[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 96 (Friday, May 18, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28016-28018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2500]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AU74


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of 
Critical Habitat for the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly

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), announce the 
reopening of the public comment period for the proposed designation of 
critical habitat for the endangered Hine's emerald dragonfly 
(Somatochlora hineana) and the draft economic analysis, under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are reopening the 
public comment period to allow additional time for all interested 
parties to comment on the proposed rule, our revision to the proposed 
rule, and the associated draft economic analysis. Comments previously 
submitted need not be resubmitted, as we will incorporate them into the 
public record and fully consider them as we prepare the final rule.

DATES: We will accept public comments until July 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments and 
information concerning this proposal, identified by ``Attn: Hine's 
Emerald Dragonfly Critical Habitat,'' by any one of several methods:
    (1) Mail or hand-deliver to: John Rogner, Field Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago Ecological Services Field Office, 
1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington, IL 60010.
    (2) Send by electronic mail (e-mail) to [email protected]. Please see 
the Public Comments Solicited section below for file format and other 
information about electronic filing.
    (3) Fax your comments to: (847) 381-2285.
    (4) Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Rogner, Field Supervisor, Chicago 
Ecological Services Field Office, 1250 S. Grove, Suite 103, Barrington, 
IL 60010 (telephone (847) 381-2253, extension 28; facsimile (847) 381-
2285).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 28017]]

Public Comments Solicited

    We intend that any final action resulting from the proposal will be 
as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, we hereby solicit 
comments or suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental 
agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested 
party concerning the proposed rule. We particularly seek comments 
concerning:
    (1) The reasons any habitat should or should not be determined to 
be critical habitat as provided by section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 
et seq.), including whether the benefit of designation will outweigh 
any adverse impacts to the species due to designation;
    (2) Specific information on the amount and distribution of Hine's 
emerald dragonfly habitat, particularly what areas should be included 
in the designations that were occupied at the time of listing and that 
contain features that are essential for the conservation of the species 
and why; and what areas that were not occupied at the time of listing 
are essential to the conservation of the species and why;
    (3) Information that would add further clarity or specificity to 
the physical and biological features determined to be essential for the 
conservation of the Hine's emerald dragonfly (i.e., primary constituent 
elements), particularly whether the primary constituent elements as 
described fulfill the needs for the various life stages of the Hine's 
emerald dragonfly (e.g., whether old fields adjacent to and in near 
proximity to larval areas are essential features);
    (4) Whether lands not currently occupied by the species should be 
included in the designation, and if so, the basis for such an 
inclusion;
    (5) Whether the methodology used to map critical habitat units 
captures all of the biological and physical features essential to the 
conservation of the Hine's emerald dragonfly;
    (6) Land use designations and current or planned activities in the 
subject areas and their possible impacts on proposed critical habitat;
    (7) Whether the benefit of exclusion in any particular area 
outweigh the benefits of inclusion under Section 4(b)(2) of the Act;
    (8) Any foreseeable economic, national security, or other potential 
impacts resulting from the proposed designation and, in particular, any 
impacts on small entities;
    (9) We are considering excluding areas under the jurisdiction of 
the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan, the Mark Twain National 
Forest in Missouri, and the Missouri Department of Conservation and 
units under private ownership in Missouri from the final designation of 
critical habitat under section 4(b)(2) of the Act on the basis of 
conservation programs and partnerships. We will also review other 
relevant information for units being proposed in this rule as we 
receive it to determine whether other units may be appropriate for 
exclusion from the final designation under section 4(b)(2) of the Act. 
We specifically solicit comment on the inclusion or exclusion of such 
areas and:
    (a) Whether these areas have features that are essential to the 
conservation of the species or are otherwise essential to the 
conservation of the species;
    (b) Whether these, or other areas proposed, but not specifically 
addressed in this proposal, warrant exclusion;
    (c) Relevant factors that should be considered by us when 
evaluating the basis for not designating these areas as critical 
habitat under section 4(b)(2) of the Act;
    (d) Whether management plans in place adequately provide 
conservation measures and protect the Hine's emerald dragonfly, its 
habitat, and features essential to its conservation;
    (e) Whether designation would assist in the regulation of any 
threats not addressed by existing management plans; and
    (f) Whether designating these lands may result in an increased 
degree of threat to the species on these lands;
    (10) Whether the draft economic analysis identifies all State and 
local costs attributable to the proposed critical habitat designation, 
and information on any costs that have been inadvertently overlooked;
    (11) Whether the draft economic analysis makes appropriate 
assumptions regarding current practices and likely regulatory changes 
imposed as a result of the designation of critical habitat;
    (12) Whether the draft economic analysis correctly assesses the 
effect on regional costs associated with any land use controls that may 
derive from the designation of critical habitat;
    (13) Whether the draft economic analysis appropriately identifies 
all costs and benefits that could result from the designation; and
    (14) Whether our approach to critical habitat designation could be 
improved or modified in any way to provide for greater public 
participation and understanding, or to assist us in accommodating 
public concern and comments.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments and materials 
concerning this proposal and the draft economic analysis by any one of 
several methods (see ADDRESSES section). Please note that comments 
merely stating support or opposition to the actions under consideration 
without providing supporting information, although noted, will not be 
considered in making a determination, as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act 
directs that determinations to be made ``solely on the basis of the 
best scientific and commercial data available.'' Please submit comments 
electronically to [email protected] in ASCII or Microsoft Word file format. 
Please also include ``Attn: Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Critical Habitat'' 
in your e-mail subject header and your name and return address in the 
body of your message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the 
system that we have received your e-mail, contact us directly by 
calling the Chicago, Illinois, Ecological Services Field Office at 
telephone number (847) 381-2253, extension 28. Please note that the e-
mail address [email protected] will be closed out at the termination of the 
public comment period.
    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 pursuant to the Freedom of Information 
Act. 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 received will be available for 
public inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the 
address indicated in the ADDRESSES section.
    Copies of the proposed rule for critical habitat designation, the 
revised proposed rule, and the draft economic analysis are available on 
the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/ or from the 
Chicago Illinois Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES).
    Our final designation of critical habitat will take into 
consideration all comments and any additional information we received 
during the

[[Page 28018]]

comment periods. Previous comments and information submitted during the 
initial comment period on the July 26, 2006, proposed rule (71 FR 
42442) need not be resubmitted. The subsequent comment period on the 
March 20, 2007, revised proposed rule and the draft economic analysis 
(72 FR 13061) closed on April 3, 2007. Previous comments and 
information submitted during that comment period need not be 
resubmitted. Furthermore, comments received on the proposal, revised 
proposal, or economic analysis after April 3, 2007, but before this 
reopening will be incorporated into the public record as a part of this 
reopening and do not need to be resubmitted.
    On the basis of information received during the public comment 
periods, we may, during the development of our final critical habitat 
determination, find that areas proposed are not essential, are 
appropriate for exclusion under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, or are not 
appropriate for exclusion. An area may be excluded from critical 
habitat if it is determined that the benefits of such exclusion 
outweigh the benefits of including a particular area as critical 
habitat, unless the failure to designate such area as critical habitat 
will result in the extinction of the species. We may exclude an area 
from designated critical habitat based on economic impacts, national 
security, or any other relevant impact.

Background

    On July 26, 2006, we published a proposed rule to designate 
critical habitat for the Hine's emerald dragonfly (71 FR 42442). On 
March 20, 2007, we published revisions to that proposal and announced 
the availability of the draft economic analysis (72 FR 13061). In 
total, approximately 27,836 acres (ac) (11,264 hectares (ha)) fall 
within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation in 
50 units located in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties in Illinois; 
Alpena, Mackinac, and Presque Isle Counties in Michigan; Dent, Iron, 
Morgan, Phelps, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon, Washington, and Wayne 
Counties in Missouri; and Door and Ozaukee Counties in Wisconsin. We 
are considering excluding, under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, all 26 
units in Missouri and 2 units in Michigan from the final critical 
habitat designation. In the proposal, we addressed a number of general 
issues that are relevant to the exclusions we are considering, 
including conservation partnerships on non-Federal lands, conservation 
agreements, and National Forest plans.
    We will submit for publication in the Federal Register a final 
critical habitat designation for the Hine's emerald dragonfly on or 
before August 23, 2007.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Kristopher Lah of the Chicago, 
Illinois, Ecological Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: May 15, 2007.
Todd Willens,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 07-2500 Filed 5-16-07; 10:43 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P