[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6220-6222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01139]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0162; FF09E22000 FXES1113090FEDR 223]
RIN 1018-BF54


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the 
Puerto Rican Boa From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

[[Page 6221]]


ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and announcement of 
public hearing.

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SUMMARY: On July 13, 2022, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(Service), proposed to delist the Puerto Rican boa (Chilabothrus 
inornatus, but listed as Epicrates inornatus), an endemic snake from 
Puerto Rico. We announced a 60-day public comment period on the 
proposed rule, ending September 12, 2022. We are reopening the comment 
period for 30 days to hold a public hearing and to allow all interested 
parties additional time to comment on our proposal. Comments previously 
submitted will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule and 
do not need to be resubmitted.

DATES: 
    Comment submission: We will accept comments received or postmarked 
on or before March 2, 2023. Please note that 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.
    Public hearing: On February 16, 2023, we will hold a public hearing 
from 6 to 7:30 p.m., eastern time, using the Zoom platform (for more 
information, see Public Hearing, below).

ADDRESSES: Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the July 
13, 2022, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2021-0162.
    Written comments: You may submit written 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-R4-ES-2021-0162, 
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, click on the 
Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by 
clicking on ``Comment.'' 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: FWS-R4-ES-2021-0162, 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).
    Public hearing: Interested parties may present verbal testimony 
(formal, oral comments) at a public hearing, which will be held 
virtually using the Zoom platform. See Public Hearing, below, for more 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edwin Mu[ntilde]iz, Field Supervisor, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Ecological Services Field 
Office, P.O. Box 491, Boquer[oacute]n, PR 00622; email: 
[email protected]; telephone: (787) 405-3641. 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 July 13, 2022, we published a proposed rule (87 FR 41641) to 
remove the Puerto Rican boa from the Federal List of Endangered and 
Threatened Wildlife (List) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The proposed rule opened a 60-
day public comment period, ending September 12, 2022. During the 
comment period, we received a request for a public hearing that could 
not be accommodated prior to the close of the comment period. 
Therefore, we are reopening the proposed rule's comment period and 
announcing a public hearing (see DATES and ADDRESSES, above) to allow 
the public an additional opportunity to provide comments on the 
proposed rule.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Puerto 
Rican boa and information on the types of comments that would be 
helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to 
the July 13, 2022, proposed rule (87 FR 41641).

Public Hearing

    We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the July 13, 
2022, proposed rule on the date and at the time listed above in DATES. 
We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online video platform 
and via teleconference so that participants can attend remotely. For 
security purposes, registration is required. All participants must 
register in order to listen and view the hearing via Zoom, listen to 
the hearing by telephone, or provide oral public comments at the 
hearing by Zoom or telephone. For information on how to register, or if 
technical problems occur joining Zoom on the day of the hearing, visit 
https://www.fws.gov/office/caribbean-ecological-services/library. 
Registrants will receive the Zoom link and the telephone number for the 
public hearing. If applicable, interested members of the public 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 the July 
13, 2022, proposed rule to delist the Puerto Rican boa (87 FR 41641). 
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 their 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. Anyone 
wishing to make an oral statement at the public hearing must register 
before the hearing (https://www.fws.gov/office/caribbean-ecological-services/library). The use of a virtual public hearing is consistent 
with our regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).

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 in both English and Spanish. 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/office/caribbean-ecological-services/library prior to the hearing (see DATES, above). See https://www.fws.gov/office/caribbean-ecological-services/library for more

[[Page 6222]]

information about reasonable accommodation.

Public Comments

    If you submit information via https://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 https://www.regulations.gov.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available 
for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are staff members of the 
Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office and the Service's Ecological 
Services Species Assessment Team.

Authority

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

Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-01139 Filed 1-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P