Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the Threatened Indo-Pacific Corals, Extension of Public Comment Period, 16325-16326 [2021-06343]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 58 / Monday, March 29, 2021 / Notices Number of Respondents: 1,000 per year. Average Hours per Response: 5 minutes. Burden Hours: 84 hours. Needs and Uses: The information requested will allow NIST to fill new positions created within the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC) and to replace positions vacated by resignation or rotation. Over 550 OSAC Members participate in the OSAC with up to 1⁄3 of them being eligible for reappointment or replacement each year. This effort provides a coordinated U.S. approach to the development of scientifically sound forensic science standards and ensures broad participation from forensic science practitioners, researchers, metrologists, quality assurance experts, defense, and prosecution. Affected Public: Individuals and Households. Frequency: Once a year. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. Legal Authority: This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0693–0070. Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department. [FR Doc. 2021–06440 Filed 3–26–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–13–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [Docket No: 200918–0249] RIN 0648–BJ52 Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the Threatened Indo-Pacific Corals, Extension of Public Comment Period National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:20 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 253001 Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period. We, NMFS, are extending the public comment period by 60 days for our proposed rule to designate critical habitat for seven threatened corals in U.S. waters in the Indo-Pacific (Acropora globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora retusa, Acropora speciosa, Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata) under the Endangered Species Act. The end of the public comment period is extended from March 27, 2021, to May 26, 2021. DATES: The public comment period is extended by 60 days to May 26, 2021. Comments must be received by May 26, 2021, as specified under ADDRESSES. Comments received after this date may not be accepted. ADDRESSES: You may submit public comments in writing by any of the following methods. Comments must be received by May 26, 2021: • Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/ #!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20160131 click the ‘‘Comment Now’’ icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. • Mail: Lance Smith, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, Pacific Islands Regional Office, NOAA Inouye Regional Center, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818. Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the previously described methods to ensure that we receive, document, and consider them. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). SUMMARY: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Smith, NMFS Pacific Islands Region, lance.smith@noaa.gov or 808– 725–5131. PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 16325 On November 27, 2020, NMFS proposed to designate critical habitat for seven IndoPacific corals listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) within U.S. waters in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA). The seven species are Acropora globiceps, A. jacquelineae, A. retusa, A. speciosa, Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata. Proposed coral critical habitat consists of substrate and water column habitat characteristics essential for the reproduction, recruitment, growth, and maturation of the listed corals. Proposed critical habitat consists of 17 separate units, each of which contains all ESA-listed corals that occur there: There are four units in American Samoa (Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, Ta‘u, Rose Atoll); seven in CNMI (Rota, Aguijan, Tinian, Saipan, Anatahan, Pagan, and Maug Islands); five in the PRIA (Howland, Palmyra, Kingman, Johnston, and Jarvis Islands); and one unit encompassing all proposed designations in Guam. Between one and six listed corals occur in each unit. The following areas are either ineligible for proposed critical habitat, or excluded because of national security impacts: A complex of overlapping Navy Surface Danger Zones off of Ritidian Point in Guam, other parts of Guam, parts of Tinian, a group of six Navy anchorage berths on Garapan Bank in Saipan, all of Farallon de Medinilla, and all of Wake Atoll. Critical habitat protections apply only to Federal actions under Section 7 of the ESA; activities that are not funded, authorized, or carried out by a Federal agency are not subject to these protections. The proposed rule and other materials prepared in support of this action, including maps showing the proposed critical habitat, are available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ action/proposed-rule-designate-criticalhabitat-threatened-indo-pacific-corals. The original public comment period for this proposed rule was scheduled to close on January 26, 2021. In response to public input, we extended the public comment period by 30 days to February 25, 2021, and held two online public hearings on January 19 and January 21, 2021. At the public hearings, we received several requests to again extend the public comment period, to allow the public to adequately review the extensive supporting materials for the proposed rule in order to formulate public comments. Similarly, on January 26, 2021, we received a letter from the Governors of CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa requesting extension SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM 29MRN1 16326 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 58 / Monday, March 29, 2021 / Notices of the public comment period for the same reason. In response, we extended the public comment period by another 30 days to March 27, 2021. On March 12, 2021, we received a letter from the Directors of the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands and Natural Resources, and Guam Department of Agriculture requesting additional time for public comments to provide the Territories and NMFS time to gather the best available scientific information on the listed corals to inform the final coral critical habitat rule. In response, we are extending the public comment period by another 60 days, and are accepting public comments for the proposed rule through May 26, 2021. Public comments can be submitted as described under ADDRESSES. (Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) Dated: March 23, 2021. Samuel D. Rauch, III, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2021–06343 Filed 3–26–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XA960] Endangered and Threatened Species; Notice of Initiation of a 5-Year Review of the Banggai Cardinalfish National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; request for information. AGENCY: NMFS announces the initiation of a 5-year review for the Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni). NMFS is required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to conduct 5-year reviews to ensure that the listing classifications of species are accurate. The 5-year review must be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review. We request submission of any such information on the Banggai cardinalfish, particularly information on the status, threats, and recovery of the species that has become available since its listing, effective February 19, 2016. DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we must receive SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:20 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 253001 your information no later than May 28, 2021. ADDRESSES: You may submit information on this document, identified by NOAA–NMFS–2021–0031, by the following method: • Electronic Submission: Submit electronic information via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– NMFS–2021–0031. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon and complete the required fields. Enter or attach your comments. Instructions: Comments sent by any other method or received after the end of the specified period, may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous submissions (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Markin, by phone at (301) 427–8416 or Erin.Markin@noaa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice announces our review of the Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) listed as threatened under the ESA. Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA requires that we conduct a review of listed species at least once every 5 years. This will be the first review of this species since it was listed in 2016 (81 FR 3023, January 20, 2016). The regulations in 50 CFR 424.21 require that we publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing species currently under active review. On the basis of such reviews under section 4(c)(2)(B), we determine whether any species should be delisted or reclassified from endangered to threatened or from threatened to endangered (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)(2)(B)). As described by the regulations in 50 CFR 424.11(e), the Secretary shall delist a species if the Secretary finds that, after conducting a status review based on the best scientific and commercial data available: (1) The species is extinct; (2) the species does not meet the definition of an endangered species or a threatened species; and/or (3) the listed entity does not meet the statutory definition of a species. Any change in Federal classification would require a separate rulemaking process. Background information on the species is available on the NMFS PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 website at: https:// www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ banggai-cardinalfish. Public Solicitation of New Information To ensure that the 5-year review is complete and based on the best available scientific and commercial information, we are soliciting new information from the public, governmental agencies, Tribes, the scientific community, industry, environmental entities, and any other interested parties concerning the status of Pterapogon kauderni. Categories of requested information include: (1) Species biology including, but not limited to, population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics; (2) habitat conditions including, but not limited to, amount, distribution, and important features for conservation; (3) status and trends of threats to the species and its habitats; (4) conservation measures that have been implemented that benefit the species, including monitoring data demonstrating effectiveness of such measures; and (5) other new information, data, or corrections including, but not limited to, taxonomic or nomenclatural changes and improved analytical methods for evaluating extinction risk. If you wish to provide information for the review, you may submit your information and materials electronically. We request that all information be accompanied by supporting documentation such as maps, bibliographic references, or reprints of pertinent publications. We also would appreciate the submitter’s name, address, and any association, institution, or business that the person represents; however, anonymous submissions will also be accepted. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. Dated: March 24, 2021. Angela Somma, Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2021–06406 Filed 3–26–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XA972] Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council); Public Meeting National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and AGENCY: E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM 29MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 58 (Monday, March 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16325-16326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06343]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No: 200918-0249]
RIN 0648-BJ52


Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the 
Threatened Indo-Pacific Corals, Extension of Public Comment Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are extending the public comment period by 60 days 
for our proposed rule to designate critical habitat for seven 
threatened corals in U.S. waters in the Indo-Pacific (Acropora 
globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora retusa, Acropora speciosa, 
Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata) 
under the Endangered Species Act. The end of the public comment period 
is extended from March 27, 2021, to May 26, 2021.

DATES: The public comment period is extended by 60 days to May 26, 
2021. Comments must be received by May 26, 2021, as specified under 
ADDRESSES. Comments received after this date may not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: You may submit public comments in writing by any of the 
following methods. Comments must be received by May 26, 2021:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0131 click the ``Comment Now'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Lance Smith, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 
Pacific Islands Regional Office, NOAA Inouye Regional Center, 1845 Wasp 
Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the previously 
described methods to ensure that we receive, document, and consider 
them. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or 
individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be 
considered. All comments received are a part of the public record and 
will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without change. 
All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, address, etc.) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required 
fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Smith, NMFS Pacific Islands 
Region, [email protected] or 808-725-5131.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 27, 2020, NMFS proposed to 
designate critical habitat for seven Indo-Pacific corals listed as 
threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) within U.S. waters in 
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American 
Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA). The seven species are 
Acropora globiceps, A. jacquelineae, A. retusa, A. speciosa, Euphyllia 
paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, and Seriatopora aculeata. Proposed 
coral critical habitat consists of substrate and water column habitat 
characteristics essential for the reproduction, recruitment, growth, 
and maturation of the listed corals.
    Proposed critical habitat consists of 17 separate units, each of 
which contains all ESA-listed corals that occur there: There are four 
units in American Samoa (Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, Ta`u, Rose Atoll); seven 
in CNMI (Rota, Aguijan, Tinian, Saipan, Anatahan, Pagan, and Maug 
Islands); five in the PRIA (Howland, Palmyra, Kingman, Johnston, and 
Jarvis Islands); and one unit encompassing all proposed designations in 
Guam. Between one and six listed corals occur in each unit. The 
following areas are either ineligible for proposed critical habitat, or 
excluded because of national security impacts: A complex of overlapping 
Navy Surface Danger Zones off of Ritidian Point in Guam, other parts of 
Guam, parts of Tinian, a group of six Navy anchorage berths on Garapan 
Bank in Saipan, all of Farallon de Medinilla, and all of Wake Atoll.
    Critical habitat protections apply only to Federal actions under 
Section 7 of the ESA; activities that are not funded, authorized, or 
carried out by a Federal agency are not subject to these protections. 
The proposed rule and other materials prepared in support of this 
action, including maps showing the proposed critical habitat, are 
available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/proposed-rule-designate-critical-habitat-threatened-indo-pacific-corals.
    The original public comment period for this proposed rule was 
scheduled to close on January 26, 2021. In response to public input, we 
extended the public comment period by 30 days to February 25, 2021, and 
held two online public hearings on January 19 and January 21, 2021. At 
the public hearings, we received several requests to again extend the 
public comment period, to allow the public to adequately review the 
extensive supporting materials for the proposed rule in order to 
formulate public comments. Similarly, on January 26, 2021, we received 
a letter from the Governors of CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa 
requesting extension

[[Page 16326]]

of the public comment period for the same reason. In response, we 
extended the public comment period by another 30 days to March 27, 
2021.
    On March 12, 2021, we received a letter from the Directors of the 
American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands and 
Natural Resources, and Guam Department of Agriculture requesting 
additional time for public comments to provide the Territories and NMFS 
time to gather the best available scientific information on the listed 
corals to inform the final coral critical habitat rule. In response, we 
are extending the public comment period by another 60 days, and are 
accepting public comments for the proposed rule through May 26, 2021. 
Public comments can be submitted as described under ADDRESSES.

(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

    Dated: March 23, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-06343 Filed 3-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

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