[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74674-74675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28753]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[FWS-R8-ES-2008-0067; MO 9221050083-B2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on 
a Petition To Reclassify the Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) 
From Threatened to Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding; reopening of the information 
solicitation period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the public information solicitation period on the July 10, 
2008, 90-day finding on a petition to reclassify the delta smelt 
(Hypomesus transpacificus) from threatened to endangered under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This action will 
provide all interested parties with an additional opportunity to submit 
information and materials on the status of delta smelt. Information 
previously submitted need not be resubmitted as it will already be 
incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the 
12-month finding.

DATES: We are reopening the public information solicitation period and 
request that we receive information on or before February 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:

[[Page 74675]]

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2008-0067; 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 submissions 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: Susan Moore, Field Supervisor, 
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, 
Sacramento, CA 95825; telephone 916-414-6600; facsimile 916-414-6712. 
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Solicited

    We are soliciting information during this reopened information 
solicitation period on the status of delta smelt (Hypomesus 
transpacificus). We published a 90-day finding on a petition to 
reclassify the delta smelt from threatened to endangered in the Federal 
Register on July 10, 2008 (73 FR 39639), which was made available to 
the public on the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov on July 10, 2008. If you submitted information 
previously on the status of delta smelt during the previous information 
solicitation period, please do not resubmit it. This information has 
been incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered 
in the preparation of our 12-month finding.
    You may submit your information and materials concerning the 90-day 
finding 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 Web site. 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 http://www.regulations.gov.
    Information and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the 90-day finding for delta smelt, 
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, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    On July 10, 2008, we published a notice in the Federal Register (73 
FR 39639) announcing the availability of the 90-day finding on a 
petition to reclassify the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) from 
threatened to endangered. Due to an unintentional error on 
Regulations.gov, information was not able to be submitted 
electronically by the public during the initial 60-day information 
solicitation period. Therefore, we are reopening the information 
solicitation period to allow all interested parties to submit 
information and materials on the status of delta smelt.
    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires that we make a finding on 
whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species presents 
substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate that the 
petitioned action may be warranted. We are to base this finding on 
information provided in the petition, supporting information submitted 
with the petition, and information otherwise available in our files at 
the time we make the determination. To the maximum extent practicable, 
we are to make this finding within 90 days of our receipt of the 
petition and publish our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal 
Register.
    Our standard for substantial scientific or commercial information 
within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90-day 
petition finding is ``that amount of information that would lead a 
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition 
may be warranted'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)). If we find that substantial 
scientific or commercial information was presented, we are required to 
promptly commence a status review of the species.
    It is important to note that the ``substantial information'' 
standard for a 90-day finding is in contrast to the Act's ``best 
scientific and commercial data'' standard that applies to a 12-month 
finding as to whether a petitioned action is warranted. A 90-day 
finding is not a status assessment of the species and does not 
constitute a status review under the Act. Our final determination as to 
whether a petitioned action is warranted is not made until we have 
completed a thorough status review of the species, which is conducted 
following a positive 90-day finding. Because the Act's standards for 
90-day and 12-month findings are different, as described above, a 
positive 90-day finding does not mean that the 12-month finding also 
will be positive.

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

    Dated: November 24, 2008.
Deputy Director,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-28753 Filed 12-8-08; 8:45 am]
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