[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 227 (Monday, November 28, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72957-72958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25837]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Parts 13 and 22

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2020-0023; FF09M32000-234-FXMB12320900000]
RIN 1018-BE70


Permits for Incidental Take of Eagles and Eagle Nests

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are 
extending the public comment period on our September 30, 2022, proposed 
rule to consider revisions to regulations authorizing the issuance of 
permits for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take. We are extending 
the comment period for 30 days to offer interested persons an 
additional opportunity to comment on the proposed rule. Comments 
previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully 
considered in preparation of the final rule.

DATES: Comment submission: The public comment period on the proposed 
rule that published on September 30, 2022, at 87 FR 59598 is extended. 
We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before December 
29, 2022. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) 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.

ADDRESSES: 
    Document availability: The proposed rule and supporting documents, 
including the draft environmental review, are available at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2020-0023.
    Written comments: 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 FWS-HQ-MB-2020-0023, 
which is the docket number for this rulemaking. 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, check 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-MB-2020-0023, 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. We will post all comments on https://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: Jerome Ford, Assistant Director--
Migratory Birds Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone: 
(703) 358-2606. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, 
deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 
(TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. 
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services 
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 30, 2022, we published a proposed rule (87 FR 59598) 
to consider revisions to regulations authorizing the issuance of 
permits for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take under the Bald 
and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d). The purpose of 
these revisions is to

[[Page 72958]]

increase the efficiency and effectiveness of permitting, facilitate and 
improve compliance, and increase the conservation benefit for eagles. 
In addition to continuing to authorize specific permits, we propose the 
creation of general permits for certain activities under prescribed 
conditions. We propose a general permit option for qualifying wind-
energy generation projects, power line infrastructure, activities that 
may disturb breeding bald eagles, and bald eagle nest take. We propose 
to remove the current third-party monitoring requirement from eagle 
incidental take permits. We also propose to update current permit fees 
and clarify definitions.
    With this document, we are announcing an extension of the comment 
period for an additional 30 days (see DATES, above) to allow the public 
further opportunity to provide comments on the proposed rule.

Public Comments

    If you already submitted comments or information on the September 
30, 2022 (87 FR 59598), 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 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 https://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 https://www.regulations.gov.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Bald and Golden Eagle 
Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d).

Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2022-25837 Filed 11-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P