[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 214-215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33156]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0128; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-AZ97


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed 
Endangered Status for Five Species From American Samoa

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period and notice of 
public hearing.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the comment period on our October 13, 2015, proposed rule 
to list five species from American Samoa--two endemic American Samoan 
land snails, the American Samoa distinct population segment of the 
friendly ground-dove, the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (South Pacific 
subspecies), and the mao--as endangered species under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We now reopen the public comment 
period for an additional 30 days and announce notice of a public 
hearing and public information meeting on our proposed rule. We are 
reopening the public comment period to allow all interested parties 
additional time and opportunity to comment on the proposed rule.

DATES: Public Hearing: We will hold a public hearing, preceded by a 
public information meeting. The public hearing and public information 
meeting will be held in the U.S. Territory of American Samoa on the 
island of Tutuila. A public hearing will take place on Thursday, 
January 21, 2016, at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium or Fale Laumei, 
Main Building, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will be preceded by a 
public information meeting from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the same 
location. See ADDRESSES for location details.
    Written Comments: We will consider comments received or postmarked 
on or before February 4, 2016 or at the public hearing. Please note 
that comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal (see ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the closing date. Any comments that we receive after the closing date 
may not be considered in the final decision on these actions.

ADDRESSES: Document Availability: You may obtain copies of the proposed 
rule at http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0128; 
from the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office's Web site (http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands); or by contacting the Pacific Islands Fish 
and Wildlife Office directly (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Public Hearing: The public hearing and public information meeting 
on the proposed listing of the five American Samoa species will be held 
as follows: On the island of Tutuila, a public hearing will take place 
on Thursday, January 21, 2016, at the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium or 
Fale Laumei, Main Building, located at Route 1, William McKinley 
Memorial Highway, Utulei, American Samoa 96799, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 
p.m., and will be preceded by a public information meeting from 2:00 
p.m. to 3:00 p.m. People needing reasonable accommodation in order to 
attend and participate in either the public hearing or the public 
meeting should contact Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands 
Fish and Wildlife Office, as soon as possible (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Comment submission: You may submit 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-R1-ES-2015-0128, 
which is the docket number for this action. You may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment Now!''
    (2) By hard copy: Submit comments on the proposed listing rule by 
U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-
R1-ES-2015-0128; Division of Policy, Performance, and Management 
Programs; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: BPHC, 5275 
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    (3) Public hearing: Interested parties may provide oral or written 
comments at the public hearing (see DATES).
    We request that you provide 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: Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor, Pacific 
Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 
96850; by telephone at 808-792-9400; or by facsimile at 808-792-9581. 
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 are reopening the public comment period for 30 days on our 
October 13, 2015, proposed rule to list the five American Samoa species 
(80 FR 61568), to allow all interested parties additional time to 
comment on the proposed rule. We received a request for a public 
hearing and to extend the public comment period beyond the December 14, 
2015, due date in our October 13, 2015, proposal. We will accept 
comments and information until the date specified above in DATES or at 
the public hearing. We will consider all information and 
recommendations from all interested parties.
    For details on specific information that we are requesting, please 
see the Information Requested section in our proposed listing rule (80 
FR 61568) for the five American Samoa species. The proposed rule is 
available at the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES, above). Our final determination 
concerning this proposed rulemaking will take into consideration all 
written and oral comments and any additional information we receive. If 
you previously submitted comments or information on the proposed rule, 
please do not resubmit them. We have incorporated them into the public 
record, and we will fully consider them in our final rulemaking.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
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

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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, will be available 
for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R1-ES-2015-0128 or by appointment, during normal business hours, at the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife 
Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

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

    Dated: December 21, 2015.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-33156 Filed 1-4-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P