[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 14, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27547-27548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10944]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2013-0007; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AZ30
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designating
Critical Habitat for the Neosho Mucket and Rabbitsfoot
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the reopening
of the public comment period on our October 16, 2012, proposed
designation of critical habitat for the Neosho mucket (Lampsilis
rafinesqueana) and rabbitsfoot (Quadrula cylindrica cylindrica) mussels
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. In response to
requests we received, we are reopening the comment period to allow all
interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed
designation of critical habitat, draft environmental assessment, and
draft economic analysis. Comments previously submitted need not be
resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in our determinations on
this rulemaking action.
DATES: We will consider all comments received or postmarked on or
before July 14, 2014. Comments submitted electronically using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the proposed
rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R4-ES-2013-0007, or by mail from the Arkansas Ecological Services Field
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain a copy of
the draft economic analysis and the draft environmental assessment at
Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2013-0007.
Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2013-0007.
(2) By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:
Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2013-0007; Division of
Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401
N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We request that you send comments only by the methods described
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Boggs, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office, 110
South Amity Road, Suite 300, Conway, AR 72032; by telephone 501-513-
4475; or by facsimile 501-513-4480. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 16, 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a
proposed rule in the Federal Register (77 FR 63440) to list the Neosho
mucket (Lampsilis rafinesqueana) as an endangered species and the
rabbitsfoot (Quadrula cylindrica cylindrica) as a threatened species
and to designate critical habitat for these two mussels under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)
(Act). We proposed to designate approximately 779.1 river kilometers
(rkm) (484.1 river miles (rmi)) of critical habitat for the Neosho
mucket in the Cottonwood, Elk, Fall, Illinois, Neosho, Shoal, Spring,
North Fork Spring, and Verdigris Rivers in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri,
and Oklahoma.
We proposed to designate 2,664 rkm (1,655 rmi) of critical habitat
for the rabbitsfoot in the Neosho, Spring (Arkansas River system),
Verdigris, Black, Buffalo, Little, Ouachita, Saline, Middle Fork Little
Red, Spring (White River system), South Fork Spring, Strawberry, White,
St. Francis, Big Sunflower, Big Black, Paint Rock, Duck, Tennessee,
Red, Ohio, Allegheny, Green, Tippecanoe, Walhonding, Middle Branch
North Fork Vermilion, and North Fork Vermilion Rivers and Bear, French,
Muddy, Little Darby and Fish Creeks in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois,
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. That proposal had a 60-day comment period,
ending December 17, 2012.
On May 9, 2013, we announced the reopening of the comment period
for the proposed listing of Neosho mucket and
[[Page 27548]]
rabbitsfoot and the availability of our draft environmental assessment
(DNEPA-EA) and draft economic analysis (DEA) of the proposed critical
habitat (78 FR 27171). The comment period was reopened for 30 days,
ending on June 10, 2013.
Subsequently, we received two requests for the reopened comment
period to be extended so the public could have additional time to
review the DNEPA-EA and DEA. The requests were from Senator Mark Pryor
of Arkansas and the Kansas Farm Bureau. In response to these requests,
we reopened the comment period for an additional 60 days from August
27, 2013, to October 28, 2013 (78 FR 52894).
There has been significant interest in Arkansas about this proposed
critical habitat designation. We received an additional request from
Senator Pryor for the reopened comment period to be extended again so
that the public could have more time to review the draft environmental
assessment and draft economic analysis. We concurred with this request.
Therefore, with this notice we are reopening the comment period on
the proposed designation of critical habitat and on the DEA and DNEPA-
EA for an additional 60 days. Further, in order to facilitate a better
understanding of the proposed designation and the potential effects on
stakeholders, the Service intends to hold public information meetings
in Arkansas. The date, time, and locations of these meetings will be
coordinated with interested stakeholders and noticed in newspapers and
other media outlets.
Additional information may be found in the October 16, 2012,
proposed rule (77 FR 63440) and the May 9, 2013, and August 27, 2013,
documents to reopen the comment period and announce the availability of
the DNEPA-EA and DEA (78 FR 27171 and 78 FR 52894).
Public Comments
We are again seeking written comments and information during this
reopened comment period on our proposed designation of critical habitat
for Neosho mucket and rabbitsfoot that published in the Federal
Register on October 16, 2012 (77 FR 63440), and on our DEA and DNEPA-EA
of the proposed critical habitat designation that were made available
for review on May 9, 2013, and August 27, 2013 (78 FR 27171 and 78 FR
52894).
With regard to the proposed critical habitat determination, we are
particularly interested in comments concerning:
(1) The reasons why we should or should not designate habitat as
``critical habitat'' under section 4 of the Act, including whether
there are threats to the species from human activity, the degree of
which can be expected to increase due to the designation, and whether
that increase in threat outweighs the benefit of designation such that
the designation of critical habitat is not prudent.
(2) Specific information on:
(a) The amount and distribution of the species' habitat;
(b) What areas occupied by the species at the time of listing that
contain features essential to the conservation of the species we should
include in the designation and why;
(c) Special management considerations or protection that may be
needed in critical habitat areas we are proposing, including managing
for the potential effects of climate change; and
(d) What areas not occupied at the time of listing are essential
for the conservation of the species and why.
(3) Land use designations and current or planned activities in the
subject areas and their possible impacts on proposed critical habitat.
(4) Any foreseeable economic, national security, or other relevant
impacts that may result from designating any area that may be included
in the final designation. We are particularly interested in any impacts
on small entities and the benefits of including or excluding areas from
the proposed designation that are subject to these impacts.
(5) Whether our approach to designating critical habitat could be
improved or modified in any way to provide for greater public
participation and understanding, or to assist us in accommodating
public concerns and comments.
If you submitted comments or information on the proposed rule (77
FR 63440) during the initial comment period from October 16, 2012, to
December 17, 2012, or the reopened comment periods from May 9, 2013, to
June 10, 2013 (78 FR 27171), or August 27, 2013, to October 28, 2013
(78 FR 52894), please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them
into the public record as part of the original comment period, and we
will fully consider them in our final determination.
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, are available for
public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R4-
ES-2013-0007, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arkansas Ecological Services Field
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: May 7, 2014.
Michael J. Bean,
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks.
[FR Doc. 2014-10944 Filed 5-13-14; 8:45 am]
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