Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl; Delay of Effective Date

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 03/01/2021.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are delaying the effective date of a final rule we published on January 15, 2021, revising the designation of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (January 15, 2021, Final Rule). In addition, this action opens...

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Motor Vehicles

by the National Park Service on 02/12/2021.

Regulations Governing Take of Migratory Birds; Delay of Effective Date

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 02/09/2021.

On January 7, 2021, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published a final rule (``MBTA rule'') defining the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) as it applies to conduct resulting in the injury or death of migratory birds protected by the MBTA. We are delaying the MBTA rule's effective date until March 8, 2021, in conformity with...

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustments

by the Interior Department on 02/01/2021.

This rule revises U.S. Department of the Interior regulations implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to provide for annual adjustments of civil penalties to account for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget guidance. The...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Designation of Critical Habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 01/15/2021.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), revise the designation of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) by excluding approximately 3,472,064 acres (1,405,094 hectares) in Whatcom, Okanogan, Skagit, Chelan, Snohomish, King, Kittitas, Pierce,...

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Motor Vehicles

by the National Park Service on 01/15/2021.

The National Park Service amends its special regulations for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to manage the use of motor vehicles on and off park roads. The rule requires a permit to operate a motor vehicle off roads in selected locations, designates routes and areas where motor vehicles may be used off roads, and allows the superintendent...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the Interior Least Tern From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 01/13/2021.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the inland population of the least tern (Interior least tern) (Sterna (now Sternula) antillarum), from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife due to recovery. This determination is based on a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which...

Regulations Governing Take of Migratory Birds

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 01/07/2021.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS, Service, we), define the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA or Act) as it applies to conduct resulting in the injury or death of migratory birds protected by the Act. We determine that the MBTA's prohibitions on pursuing, hunting, taking, capturing, killing, or attempting to do the same,...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the Endangered June Sucker to Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 01/04/2021.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reclassifying the June sucker (Chasmistes liorus) from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), due to substantial improvements in the species' overall status since its original listing as endangered in 1986. This action is based on a thorough...

Migratory Bird Permits; Management of Conflicts Associated With Double-Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) Throughout the United States

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 12/29/2020.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) establishes a new permit for State and federally recognized Tribal (hereafter ``Tribe'' or ``Tribal'') fish and wildlife agencies for the management of double- crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus; hereafter ``cormorants''). The new permit authorizes specific take activities that are normally...

Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Reaffirmation of Standard Editions Related to the Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards

by the Safety and Environmental Enforcement Bureau on 12/28/2020.

This direct final rule incorporates by reference American Petroleum Institute's (API's) reaffirmation of 21 production measurement publications (each referred to herein as a ``standard''). This direct final rule updates the reaffirmation date of industry standards already incorporated in regulations administered by the Bureau of Safety and...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Designating Critical Habitat

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 12/18/2020.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or Service), amend portions of our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The revisions set forth a process for excluding areas of critical habitat under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, which mandates our consideration of the impacts of designating...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding for the Monarch Butterfly

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 12/17/2020.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the monarch...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat

by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/16/2020.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the ``Services'' or ``we''), add a definition of ``habitat'' to our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This rulemaking responds to Supreme Court case law regarding...

Application Procedures, Execution and Filing of Forms: Correction of State Office Address for Filings and Recordings, Including Proper Offices for Recording of Mining Claims; Eastern States

by the Land Management Bureau on 12/15/2020.

This final rule amends the regulations pertaining to execution and filing of forms in order to reflect the new address of the BLM- Eastern States Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). All filings and other documents relating to public lands in the 31 States east of and bordering the Mississippi River must be filed at the new address of...

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding for the Northern Spotted Owl

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 12/15/2020.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 12-month finding on a petition to list the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that...

Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Allotments

by the Land Management Bureau on 12/11/2020.

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Eleven Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species

by the Fish and Wildlife Service on 12/03/2020.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce findings that eleven species are not warranted for listing as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that it is not warranted at this time to...

Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Allotments

by the Land Management Bureau on 11/27/2020.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is issuing final regulations to enable certain Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans to apply for land allotments under Section 1119 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of March 12, 2019 (Dingell Act). The Dingell Act requires the BLM to issue regulations to implement the...

Clarification of Provisions Related to the Issuance of Ten-Day Notices to State Regulatory Authorities and Enhancement of Corrective Action for State Regulatory Program Issues

by the Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Office on 11/24/2020.

On May 14, 2020, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) published a proposal to clarify the Federal regulations about how OSMRE notifies State regulatory authorities, via issuance of a ten-day notice (TDN), of possible violations of any requirement of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). This...