[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 14, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27548-27550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10873]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2013-0097; 4500030114]
RIN 1018-AY17


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed 
Threatened Status for the Rufa Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period; public hearing 
announcement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
extension of the public comment period on our September 30, 2013, 
proposal to list the rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) as a 
threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act). In accordance with section 4(b)(5) of the Act, we are holding a 
second public hearing in North Carolina. A public informational session 
will be held immediately

[[Page 27549]]

preceding the public hearing. Extending the comment period until June 
15, 2014, will allow all interested parties an opportunity to attend 
the second North Carolina public hearing and provide testimony and 
additional comments on the proposed rufa red knot listing. Comments 
previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully 
considered in preparation of the final rule.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published September 30, 
2013 (78 FR 60024), is extended. We will consider comments received or 
postmarked on or before June 15, 2014. Comments submitted 
electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, 
below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
    Public Informational Session and Public Hearing: We will hold a 
third public informational session and public hearing, and the second 
in North Carolina, on this proposed rule on June 5, 2014; see ADDRESSES 
for location:
     Manteo, NC: Public informational session from 5 p.m. to 
6:30 p.m., followed by a public hearing from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Registration to present oral comments on the proposed rule at the 
public hearing will begin at the start of the informational session.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You may obtain copies of the 
September 30, 2013, proposed rule and its four supplemental documents 
on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket Number FWS-R5-
ES-2013-0097. Documents may also be obtained by mail from the New 
Jersey Ecological Services Field 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. In the Search box, enter FWS-R5-ES-2013-0097, 
which is the docket number for the proposed 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-R5-ES-2013-0097; 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 details).
    Public Informational Session and Public Hearing: The informational 
session and public hearing will be located in:
     North Carolina--Alligator National Wildlife Refuge, 
Visitor Center, 100 Conservation Way, Manteo, NC 27954.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Schrading, Field Office 
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Field Office, 
927 North Main Street, Building D, Pleasantville, New Jersey 08232, by 
telephone 609-383-3938 or by facsimile 609-646-0352. 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 this 
extended comment period on our proposal to list the rufa red knot as a 
threatened species that was published in the Federal Register on 
September 30, 2013 (78 FR 60024). We will consider information we 
receive from all interested parties. We intend that any final action 
resulting from this proposal will be based on the best scientific and 
commercial data available and be as accurate and as effective as 
possible.
    If you submitted comments or information on the proposed rule (78 
FR 60024) during the initial comment period from September 30, 2013, to 
November 29, 2013, or during the reopened public comment period that 
started on April 4, 2014, please do not resubmit them. We have 
incorporated them into the public record as part of the previous 
comment period, and we will fully consider them in the preparation of 
our final determination.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
listing rule 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, are available for 
public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R5-
ES-2013-0097, or by appointment, during normal business hours, at the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Ecological Services Field 
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Background

    It is our intent to discuss only those topics directly relevant to 
the rufa red knot threatened listing proposal in this document. For 
more information on previous Federal actions concerning the rufa red 
knot, or information regarding its biology, status, distribution, and 
habitat, refer to the proposed rule published in the Federal Register 
on September 30, 2013 (78 FR 60024) and its four supplemental 
documents, all of which are available online at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2013-0097 or by mail from 
the New Jersey Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).
    In our September 30, 2013, proposed rule (78 FR 60024), we proposed 
to list the rufa red knot as threatened. We have determined that the 
rufa red knot is threatened due to loss of both breeding and 
nonbreeding habitat; potential for disruption of natural predator 
cycles on the breeding grounds; reduced prey availability throughout 
the nonbreeding range; and increasing frequency and severity of 
asynchronies (``mismatches'') in the timing of the birds' annual 
migratory cycle relative to favorable food and weather conditions.
    On April 4, 2014, we reopened the comment period on the proposed 
listing rule for 45 days, to end on May 19, 2014, to accommodate two 
public hearings, one in Morehead City, North Carolina, and one in 
Corpus Christi, Texas (79 FR 18869). Both of those public hearings will 
be held on May 6, 2014. We subsequently received a request, dated April 
15, 2014, to hold a second public hearing in North Carolina, 
specifically in Dare County. We concur with the request and will hold a 
second public hearing as described above. Therefore, we are extending 
the reopened comment period to June 15, 2014, to accommodate the second 
North Carolina public hearing.

Authors

    The primary authors of this notice are the staff members in the 
Endangered Species Program, Northeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.

[[Page 27550]]

Authority

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

    Dated: May 2, 2014.
 Rowan W. Gould,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-10873 Filed 5-13-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P