[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55525-55526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25883]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[FWS-R2-ES-2009-0030]
[92210-1111-FY08-B2]


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on 
a Petition to List the Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates [=Rana] 
pipiens) in the Western United States as Threatened

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a 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 our July 1, 
2009, initiation of status review and 90-day finding on a petition to 
list the western U.S. population of the northern leopard frog 
(Lithobates [=Rana] pipiens) as threatened under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This action will provide all interested

[[Page 55526]]

parties with an additional opportunity to submit information and 
materials on the status of the northern leopard frog. Information 
previously submitted need not be resubmitted as it has already been 
incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the 
12-month finding.

DATES: We are reopening the public information solicitation period. To 
allow us adequate time to consider and incorporate submitted 
information into our review, we request that we receive information on 
or before November 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any 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-R2-ES-2009-0030; Division of Policy and Directives 
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
    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 and in our original notice (74 FR 31389) for more 
details).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven L. Spangle, Field Supervisor, 
by U.S. mail at Arizona Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 2321 West Royal Palm Drive, Suite 103, Phoenix, AZ 
85021; telephone 602-242-0210; facsimile 602-242-2513. Information 
submitted after November 27, 2009 should be submitted to this address. 
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Solicited

    We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published a 90-day finding 
on a petition to list the northern leopard frog as threatened in the 
Federal Register on July 1, 2009 (74 FR 31389). We are continuing to 
solicit information during this reopened information solicitation 
period on the status of the northern leopard frog. We request 
information from the public, other concerned governmental agencies, 
Native American Tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any 
other interested parties concerning the status of the northern leopard 
frog. We are seeking information regarding:
    (1) the historical and current status and distribution of the 
northern leopard frog, its biology and ecology, and ongoing 
conservation measures for the species and its habitat, and threats to 
the species and its habitat;
    (2) information relevant to the factors that are the basis for 
making a listing determination for a species under section 4(a) of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), 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 and threats to the species or its habitat; and
    (3) its taxonomy (particularly genetics of the western U.S. 
population and of the convergence zone of the eastern and western 
haplotypes in Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada).
    If you submitted information previously on the status of this 
species please do not resubmit it. This information has been 
incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the 
preparation of the 12-month finding. We will consider information 
received from all interested parties.
    You may submit your information and materials concerning the 90-day 
finding by any of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. Be aware 
that 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 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 
also post all hardcopy submissions on http://www.regulations.gov. 
Please include sufficient information with your comments to allow us to 
verify any scientific or commercial information you include.
    Information and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the 90-day finding for the northern 
leopard frog, 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, Arizona Ecological Services Office 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    On July 1, 2009, we published a 90-day finding on a petition to 
list the western U.S. population of the northern leopard frog as 
threatened (74 FR 31389). In that 90-day finding, we found that the 
petition presented substantial scientific or commercial information 
indicating that listing the western U.S. population of the northern 
leopard frog may be warranted. We also initiated a status review to 
determine if listing the species is warranted, and announced a 60-day 
public information solicitation period on the petition finding and 
status review, which ended on August 31, 2009.
    We received multiple requests for an extension of the information 
solicitation period in order to allow agencies, tribes, and other 
interested persons the opportunity to provide additional information 
for our consideration during this status review. The broad geographical 
distribution of the western U.S. population of the northern leopard 
frog complicated the timely notification of interested parties. 
Collection of information from across the full range of the petitioned 
northern leopard frog population will be important for the status 
review and 12-month finding on the northern leopard frog.

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4 of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: October 20, 2009
Daniel M. Ashe,
Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E9-25883 Filed 10-27-09; 8:45 am]
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