[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 78 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22005-22006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08580]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2019-0069, FWS-R4-ES-2019-0070; FXES11130900000-
189-FF0932000]
RIN 1018-BE14; 1018-BD01
Reclassifying the Virgin Islands Tree Boa From Endangered to
Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule; Reclassification of Eugenia
woodburyana as Threatened and Section 4(d) Rule
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Reopening of comment periods; announcement of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
reopening the public comment periods on two proposed rules to allow all
interested parties additional time to comment, and to conduct a public
hearing. The two relevant proposed rules are our September 30, 2020,
proposed rule to reclassify the endangered Virgin Islands tree boa
(Chilabothrus granti) as a threatened species with a rule issued under
section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended;
and our October 21, 2020, proposed rule to reclassify the endangered
plant Eugenia woodburyana (no common name) as a threatened species with
a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Act. Comments previously
submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in
preparation of the final rules.
DATES: Written comments: The comment periods for the proposed rules
published on September 30, 2020, at 85 FR 61700, and October 21, 2020,
at 85 FR 66906, are reopened. We will accept comments received or
postmarked on or before May 26, 2021.
Public hearing: On May 12, 2021, we will hold a public hearing from
6 to 8 p.m., Atlantic Time, using the Zoom platform (for more
information, see Public Hearing, below).
ADDRESSES: Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the
proposed rules and their associated documents on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov under the following docket numbers:
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Proposed rule Docket number
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Reclassifying the Virgin Islands Tree Boa From FWS-R4-ES-2019-0069.
Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d)
Rule (published September 30, 2020, at 85 FR
61700).
Reclassification of Eugenia woodburyana as FWS-R4-ES-2019-0070.
Threatened and Section 4(d) Rule (published
October 21, 2020, at 85 FR 66906).
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Comment submission: You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter the appropriate docket
number (see table above). Then, click on the Search button. On the
resulting page, in the Search panel on the left side of the screen,
under the Document Type heading, click on the Proposed Rule box to
locate the document. You may submit a comment by clicking on ``Comment
Now!'' Please ensure you have located the correct document before
submitting your comments.
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: [Enter appropriate docket number; see table above],
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041-3803.
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, and comments submitted by U.S. mail must be
postmarked by that date to ensure consideration. We request that you
send comments only by the methods described above. We will post all
comments on http://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: Edwin E. Mu[ntilde]iz, Field
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Ecological
Services Field Office, at either: Road 301 Km 5.1, Corozo Ward,
Boquer[oacute]n, PR 00622; or P.O. Box 491, Boquer[oacute]n, PR 00622.
Telephone 787-405-3641. Persons who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf
[[Page 22006]]
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Virgin Islands Tree Boa
On September 30, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR
61700) a proposed rule to reclassify the Virgin Islands tree boa from
endangered to threatened (i.e., to ``downlist'' the species) under the
Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The proposed rule opened a 60-day public
comment period, ending November 30, 2020. During the comment period, we
received a request for a public hearing. Therefore, we are announcing a
public hearing to allow the public an additional opportunity to provide
comments on the proposed rule.
For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Virgin
Islands tree boa and information on the types of comments that would be
helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to
the September 30, 2020, proposed rule (85 FR 61700).
Eugenia woodburyana
On October 21, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR
66906) a proposed rule to downlist Eugenia woodburyana from endangered
to threatened under the Act. The proposed rule opened a 60-day public
comment period, ending December 21, 2020. During the comment period, we
received a request for a public hearing. Therefore, we are announcing a
public hearing to allow the public an additional opportunity to provide
comments on this proposed rule.
For a description of previous Federal actions concerning Eugenia
woodburyana and information on the types of comments that would be
helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to
the October 21, 2020, proposed rule (85 FR 66906).
Public Hearing
We will hold one public hearing to accept comments on the two
proposed rules on the date and at the time listed above under Public
hearing in DATES. We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online
video platform and via teleconference so that participants can attend
remotely. The use of a virtual public hearing is consistent with our
regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).
For security purposes, anyone intending to listen to and view the
hearing via Zoom, listen to the hearing by telephone, or provide oral
public comments at the hearing by Zoom or telephone must register in
advance. For information on how to register, or if you encounter
problems joining Zoom on the day of the hearing, visit https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean. Registrants will receive the Zoom link
and the telephone number for the public hearing. Interested members of
the public who are not familiar with the Zoom platform should view the
Zoom video tutorials (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials) prior to the public hearing.
The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity
to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding either,
or both, of the proposed rules. The public hearing will not be an
opportunity for dialogue with the Service, but rather a forum for
accepting formal verbal testimony. In the event there is a large
attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may be limited.
Therefore, anyone wishing to make an oral statement at the public
hearing for the record is encouraged to provide a prepared written copy
of that statement to us through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, or U.S.
mail (see ADDRESSES, above). There are no limits on the length of
written comments submitted to us.
Reasonable Accommodation
The Service is committed to providing access to the public hearing
for all participants. Closed captioning will be available during the
public hearing. Participants will also have access to live audio during
the public hearing via their telephone or computer speakers. Persons
with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in
the hearing should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT at least 5 business days prior to the date of the
hearing to help ensure availability. An accessible version of the
Service's presentation will also be posted online at https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean prior to the hearing (see DATES,
above). See https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean for more
information about reasonable accommodation. Finally, a full audio and
video recording and transcript of the public hearing will be posted
online at https://www.fws.gov/southeast/caribbean after the hearing.
Public Comments
If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including any personal identifying information--will
be posted on the website. If your submission is made via hard copy 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 http://www.regulations.gov. Comments
and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation we used
in preparing each proposed rule, will be available for public
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov.
Authors
The primary authors of this document are the Ecological Services
Species Assessment Team staff of the South Atlantic-Gulf Regional
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Martha Williams,
Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the Delegated Authority of the
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-08580 Filed 4-23-21; 8:45 am]
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