[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69712-69713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27270]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2018-0105; 4500030113]
RIN 1018-BD85


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species 
Status for West Coast Distinct Population Segment of Fisher With 
Section 4(d) Rule

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Revised proposed rule; reopening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), recently 
published a document proposing changes to our October 7, 2014, proposed 
rule to list the West Coast distinct population segment (DPS) of fisher 
(Pekania pennanti) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species 
Act (Act) and proposing a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act for 
this DPS. We announced the opening of a 30-day public comment period on 
the revised proposed rule, ending December 9, 2019. We now reopen the 
public comment period for an additional 15 days, to allow all 
interested parties more time to comment on the revised proposed rule. 
Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully 
considered in preparation of the final determination.

DATES: The public comment period on the revised proposed rule that 
published November 7, 2019, at 84 FR 60278, is reopened. We will accept 
comments received or postmarked on or before January 3, 2020. Please 
note that if you are using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see 
ADDRESSES, below), the deadline for submitting an electronic comment is 
11:59 p.m. Eastern time on this date.

ADDRESSES: 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-R8-ES-2018-0105, 
which is the docket number for the action. Then, click on the Search 
button. On the resulting page, in the Search panel on the left side of 
the screen, under the Document Type heading, click on the Proposed Rule 
box to locate the correct document. You may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment Now!'' Please ensure that you have found the 
correct rulemaking before submitting your comment.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand delivery to: Public 
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2018-0105, U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, MS: JAO/1N, 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 Public Comments, below, for more information).
    Document availability: The revised proposed rule is available on 
http://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2018-0105 and on our 
website at https://www.fws.gov/Yreka. Comments and materials we 
received during a previous comment period, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the preceding proposed rule, are 
also available for public inspection at Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2014-0041. 
In addition, the supporting files for the revised proposed rule will be 
available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal business 
hours, at our Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office, 1829 South Oregon Street, 
Yreka, CA 96097; telephone 530-842-5763.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenny Ericson, Field Supervisor, Yreka 
Fish and Wildlife Office, telephone: 530-842-5763. Direct all questions 
or requests for additional information to: WEST COAST DPS FISHER 
QUESTIONS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Yreka Fish and Wildlife 
Office, 1829 South Oregon Street, Yreka, CA 96097. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On November 7, 2019, we published in the Federal Register (84 FR 
60278) a document that proposed: (1) Changes to our October 7, 2014, 
proposed rule (79 FR 60419) to list the West Coast DPS of fisher as a 
threatened species under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and (2) a 
rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act for this DPS. The November 7, 
2019, Federal Register publication (84 FR 60278) opened a 30-day public 
comment period, ending December 9, 2019. The Service now reopens the 
comment period as specified above in DATES.
    See the November 7, 2019, Federal Register publication (84 FR 
60278) for more information about previous Federal actions concerning 
this DPS.

Public Comments

    We will accept comments and information during this reopened 
comment period on our November 7, 2019, revised proposed rule (84 FR 
60278). We will consider information and recommendations from all 
interested parties. We intend that any final action resulting from the 
proposal will be based on the best scientific and commercial data 
available and will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Our 
final determination will take into consideration all comments and any 
additional information we receive during the comment period. Therefore, 
the final decision may differ from the November 7, 2019, revised 
proposed rule (84 FR 60278), based on our review of all information we 
receive during this rulemaking. Comments previously submitted need not 
be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final 
determination.
    Comments should be as specific as possible. Please include 
sufficient information with your submission (such as scientific journal 
articles or other publications) to allow us to verify any scientific or 
commercial information you assert. Please note that submissions merely 
stating support for, or opposition to, the action under consideration 
without providing supporting information, although noted, will not meet 
the standard of best available scientific and commercial data. Section

[[Page 69713]]

4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that determinations as to whether any 
species is endangered or threatened must be made ``solely on the basis 
of the best scientific and commercial 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 your personal 
identifying information--will be posted on the website. 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.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, will be 
available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket 
No. FWS-R8-ES-2018-0105, or by appointment, during normal business 
hours, at the Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES). Our final 
determination concerning the November 7, 2019, revised proposed rule 
(84 FR 60278) will take into consideration all written comments we 
receive during the open comment periods and comments from peer 
reviewers. These comments will be included in the public record for 
this rulemaking, and we will fully consider them in the preparation of 
our final determination.

Authority

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

    Dated: December 10, 2019.
Margaret E. Everson,
Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the Authority of the Director for 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-27270 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P