March 2016
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability of a proposed amendment to the American Burying Beetle Industry Conservation Plan (ABB ICP). Originally approved in 2014, the ABB ICP provides the oil and gas industry in Oklahoma a streamlined Endangered Species Act permitting process for activities that may impact the American burying beetle (ABB). Since approval of the ABB ICP, the Service has had significantly fewer than anticipated requests for permits and as a result, only a small fraction of the 32,234 acres of authorized “take” “take”
The term “take” means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
Learn more about “take” under the ABB ICP have been issued. In the interest of providing industry with greater certainty while continuing to ensure the conservation of the American burying beetle, the Service is proposing to amend the ABB ICP to extend it for three years (through May 20, 2019). Public comments will be accepted until April 7, 2016.
Press Release
Service Proposes Amending Industry Conservation Plan for the American Burying Beetle
