[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 168 (Thursday, August 29, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53390-53391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21168]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0042; 4500030114]
RIN 1018-AX13


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of 
Critical Habitat for the Jaguar

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 August 20, 2012, proposed 
designation of critical habitat for the jaguar (Panthera onca), as 
revised on July 1, 2013, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended. This notice announces reopening of the comment period to allow 
all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment and submit 
information on the revised proposed rule, the draft economic analysis, 
and the draft environmental assessment. We will consider all comments 
and information provided by the public during this comment period in 
preparation of a final designation of critical habitat. Accordingly, 
the final designation may differ from our proposal. 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 rule.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published August 20, 
2012 (77 FR 50214), and revised July 1, 2013 (78 FR 39237) is reopened. 
We will consider comments received or postmarked on or before September 
13, 2013. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES) 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, the revisions of July 1, 2013, the draft economic analysis, and 
the draft environmental assessment on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0042 or by mail from 
the Arizona Ecological Services Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Written comments: 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 by searching for FWS-R2-ES-2012-
0042, which is the docket number for this rulemaking.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: 
Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2012-0042; 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: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Ecological Services Fish and 
Wildlife Office, 2321 West Royal Palm Drive, Suite 103, Phoenix, AZ 
85021; by telephone (602-242-0210); or by facsimile (602-242-2513). 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

[[Page 53391]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 20, 2012, we published a proposed rule to designate 
critical habitat for the jaguar (77 FR 50214). That proposal had a 60-
day comment period, ending October 19, 2012. On July 1, 2013, we 
published a revised proposal that incorporated new information received 
since the August 20, 2012, proposal (78 FR 39237). That revised 
proposal had a comment period that ended August 9, 2013. In the July 1, 
2013, revised proposed rule, we proposed to designate approximately 
858,137 acres (ac) (347,277 hectares (ha)) as critical habitat in six 
units located in Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise Counties, Arizona, and 
Hidalgo County, New Mexico. In the July 1, 2013, revised proposed rule, 
we also noticed the availability of a draft economic analysis and draft 
environmental assessment for public comment. We received requests for a 
public hearing, and a public hearing was held in Sierra Vista, Arizona, 
on July 30, 2013. We are now reopening a comment period on the August 
20, 2012, proposed rule, as revised on July 1, 2013. Finally, pursuant 
to a court-approved settlement agreement, the Service agreed to deliver 
the final designation of critical habitat to the Federal Register no 
later than December 16, 2013.

Information Requested

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our July 1, 2013, revised proposed rule to 
designate critical habitat for the jaguar (78 FR 39237), draft economic 
analysis, and draft environmental assessment. For more information on 
the specific information we are seeking, please see the July 1, 2013, 
revised proposed rule. You may submit your comments and materials 
concerning the proposed rules by one of the methods listed in 
ADDRESSES.
    If you submitted comments or information on the proposed rule (77 
FR 50214; August 20, 2012) during the initial comment period from 
August 20, 2012, to October 19, 2012; or the revised proposed rule (78 
FR 39237; July 1, 2013) during the second comment period from July 1, 
2013, to August 9, 2013, please do not resubmit them. We have 
incorporated them into the public record, and we will fully consider 
them in the preparation of our final rule. Further, any comments and 
information received after the closing of the second comment period on 
August 9, 2013, will be incorporated into the record during this 
comment period and will be fully considered. Our final determination 
concerning critical habitat will take into consideration all written 
comments and any additional information we receive during all three 
comment periods. On the basis of public comments and other relevant 
information, we may, during the development of our final determination 
on the proposed critical habitat designation, find that areas proposed 
are not essential, are appropriate for exclusion under section 4(b)(2) 
of the Act, or are not appropriate for exclusion.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the revised 
proposed rule, draft economic analysis, or draft environmental 
assessment by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We 
request that you send comments only by the methods described in the 
ADDRESSES section.
    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 revised proposed rule, draft 
economic analysis, and draft environmental assessment, will be 
available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket 
No. FWS-R2-ES-2012-0042, or by appointment, during normal business 
hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Ecological 
Services Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT). You may obtain copies of the original proposed rule, the 
revisions published on July 1, 2013, the draft economic analysis, and 
the draft environmental assessment on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R2-ES-2012-0042, or by mail 
from the Arizona Ecological Services Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authors

    The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the 
Arizona Ecological Services Fish and Wildlife Office, Southwest Region, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Authority

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

    Dated: August 21, 2013.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-21168 Filed 8-28-13; 8:45 am]
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