[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67013-67014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25767]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 424

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2020-0047, FF09E23000 FXES1111090FEDR 212; Docket 
No. 211118-0238]
RIN 1018-BE69; 0648-BJ44


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for 
Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical 
Habitat

AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Marine 
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National 
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; hereafter collectively referred to as 
the ``Services'' or ``we''), are extending the comment period on our 
October 27, 2021, proposed rule to rescind the final rule titled 
``Regulations for Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and 
Designating Critical Habitat'' that was published on December 16, 2020, 
and established a regulatory definition of the term ``habitat.'' We are 
extending the comment period by 15 days.

DATES: The comment period on the proposed rule that published on 
October 27, 2021, at 86 FR 59353, is extended. We will accept comments 
received or postmarked on or before December 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter the docket number or RIN 
for this rulemaking (presented above in the document headings). For 
best results, do not copy and paste either number; instead, type the 
docket number or RIN into the Search box using hyphens. 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 this document. You may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment.''
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments 
Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-ES-2020-0047, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
MS: PRB(3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    We request that you send comments only by the methods described 
above. Comments and materials we receive will be available for public 
inspection on https://www.regulations.gov. (See Public Comments, below, 
for more information.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Fahey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Division of Conservation and Classification, 5275 Leesburg 
Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803, telephone 703/358-2171; or Angela 
Somma, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected 
Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, telephone 
301/427-8403. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), call the Federal Relay Service at 800/877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On October 27, 2021, the Services published a proposed rule (86 FR 
59353) to rescind the final rule establishing a regulatory definition 
for the term ``habitat'' that was published on December 16, 2020 (85 FR 
81411) and became effective on January 15, 2021. The proposed rule 
opened a 30-day public comment period that was

[[Page 67014]]

scheduled to close on November 26, 2021. We subsequently received two 
requests to extend the public comment period. One request was submitted 
by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), which sought 
an extension in order to coordinate and incorporate feedback from all 
its members into its comment. AFWA is a national organization 
representing State agencies in all 50 States, and the Services find 
their request shows good cause to extend the comment period. With this 
document, we extend the public comment period for an additional 15 
days, as specified above in DATES, to provide all interested parties an 
additional opportunity to comment on the October 27, 2021, proposed 
rule.

Public Comments

    All relevant information will be considered prior to making a final 
determination regarding the regulatory definition of ``habitat.'' If 
you already submitted comments or information on the October 27, 2021, 
proposed rule, please do not resubmit them. Any such comments are 
incorporated as part of the public record of the rulemaking proceeding, 
and we will fully consider them in the preparation of any final rule.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. Comments must be 
submitted to https://www.regulations.gov before 11:59 p.m. (Eastern 
Time) on the date specified in DATES. We will not consider mailed 
comments that are not postmarked by the date specified in DATES.
    We will post all comments on https://www.regulations.gov. This 
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide 
us. If you provide personal identifying information in your comment, 
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.

Authority

    We issue this document under the authority of the Endangered 
Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq).

Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the 
Interior.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-25767 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
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