[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 214-215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33156]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0128; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AZ97
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed
Endangered Status for Five Species From American Samoa
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period and notice of
public hearing.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
reopening of the comment period on our October 13, 2015, proposed rule
to list five species from American Samoa--two endemic American Samoan
land snails, the American Samoa distinct population segment of the
friendly ground-dove, the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (South Pacific
subspecies), and the mao--as endangered species under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We now reopen the public comment
period for an additional 30 days and announce notice of a public
hearing and public information meeting on our proposed rule. We are
reopening the public comment period to allow all interested parties
additional time and opportunity to comment on the proposed rule.
DATES: Public Hearing: We will hold a public hearing, preceded by a
public information meeting. The public hearing and public information
meeting will be held in the U.S. Territory of American Samoa on the
island of Tutuila. A public hearing will take place on Thursday,
January 21, 2016, at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium or Fale Laumei,
Main Building, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will be preceded by a
public information meeting from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the same
location. See ADDRESSES for location details.
Written Comments: We will consider comments received or postmarked
on or before February 4, 2016 or at the public hearing. Please note
that comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking
Portal (see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
the closing date. Any comments that we receive after the closing date
may not be considered in the final decision on these actions.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: You may obtain copies of the proposed
rule at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0128;
from the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office's Web site (http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands); or by contacting the Pacific Islands Fish
and Wildlife Office directly (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Public Hearing: The public hearing and public information meeting
on the proposed listing of the five American Samoa species will be held
as follows: On the island of Tutuila, a public hearing will take place
on Thursday, January 21, 2016, at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium or
Fale Laumei, Main Building, located at Route 1, William McKinley
Memorial Highway, Utulei, American Samoa 96799, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00
p.m., and will be preceded by a public information meeting from 2:00
p.m. to 3:00 p.m. People needing reasonable accommodation in order to
attend and participate in either the public hearing or the public
meeting should contact Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands
Fish and Wildlife Office, as soon as possible (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Comment submission: You may submit comments 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-2015-0128,
which is the docket number for this action. You may submit a comment by
clicking on ``Comment Now!''
(2) By hard copy: Submit comments on the proposed listing rule by
U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-
R1-ES-2015-0128; Division of Policy, Performance, and Management
Programs; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: BPHC, 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
(3) Public hearing: Interested parties may provide oral or written
comments at the public hearing (see DATES).
We request that you provide 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: Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor, Pacific
Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI
96850; by telephone at 808-792-9400; or by facsimile at 808-792-9581.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments
We are reopening the public comment period for 30 days on our
October 13, 2015, proposed rule to list the five American Samoa species
(80 FR 61568), to allow all interested parties additional time to
comment on the proposed rule. We received a request for a public
hearing and to extend the public comment period beyond the December 14,
2015, due date in our October 13, 2015, proposal. We will accept
comments and information until the date specified above in DATES or at
the public hearing. We will consider all information and
recommendations from all interested parties.
For details on specific information that we are requesting, please
see the Information Requested section in our proposed listing rule (80
FR 61568) for the five American Samoa species. The proposed rule is
available at the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES, above). Our final determination
concerning this proposed rulemaking will take into consideration all
written and oral comments and any additional information we receive. 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.
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
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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-2015-0128 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).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: December 21, 2015.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-33156 Filed 1-4-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P