[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 154 (Thursday, August 9, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47587-47588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19487]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2011-0098; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AX14
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing 38 Species
on Molokai, Lanai, and Maui as Endangered and Designating Critical
Habitat on Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe for 135 Species
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
extending the comment period on our proposed rule to, among other
things, list 38 species on the Hawaiian Islands of Molokai, Lanai, and
Maui as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended, and designate critical habitat on Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and
Kahoolawe for 135 species. We made the proposed rule available for
public comment on June 11, 2012.
DATES: The comment period end date is September 10, 2012. The deadline
for submitting an electronic comment using the Federal eRulemaking
Portal (see ADDRESSES section, below) is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
this date. After September 10, 2012, you must submit information
directly to the Division of Policy and Directives Management (see
ADDRESSES section below). Please note that we might not be able to
address or incorporate information that we receive after the above
requested date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R1-ES-2011-0098,
which is the docket number for this action. Then click on the Search
button. You may submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment Now!''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2011-0098; Division of Policy and
Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax
Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will post all information we receive on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Request for Information
section below for more details).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loyal Mehrhoff, Field Supervisor,
Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Box
50088, Honolulu, HI 96850; by telephone at 808-792-9400; or by
facsimile at 808-792-9581. If you use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD), call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 11, 2012 (77 FR 34464), we published in the Federal
Register, for review and comment, a proposed rule to list 38 species
(35 plants and 3 tree snails) on the Hawaiian Islands of Molokai,
Lanai, and Maui as endangered species, and concurrent designation of
271,062 acres (ac) (109,695 hectares (ha)) as critical habitat. We are
also proposing revision of critical habitat for 85 plants and
designation of critical habitat for 11 listed plants and animals that
do not have designated critical habitat on these islands. Approximately
47 percent of the area being proposed as critical habitat is already
designated as critical habitat for the 85 plant species or for other
species. We also propose to delist the plant Gahnia lanaiensis, due to
new information that this species is synonymous with G. lacera, a
widespread species from New Zealand. In addition, we propose name
changes or corrections for 11 endangered plants and 2 endangered birds,
and we propose to reaffirm the listings for 2 endangered plant species
with taxonomic revisions. We are also considering excluding
approximately 40,973 ac (16,581 ha) of privately owned lands on Maui
and Molokai.
We received a request to extend the public comment period beyond
the August 10, 2012, due date on our June 11, 2012 (77 FR 34464),
proposal. We are working with our partners and local landowners to
inform them of the proposed listings and critical habitat designations.
In order to ensure that the public has an adequate opportunity to
review and comment on our proposed rule, we are extending the comment
period for an additional 30 days.
Request for Information
We will accept written comments and information during this
extended comment period. We will consider information and
recommendations from all interested parties and intend that any final
action resulting from this proposal will be based on the best
scientific and commercial data available and be as accurate and as
effective as possible. Therefore, we solicit comments or suggestions on
this proposed rule from the public, other concerned governmental
agencies, the scientific community, industry, or other interested
parties. We particularly seek comments concerning:
(1) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning
threats (or the lack thereof) to the 40 species proposed or being
reevaluated for listing, and regulations that may be addressing those
threats.
(2) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, and
population sizes of each of the 40 species proposed or being
reevaluated for listing, including the locations of any additional
populations of these species.
(3) Any information on the biological or ecological requirements of
the 40 species proposed or being reevaluated for listing.
(4) The reasons why we should or should not designate areas for any
of the species in this proposal as ``critical habitat'' under section 4
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.), including whether there are threats to these species from
human activity, the degree to which can be expected to increase due to
the designation, and whether the benefit of designation would outweigh
threats to these species caused by the designation, such that the
designation of critical habitat is prudent.
(5) Whether a revision of critical habitat is warranted for the 85
plant species that are already listed as endangered or threatened under
the Act and that currently have designated critical habitat.
(6) Specific information on:
The amount and distribution of critical habitat for the
species included in this proposed rule;
[[Page 47588]]
What areas currently occupied, and that contain the
necessary physical or biological features essential for the
conservation of the species, we should include in the designation and
why;
Whether special management considerations or protections
may be required for the physical or biological features essential to
the conservation of the species in this proposed rule; and
What areas not currently occupied are essential to the
conservation of the species and why.
(7) Land use designations and current or planned activities in the
areas occupied by the species, and the possible impacts of critical
habitat on these designations or activities.
(8) Any foreseeable economic, national security, or other relevant
impacts of designating any area as critical habitat. We are
particularly interested in any impacts on small entities, and the
benefits of including or excluding areas that may experience these
impacts.
(9) Whether the benefits of excluding any particular area from
critical habitat outweigh the benefits of including that area as
critical habitat under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, after considering
the potential impacts and benefits of the proposed critical habitat
designation. Under section 4(b)(2), the Secretary may exclude an area
from critical habitat if he determines that the benefits of such
exclusion outweigh the benefits of including that particular area as
critical habitat, unless failure to designate that specific area as
critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species. We
request specific information on:
The benefits of including specific areas in the final
designation and supporting rationale;
The benefits of excluding specific areas from the final
designation and supporting rationale; and
Whether any specific exclusions may result in the
extinction of the species and why.
(10) Whether the proposed critical habitat on private lands and
under consideration for exclusion under section 4(b)(2) of the Act
should or should not be excluded and why.
(11) Information concerning any habitat conservation or management
plans, conservation plans or programs, or other such agreements for our
consideration under section 4(b)(2) of the Act.
(12) Information on the projected and reasonably likely impact of
climate change on the species included in this proposed rule, and any
special management needs or protections that may be needed in the
critical habitat areas we are proposing.
(13) Information on any special management needs or protections
that may be needed in the critical habitat areas we are proposing.
(14) Whether we could improve or modify our approach to designating
critical habitat in any way to provide for greater public participation
and understanding, or to better accommodate public concerns and
comments.
(15) Our proposal to revise taxonomic classifications with name
changes or family changes for 11 plant species and 2 bird species
identified in the proposed rule.
(16) Specific information on ways to improve the clarity of this
rule as it pertains to completion of consultations under section 7 of
the Act.
For more background on our proposed rule, see the June 11, 2012,
Federal Register. The proposed rule is available at the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES section
above).
If you previously submitted comments or information on the proposed
rule, please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the
public record, and we will fully consider them in our final rulemaking.
Our final determination concerning this proposed rulemaking will take
into consideration all written comments and any additional information
we receive.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment 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.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2011-0098, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of
the proposed rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at
Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2011-0098, or by mail from the Pacific Islands
Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are the staff of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: July 30, 2012.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-19487 Filed 8-8-12; 8:45 am]
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