Department of the Interior January 6, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 90-day finding on 270 species from a petition to list 475 species in the southwestern United States as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that for these 270 species the petition does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing these species may be warranted. Therefore, for these 270 species, we will not initiate a further status review in response to this petition. We ask the public to submit to us any new information that becomes available concerning the status of these 270 species or threats to them or their habitat at any time. This information will help us monitor and encourage the conservation of these species. An additional 5 species of the 475 included in the petition do not fall within the scope of the petition or are not a listable entity and, therefore, were not considered in this finding (see Petition).

The Secretary of the Interior is extending the deadline from December 8, 2008, to January 23, 2009, for tribes to nominate individuals for membership on the No Child Left Behind Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. This committee will work with the Department of the Interior to develop recommendations for proposed regulations regarding the BIE-funded school facilities as required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.