Je veux savoir à propos de…

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES2

30708

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 9, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
businesses, and private landowners.
Examples of recovery actions include habitat restoration e.g., restoration of native vegetation, research, captive propagation and reintroduction, and outreach and education. The recovery of many listed species cannot be accomplished solely on Federal lands because their range may occur primarily or solely on non-Federal lands. To achieve recovery of these species requires cooperative conservation efforts on private, State, and Tribal lands.
Following publication of this final rule, funding for recovery actions will be available from a variety of sources, including Federal budgets, State programs, and cost-share grants for nonFederal landowners, the academic community, and nongovernmental organizations. In addition, pursuant to section 6 of the Act, the State of North Carolina will be eligible for Federal funds to implement management actions that promote the protection or recovery of the Carolina madtom and Neuse River waterdog. Information on our grant programs that are available to aid species recovery can be found at:
http www.fws.gov/grants.
Please let us know if you are interested in participating in recovery efforts for the Carolina madtom and Neuse River waterdog. Additionally, we invite you to submit any new information on this species whenever it becomes available and any information you may have for recovery planning purposes see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Section 7a of the Act requires Federal agencies to evaluate their actions with respect to any species that is listed as an endangered or threatened species and with respect to its critical habitat, if any is designated. Regulations implementing this interagency cooperation provision of the Act are codified at 50 CFR part 402. Section 7a2 of the Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that activities they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat. If a Federal action may affect a listed species or its critical habitat, the responsible Federal agency must enter into consultation with the Service.
Federal agency actions within the species habitat that may require conference or consultation or both as described in the preceding paragraph may include, but are not limited to, management and any other landscapealtering activities on Federal lands administered by the Service, U.S. Forest Service, and National Park Service;

VerDate Sep<11>2014

18:54 Jun 08, 2021

Jkt 253001

issuance of section 404 Clean Water Act 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. permits by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and construction and maintenance of roads or highways by the Federal Highway Administration.
Carolina Madtom The Act and its implementing regulations set forth a series of general prohibitions and exceptions that apply to endangered wildlife. The prohibitions of section 9a1 of the Act, codified at 50 CFR 17.21, make it illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to take which includes harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect; or to attempt any of these endangered wildlife within the United States or on the high seas. In addition, it is unlawful to import; export; deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce in the course of commercial activity; or sell or offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any species listed as an endangered species.
It is also illegal to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship any such wildlife that has been taken illegally.
Certain exceptions apply to employees of the Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, other Federal land management agencies, and State conservation agencies.
We may issue permits to carry out otherwise prohibited activities involving endangered wildlife under certain circumstances. Regulations governing permits are codified at 50
CFR 17.22. With regard to endangered wildlife, a permit may be issued for the following purposes: For scientific purposes, to enhance the propagation or survival of the species, and for incidental take in connection with otherwise lawful activities. There are also certain statutory exemptions from the prohibitions, which are found in sections 9 and 10 of the Act.
It is our policy, as published in the Federal Register on July 1, 1994 59 FR
34272, to identify to the maximum extent practicable at the time a species is listed, those activities that would or would not constitute a violation of section 9 of the Act. The intent of this policy is to increase public awareness of the effect of a listing on proposed and ongoing activities within the range of the listed species. At this time, we are unable to identify specific activities that would not be considered to result in a violation of section 9 of the Act because the Carolina madtom occurs in a variety of habitat conditions across its range and it is likely that site-specific conservation measures may be needed for activities that may directly or
PO 00000

Frm 00022

Fmt 4701

Sfmt 4700

indirectly affect the species. Based on the best available information, the following activities may potentially result in a violation of section 9 of the Act if they are not authorized in accordance with applicable law; this list is not comprehensive:
1 Unauthorized handling or collecting of the species;
2 Destruction/alteration of the species habitat by discharge of fill material, draining, ditching, tiling, pond construction, stream channelization or diversion, or diversion or alteration of surface or ground water flow into or out of the wetland i.e., due to roads, impoundments, discharge pipes, stormwater detention basins, etc.;
3 Activities that result in direct or indirect destruction of riparian habitat;
4 Modification of the channel or water flow of any stream or removal or destruction of emergent aquatic vegetation in any body of water in which the Carolina madtom is known to occur;
5 Discharge of chemicals or fill material into any waters in which the Carolina madtom is known to occur;
and 6 Pesticide applications in violation of label restrictions.
Questions regarding whether specific activities would constitute a violation of section 9 of the Act should be directed to the Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Neuse River Waterdog It is our policy, as published in the Federal Register on July 1, 1994 59 FR
34272, to identify to the maximum extent practicable at the time a species is listed, those activities that would or would not constitute a violation of section 9 of the Act. The intent of this policy is to increase public awareness of the effect of a listing on proposed and ongoing activities within the range of a listed species. The discussion below regarding protective regulations under section 4d of the Act complies with our policy.
II. Final Rule Issued Under Section 4d of the Act for the Neuse River Waterdog Background Section 4d of the Act contains two sentences. The first sentence states that the Secretary shall issue such regulations as he or she deems necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of species listed as threatened. The U.S. Supreme Court has noted that statutory language like necessary and advisable demonstrates a large degree of deference to the agency
E:FRFM09JNR2.SGM

09JNR2