Improving ESA Home

• Listing Workplan
• Listing Workplan
  FY 2013-2018
• Multiple District Litigation Documents
• Regulatory Reform
  • Critical Habitat Textual Description
  • Significant Portion of Its Range
  • Landowner Incentives
  • Timing of Economic Analysis for Critical Habitat Designations
• Contact Us

 _________________________

Related Links

• Endangered Species Program's Regulations
  and Policies
• Search for Species
• Featured Species
• News Stories

 _________________________

Connect With Us

        
      

Timing of Economic Analysis for Critical Habitat Designations

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA's Fisheries Service (Services), the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA), are jointly proposing to simplify and clarify the process through which impact analyses are conducted for designations of critical habitat under the ESA.

	Mountain yellow-legged frog. Rick Kuyper / USFWS

The proposed regulation changes would require the draft economic analysis of the proposed designation of critical habitat to be made available for public comment concurrent with the publication of the proposed designation of critical habitat. Today's proposal was first outlined in a Presidential Memorandum seeking to improve transparency and public comment by providing the public access to both the scientific analysis and the draft economic analysis of a proposed critical habitat designation at the same time.

The proposed rule is also consistent with Executive Order 13563, which calls for a retrospective analysis of existing rules to make the agency's regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives.

If the proposed rule is finalized, the Services will implement the changes after the effective date. Proposed critical habitat designations that are published prior to the effective date of any final regulation will continue to follow current practices.

Proposed Rule
View the Proposal News Release
View the Proposal Federal Register notice
View the Proposal Frequently Asked Questions

Reopening of Comment Period
View the Reopening News Release
View the Reopening Federal Register notice
View the Reopening Frequently Asked Questions

PUBLIC COMMENT
Due to public interest in this proposal and multiple requests for additional time, the Services are reopening the comment period for an additional 90 days.

Comments and information submitted during the original 60-day comment period, which closed on October 23, 2012, will still be considered and do not need to be resubmitted.

The notice reopening the comment period will publish in the Federal Register on November 8, 2012. Written comments and information must be submitted by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. [FWS-R9-ES-2011-0073]; or
• U.S. mail or hand delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: [FWS-R9-ES-2011-0073]; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.

Comments must be received within 90 days, on or before February 6, 2013. The Services will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means any personal information provided through the process will be posted.