[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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