Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revising the Special Rule for the Utah Prairie Dog; Final Rule

Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service/USFWS), revise our special regulations for the conservation of the Utah prairie dog. We are revising our special regulations to provide limits to the allowable take, including limits to where permitted take can occur--agricultural lands, properties within 0.8 kilometers (km) (0.5 miles (mi)) of conservation lands, and areas where Utah prairie dogs cause serious human safety hazards or disturb the sanctity of significant human cultural or human burial sites; the amount of take that can be permitted; methods of take that can be permitted; and seasonal limitations on direct lethal take. We are also allowing entities other than the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to permit take. We are also issuing new incidental take exemptions for otherwise legal activities associated with standard agricultural practices. All other provisions of the special rule not relating to these amendments remain unchanged.