[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 50 (Monday, March 17, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12286-12287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04269]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2024-0186; FXES1111090FEDR-256-FF09E21000]
RIN 1018-BI14


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Grizzly Bear 
Listing on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife With a 
Revised Section 4(d) Rule; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or FWS), 
announce that we are extending the comment period on our January 15, 
2025, proposed rule to revise the listing of the grizzly bear (Ursus 
arctos horribilis) in the lower-48 States under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (Act or ESA). We are extending the comment 
period for the proposed rule to give all interested parties adequate 
opportunity to comment. Comments previously submitted on the proposed 
rule need not be resubmitted as they are already incorporated into the 
public record for this rulemaking actions and will be fully considered 
in our development of the final rule.

DATES: Comment period: The comment period on the proposed rule that 
published January 15, 2025, at 90 FR 4234, is extended until May 16, 
2025. 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.

ADDRESSES: 
    Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the proposed 
rule and associated documents on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2024-0186.
    Comment submission: 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-R6-ES-2024-0186, 
which is the docket number for this rulemaking. 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.''

[[Page 12287]]

    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments 
Processing, Attn: FWS-R6-ES-2024-0186, 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: Hilary Cooley, Grizzly Bear Recovery 
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, #356 Corbin, University of 
Montana, Missoula, MT 59812; telephone 406-243-4903. 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

    Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 
amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, published a proposed rule on January 15, 2025, to revise the 
listing of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the lower-48 
States with revised protective regulations under section 4(d) of the 
Act (90 FR 4234). The proposed rule opened a 60-day comment period, 
which ends on March 17, 2025. To give all interested parties an 
additional opportunity to comment on the proposed rule, we are 
extending the comment period for a period of 60 days. Please refer to 
the proposed rule for more information on our proposed action and the 
specific information we seek. Additional information about the proposed 
rule, including supplementary materials and the comments received, is 
available in Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2024-0186 on https://www.regulations.gov.

Public Comments

    If you already submitted comments or information on the January 15, 
2025 (90 FR 4234), 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 our final determination.
    Comments should be as specific as possible. Please include 
sufficient information with your submission (such as scientific journal 
articles or other publications) to allow us to verify any scientific or 
commercial information you include. Please note that submissions merely 
stating support for, or opposition to, the action under consideration 
without providing supporting information, although noted, will not be 
considered in making a determination, as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act 
directs that determinations as to whether any species is an endangered 
species or a threatened species must be made solely on the basis of the 
best scientific and commercial data available.
    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.

Paul Souza,
Regional Director, Region 8 Exercising the Delegated Authority of the 
Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-04269 Filed 3-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P