§17.42. Species-specific rules—reptiles.
50 C.F.R. § 17.42
(1) Tree thinning, tree harvest (including clearcutting), and planting and replanting pines (by hand or by machine).
(2) Prescribed burning, including all firebreak establishment and maintenance actions, as well as actions taken to control wildfires.
(3) Herbicide application that is generally targeted for invasive plant species control and midstory and understory woody vegetation control, but is also used for site preparation when applied in a manner that minimizes long-term impact to noninvasive herbaceous vegetation. These provisions include only herbicide applications conducted in a manner consistent with Federal and applicable State laws, including Environmental Protection Agency label restrictions and herbicide application guidelines as prescribed by manufacturers.
(4) Skidding logs and use of loading decks that avoid mound complexes of Baird's pocket gophers (Geomys breviceps).
(5) Maintenance of existing substandard (dirt, unsurfaced) forest roads and trails used for access to timber being managed.
(6) Implementation of mandated and State-recommended forestry best management practices, including, but not limited to, those necessary to protect riparian (e.g., streamside management zone) and other habitats from erosional sediment deposition, and prevent washout of forest roads and impacts to vegetation.
(7) Food plot establishment for game animals, when it does not destroy existing native herbaceous vegetation, avoids Baird's pocket gopher mound complexes, and does not exceed 1 acre in size.
(1) Cause subsurface disturbance, including, but not limited to, wind-rowing, stumping, disking (except during firebreak creation or maintenance), root-raking, drum chopping (except for single pass with the lightest possible weighted drums and only when the soil is not wet, when used to control hardwoods and woody shrub species detrimental to establishment of pine-forested land), shearing that penetrates the soil surface, ripping (except when restoring pine forest in compacted soil areas such as former pastures), bedding, new road construction, and commercial or residential development. Machine-planting, using the shallowest depth possible, would be allowed in areas where pocket gophers are not present and only for planting pine tree species. In former pastures or highly degraded areas with no herbaceous vegetation and poor planting conditions, subsurface disturbance will be allowed only for activities that contribute to reforestation that is consistent with the conservation of the species.
(2) Inhibit the persistence of suitable Baird's pocket gopher and Louisiana pinesnake habitat, which consists of open-canopy forest situated on well-drained sandy soils with an abundant herbaceous plant community, a nonexistent or sparse midstory, and a low pine basal area.
(3) Involve the use of plastic mesh in erosion control and stabilization devices, mats, blankets, or channel protection.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[42 FR 2076, Jan. 10, 1977, as amended at 43 FR 32809, July 28, 1978; 44 FR 59084, Oct. 12, 1979; 45 FR 17589, Mar. 19, 1980; 45 FR 78154, Nov. 25, 1980; 48 FR 46336, Oct. 12, 1983; 50 FR 25678, June 20, 1985; 50 FR 45409, Oct. 31, 1985; 52 FR 21063, June 4, 1987; 52 FR 42662, Nov. 6, 1987; 55 FR 12191, Apr. 2, 1990; 61 FR 32366, June 24, 1996; 62 FR 59622, Nov. 4, 1997; 65 FR 25879, May 4, 2000; 72 FR 48446, Aug. 23, 2007; 78 FR 38190, June 25, 2013; 79 FR 38746, July 8, 2014; 80 FR 60489, Oct. 6, 2015; 85 FR 11306, Feb. 27, 2020; 86 FR 57376, Oct. 15, 2021; 88 FR 19017, Mar. 30, 2023; 89 FR 23940, Apr. 5, 2024; 89 FR 53528, June 27, 2024; 89 FR 57236, July 12, 2024; 89 FR 65225, Aug. 9, 2024]
Authority
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 1531-1544; and 4201-4245, unless otherwise noted.
Source
Source: 40 FR 44415, Sept. 26, 1975, unless otherwise noted.
Source
Source: 40 FR 44415, Sept. 26, 1975, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 85 FR 82388, Dec. 18, 2020, and further redesignated at 87 FR 43447, July 21, 2022, and further redesignated at 91 FR 45682, July 21, 2026.
Source
Source: 40 FR 44415, Sept. 26, 1975. Redesignated at 85 FR 82388, Dec. 18, 2020, and further redesignated at 87 FR 43447, July 21, 2022, and further redesignated at 91 FR 45682, July 21, 2026.
Amendments
[42 FR 2076, Jan. 10, 1977, as amended at 43 FR 32809, July 28, 1978; 44 FR 59084, Oct. 12, 1979; 45 FR 17589, Mar. 19, 1980; 45 FR 78154, Nov. 25, 1980; 48 FR 46336, Oct. 12, 1983; 50 FR 25678, June 20, 1985; 50 FR 45409, Oct. 31, 1985; 52 FR 21063, June 4, 1987; 52 FR 42662, Nov. 6, 1987; 55 FR 12191, Apr. 2, 1990; 61 FR 32366, June 24, 1996; 62 FR 59622, Nov. 4, 1997; 65 FR 25879, May 4, 2000; 72 FR 48446, Aug. 23, 2007; 78 FR 38190, June 25, 2013; 79 FR 38746, July 8, 2014; 80 FR 60489, Oct. 6, 2015; 85 FR 11306, Feb. 27, 2020; 86 FR 57376, Oct. 15, 2021; 88 FR 19017, Mar. 30, 2023; 89 FR 23940, Apr. 5, 2024; 89 FR 53528, June 27, 2024; 89 FR 57236, July 12, 2024; 89 FR 65225, Aug. 9, 2024]