[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68370-68372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27297]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2013-0114; 30120-1113-0000-C4]
RIN 1018-AZ90


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Technical 
Corrections for Kirtland's Warbler

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the revised 
taxonomy of Dendroica kirtlandii (Kirtland's warbler) under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are revising the 
List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to reflect the 
scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of this species. We 
revise the scientific name of the species as follows: Setophaga 
kirtlandii (= D. kirtlandii).

DATES: This rule is effective February 12, 2014 without further action, 
unless significant adverse comment is received by January 13, 2014. If 
significant adverse comment is received, we will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the rule in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R3-
ES-2013-0114.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: FWS-R3-ES-2013-0114; Division of Policy and Directives 
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 
Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
See Public Comments in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information 
about submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Hosler, Endangered Species 
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Field 
Office, 2651 Coolidge Road, East Lansing, Michigan 44823; telephone 
517-351-6326. Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired 
may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8337 for TTY (telephone 
typewriter or teletypewriter) assistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose of This Rule

    The purpose of our direct final rule is to notify the public that 
we are revising the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife to 
reflect the scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of one 
bird species listed under section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.). The change to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (50 
CFR 17.11(h)) reflects the most recently accepted scientific name in 
accordance with 50 CFR 17.11(b).
    We are publishing this rule without a prior proposal because this 
is a noncontroversial action that, in the best interest of the 
regulated public, should be undertaken in as timely a manner as 
possible. This rule will be effective, as published in this document, 
on the effective date specified in DATES, unless we receive significant 
adverse comments on or before the comment due date specified in DATES. 
Significant adverse comments are comments that provide strong 
justification as to why our rule should not be adopted or why it should 
be changed.
    If we receive significant adverse comments, we will publish a 
document in the Federal Register withdrawing this rule before the 
effective date, and we will engage in the normal

[[Page 68371]]

rulemaking process to promulgate these changes to 50 CFR 17.11.

Public Comments

    You may submit your comments and materials regarding our direct 
final rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. Please include 
sufficient information with your comment that allows us to verify any 
scientific or commercial information you include.
    We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal information in your comment, you should be aware that 
your entire comment--including your personal indentifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in 
your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, 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 this direct final rule, will be 
available for public inspection on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov or by appointment, during normal business hours at 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service location listed above in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    Section 17.11(b) of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) requires us to use the most recently accepted scientific name of 
any species that we have determined to be an endangered or threatened 
species. Using the best available scientific information, our direct 
final rule documents a taxonomic change (scientific name) to Kirtland's 
warbler (50 CFR 17.11(h)). The basis for the taxonomic change is 
supported by published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We revise the 
scientific name of this species under section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) as follows: Setophaga kirtlandii (= D. kirtlandii). We 
make this change to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (50 
CFR 17.11(h)) to reflect the most recently accepted scientific name in 
accordance with 50 CFR 17.11(b).

Taxonomic Classification

Setophaga kirtlandii

    The scientific name change of Setophaga kirtlandii (Kirtland's 
warbler) from Dendroica kirtlandii is supported by phylogenetic 
analyses of sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (Lovette et al. 
2010), which indicated that all species formerly placed in Dendroica, 
as well as the hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrine), the northern parula 
(Parula Americana), and the tropical parula (Parula pitiayumi), form a 
clade with the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). The American 
Ornithologists Union Committee on Classification and Nomenclature--
North and Middle America recognized that the generic name, Setophaga, 
had priority for this clade, renamed the Kirtland's warbler as 
Setophaga kirtlandii, and placed the species between the American 
redstart and the Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina) (Chesser et al. 
2011). This taxonomic change is included in our most recent 5-year 
review for the species (USFWS 2012, p. 15). This species will continue 
to be listed as endangered, and no other aspect of the entry for this 
species in 50 CFR 17.11(h) will change as a result of this rule.

Required Determinations

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This rule does not contain any new collections of information that 
require approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.). This rule will not impose recordkeeping or reporting 
requirements on State or local governments, individuals, businesses, or 
organizations. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.

National Environmental Policy Act

    We have determined that we do not need to prepare environmental 
assessments or environmental impact statements, as defined under the 
authority of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), in connection with regulations adopted under section 
4(a) of the Endangered Species Act. We published a notice outlining our 
reasons for this determination in the Federal Register on October 25, 
1983 (43 FR 49244).

Clarity of the Rule

    We are required by Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and by the 
Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 1998, to write all rules in plain 
language. This means that each rule we publish must:
    (a) Be logically organized;
    (b) Use the active voice to address readers directly;
    (c) Use clear language rather than jargon;
    (d) Be divided into short sections and sentences; and
    (e) Use lists and tables wherever possible.
    If you feel that we have not met these requirements, send us 
comments by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. To help us to 
revise this rule, your comments should be as specific as possible. For 
example, you should tell us the paragraphs that are unclearly written, 
which sections or sentences are too long, the sections where you feel 
lists or tables would be useful, etc.

References Cited

    A complete list of the referenced materials is available upon 
request at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2013-0114 
or from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

Regulation Promulgation

    For the reasons given in the preamble, we amend part 17, subchapter 
B of chapter I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set 
forth below:

PART 17--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16. U.S.C. 1361-1407; 1531-1544; 4201-4245; unless 
otherwise noted.


0
2. Amend Sec.  17.11(h), the List of Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife, by revising the entry for ``Warbler (wood), Kirtland's'' 
under Birds to read as set forth below:


Sec.  17.11  Endangered and threatened wildlife.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *

[[Page 68372]]



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                         Species                                                     Vertebrate
---------------------------------------------------------                         population where                                Critical     Special
                                                             Historic range         endangered or        Status    When listed    habitat       rules
            Common name                Scientific name                               threatened
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
Warbler (wood), Kirtland's........  Setophaga kirtlandii  U.S.A. (principally   Entire..............            E         1, 3           NA           NA
                                     (=Dendroica           MI), Canada, West
                                     kirtlandii).          Indies--Bahama
                                                           Islands.
 
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    Dated: November 1, 2013.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-27297 Filed 11-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P