[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67012-67013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25774]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2019-0115; FF09E23000 FXES1111090FEDR 212]
RIN 1018-BD84


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for 
Designating Critical Habitat

AGENCY: U.S. 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 (the ``Service''), are 
extending the comment period on our October 27, 2021, proposed rule to 
rescind the final rule titled ``Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and 
Plants; Regulations for Designating Critical Habitat'' that published 
on December 18, 2020, and established regulations for exclusions from 
critical habitat. We are extending the comment period by 15 days.

DATES: The comment period on the proposed rule that published October 
27, 2021, at 86 FR 59346, is extended. We will accept comments received 
or postmarked on or before December 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 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 the docket number or RIN 
for this rulemaking (presented above in the document headings). For 
best results, do not copy and paste either number; instead, type the 
docket number or RIN into the Search box using hyphens. Then, click on 
the Search button. On the resulting page, in the Search panel on the 
left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the 
Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment.''

[[Page 67013]]

    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-HQ-ES-2019-0115, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: JAO 
(PRB/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    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 Public Comments, below, for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Fahey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Division of Conservation and Classification, 5275 Leesburg 
Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803, telephone 703/358-2171. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf, call the Federal Relay Service 
at 800/877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 27, 2021, the Service published a proposed rule (86 FR 
59346) to rescind the final rule establishing regulations for 
exclusions from critical habitat that was published on December 18, 
2020 (85 FR 82376), and became effective January 19, 2021. The proposed 
rule opened a 30-day public comment period that was scheduled to close 
on November 26, 2021. We subsequently received two requests to extend 
the public comment period. One request was submitted by the Association 
of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), which sought an extension in 
order to coordinate and incorporate feedback from all its members into 
its comment. AFWA is a national organization representing State 
agencies in all 50 States, and the Service finds their request shows 
good cause to extend the comment period. With this document, we extend 
the public comment period for an additional 15 days, as specified above 
in DATES, to provide all interested parties an additional opportunity 
to comment on the October 27, 2021, proposed rule.

Public Comments

    All relevant information will be considered prior to making a final 
determination regarding the regulations for exclusions from critical 
habitat. If you already submitted comments or information on the 
October 27, 2021, proposed rule, please do not resubmit them. Any such 
comments are incorporated as part of the public record of the 
rulemaking proceeding, and we will fully consider them in the 
preparation of any final rule.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. Comments must be 
submitted to https://www.regulations.gov before 11:59 p.m. (Eastern 
Time) on the date specified in DATES. We will not consider mailed 
comments that are not postmarked by the date specified in DATES.
    We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us. If you provide personal identifying information in your comment, 
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.

Authority

    We issue this document under the authority of the Endangered 
Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq).

Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the 
Interior.
[FR Doc. 2021-25774 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
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