[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28347-28348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11676]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Parts 13, 17, and 402
[Docket No. FWS-R9-ES-2011-0099; FXES11150900000A2123]
RIN 1018-AY29
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Expanding
Incentives for Voluntary Conservation Actions Under the Endangered
Species Act
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment
period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), extend the
deadline for submission of public comments to help us identify
potential changes to our regulations that implement parts of the
Endangered Species Act that would create incentives for landowners and
others to take voluntary conservation actions to benefit species that
may be likely to become threatened or endangered species. In
particular, we seek comment on whether and how the Service can assure
those who take such voluntary actions that the benefits of their
actions will be recognized as offsetting the adverse effects of
activities carried out after listing by that landowner or others. The
practice of recognizing these actions, sometimes referred to as
``advance mitigation'' or ``prelisting mitigation,'' is intended to
encourage early conservation efforts that could reduce or eliminate the
need to list species as endangered or threatened. If you have
previously submitted comments, please do not resubmit them, because we
have already incorporated them into the public record and will fully
consider them as we decide how we may propose changes to our
regulations or policies.
DATES: Electronic comments via http://www.regulations.gov must be
submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 13, 2012. Comments
submitted by mail must be postmarked no later than July 13, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Enter Keyword or ID box, enter FWS-R9-ES-
2011-0099, which is the docket number for this notice. You may submit a
comment by clicking on ``Submit a Comment.''
By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public
Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R9-ES-2011-0099; Division of Policy and
Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax
Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will post all information received on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see Public Comments below for more
details).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Serfis, Chief, Office of
Communications and Candidate Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420, Arlington, VA 22203
(telephone 703-358-2171). If you use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD), call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments
We are considering whether and how we could revise our regulations
to create incentives for landowners and others to take voluntary
conservation actions to benefit species that may be likely to become
threatened or endangered species, including revisions that could
recognize the benefits of such conservation actions as offsetting the
adverse effects of actions carried out after listing by that landowner
or others. We request comments, information, and suggestions from the
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, industry, private landowners, or any other interested
parties to help us formulate any proposed regulation.
You may submit your comments and materials concerning this notice
by one of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. We will not accept comments
sent by email or fax or to an address not listed in ADDRESSES.
If you submit a comment via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--will be
posted on the Web site. If you submit a hard copy comment 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 comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this notice, will be available for
public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment,
during normal business
[[Page 28348]]
hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
On March 15, 2012 (77 FR 15352), we published an advance notice of
proposed rulemaking and requested comments, information, and
suggestions from the public on ways to improve upon current agreements
or create new mechanisms to provide incentives to landowners who fund
or voluntarily take conservation measures for candidates or other at-
risk species. See that document for specific questions we asked and for
more detailed information.
We have received a request for an extension of the comment period
from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies so that State fish and
wildlife agencies could have adequate time to submit comments in
response to the proposal. To accommodate this request, we extend the
comment period for an additional 60 days.
Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: May 7, 2012.
Gregory E. Siekaniec,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-11676 Filed 5-11-12; 8:45 am]
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