Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Alligator Snapping Turtle; Proposed Rule

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our 12-month finding on a petition to list the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), North America's largest freshwater turtle species, as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the species is warranted. Accordingly, we propose to list the alligator snapping turtle as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act ("4(d) rule"). If we finalize this rule as proposed, it will add the species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to the species.