[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 100 (Thursday, May 23, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30839-30841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12379]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2012-0017; FWS-R1-ES-2013-0012; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AX72; 1018-AZ54


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Status 
and Designation of Critical Habitat for Eriogonum codium (Umtanum 
Desert Buckwheat) and Physaria douglasii subsp. tuplashensis (White 
Bluffs Bladderpod)

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, announce the reopening 
of the public comment period on our May 15, 2012, proposed listing and 
designation of critical habitat for the Eriogonum codium (Umtanum 
desert buckwheat) and Physaria douglasii subsp. tuplashensis (White 
Bluffs bladderpod) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested 
parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed rules and to follow 
proper procedure in accordance with 16 U.S.C. section 1533(b)(5). 
Comments previously submitted on the proposed rules need not be 
resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in our determinations on 
these rulemaking actions.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published May 15, 2012 
(77 FR 28704), is reopened. We will consider all comments received or 
postmarked on or before July 22, 2013. Comments submitted 
electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, 
below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the proposed 
rule on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2012-0017, or by mail from the Washington Field Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

[[Page 30840]]

    Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the 
following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit comments on the proposed listing rule to 
FWS-R1-ES-2012-0017. Submit comments on the proposed critical habitat 
rule to FWS-R1-ES-2013-0012.
    (2) By hard copy:
    Submit comments on the proposed listing rule by U.S. mail or hand-
delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2012-0017; 
Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
    Submit comments on the proposed critical habitat rule by U.S. mail 
or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2013-
0012; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 
22203.
    We request that you send comments only by the methods described 
above. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Berg, Manager, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond 
Drive, Suite 102, Lacey, Washington 98503-1263, by telephone (360) 753-
9440, or by facsimile (360) 753-9405. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our proposed listing and designation of 
critical habitat for the Eriogonum codium (Umtanum desert buckwheat) 
and Physaria douglasii subsp. tuplashensis (White Bluffs bladderpod) 
that was published in the Federal Register on May 15, 2012 (77 FR 
28704). We will consider information and recommendations from all 
interested parties.
    As to the proposed listing determination, we are particularly 
interested in comments concerning:
    (1) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning 
any threats (or lack thereof) to these species and regulations that may 
be addressing those threats.
    (2) Additional information concerning the historical and current 
status, range, distribution, and population size of these species, 
including the locations of any additional populations.
    (3) Any information on the biological or ecological requirements of 
the species, and ongoing conservation measures for the species and 
their habitats.
    (4) Current or planned activities in the areas occupied by these 
species and possible impacts of these activities on these species.
    As to the proposed critical habitat determination, we are 
particularly interested in comments concerning:
    (5) The reasons why we should or should not designate habitat as 
``critical habitat'' under section 4 of the Act, including whether 
there are threats to the species from human activity, the degree of 
which can be expected to increase due to the designation, and whether 
that increase in threat outweighs the benefit of designation such that 
the designation of critical habitat is not prudent.
    (6) Specific information on:
    (a) The amount and distribution of the species' habitat;
    (b) What areas occupied by the species at the time of listing that 
contain features essential for the conservation of the species we 
should include in the designation and why;
    (c) Special management considerations or protection that may be 
needed in critical habitat areas we are proposing, including managing 
for the potential effects of climate change; and
    (d) What areas not occupied at the time of listing are essential to 
the conservation of the species and why.
    (7) Land use designations and current or planned activities in the 
subject areas and their possible impacts on proposed critical habitat.
    (8) Any foreseeable economic, national security, or other relevant 
impacts that may result from designating any area that may be included 
in the final designation. We are particularly interested in any impacts 
on small entities and the benefits of including or excluding areas from 
the proposed designation that are subject to these impacts.
    (9) Whether our approach to designating critical habitat could be 
improved or modified in any way to provide for greater public 
participation and understanding, or to assist us in accommodating 
public concerns and comments.
    If you submitted comments or information on the proposed rule (77 
FR 28704) during the initial comment period from May 15, 2012, to July 
16, 2012, please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them into 
the public record as part of the original comment period, and we will 
fully consider them in our final determinations.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rules by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you 
send comments only by the methods described in ADDRESSES.
    If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire 
comment--including any personal identifying information--will be posted 
on the Web site. We will post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov as well. If you submit a hardcopy comment 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.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available 
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2012-0017 for the proposed listing action and at Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2013-0012 for the proposed critical habitat designation, or by 
appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    On May 15, 2012, we published a proposed rule to list Eriogonum 
codium (Umtanum desert buckwheat) and Physaria douglasii subsp. 
tuplashensis (White Bluffs bladderpod) as threatened and to designate 
critical habitat for these species (77 FR 28704). We proposed to 
designate a total of approximately 344 acres (139 hectares) of critical 
habitat for Eriogonum codium in Benton County, Washington, and 
approximately 2,861 acres (1,158 hectares) of critical habitat for 
Physaria douglasii subsp. tuplashensis in Franklin County, Washington. 
That proposal had a 60-day comment period, ending July 16, 2012.
    On April 23, 2013, we published final rules for these proposed 
actions. We published the final listing rule under Docket No. FWS-R1-
ES-2012-0017 (78 FR 23984) and the final critical habitat rule under 
Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2013-0012 (78 FR 24008). The provisions of the 
final rules did not change from what was proposed. Both final rules had 
an effective date of May 23, 2013.

[[Page 30841]]

    Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, we are publishing a document 
to delay the effective date of those rules for 6 months--until November 
22, 2013. We are delaying the effective date of the final rules and 
reopening the comment period on the proposed rules to allow us time to 
follow proper procedure in accordance with 16 U.S.C. section 
1533(b)(5). If, after review of any comments received during this 
reopened comment period, we determine that we should revise the final 
rules, we will announce this decision and our course of action in a 
document published in the Federal Register.

Authority

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

    Dated: May 20, 2013.
Rachel Jacobsen,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2013-12379 Filed 5-22-13; 8:45 am]
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