[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72362-72363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19843]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2023-0179; FXES1111090FEDR-245-FF09E21000]
RIN 1018-BH06


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species 
Status for West Virginia Spring Salamander and Designation of Critical 
Habitat

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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[[Page 72363]]

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are 
reopening the public comment period on our December 20, 2023, proposed 
rule to list the West Virginia spring salamander (Gyrinophilus 
subterraneus), an amphibian species from Greenbrier County, West 
Virginia, as an endangered species and to designate critical habitat 
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 species and the 
proposed critical habitat. 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 December 
20, 2023, at 88 FR 88012, is reopened. We will accept comments received 
or postmarked on or before September 20, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the December 
20, 2023, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2023-0179.
    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-R5-ES-2023-0179, 
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.'' 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 to ensure consideration.
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments 
Processing, Attn: FWS-R5-ES-2023-0179, 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: Jennifer Norris, Field Supervisor, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, West Virginia Ecological Services Field 
Office, 6263 Appalachian Highway, Davis, WV 26260; telephone 304-866-
3858. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, blind, 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-R5-ES-2023-0179 on https://www.regulations.gov for a document that summarizes the December 20, 
2023, proposed rule.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 20, 2023, we published a proposed rule (88 FR 88012) to 
list the West Virginia spring salamander as an endangered species and 
to designate critical habitat under the Act. The proposed rule opened a 
60-day public comment period, ending February 20, 2024. We are 
reopening the comment period to allow the public an additional 
opportunity to provide comments on the December 20, 2023, proposed 
rule.
    For a description of previous Federal actions concerning listing of 
the West Virginia spring salamander and information on the types of 
comments that would be helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking 
action, please refer to the December 20, 2023, proposed rule (88 FR 
88012 at 88013).

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 December 20, 2023, proposed 
rule, will be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R5-ES-2023-0179.

Authors

    The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the 
Fish and Wildlife Service's Species Assessment Team and the West 
Virginia Ecological Services Field 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. 2024-19843 Filed 9-4-24; 8:45 am]
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