[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 13, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27033-27035]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11968]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket Nos. FWS-R2-ES-2016-0099, FWS-R2-ES-2016-0100, FWS-R2-ES-2016-
0130, FWS-R2-ES-2016-0137, FWS-R2-ES-2016-0119; FXES11130900000C2-167-
FF09E32000]
RINs 1018-BA74; 1018-BA75; 1018-BB90; 1018-BB89; 1018-BB87


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening the 
Comment Periods for Five Proposed Rules

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rules; reopening comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce 
that we are reopening the comment periods for our proposed rules to 
list Festuca ligulata (Guadalupe fescue) as an endangered species; to 
designate Festuca ligulata critical habitat; to

[[Page 27034]]

reclassify Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii (Tobusch fishhook 
cactus) from endangered to threatened; to reclassify Echinocereus 
fendleri var. kuenzleri (Kuenzler hedgehog cactus) from endangered to 
threatened; and to remove Eriogonum gypsophilum (gypsum wild-buckwheat) 
from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. We are 
reopening the comment period for each of these proposed rules for 30 
days in order to publish a legal notice and to give all interested 
parties further opportunity to comment on the proposed rules. Comments 
previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully 
considered in preparing the final listing determinations.

DATES: To allow us adequate time to consider your comments on the 
proposed rule, we must receive your comments on or before July 13, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: 
    Written comments: You may submit comments on the proposed rules by 
one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter the 
appropriate docket number (see Table 1, below). Then click on the 
Search button. On the resulting page, you may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment Now!'' Please ensure that you have found the 
correct rulemaking before submitting your comment.
     By U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: [Insert appropriate docket number; see Table 1, below], 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 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information).

                           Table 1--List of Proposed Rules Reopened for Public Comment
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          Proposed rule title             Federal Register citation                   Docket No.
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Guadalupe Fescue Endangered Species      81 FR 62450; September 9,   FWS-R2-ES-2016-0099
 Status.                                  2016.
Guadalupe Fescue Critical Habitat        81 FR 62455; September 9,   FWS-R2-ES-2016-0100
 Designation.                             2016.
Reclassifying the Tobusch Fishhook       81 FR 95932; December 29,   FWS-R2-ES-2016-0130
 Cactus From Endangered to Threatened     2016.
 on the Federal List of Endangered and
 Threatened Plants.
Reclassifying Echinocereus fendleri      82 FR 1677; January 6,      FWS-R2-ES-2016-0137
 var. kuenzleri From Endangered to        2017.
 Threatened.
Removing Eriogonum gypsophilum From the  82 FR 1657; January 6,      FWS-R2-ES-2016-0119
 Federal List of Endangered and           2017.
 Threatened Plants.
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    Document availability: 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 
under the appropriate docket number (see Table 1, above).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

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          Proposed rule title                     Contact person
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Guadalupe Fescue Endangered Species      Adam Zerrenner, Field
 Status.                                  Supervisor, U.S. Fish and
Guadalupe Fescue Critical Habitat         Wildlife Service, Austin
 Designation.                             Ecological Services Field
Reclassifying the Tobusch Fishhook        Office, 10711 Burnet Rd.,
 Cactus From Endangered to Threatened     Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758;
 on the Federal List of Endangered and    telephone (512) 490-0057.
 Threatened Plants.
Reclassifying Echinocereus fendleri      Susan Millsap, Field
 var. kuenzleri From Endangered to        Supervisor, U.S. Fish and
 Threatened.                              Wildlife Service, 2105 Osuna
Removing Eriogonum gypsophilum From the   Road NE., Albuquerque, NM
 Federal List of Endangered and           87113-1001; telephone (505)
 Threatened Plants.                       761-4781.
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    Individuals who are hearing-impaired or speech-impaired may call 
the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 for TTY assistance 24 hours 
a day, 7 days a week.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 9, 2016, we published proposed 
rules to list Guadalupe fescue as an endangered species on the Federal 
List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (81 FR 62450) and to designate 
its critical habitat (81 FR 62455). We sought information, data and 
comments from the public regarding the proposal for 60 days, ending 
November 8, 2016. We are reopening the comment period on the proposed 
rules for an additional 30 days (see DATES). We will accept written 
comments and information during this reopened comment period. In 
particular, we seek comments concerning the following: (1) New 
information concerning Guadalupe fescue taxonomic classification and 
conservation status; (2) new information on Guadalupe fescue historical 
and current status, range, distribution, and population size, including 
additional population locations; and (3) new information regarding 
Guadalupe fescue life history, ecology and habitats. Please refer to 
the proposed rules for more information on our proposed actions and the 
specific information we seek.
    On December 29, 2016, we published a proposed rule to reclassify 
Tobusch fishhook cactus from an endangered to a threatened species on 
the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (81 FR 95932). We 
sought information, data and comments from the public regarding the 
proposal for 60 days, ending February 27, 2017. We are reopening the 
comment period on the proposed rule for an additional 30 days (see 
DATES). We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period. In particular, we seek comments concerning the 
following: (1) New information concerning Tobusch fishhook cactus 
taxonomic classification and conservation status; (2) new information 
on Tobusch fishhook cactus historical and current status, range, 
distribution, and population size, including additional population 
locations; and (3) new information regarding Tobusch fishhook cactus 
life history, ecology and habitats. Please refer to the proposed

[[Page 27035]]

rule for more information on our proposed action and the specific 
information we seek.
    On January 6, 2017, we published a proposed rule to reclassify 
Kuenzler hedgehog cactus from an endangered to a threatened species on 
the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants (82 FR 1677). We 
sought information, data and comments from the public regarding the 
proposal for 60 days, ending March 7, 2017. We are reopening the 
comment period on the proposed rule for an additional 30 days (see 
DATES). We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period. In particular, we seek comments concerning the 
following: (1) New information concerning Kuenzler hedgehog cactus 
taxonomic classification and conservation status; (2) new information 
on Kuenzler hedgehog cactus historical and current status, range, 
distribution, and population size, including any additional population 
locations; and (3) new information regarding Kuenzler hedgehog cactus 
life history, ecology, and habitats. Please refer to the proposed rule 
for more information on our proposed action and the specific 
information we seek.
    On January 6, 2017, we published a proposed rule to remove gypsum 
wild-buckwheat from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened 
Plants (82 FR 1657). We sought information, data and comments from the 
public regarding the proposal for 60 days, ending March 7, 2017. We are 
reopening the comment period on the proposed rule for an additional 30 
days (see DATES). We will accept written comments and information 
during this reopened comment period. In particular, we seek comments 
concerning the following: (1) New information concerning gypsum wild-
buckwheat taxonomic classification and conservation status; (2) new 
information on gypsum wild-buckwheat historical and current status, 
range, distribution, and population size, including any additional 
population locations; and (3) new information regarding gypsum wild-
buckwheat life history, ecology, and habitats. Please refer to the 
proposed rule for more information on our proposed action and the 
specific information we seek.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning any of the 
proposed rules by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. Before 
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. All comments and recommendations, 
including names and addresses, will become part of the administrative 
record.
    If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire comment--including any personal identifying information--will be 
posted on the Web site. 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.
    If you mail or hand-deliver 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, but we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. To ensure that the 
electronic dockets for these rulemakings are complete and all comments 
we receive are publicly available, we will post all hardcopy 
submissions on http://www.regulations.gov.

Authors

    This document's primary authors are Southwest Regional Office and 
Austin Ecological Services Field Office staff members.

Authority

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

    Dated: March 30, 2017.
James W. Kurth,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-11968 Filed 6-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P