Federal Register Volume 77, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2012)]

[Notices]

[Pages 6138-6139]

Draft Policy on Interpretation of the Phrase ``Significant 

Portion of Its Range'' in the Endangered Species Act's Definitions of 

``Endangered Species'' and ``Threatened Species''

AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Marine 

Fisheries Service, NOAA, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of extension of public comment period.

SUMMARY: We, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the 

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services), 

announce a 30-day extension of the period for submission of public 

comments on the draft policy interpreting the phrase ``significant 

portion of its range'' in the Endangered Species Act's (Act's) 

definitions of ``endangered species'' and ``threatened species.'' We 

encourage all interested parties to provide us with information and 

comments regarding the draft policy. Information previously submitted 

does not need to be resubmitted, and will be incorporated into the 

public record and fully considered in our development of a final 

policy.

DATES: We will consider comments and information we receive from all 

interested parties on or before March 8, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:

     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitting comments

on docket number FWS-R9-ES-2011-0031.

     U.S. mail or hand delivery: Public Comments Processing, 

Attn: FWS-R9-ES-2011-0031; Division of Policy and Directives 

Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive, 

MS 2042; Arlington, VA 22203.

    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 section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Sayers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Endangered Species Program, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 

420, Arlington, VA 22203; telephone (703) 358-2171; facsimile (703) 

358-1735; or Marta Nammack, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office 

of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910; telephone (301) 427-8469); fax (301) 713-0376). If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 9, 2011, we published a notice 

of our draft policy (76 FR 76987) to establish a joint interpretation 

and application of ``significant portion of its range'' that reflects a 

permissible reading of the law and its legislative history and 

minimizes undesirable policy outcomes, while fulfilling the 

conservation purposes of the Act. That notice established a 60-day 

comment period ending February 7, 2012. We have received a number of 

requests to extend the public comment period. Considering the 

complexity of the issues addressed in the draft policy and the level of 

public interest, we have decided that additional time for public 

comment will be particularly valuable for this action and thus are 

extending the comment period for an additional 30 days. The draft 

policy and supporting materials are available for review at http://www.regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FWS-R9-ES-2011-0031.

Public Comments; Request for Information

    We intend that the final policy on interpretation of the phrase 

``significant portion of its range'' in the Act's definitions of 

``endangered species'' and ``threatened species'' will consider 

information and recommendations from all interested parties. We 

therefore solicit comments, information, and recommendations from 

governmental agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific 

community, industry groups, environmental interest groups, and any 

other interested parties. All comments and materials received by the 

date listed in the DATES section above will be considered prior to the 

approval of a final document. For the complete list of subjects on 

which we seek comments, please refer to the December 9, 2011, draft 

policy (76 FR 76987), available on line at http://www.regulations.gov 

under Docket No. FWS-R9-ES-2011-0031.

    Please include sufficient information with your submission (such as 

references to scientific journal articles or other publications) to 

allow us to verify any scientific or commercial information you 

include.

    You may submit your information concerning this draft policy by one 

of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. If you submit 

information via http://www.regulations.gov, your entire submission--

including any personal identifying information--will be posted on the 

Web site. If you submit a hardcopy that includes personal identifying 

information, you may request at the top of your document that we 

withhold this personal identifying 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.

    Information and supporting documentation used in preparing this 

document is available for you to review at http://www.regulations.gov, 

or you may make an appointment during normal business hours at the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Program (see FOR FURTHER 

INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

    We are taking this action under the authority of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).