Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Buena Vista Lake Shrew; Proposed Rule

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Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Buena Vista Lake Shrew; Proposed Rule Vol. 77 Tuesday, No. 132 July 10, 2012 Part II Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Buena Vista Lake Shrew; Proposed Rule VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:48 Jul 09, 2012 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\10JYP2.SGM 10JYP2 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2 40706 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 10, 2012 / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: We are reopening the comment period Susan Moore, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow interested parties an Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento opportunity to comment on the proposal Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage 50 CFR Part 17 to revise the designation of critical Way, W–2605, Sacramento, CA 95825; [Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2009–0062; habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew telephone 916–414–6600; facsimile 4500030114] as proposed to be further revised in this 916–414–6713. If you use a document. telecommunications device for the deaf RIN 1018–AW85 DATES: We will accept comments (TDD), call the Federal Information Endangered and Threatened Wildlife received or postmarked on or before Relay Service (FIRS) at 800–877–8339. and Plants; Designation of Critical September 10, 2012. Comments SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Habitat for Buena Vista Lake Shrew submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see Executive Summary AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, ADDRESSES section, below) must be Interior. Why we need to publish a rule. This received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on is a proposed revised designation of ACTION: Proposed rule; revision and the closing date. We must receive critical habitat for the endangered reopening of comment period. requests for public hearings, in writing, Buena Vista Lake shrew under the at the address shown in FOR FURTHER SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Endangered Species Act. Under the Act, INFORMATION CONTACT by August 24, Wildlife Service (Service), announce any species that is determined to be a 2012. that we are further revising our threatened or endangered species proposed revised designation of critical ADDRESSES: You may submit comments requires designated critical habitat. We habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew by one of the following methods: must issue a rule to designate critical (Sorex ornatus relictus) under the (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: habitat. In total, approximately 5,182 Endangered Species Act of 1973, as http://www.regulations.gov. Search for acres of critical habitat for the Buena amended (Act). In 2009, we proposed to Docket No. FWS–R8–ES–2009–0062 and Vista Lake shrew in Kings and Kern revise our critical habitat designation to then follow the instructions for Counties, California, fall within the consist of 4,649 acres (1,881 hectares) of submitting comments. boundaries of the revised critical habitat land in five units in Kern County. That (2) U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public designation as proposed in this rule. acreage has been recalculated, with use Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R8– We designated critical habitat for this of current Geographic Information ES–2009–0062; Division of Policy and species in 2005. As part of a settlement Systems technology, as 4,657 acres Directives Management; U.S. Fish and agreement, we agreed to reconsider the (1,885 hectares). In this revised Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, designation, and published a proposed proposal, we propose to add 525 acres MS 2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203. revised designation for the Buena Vista (212 hectares) as critical habitat in the We request that you send comments Lake shrew in the Federal Register on general areas of Kings and Kern only by the methods described above. October 21, 2009 (74 FR 53999). Based Counties, California, including new We will post all comments on http:// on new information, we are submitting units near Lemoore, Kings County, and www.regulations.gov. This generally a revised proposal to designate critical near Semitropic, Kern County, means that we will post any personal habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew California. In total, we are now information you provide us (see the to the Federal Register on or before the proposing to designate approximately Public Comments section below for June 29, 2012, settlement date (see Table 5,182 acres (2,098 hectares) as critical more information). 1 for additional areas). TABLE 1—REVISIONS AND ADDITIONAL AREAS, IN ACRES, THAT WE ARE INCLUDING AS PROPOSED CRITICAL HABITAT Critical habitat unit Total State Private Unit 4, Coles Levee * ........................................................................................................................................... 270 46 223 Unit 6, Semitropic Ecological Reserve Unit ........................................................................................................ 372 345 27 Unit 7, Lemoore Wetland Unit ............................................................................................................................. 97 ................ 97 Total .............................................................................................................................................................. 739 391 347 * Addition of 56 acres from 2009 proposal. The basis for our action. Under the We will prepare a revised draft additional areas identified in the current Endangered Species Act, any economic analysis. On April 28, 2011, revised proposal. endangered or threatened species must we announced in the Federal Register We will incorporate peer review. We have a designated critical habitat. We (76 FR 23781) the availability of our sought comments and information from are required to base the designation on draft economic analysis of the 2009 independent specialists to ensure that the best available scientific data after proposed revised designation. That our 2009 proposed critical habitat taking into consideration economic and economic analysis did not identify any designation was based on scientifically other impacts. The Secretary can areas with disproportionate costs sound data, assumptions, and analyses. exclude an area from critical habitat if associated with the designation. To We invited these peer reviewers to the benefits of exclusion outweigh the ensure that we consider the economic comment on our specific assumptions benefits of designation, unless the impacts of this current proposal, we will and conclusions in the critical habitat exclusion will result in the extinction of revise the draft economic analysis. We designation. We will again seek peer the species. will revise the draft economic analysis review on this revised proposal to revise to include the economic impacts of the critical habitat designation. Information VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:48 Jul 09, 2012 Jkt 226001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\10JYP2.SGM 10JYP2 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS2 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 10, 2012 / Proposed Rules 40707 we received from peer review will be (c) Special management accommodate public concerns and incorporated in the final revised considerations or protection that may be comments. designation. needed in critical habitat areas we are You may submit your comments and proposing, including managing for the Public Comments materials concerning this proposed rule potential effects of climate change, by one of the methods listed in We intend that any final action (d) What areas not occupied at the ADDRESSES. We request that you send resulting from this proposed rule will be time of listing are essential for the comments only by the methods based on the best scientific and conservation of the species and why, described in the ADDRESSES section. commercial data available and be as and We will post your entire comment— accurate and as effective as possible. We (e) Areas identified in this revision to including your personal identifying will accept written comments and the proposal to revise critical habitat information—on http:// information during this reopened that should not be proposed as critical www.regulations.gov. You may request comment period on the revisions herein habitat and why. at the top of your document that we as well as the proposed revised (3) Land use designations and current withhold personal information such as designation of critical habitat for the or planned activities in the subject areas your street address, phone number, or Buena Vista Lake shrew that was and their possible impacts on proposed email address from public review; published in the Federal Register on revised critical habitat. however, we cannot guarantee that we (4) Information on the projected and October 21, 2009 (74 FR 53999), and on will be able to do so. the draft economic analysis (DEA) of the reasonably likely impacts of climate change on the Buena Vista Lake shrew Comments and materials we receive, 2009 proposed designation and the as well as supporting documentation we amended required determinations and proposed revised critical habitat. (5) Information that may assist us in used in preparing this proposed rule, provided in the April 28, 2011, Federal will be available for public inspection Register (76 FR 23781) document. If you identifying or clarifying the physical and biological features essential to the on http://www.regulations.gov, or by submitted comments or information on appointment,
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