[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 29, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23172-23173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9181]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[FWS-R6-ES-2008-0022; 1111 FY07 MO-B2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of 
Status Review for the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) 
as Threatened or Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; initiation of status review and solicitation of new 
information; extension of period for submitting information.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
extension of the period for submitting information that is pertinent to 
our status review of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus 
urophasianus). The extension will provide the public and Federal, 
State, and local agencies with an additional opportunity to submit 
information for the status review. Information previously submitted 
need not be resubmitted; it already has been incorporated into the 
public record and will be fully considered in the status review.

DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request 
that information be submitted on or before June 27, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2008-0022; Division of Policy and Directives 
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 
Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203.
    We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all information 
received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we 
will post any personal information you provide us (see the Information 
Solicited section below for more details).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 
Wyoming Ecological Services Field Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Suite 
308A, Cheyenne, WY 82009; telephone 307-772-2374. People who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Information Solicited

    To ensure that the status review is complete and based on the best 
scientific and commercial information available, we are soliciting 
information concerning the status of the greater sage-grouse. 
Information submitted prior to January 12, 2005, will be considered and 
need not be resubmitted. New information submitted since the initiation 
of the current status review on February 26, 2008 (73 FR 10218) need 
not be resubmitted. We request information from the public, 
governmental agencies, Native American Tribes, the scientific 
community, industry, or any other interested parties on the status of 
the greater sage-grouse throughout its range, including:
    (1) Information regarding the species' historical and current 
population status, distribution, and trends; its biology and ecology; 
and habitat selection.
    (2) Information on the effects of potential threat factors that are 
the basis for a listing determination under section 4(a) of the Act, 
which are:
    (a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or 
curtailment of the species' habitat or range;
    (b) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes;
    (c) disease or predation;
    (d) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
    (e) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence.
    (3) Information on management programs for the conservation of the 
greater sage-grouse.
    Please note that submissions merely stating support of or 
opposition to any potential decisions based on the status review 
without providing relevant information, although noted, will not be 
considered, because section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.) directs that determinations as to whether any species is a 
threatened or endangered species must be made ``solely on the basis of 
the best scientific and commercial data available.'' We intend to use 
the status review as the basis for determining whether listing the 
species is warranted, not warranted, or warranted but precluded.
    You may submit information concerning this status review by one of 
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not consider 
submissions sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed in the 
ADDRESSES section.
    If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire submission--including any 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 personal information from 
public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do 
so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Information and materials we receive will be available for public 
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment, during 
normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wyoming 
Ecological Services Field Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Suite 308A, 
Cheyenne, WY 82009; telephone 307-772-2374.

Background

    On February 26, 2008, we announced the initiation of a status 
review for the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), and 
requested that

[[Page 23173]]

information regarding the status of the greater sage-grouse be 
submitted by May 27, 2008 (73 FR 10218). We are extending that period 
by 30 days, until June 27, 2008, to allow the public ample opportunity 
to provide information relevant to this status review.
    Information previously submitted will be considered and need not be 
resubmitted. We will base our status review on the best scientific and 
commercial information available, including all such information 
received as a result of this notice. For more information on the 
biology, habitat, and range of the greater sage-grouse, please refer to 
our previous 12-month finding published in the Federal Register on 
January 12, 2005 (70 FR 2244).
    Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, we have published separate 
notices of 90-day petition findings and the initiation of status 
reviews for the Mono Basin population and the western subspecies of the 
greater sage-grouse (C. u. phaios). Consequently, at this time the 
Service has formally initiated three status reviews involving the 
greater sage-grouse, and the respective notices in today's Federal 
Register each request that information be submitted by June 27, 2008. 
Information submitted for any one of these status reviews that is 
relevant to the others need not be submitted more than once. Because 
the status review of the greater sage-grouse that we initiated on 
February 26, 2008 (73 FR 10218) covers the entire range of the species, 
it encompasses the Mono Basin population and the western subspecies of 
the greater sage-grouse. It is our intention to address the taxonomy 
and status of the Mono Basin area population and the western subspecies 
within the rangewide status review of the greater sage-grouse. Further, 
because the three status reviews are somewhat interrelated, we 
anticipate that any interrelated aspects will be taken into account in 
our ultimate decisions.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is the staff of the Wyoming Fish 
and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

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

    Dated: April 18, 2008.
Kenneth Stansell,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-9181 Filed 4-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P