The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) in the Federal Register on June 2, 2026, in connection with the North Dakota Petroleum Council's (NDPC) application for a 30-year Incidental Take Permit (ITP) under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act. The permit would authorize incidental take of the Dakota Skipper (Hesperia dacotae) resulting from above-ground oil and gas development activities by NDPC member companies across the state of North Dakota. The HCP uses a programmatic structure allowing multiple future projects to enroll under a single permit through Certificates of Inclusion. The draft EA evaluates two alternatives: issuance of the ITP with implementation of the programmatic HCP, and a no-action alternative involving denial of the programmatic permit and consideration of individual ITP applications instead. The public comment period closes July 2, 2026.123