Proposed Rule2023-25597
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 27, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reopening the public comment period on our August 10, 2023, proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti), a butterfly from New Mexico, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are taking this action to conduct a public hearing and to allow all interested parties additional time to comment on the proposal to designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 226 (Monday, November 27, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 226 (Monday, November 27, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 82817-82818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25597]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0023; FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 245]
RIN 1018-BH13
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of
Critical Habitat for Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period and announcement of
public hearing.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
reopening the public comment period on our August 10, 2023, proposed
rule to designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains
checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas anicia cloudcrofti), a butterfly from
New Mexico, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act).
We are taking this action to conduct a public hearing and to allow all
interested parties additional time to comment on the proposal to
designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot
butterfly. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and
will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.
DATES:
Comment submission: The comment period on the proposed rule that
published August 10, 2023 (88 FR 54263), is reopened. We will accept
comments received or postmarked on or before December 27, 2023. Please
note that 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 to ensure consideration.
Public hearing: On December 12, 2023, we will hold a public hearing
on the proposed critical habitat designation for the Sacramento
Mountains checkerspot butterfly from 5 to 8 p.m., Mountain time, using
the Zoom online platform (for more information, see Public Hearing,
below).
ADDRESSES:
Availability of documents: You may obtain copies of the August 10,
2023, proposed rule and associated documents on the internet at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> under Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0023.
[[Page 82818]]
Written comments: You may submit comments by one of the following
methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. In the Search box, enter FWS-R2-ES-2023-0023,
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.''
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: FWS-R2-ES-2023-0023, 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. This
generally means that we will post any personal information you provide
us (see Public Comments, below, for more information).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn Sartorius, Field Supervisor,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological Services Field
Office, 2105 Osuna Road NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113; telephone 505-346-
2525. 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. Please see Docket No. FWS-R2-ES-2023-0023 on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> for a document that summarizes the August 10,
2023, proposed rule.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 10, 2023, we published a proposed rule (88 FR 54263) to
designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot
butterfly under the Act. The proposed rule opened a 60-day public
comment period, ending October 10, 2023. During the open comment
period, we received a request for a public hearing. Therefore, we are
reopening the comment period and 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 critical
habitat for the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly and
information on the types of comments that would be helpful to us in
promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to the August 10,
2023, proposed rule (88 FR 54263).
Public Hearing
We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the proposed
rule to designate critical habitat for the Sacramento Mountains
checkerspot butterfly on the date and at the time listed in DATES. We
are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online video platform and
via teleconference so that participants can attend remotely. For
security purposes, registration is required. All participants must
register in order to listen and view the hearing via Zoom, listen to
the hearing by telephone, or provide oral public comments at the public
hearing by Zoom or telephone.
For information on how to register, or if you encounter problems
joining Zoom the day of the meeting, visit <a href="https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services">https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services</a>. Registrants will receive the Zoom link
and the telephone number for the public hearing. If applicable,
interested members of the public not familiar with the Zoom platform
should view the Zoom video tutorials (<a href="https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started-with-Zoom">https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697-Getting-Started-with-Zoom</a>) prior to the public
hearing.
The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity
to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding the
August 10, 2023, proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the
Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly (88 FR 54263). The purpose
of the public hearing is to provide a forum for accepting formal verbal
testimony, which will then become part of the record for the proposed
rule. In the event there is a large attendance, the time allotted for
verbal testimony may be limited. Therefore, anyone wishing to provide
verbal testimony at the public hearing is encouraged to provide a
prepared written copy of their 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. Anyone
wishing to provide verbal testimony at the public hearing must register
before the hearing.
For information on how to register, visit <a href="https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services">https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services</a>. The use of a virtual public
hearing is consistent with our regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).
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. Further, a full audio and video recording and
transcript of the public hearing will be posted online at <a href="https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services">https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services</a> after the 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 public
hearing presentation will also be posted online at <a href="https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services">https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services</a> prior to the hearing (see DATES,
above). See <a href="https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services">https://www.fws.gov/office/new-mexico-ecological-services</a>
for more information about reasonable accommodation.
Public Comments
If you submit information via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available
for public inspection on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Authors
The primary authors of this proposed rule are the staff members of
the Fish and Wildlife Service's Species Assessment Team and the New
Mexico 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. 2023-25597 Filed 11-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 27, 2023.
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