Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Establishment of a Nonessential Experimental Population of American Burying Beetle in Southwestern Missouri

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), will reestablish the American burying beetle, a federally listed endangered insect, into its historical habitat in Wah'kon-tah Prairie in southwestern Missouri. We will reestablish the American burying beetle under section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), and will classify that reestablished population as a nonessential experimental population (NEP) within St. Clair, Cedar, Bates, and Vernon Counties, Missouri. This rule provides a plan for establishing the NEP and provides for allowable legal incidental taking of the American burying beetle within the defined NEP area.