided by the plan's conservation goals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced its decision to issue a 30-year incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act for the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan. This ITP allows activities that might inadvertently harm two threatened species, the Oregon spotted frog and bull trout, covered in the plan. The decision supports a conservation strategy designed to mitigate the negative impacts on these species by adjusting water flow patterns and setting up conservation funds over the permit term. The Service evaluated various alternatives before selecting this plan as the best course of action.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has received a request from the Dominion Virginia Power to modify an existing incidental take permit. This permit, under the Endangered Species Act, is related to the operation of the Dominion Chesterfield Power Station and involves the accidental capture of Atlantic sturgeon eggs. This modification aims to authorize the incidental capture of up to 36,726 sturgeon eggs from the Chesapeake Bay Distinct Population Segment through December 2025. The NMFS is analyzing the environmental impacts of this modification and is inviting public comments by January 21, 2025.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued a permit to allow certain commercial fisheries to incidentally capture endangered marine mammals, specifically targeting humpback whale stocks, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This permit, effective for three years, applies to the sablefish pot fishery in Washington, Oregon, and California. The permit includes the requirement that these fisheries have a monitoring program and adhere to a take reduction plan, all of which are in place or being developed to ensure that incidental harm to the whales has minimal impact on their populations. Concerns from environmental groups about the effect of the permit and the lack of certain safeguards have been considered, but the NMFS has determined that the fisheries' operations, as regulated, meet the necessary conditions to minimize harm.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing to issue a permit that would allow for the unintentional capturing or harming of certain endangered marine mammals during commercial fishing activities, specifically in the California thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery. This permit is valid for three years and would authorize incidental takes of humpback and sperm whales, ensuring they meet criteria related to negligible impact and recovery plans. NMFS is seeking public comments on the proposed permit, and detailed information is available for review online.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the availability of the records of decision for a highway right-of-way project and an amended incidental take permit in Washington County, Utah. The project involves the Northern Corridor, which was previously challenged in court due to environmental concerns, including impacts on the Mojave desert tortoise. A settlement was reached, leading to further evaluation and public comment periods. The BLM has decided to terminate the highway right-of-way grant, while the FWS has amended the permit to allow incidental take of the desert tortoise without the highway construction, focusing on conservation of land within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has received an application from Overnight Solar, LLC for a permit that would allow the incidental take of the threatened desert tortoise during the development of a solar energy project in San Bernardino County, California. This permit is required under the Endangered Species Act since the project could impact the tortoises’ habitat. To offset potential impacts, the company plans to relocate the tortoises and support habitat preservation efforts. The public is invited to comment on the draft habitat conservation plan and environmental assessment by February 20, 2025.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has received a request for an updated permit to potentially affect endangered and threatened species during the Rooney Ranch Wind Repowering Project in Alameda County, CA. The updated permit will cover additional impacts and species. Public comments are invited on the permit application, conservation plan, and environmental assessment. The project includes measures to minimize and mitigate its impact on species like the California tiger salamander and San Joaquin kit fox.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has received an application from RWLC Development Sub, LLC for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act. This permit would allow the company to impact the federally listed sand skink and bluetail mole skink during the construction of a commercial development in Polk County, Florida. A habitat conservation plan has been proposed, and the public is invited to comment. The Service has made an initial determination that this project might have minor environmental impacts and may qualify for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act.