[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 78 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22005-22006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08580]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0069, FWS-R4-ES-2019-0070; FXES11130900000-
189-FF0932000]
RIN 1018-BE14; 1018-BD01


Reclassifying the Virgin Islands Tree Boa From Endangered to 
Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule; Reclassification of Eugenia 
woodburyana as Threatened and Section 4(d) Rule

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Reopening of comment periods; announcement of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are 
reopening the public comment periods on two proposed rules to allow all 
interested parties additional time to comment, and to conduct a public 
hearing. The two relevant proposed rules are our September 30, 2020, 
proposed rule to reclassify the endangered Virgin Islands tree boa 
(Chilabothrus granti) as a threatened species with a rule issued under 
section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended; 
and our October 21, 2020, proposed rule to reclassify the endangered 
plant Eugenia woodburyana (no common name) as a threatened species with 
a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act. Comments previously 
submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in 
preparation of the final rules.

DATES: Written comments: The comment periods for the proposed rules 
published on September 30, 2020, at 85 FR 61700, and October 21, 2020, 
at 85 FR 66906, are reopened. We will accept comments received or 
postmarked on or before May 26, 2021.
    Public hearing: On May 12, 2021, we will hold a public hearing from 
6 to 8 p.m., Atlantic Time, using the Zoom platform (for more 
information, see Public Hearing, below).

ADDRESSES: Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the 
proposed rules and their associated documents on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov under the following docket numbers:

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                  Proposed rule                        Docket number
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Reclassifying the Virgin Islands Tree Boa From    FWS-R4-ES-2019-0069.
 Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d)
 Rule (published September 30, 2020, at 85 FR
 61700).
Reclassification of Eugenia woodburyana as        FWS-R4-ES-2019-0070.
 Threatened and Section 4(d) Rule (published
 October 21, 2020, at 85 FR 66906).
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    Comment submission: 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 the appropriate docket 
number (see table above). 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 document. You may submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment 
Now!'' Please ensure you have located the correct document before 
submitting your comments.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments 
Processing, Attn: [Enter appropriate docket number; see table above], 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls 
Church, VA 22041-3803.
    Please note that comments submitted electronically using the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time 
on the closing date, and comments submitted by U.S. mail must be 
postmarked by that date to ensure consideration. 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edwin E. Mu[ntilde]iz, Field 
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Ecological 
Services Field Office, at either: Road 301 Km 5.1, Corozo Ward, 
Boquer[oacute]n, PR 00622; or P.O. Box 491, Boquer[oacute]n, PR 00622. 
Telephone 787-405-3641. Persons who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf

[[Page 22006]]

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Virgin Islands Tree Boa

    On September 30, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR 
61700) a proposed rule to reclassify the Virgin Islands tree boa from 
endangered to threatened (i.e., to ``downlist'' the species) under the 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The proposed rule opened a 60-day public 
comment period, ending November 30, 2020. During the comment period, we 
received a request for a public hearing. Therefore, we are announcing a 
public hearing to allow the public an additional opportunity to provide 
comments on the proposed rule.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Virgin 
Islands tree boa and information on the types of comments that would be 
helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to 
the September 30, 2020, proposed rule (85 FR 61700).

Eugenia woodburyana

    On October 21, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR 
66906) a proposed rule to downlist Eugenia woodburyana from endangered 
to threatened under the Act. The proposed rule opened a 60-day public 
comment period, ending December 21, 2020. During the comment period, we 
received a request for a public hearing. Therefore, we are announcing a 
public hearing to allow the public an additional opportunity to provide 
comments on this proposed rule.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning Eugenia 
woodburyana and information on the types of comments that would be 
helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to 
the October 21, 2020, proposed rule (85 FR 66906).

Public Hearing

    We will hold one public hearing to accept comments on the two 
proposed rules on the date and at the time listed above under Public 
hearing in DATES. We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online 
video platform and via teleconference so that participants can attend 
remotely. The use of a virtual public hearing is consistent with our 
regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).
    For security purposes, anyone intending to listen to and view the 
hearing via Zoom, listen to the hearing by telephone, or provide oral 
public comments at the hearing by Zoom or telephone must register in 
advance. For information on how to register, or if you encounter 
problems joining Zoom on the day of the hearing, visit https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean. Registrants will receive the Zoom link 
and the telephone number for the public hearing. Interested members of 
the public who are not familiar with the Zoom platform should view the 
Zoom video tutorials (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials) prior to the public hearing.
    The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity 
to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding either, 
or both, of the proposed rules. The public hearing will not be an 
opportunity for dialogue with the Service, but rather a forum for 
accepting formal verbal testimony. In the event there is a large 
attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may be limited. 
Therefore, anyone wishing to make an oral statement at the public 
hearing for the record is encouraged to provide a prepared written copy 
of that statement to us through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or U.S. 
mail (see ADDRESSES, above). There are no limits on the length of 
written comments submitted to us.

Reasonable Accommodation

    The Service is committed to providing access to the public hearing 
for all participants. Closed captioning will be available during the 
public hearing. Participants will also have access to live audio during 
the public hearing via their telephone or computer speakers. Persons 
with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in 
the hearing should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT at least 5 business days prior to the date of the 
hearing to help ensure availability. An accessible version of the 
Service's presentation will also be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean prior to the hearing (see DATES, 
above). See https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean for more 
information about reasonable accommodation. Finally, a full audio and 
video recording and transcript of the public hearing will be posted 
online at https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean after the hearing.

Public Comments

    If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your 
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will 
be posted on the website. If your submission is made via hard copy 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 each proposed rule, will be available for public 
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are the Ecological Services 
Species Assessment Team staff of the South Atlantic-Gulf 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.).

Martha Williams,
Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the Delegated Authority of the 
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-08580 Filed 4-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P