[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 66 (Thursday, April 4, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 23534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07094]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092; FXES1111090FEDR-245-FF09E21000]
RIN 1018-BH08
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species
Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Northwestern Pond Turtle and
Southwestern Pond Turtle
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 (Service), are
reopening the public comment period on our October 3, 2023, proposed
rule to list the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata), a
species from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and northern and central
California, and the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), a
species from central and southern California and Baja California,
Mexico, as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (Act). We are taking this action to allow all interested
parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed listing of
the two species and the proposed rule issued under section 4(d) of the
Act (``4(d) rule'') for the species. Comments previously submitted need
not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in our final
determinations.
DATES: The comment period on the proposed rule that published October
3, 2023 (88 FR 68370), is reopened. We will accept comments received or
postmarked on or before May 6, 2024. Please note that 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 to ensure consideration.
ADDRESSES: Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the
October 3, 2023, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet
at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092.
Written comments: You may submit comments by one of the following
methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092,
which is the docket number for the proposed rule. Then, click on the
Search button. On the resulting page, in the panel on the left side of
the screen, under the Document Type heading, check the Proposed Rule
box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by clicking on
``Comment.''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: 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 https://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: Steve Henry, Field Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA
93003; telephone 805-644-1766. Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay
services offered within their country to make international calls to
the point-of-contact in the United States. Please see Docket No. FWS-
R8-ES-2023-0092 on https://www.regulations.gov for a document that
summarizes the October 3, 2023, proposed rule.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 3, 2023, we published a proposed rule (88 FR 68370) to
list the northwestern and southwestern pond turtles as threatened
species with a 4(d) rule under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The
proposed rule opened a 60-day public comment period, ending December 4,
2023. We are reopening the comment period to allow the public an
additional opportunity to provide comments on the October 3, 2023,
proposed rule.
For a description of previous Federal actions concerning listing of
the northwestern and southwestern pond turtle and information on the
types of comments that would be helpful to us in promulgating this
rulemaking action, please refer to the October 3, 2023, proposed rule
(88 FR 68370 at 68371-68372).
Public Comments
If you submit information via https://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including your personal identifying information--
will be posted on the website. If your submission is made via a
hardcopy 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. We will post all hardcopy submissions on https://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the October 3, 2023, proposed rule,
will be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov
at Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092.
Authors
The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the
Fish and Wildlife Service's Species Assessment Team and the Ventura
Fish and Wildlife Office.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07094 Filed 4-3-24; 8:45 am]
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