[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 126 (Friday, June 30, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37525-37526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-5830]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AT38


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designating the 
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Population of Grizzly Bears as a Distinct 
Population Segment; Removing the Yellowstone Distinct Population 
Segment of Grizzly Bears From the Federal List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice seeking to recover public comments.

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SUMMARY: On November 17, 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service,

[[Page 37526]]

or we) proposed to designate the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem 
population of grizzly bears as a distinct population segment (DPS) and 
to then remove this DPS from the Federal List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife. The public comment period for the proposed rule 
was open from November 17, 2005, until March 20, 2006. Due to a 
technological error, we did not receive complete information from a 
small number of interested parties who provided comments during the 
comment period for the proposed rule. This notice gives instructions 
for those commenters concerning how to resubmit their comments to us.

DATES: We will accept the resubmitted e-mail comments for the proposed 
rule from only those commenters described below until the close of 
business on July 14, 2006.

ADDRESSES: We encourage eligible commenters to resubmit their comments 
via e-mail to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Christopher Servheen, Grizzly Bear 
Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 309 University 
Hall, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, or telephone 
(406) 243-4903.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 17, 2005, the Service proposed to designate the Greater 
Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears as a DPS and to then 
remove this DPS from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife (70 FR 69854). The public comment period for the proposed rule 
was open from November 17, 2005, until March 20, 2006. During this 
time, the Service received approximately 215,000 comments, 190,000 of 
which were submitted via e-mail. Over the course of the comment period, 
there were 2,220 e-mails that were incorrectly identified as spam by 
the filter used by the government e-mail system and, therefore, only 
part of the comment was received. We were able to contact all but 22 
commenters. For these 22 commenters, we do not possess complete contact 
information. We are publishing this Federal Register notice in order to 
contact these 22 individuals. The information that we have for these 22 
commenters consists of first and last names and partial e-mail 
addresses for 15 of the respondents and the first 26 characters of e-
mail addresses (and no names) for the remaining 7 respondents. We have 
placed these partial names and e-mail addresses on a Web site where 
they can be viewed. By checking the Web site, e-mail respondents will 
be able to determine if their comment was one of the 22 comments that 
were incompletely received. Please visit http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/grizzly_delisting.html to see if your e-mail may be 
one of the 22 comments that we are requesting be resubmitted.
    We request that these 22 people resubmit their original comments by 
the date listed in the DATES section above. Comments will only be 
accepted from e-mail addresses that have identical information to that 
found on the Web site (http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/grizzly_delisting.html). This is not a reopening of the comment period but 
rather an attempt to retrieve specific comments that were already 
submitted during the comment period.

Resubmitting Public Comments

    When resubmitting comments by e-mail, please avoid the use of 
special characters and any form of encryption. Please also include your 
name and return address in your e-mail message. Our practice is to make 
comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available 
for public review during regular business hours. Individual respondents 
may request that we withhold their home addresses from the rulemaking 
record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also 
may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the rulemaking 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment, but you should be aware that the Service 
may be required to disclose your name and address under the Freedom of 
Information Act. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We 
will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their 
entirety. Comments and materials we receive will be available for 
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the 
above address listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: June 22, 2006.
Marshall Jones,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 06-5830 Filed 6-29-06; 8:45 am]
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