[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38895-38897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15531]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket Nos. FWS-R1-ES-2012-0017; FWS-R1-ES-2013-0012; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AX72; RIN 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.

[[Page 38896]]


ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 
notice of two public hearings associated with the recent reopening of 
the comment period on our May 15, 2012, proposed listing and 
designation of critical habitat for Eriogonum codium (Umtanum desert 
buckwheat) and Physaria douglasii subsp. tuplashensis (White Bluffs 
bladderpod) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

DATES: Public Hearings: We will hold two public hearings on Thursday, 
July 11, 2013. One hearing will occur from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the 
Benton County Justice Center in Kennewick, Washington, and another 
hearing will occur at the TRAC Center in Pasco, Washington, from 3 p.m. 
to 5 p.m. and continuing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (see ADDRESSES).
    Written Comments: We will consider comments received or postmarked 
on or before July 22, 2013, or at the public hearings. Please note 
comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
(see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the 
closing date. Any comments that we receive after the closing date may 
not be considered in the final decisions on these actions.

ADDRESSES: 
    Document Availability: You may obtain copies of the proposed rule 
at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2012-0017 
(proposed listing) and Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2013-0012 (proposed 
designation of critical habitat) for Umtanum desert buckwheat and White 
Bluffs bladderpod; from the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office's Web 
site (http://www.fws.gov/wafwo/HanfordPlants.html); or by contacting 
the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office directly (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Public Hearings: The first of two public hearings for the Umtanum 
desert buckwheat and White Bluffs bladderpod will be held on July 11, 
2013, at the Benton County Justice Center, 7122 West Quinault Place, 
Building A, Kennewick, Washington, 99336-7665. The second public 
hearing will be held on July 11, 2013, at the TRAC Center, 6600 Burden 
Blvd., Pasco, Washington, 99301. People needing reasonable 
accommodation in order to attend and participate in either public 
hearing should contact Ken Berg, Manager, Washington Fish and Wildlife 
Office, as soon as possible (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    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, Washington Fish and 
Wildlife Office, 510 Desmond Drive, Suite 102, Lacey, WA 98503-1263; by 
telephone (360) 753-9440; or by facsimile (360) 534-9331. 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 the reopened 
comment period and public hearings 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 all 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,

[[Page 38897]]

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.
    On May 23, 2013, we published a notice reopening the comment period 
on our May 15, 2012, proposed listing and designation of critical 
habitat (78 FR 30839) and published a document to delay the effective 
date of the April 23, 2013 final rules for an additional 6 months--
until November 22, 2013 (May 23, 2013; 78 FR 30772). We delayed the 
effective date of the final rules and reopened the comment period on 
the proposed rules to allow us time to follow proper procedure in 
accordance with 16 U.S.C. 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: June 20, 2013.
Rachel Jacobson,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2013-15531 Filed 6-25-13; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P