[Federal Register: December 9, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 237)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 74674-74675]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09de08-20]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-0067; MO 9221050083-B2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on
a Petition To Reclassify the Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus)
From Threatened to Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding; reopening of the information
solicitation period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
reopening of the public information solicitation period on the July 10,
2008, 90-day finding on a petition to reclassify the delta smelt
(Hypomesus transpacificus) from threatened to endangered under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This action will
provide all interested parties with an additional opportunity to submit
information and materials on the status of delta smelt. Information
previously submitted need not be resubmitted as it will already be
incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the
12-month finding.
DATES: We are reopening the public information solicitation period and
request that we receive information on or before February 9, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
[[Page 74675]]
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2008-0067; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all submissions on
http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the ``Information Solicited''
section below for more details).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Moore, Field Supervisor,
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605,
Sacramento, CA 95825; telephone 916-414-6600; facsimile 916-414-6712.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Information Solicited
We are soliciting information during this reopened information
solicitation period on the status of delta smelt (Hypomesus
transpacificus). We published a 90-day finding on a petition to
reclassify the delta smelt from threatened to endangered in the Federal
Register on July 10, 2008 (73 FR 39639), which was made available to
the public on the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov on July 10, 2008. If you submitted information
previously on the status of delta smelt during the previous information
solicitation period, please do not resubmit it. This information has
been incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered
in the preparation of our 12-month finding.
You may submit your information and materials concerning the 90-day
finding by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will
not consider submissions sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not
listed in the ADDRESSES section. If you submit information via http://
www.regulations.gov, your entire submission--including any personal
identifying information--will be posted on the Web site. If your
submission is made via a hardcopy that includes personal identifying
information, you may request at the top of your document that we
withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy
submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
Information and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the 90-day finding for delta smelt,
will be available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov,
or by appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
On July 10, 2008, we published a notice in the Federal Register (73
FR 39639) announcing the availability of the 90-day finding on a
petition to reclassify the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) from
threatened to endangered. Due to an unintentional error on
Regulations.gov, information was not able to be submitted
electronically by the public during the initial 60-day information
solicitation period. Therefore, we are reopening the information
solicitation period to allow all interested parties to submit
information and materials on the status of delta smelt.
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires that we make a finding on
whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species presents
substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate that the
petitioned action may be warranted. We are to base this finding on
information provided in the petition, supporting information submitted
with the petition, and information otherwise available in our files at
the time we make the determination. To the maximum extent practicable,
we are to make this finding within 90 days of our receipt of the
petition and publish our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal
Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific or commercial information
within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90-day
petition finding is ``that amount of information that would lead a
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)). If we find that substantial
scientific or commercial information was presented, we are required to
promptly commence a status review of the species.
It is important to note that the ``substantial information''
standard for a 90-day finding is in contrast to the Act's ``best
scientific and commercial data'' standard that applies to a 12-month
finding as to whether a petitioned action is warranted. A 90-day
finding is not a status assessment of the species and does not
constitute a status review under the Act. Our final determination as to
whether a petitioned action is warranted is not made until we have
completed a thorough status review of the species, which is conducted
following a positive 90-day finding. Because the Act's standards for
90-day and 12-month findings are different, as described above, a
positive 90-day finding does not mean that the 12-month finding also
will be positive.
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: November 24, 2008.
Deputy Director,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-28753 Filed 12-8-08; 8:45 am]
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