[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1879-1880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00213]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FWS-R5-ES-2012-N195; FXES11130300000-134-FF03E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Draft Revised
Indiana Bat Summer Survey Guidelines
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), announce the
availability of our draft revised summer survey guidelines for the
Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) for public review and comment. The Indiana
bat is federally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (Act). The draft guidelines were prepared by
representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service,
U.S. Department of Defense's Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department
of the Interior's Geological Survey and USFWS, Kentucky Department of
Fish and Wildlife Resources, New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. We
request review and comment on our guidelines--along with acoustic
identification software testing criteria our 2013 contingency plan--
from local, State, and Federal agencies and the public.
DATES: Comments on the draft guidelines must be received on or before
February 8, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The draft survey guidelines, acoustic
identification software testing criteria, and 2013 contingency plan are
available at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/mammals/inba/inbasummersurveyguidance.html. The documents are also available by
request, by U.S. mail from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Ecological Services Field Office, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington,
IN 47403-2121; or by phone at 812-334-4261, x1216. Submitting Comments:
If you wish to comment on the documents, you may submit your comments
in writing by any one of the following methods:
U.S. mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 620 South
Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403-2121;
Hand-delivery: Field Supervisor at the above U.S. mail
address;
Email: indiana_bat@fws.gov; or
Fax: 812-334-4273. Include ``Indiana Bat Summer Survey
Guidelines'' in the subject line of the facsimile transmittal.
[[Page 1880]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or requests for additional
information may be directed to any of the following: (1) Mr. Andrew
King, Endangered Species Biologist, at the Bloomington, Indiana, Field
Office address or phone above; (2) Ms. Robyn Niver, Endangered Species
Biologist, by U.S. mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological
Services Field Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, NY 13045; or by phone
at 607-753-9334; or (3) Mr. Mike Armstrong, Endangered Species
Biologist, by U.S. mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological
Services Field Office, J. C. Watts Federal Building, Room 265, 330 West
Broadway, Frankfort, KY 40601-8670; or by phone at 502-229-4632.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Indiana bat was originally listed as in danger of extinction
under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. Summer survey
guidelines (mist-netting protocols) were first developed for the
species in the early 1990s and the USFWS provided revised mist-netting
guidelines in our 2007 Draft Revised Recovery Plan. The USFWS recently
convened a group of State and Federal agency representatives to revise
existing survey guidelines. We solicited peer review through the bat
working groups across the range of the Indiana bat between February and
March 2012 and received comments from 57 individuals. Based upon
comments received and the results of pilot testing of the survey
guidelines at known Indiana bat maternity colonies in the summer of
2012, we offer the revised guidelines for public review and comment.
In addition to soliciting comments on draft survey guidelines for
determining presence or probable absence of Indiana bats in the summer,
we request comment on our proposed approach and criteria for testing
the accuracy and suitability of available acoustic identification
software programs. Only programs that pass our suitability test would
be approved by the USFWS for official survey use. Our goal is to
incorporate comments and finalize the draft survey guidelines and
testing criteria in time for implementation in the 2013 field season.
However, should no USFWS-approved software programs be concurrently
available, we propose to follow an intermediary contingency plan. The
draft survey guidelines, draft acoustic identification software testing
criteria, and 2013 contingency plan, with instructions for commenting,
are available on the Internet (see ADDRESSES).
Request for Public Comments
We invite written comments on (1) The draft survey guidelines, (2)
the acoustic identification software testing criteria, and (3) the 2013
contingency plan. Substantive comments may or may not result in changes
to the USFWS guidance document. Please include sufficient information
with your comments to allow us to verify any scientific or commercial
information you include.
While all comments we receive will be considered in developing
final documents, we encourage commenters to focus on those portions of
the guidelines that have been revised, particularly those topics noted
above that address peer-review comments.
All comments received by the date specified in DATES will be
considered in preparing final documents. Methods of submitting comments
are in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
Responses to individual commenters will not be provided; however,
we will provide the comments we receive and a summary of how we
addressed substantive comments in a frequently asked questions document
on the Web site listed above. If you submit comments or information by
email to indiana_bat@fws.gov, your entire submission--including any
personal identifying information--will be posted on the Web site. If
your submission is made by hard copy that includes personal identifying
information, 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. We will post all hard copy and
email submissions on the Web site listed above in ADDRESSES.
Comments and materials we receive will be available on our Web
site; however, individuals without internet access may request an
appointment to inspect the comments during normal business hours at our
office in Bloomington, Indiana (see ADDRESSES).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: January 2, 2013.
Lynn M. Lewis,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Midwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2013-00213 Filed 1-8-13; 8:45 am]
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