[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 240 (Tuesday, December 15, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77598-77599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31369]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-BA85


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species 
Status for the Big Sandy Crayfish and the Guyandotte River Crayfish

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; 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 our April 7, 2015, proposed 
rule to list the Big Sandy crayfish (Cambarus callainus) and the 
Guyandotte River crayfish (C. veteranus) as endangered species under 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We are taking this 
action to make the results of the 2015 summer surveys available for 
public review and comment. The surveys provide updated information on 
the two species' distribution and abundance. Comments previously 
submitted on the April 7, 2015, proposed rule need not be resubmitted, 
as they will be fully considered in preparation of the final listing 
determination.

DATES: We will consider comments received or postmarked on or before 
January 14, 2016. 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 April 7, 
2015, proposed rule and supporting material on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015. Documents may 
also be obtained by mail from the Northeast Regional 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-2015-0015, 
which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, in the Search 
panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, 
click on the Proposed Rules link to locate the document. 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-2015-0015, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    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: Martin Miller, Chief, Endangered 
Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Office, 300 
Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035; telephone 413-253-8615; or 
facsimile 413-253-8482. Persons who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In our April 7, 2015, proposed rule (80 FR 18710), we proposed to 
list the Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish as 
endangered species primarily due to the threats of land-disturbing 
activities that increase erosion and sedimentation, which degrade the 
stream habitat required by both species, and the effects of small 
population size. During the 60-day public comment period on the 
proposed rule, we received requests to extend the comment period beyond 
the June 8, 2015, closing date. For rulemaking and financial 
efficiency, we declined to extend the comment period at that time 
because we were already planning to reopen the comment period in the 
fall of 2015 to make available the results of rangewide surveys that 
would be conducted for each species in the summer of 2015. The final 
reports for the 2015 summer surveys are now

[[Page 77599]]

available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. 
FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015 and at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/crayfish/. 
These survey results and any substantive public comments about the 
survey results will inform our final listing decision, which we 
anticipate publishing on or before April 7, 2016.
    For more information on previous Federal actions concerning the Big 
Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish, or information 
regarding the species' biology, status, distribution, and habitat, 
refer to the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on April 
7, 2015 (80 FR 18710), which is available online at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015 or by mail from 
the Northeast Regional Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Public Comments

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our proposal to list the Big Sandy crayfish 
and Guyandotte River crayfish that published in the Federal Register on 
April 7, 2015 (80 FR 18710). We will consider information and 
recommendations from all interested parties. We intend that any final 
action resulting from the proposal be as accurate as possible and based 
on the best available scientific and commercial data.
    If you submitted comments or information on the proposed rule (80 
FR 18710) during the initial comment period from April 7, 2015, to June 
8, 2015, please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them into 
the public record as part of the previous comment period, and we will 
consider them in the preparation of our final determination.
    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 listing, will be 
available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket 
No. FWS-R5-ES-2015-0015, or by appointment, during normal business 
hours at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Office 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authors

    The primary authors of this notice are staff members in the 
Endangered Species Program, Northeast Regional Office, 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: November 30, 2015.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-31369 Filed 12-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P