[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31559-31560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14069]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Chapter I
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-LE-2018-0078; FF09L00200-FX-LE18110900000]
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty
Act; Religious Use of Feathers; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; extension of the comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) received
a petition for rulemaking, which asks the Service to revise the
existing rules pertaining to the religious use of federally protected
bird feathers. The Service published the petition in the Federal
Register for public comment pursuant to the terms of a settlement
agreement entered into in 2016 by the United States with McAllen Grace
Brethren Church et al. Today's action extends the comment period for 15
days.
DATES: The comment period on the petition for rulemaking that published
April 30, 2019 (84 FR 18230), is extended. To ensure our consideration
of your comments, they must be submitted on or before July 16, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Document availability: The petition and other materials
mentioned in this document are available on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-HQ-LE-2018-0078. To review these
materials in person, contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Electronically: Go to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for FWS-HQ-LE-2018-0078, which is the
docket number for this notice, and follow the directions for submitting
comments.
By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-LE-2018-0078; Division of Policy,
Performance, and Management Programs; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
MS: BPHC; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments by only one of the methods
described above. We will post all information received 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: Edward Grace, Assistant Director, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement,
edward_grace@fws.gov, (703) 358-1949. Individuals who are hearing
impaired or speech impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-
877-8337 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 26, 2018, the Service received a petition for rulemaking
from Pastor Robert Soto, the lead plaintiff in McAllen Grace Brethren
Church v. Jewell, No. 7:07-cv-060 (S.D. Tex. June 3, 2016) (hereinafter
``McAllen''), and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking the
Service to revise its existing rules pertaining to the religious use of
federally protected bird feathers and parts for Native Americans. The
petitioners submitted the petition
[[Page 31560]]
pursuant to paragraph 7 of the June 10, 2016, settlement agreement
between the McAllen Plaintiffs and the United States, which states that
the Secretary of the Interior will publish the petition for public
comment and make a decision on the petition within 2 years of receipt.
Accordingly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published the
petition in the Federal Register on April 30, 2019 (84 FR 18230) and
opened a comment period with a deadline of July 1, 2019. During the
comment period, we received a request to extend the comment period.
With this notice, we are extending the deadline for submission of
comments, as requested.
Public Comments
You may obtain the petition for rulemaking, and you must submit
your comments and materials concerning this petition, by one of the
methods described in ADDRESSES. The Service will not consider the
petition's merits until after the comment period ends on the date set
forth in DATES. The Service will announce in the Federal Register any
action that we decide to take in response to the petition and public
comments we receive.
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that the entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
Dated: June 26, 2019.
Aurelia Skipwith,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2019-14069 Filed 7-1-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P