From Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a series of public scoping meetings in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma as part of the agency’s efforts to evaluate the impacts of, and alternatives to, the proposed issuance of an Endangered Species Act permit that would authorize specified levels of take of certain species. A group of wind energy companies have requested this Incidental Take Permit and are developing the Great Plains Wind Energy Habitat Conservation Plan to meet permit issuance requirements. This effort will facilitate environmentally responsible wind energy development across a 200-mile wide corridor stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico on the Texas coast.As part of the requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act for issuance of the permit, the Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement evaluating the companies’ application for the Permit.