[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22077-22079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09018]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2010-0071; 4500030114]
RIN 1018-AX16


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of 
Critical Habitat for Lepidium Papilliferum

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Revised proposed rule; correction and reopening of 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 the revised proposed rule to 
designate critical habitat for Lepidium papilliferum (slickspot 
peppergrass) under the Endangered Species Act (Act or ESA). In 
addition, we correct some minor errors in the revised proposed rule 
published on February 12, 2014. In total, approximately 24,808 hectares 
(61,301 acres) in Ada, Gem, Payette, Elmore, and Owyhee Counties in 
Idaho fall within the boundaries of the revised proposed critical 
habitat designation. We are reopening the comment period to allow all 
interested parties an opportunity to comment. Comments previously 
submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in 
the preparation of our final rule.

DATES: We are reopening the comment period on the revised proposed rule 
published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2014 (79 FR 8402). In 
order to fully consider and incorporate public comment in the final 
determination, we request submission of comments by June 5, 2014. 
Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
(see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
that date.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the revised 
proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Lepidium papilliferum 
on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-
2010-0071, or by mail from the Idaho 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. Search for FWS-

[[Page 22078]]

R1-ES-2010-0071, which is the docket number for this rulemaking. You 
may submit a comment by clicking on ''Comment Now!''
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R1-ES-2010-0071; 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: Mike Carrier, State Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office, 1387 S. 
Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise, ID 83709; telephone 208-378-5243; 
facsimile 208-378-5262. If you use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD), call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our revised proposed rule to designate 
critical habitat for Lepidium papilliferum (slickspot peppergrass) that 
published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2014 (79 FR 8402). 
Any final action regarding the designation of critical habitat for L. 
papilliferum will be based on the best scientific and commercial data 
available and be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, 
we request comments or information from other concerned governmental 
agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry, 
general public, and other interested parties on our revised proposed 
rule. We particularly seek comments concerning any new information 
pertaining to critical habitat for this species that has become 
available since the May 10, 2011, publication of our proposed rule to 
designate critical habitat for Lepidium papilliferum (76 FR 27184). 
Comments previously submitted on the proposed critical habitat 
designation need not be resubmitted; they have already been 
incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in the 
final decision.
    We particularly seek comments concerning the following:
    (1) New scientific information regarding critical habitat for this 
species, including the addition of recently identified areas that meet 
our definition of critical habitat for the species that has become 
available since the May 10, 2011, publication of our proposed rule to 
designate critical habitat for Lepidium papilliferum (76 FR 27184); and
    (2) Whether the benefits of excluding any particular area from 
critical habitat outweigh the benefits of including that area in 
critical habitat under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, after considering 
both the potential impacts and benefits of the proposed critical 
habitat designation. Under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, we may exclude 
an area from critical habitat if we determine that the benefits of such 
exclusion outweigh the benefits of including that particular area as 
critical habitat, unless failure to designate that specific area as 
critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species. We, 
therefore, request specific information on:
     The benefits of including recently identified areas in the 
final designation and supporting rationale;
     The benefits of excluding any recently identified areas 
from the final designation and supporting rationale; and
     Whether any specific exclusions may result in the 
extinction of the species and why.
    We will consider all comments and information received during our 
preparation of a final designation of critical habitat for Lepidium 
papilliferum. Accordingly, the final decision may differ from the 
proposal.
    Please note that comments merely stating support for or opposition 
to the actions under consideration without providing supporting 
information, although noted, will not be considered in making a 
determination, as section 4(b)(2) of the Act directs that the Secretary 
designate critical habitat on the basis of the best scientific data 
available.
    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods 
listed in ADDRESSES. We request that you send comments only by the 
methods described in ADDRESSES. If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire submission--including any personal 
identifying information--will be posted on the Web site. If your 
submission is made via a hardcopy 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 
submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please include sufficient information with your comments to allow 
us to verify any scientific information you include. Comments and 
materials received, as well as some of the supporting documentation 
used in the preparation of a final decision, will be available for 
public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov. All information we use 
in making our decision is available by appointment, during normal 
business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Fish and 
Wildlife Office, 1387 S. Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise, ID 83709; 
telephone 208-378-5243; facsimile 208-378-5262 (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    On October 8, 2009, we listed Lepidium papilliferum as a threatened 
species throughout its range under the Act (74 FR 52014). On November 
16, 2009, Idaho Governor C. L. ``Butch'' Otter, the Idaho Office of 
Species Conservation, Theodore Hoffman, Scott Nicholson, and L.G. 
Davison & Sons, Inc., filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for 
the District of Columbia challenging the 2009 final listing rule under 
the Administrative Procedure Act and the Endangered Species Act. 
Subsequently, the issue was transferred to the U.S. District Court for 
the District Court of Idaho (Court), and the parties involved consented 
to proceed before a Magistrate Judge. On August 8, 2012, the Court 
vacated the final rule listing Lepidium papilliferum as a threatened 
species under the Act, with directions that the case be remanded to the 
Service for further consideration consistent with the Court's opinion 
(Otter v. Salazar, Case No. 1:11-cv-00358-CWD (D. Idaho)).
    During the period of the 2009 litigation, we published the 2011 
proposed critical habitat rule (76 FR 27184, May 10, 2011); the comment 
period closed on July 11, 2011. On June 1, 2011, the Service received a 
request from Idaho's Governor C.L. ``Butch'' Otter requesting a 60-day 
extension to the comment period. On July 7, 2011, we published a notice 
extending the initial comment period through September 9, 2011 (76 FR 
39807). We also requested comments on the proposed critical habitat 
designation and associated draft economic analysis during a second 
comment period that opened October 26, 2011, and closed on December 12, 
2011 (76 FR 66250).
    Rulemaking on the proposed critical habitat was suspended following 
the Court's ruling vacating the listing. However, on February 12, 2014, 
we published in the Federal Register a

[[Page 22079]]

document announcing our reconsideration of the listing of Lepidium 
papilliferum relative to the issues remanded by the Court (79 FR 8416); 
rulemaking on the listing has, therefore, been reopened. At that time, 
we also reopened the rulemaking on our proposed rule to designate 
critical habitat for the species, and presented some revisions to the 
proposed critical habitat (February 12, 2014; 79 FR 8402). We initially 
opened a 30-day comment period in association with our revised proposed 
rule to designate critical habitat for L. papilliferum; that comment 
period ended on March 14, 2014. On February 13, 2014, we received a 
request from the Idaho Governor's Office of Species Conservation to 
extend the comment period an additional 45 days. We are reopening the 
comment period to allow the public additional opportunity to provide 
input on our revised proposed rule to designate critical habitat for L. 
papilliferum. Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, we are 
concurrently reopening the comment period on our reconsideration of the 
final rule listing L. papilliferum as a threatened species throughout 
its range.

Corrections to the Revised Proposed Critical Habitat for Lepidium 
papilliferum

    In this document, we correct some errors in our February 12, 2014, 
revised proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Lepidium 
papilliferum (79 FR 8402). On page 8404 of that revised proposed rule, 
in the third column under the section Revised Critical Habitat Units, 
the amounts of State and private lands included in the additional areas 
identified as critical habitat are incorrect. These areas are 
erroneously described as including 35 ha (87 ac) of State lands and 76 
ha (188 ac) of private lands. The correct amounts should be 32 ha (80 
ac) of State lands and 82 ha (203 ac) of private lands. The sentence in 
question should, therefore, read as follows: ``The additional areas 
proposed for critical habitat include 1,588 ha (3,926 ac) of U.S. 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands; 23 ha (58 ac) of Bureau of 
Reclamation (BOR) lands; 32 ha (80 ac) of State lands; and 82 ha (203 
ac) of private lands (areas do not add precisely to 1,725 ha (4,261 ac) 
due to rounding).''
    In addition, we did not explain that the addition of a single 
element occurrence in Unit 1 of the revised proposed critical habitat 
in Payette County actually extends the area of that unit into adjacent 
Gem County. The revised proposed critical habitat for Lepidium 
papilliferum is thus found in five (not four) counties in Idaho: Ada, 
Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, and Payette Counties. The map of Unit 1 published 
with the revised proposed critical habitat rule (79 FR 8402, p. 8408) 
correctly depicts the critical habitat unit as extending from Payette 
County across the county line into Gem County to incorporate a single 
element occurrence of L. papilliferum. The area of proposed critical 
habitat in Gem County is 16 ha (40 ac) of Federal (BLM) lands. The 
total acreage of Unit 1 is unchanged from the 289 ha (715 ac) 
identified in the revised proposed rule. However, of that amount, 273 
ha (675 ac) are in Payette County, and 16 ha (40 ac) are in Gem County.

Authority

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

    Dated: April 10, 2014.
Rachel Jacobson,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2014-09018 Filed 4-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P