Proposed Rule2026-08467
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the North Park Phacelia From the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
Primary source
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Published
April 30, 2026
Effective
March 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reopening the comment period on our March 19, 2024, proposed rule to delist the North Park phacelia (Phacelia formosula), a plant found in the state of Colorado, from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are reopening the proposed rule's comment period for 30 days to give all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on the proposed rule in consideration of the updated Species Status Assessment (SSA) report, which we revised based on new information from comments previously submitted, and based on peer review. Comments previously submitted will be fully considered in our final determination and do not need to be resubmitted.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 83 (Thursday, April 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 83 (Thursday, April 30, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23231-23232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08467]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R6-ES-2023-0114; FXES1113090FEDR-267-FF09E22000]
RIN 1018-BH01
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of the
North Park Phacelia From the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are
reopening the comment period on our March 19, 2024, proposed rule to
delist the North Park phacelia (Phacelia formosula), a plant found in
the state of Colorado, from the Federal List of Endangered and
Threatened Plants under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act). We are reopening the proposed rule's comment period for 30 days
to give all interested parties an additional opportunity to comment on
the proposed rule in consideration of the updated Species Status
Assessment (SSA) report, which we revised based on new information from
comments previously submitted, and based on peer review. Comments
previously submitted will be fully considered in our final
determination and do not need to be resubmitted.
DATES: The comment period on the proposed delisting rule published on
March 19, 2024, at 89 FR 19546, is reopened. We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before June 1, 2026. 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.
We must receive requests for public hearings, in writing, at the
address shown in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by June 1, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Comment submission: 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-R6-ES-2023-0114,
which is the docket number for the March 19, 2024, proposed rule and
this document. Then click on the Search button. On the resulting page,
in the Search panel on the left side of the screen, under the
[[Page 23232]]
Document Type heading, click on the Proposed Rule box to locate the
correct 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-R6-ES-2023-0114, 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).
Document availability: The March 19, 2024, proposed rule and its
supporting documents, including the revised SSA report, are available
at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2023-0114.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan Darnall, Western Colorado
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Ecological
Services Field Office; 970-238-3610; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#efa18e9b878e81b0ab8e9d818e8383af89989cc1888099"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4907283d212827160d283b27282525092f3e3a672e263f">[email protected]</span></a>.
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-R6-ES-2023-0114 on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> for a document that summarizes the March 19, 2024,
proposed rule (89 FR 19546).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 19, 2024, we published a proposed rule (89 FR 19546) to
remove the North Park phacelia from the Federal List of Endangered and
Threatened Plants under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), based on its recovery. The proposed rule opened a 60-day comment
period, ending May 20, 2024. On September 12, 2025, following the
receipt of substantive new information about the species, we finalized
updates to the North Park phacelia SSA Report Version 2.0, which
included incorporating population trend data in our resiliency
analysis, more thoroughly characterizing genetic diversity across North
Park phacelia populations, and updating our future condition
assessment. We are reopening the comment period to allow the public the
opportunity to provide additional comments on the March 19, 2024,
proposed rule based on the new information and analysis in the updated
SSA report and previous comments received on the March 19, 2024,
proposed rule (89 FR 19546). For a description of previous Federal
actions concerning the North Park phacelia and information on the types
of comments that would be helpful to us in making a final determination
on our proposal, please refer to the March 19, 2024, proposed rule (89
FR 19546).
Public Comments
We will accept written comments and information during the reopened
comment period on our March 19, 2024, proposed rule to delist the North
Park phacelia (89 FR 19546). We will consider information and
recommendations from all interested parties. We intend that any final
action resulting from the proposed rule will be based on the best
scientific and commercial data available and will be as accurate and as
effective as possible. Our final determination will take into
consideration all comments and any additional information we receive
during both comment periods on the proposed rule.
Because we will consider all comments and information we receive
during both open comment periods, our final determination may differ
from our March 19, 2024, proposed rule (89 FR 19546). Based on the new
information we receive (and, if relevant, any comments on that new
information), we may conclude that the North Park phacelia is a
threatened species or endangered species, or we may conclude that the
species does not warrant listing as either an endangered species or a
threatened species. In our final rule, we will clearly explain our
rationale and the basis for our final decision, including why we made
changes, if any, that differ from the March 19, 2024, proposed rule (89
FR 19546).
Authority
The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), is the authority for this action.
Brian R. Nesvik,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-08467 Filed 4-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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