[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 66 (Thursday, April 4, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 23534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07094]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092; FXES1111090FEDR-245-FF09E21000]
RIN 1018-BH08


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species 
Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Northwestern Pond Turtle and 
Southwestern Pond Turtle

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are 
reopening the public comment period on our October 3, 2023, proposed 
rule to list the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata), a 
species from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and northern and central 
California, and the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), a 
species from central and southern California and Baja California, 
Mexico, as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
as amended (Act). We are taking this action to allow all interested 
parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed listing of 
the two species and the proposed rule issued under section 4(d) of the 
Act (``4(d) rule'') for the species. Comments previously submitted need 
not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in our final 
determinations.

DATES: The comment period on the proposed rule that published October 
3, 2023 (88 FR 68370), is reopened. We will accept comments received or 
postmarked on or before May 6, 2024. 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 to ensure consideration.

ADDRESSES: Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the 
October 3, 2023, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet 
at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092.
    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-R8-ES-2023-0092, 
which is the docket number for the proposed rule. Then, click on the 
Search button. On the resulting page, in the 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-R8-ES-2023-0092, 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: Steve Henry, Field Supervisor, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 
93003; telephone 805-644-1766. 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. Please see Docket No. FWS-
R8-ES-2023-0092 on https://www.regulations.gov for a document that 
summarizes the October 3, 2023, proposed rule.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 3, 2023, we published a proposed rule (88 FR 68370) to 
list the northwestern and southwestern pond turtles as threatened 
species with a 4(d) rule under the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The 
proposed rule opened a 60-day public comment period, ending December 4, 
2023. We are reopening the comment period to allow the public an 
additional opportunity to provide comments on the October 3, 2023, 
proposed rule.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning listing of 
the northwestern and southwestern pond turtle and information on the 
types of comments that would be helpful to us in promulgating this 
rulemaking action, please refer to the October 3, 2023, proposed rule 
(88 FR 68370 at 68371-68372).

Public Comments

    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.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the October 3, 2023, proposed rule, 
will be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov 
at Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2023-0092.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the 
Fish and Wildlife Service's Species Assessment Team and the Ventura 
Fish and Wildlife Office.

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. 2024-07094 Filed 4-3-24; 8:45 am]
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