[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43122-43123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17197]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket Nos. FWS-R8-ES-2012-0100; FWS-R8-ES-2012-0074; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AZ21; RIN 1018-AY07


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status 
for the Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog and the Northern Distinct 
Population Segment of the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog, and Threatened 
Status for the Yosemite Toad

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of the public comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the public comment period on our April 25, 2013, proposed 
rule to list the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog and the northern 
distinct population segment (DPS) (populations that occur north of the 
Tehachapi Mountains) of the mountain yellow-legged frog as endangered 
species, and the Yosemite toad as a threatened species. We are also 
reopening the public comment period on our April 25, 2013, proposed 
rule to designate critical habitat for these species. The 60-day 
comment period for both proposed rules ended on June 24, 2013. This 
notice announces reopening of the comment periods to allow all 
interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed 
rules and to submit information on the status of the species and 
proposed critical habitat. We will consider all comments and 
information provided by the public during these comment periods in 
preparation of a final determination on our proposed listings and 
designation of critical habitat. Accordingly, the final decisions may 
differ from our proposals. If you submitted comments previously, you do 
not need to resubmit them because we have already incorporated them 
into the public record and will fully consider them in preparation of 
the final rules.

DATES: The comment periods for the proposed rules published April 25, 
2013, at 78 FR 24472 and 24516, are reopened. We will consider all 
comments received or postmarked on or before November 18, 2013. 
Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
(see ADDRESSES section, 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 
and related documents on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at 
Docket Number FWS-R8-ES-2012-0100 for the proposed listing and Docket 
Number FWS-R8-ES-2012-0074 for the proposed critical habitat. You can 
also obtain copies by mail from the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office 
(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. In the Search box, enter FWS-R8-ES-2012-0100 (the 
docket number for the proposed listing rule) or FWS-R8-ES-2012-0074 
(the docket number for the proposed critical habitat rule). On the 
search results page, under the Comment Period heading in the menu on 
the left side of your screen, check the box next to ``Open'' to locate 
this document. Please ensure you have found the correct document before 
submitting your comments. If your comments will fit in the provided 
comment box, please use this feature of http://www.regulations.gov, as 
it is most compatible with our comment review procedures. If you attach 
your comments as a separate document, our preferred file format is 
Microsoft Word. If you attach multiple comments (such as form letters), 
our preferred format is a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2012-0100 (if commenting on the 
proposed listing rule) or FWS-R8-ES-2012-0074 (if commenting on the 
proposed critical habitat rule); 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 information received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any 
personal information you provide us (see Request for Information in 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jan Knight, Deputy Field Supervisor, 
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite 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 (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 25, 2013, we published in the Federal Register a proposed 
rule to list the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog and the northern 
distinct population segment (DPS) (populations that occur north of the 
Tehachapi Mountains) of the mountain yellow-legged frog as endangered 
species, and the Yosemite toad as a threatened species (78 FR 24472). 
Also on April 25, 2013, we published in the Federal Register a proposed 
rule to designate critical habitat for these species (78 FR 24516). The 
60-day comment period for both proposed rules ended on June 24, 2013.

Information Requested

    We are reopening the public comment period for two proposed rules 
for the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, the northern distinct 
population segment (DPS) (populations that occur north of the Tehachapi 
Mountains) of the mountain yellow-legged frog, and the Yosemite toad. 
We will accept written comments and information during this reopened 
comment period on our April 25, 2013, proposed rules to list these 
species (78 FR 24472) and to designate critical habitat (78 FR 24516). 
For more information on the specific information we are seeking, please 
see the April 25, 2013, proposed rules.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rules by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We will not accept 
comments sent by email or fax, or to an address not listed in 
ADDRESSES. If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--will 
be posted on the Web site. 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. We will 
post all hardcopy comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will 
be fully considered in preparation of the final rules. We intend that 
any final actions

[[Page 43123]]

resulting from these proposals be as accurate as possible and based on 
the best available scientific and commercial data. We will consider 
information and recommendations from all interested parties. Your 
comments are part of the public record, and we will fully consider them 
in the preparation of our final determinations.
    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, or by appointment, 
during normal business hours, at the Sacramento 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: July 9, 2013.
 Rowan J. Gould,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-17197 Filed 7-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P