DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                Fish and Wildlife Service
                50 CFR Part 17
                [Docket No. FWSHQES20200100; FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 223]
                RIN 1018BE92
                Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Amur Sturgeon
                
                    AGENCY:
                    Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
                
                
                    ACTION:
                    Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period and announcement of public hearing.
                
                
                    SUMMARY:
                    
                        We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are reopening the public comment period on our August 25, 2021, proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon (
                        Acipenser schrenckii
                        ), a fish species from the Amur River basin in Russia and China, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We are taking this action to conduct a public hearing on the petition to list the Amur sturgeon. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.
                    
                
                
                    DATES:
                    
                    
                        Comment submission:
                         The public comment period on the proposed rule that published on August 25, 2021, at 86 FR 47457 is reopened. We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before May 4, 2022. 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, and comments submitted by U.S. mail must be postmarked by that date to ensure consideration.
                    
                    
                        Public hearing:
                         On April 19, 2022, we will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon under the Act from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, using the Zoom platform (for more information, see Public Hearing, below).
                    
                
                
                    ADDRESSES:
                    
                        Written comments:
                         You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
                    
                    
                        (1) 
                        Electronically:
                         Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
                        https://www.regulations.gov.
                         In the Search box, enter FWSHQES20200100, which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, click on the Search button. On the resulting page, in the Search panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, check the Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by clicking on Comment.
                    
                    
                        (2) 
                        By hard copy:
                         Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWSHQES20200100, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 220413803.
                    
                    
                        We request that you send comments only by the methods described above. We will post all comments on 
                        https://www.regulations.gov.
                         This generally means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see Public Comments, below, for more information).
                    
                    
                        Document availability:
                         The proposed rule and supporting documents, including the species status assessment report, are available at 
                        https://www.regulations.gov
                         under Docket No. FWSHQES20200100.
                    
                    
                        Public hearing:
                         Interested parties may present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) at a public hearing, which will be held virtually using the Zoom platform. See Public Hearing, below, for more information.
                    
                
                
                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                    
                        Elizabeth Maclin, Chief, Branch of Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: ES, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 220413803; telephone, 7033582171. 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.
                    
                
            
            
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                
                Background
                
                    On August 25, 2021, we published a proposed rule (86 FR 47457) to list Amur sturgeon as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 
                    et seq.
                    ). The proposed rule opened a 60-day public comment period, ending October 25, 2021. During the open comment period, we received a request for a public hearing on the proposed rule. Therefore, we are announcing a public hearing and a reopening of the comment period (see 
                    DATES
                    , above) to allow the public an additional opportunity to provide comments on the proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon.
                
                For a description of previous Federal actions concerning the Amur sturgeon and information on the types of comments that would be helpful to us in promulgating this rulemaking action, please refer to the August 25, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 47457).
                Public Hearing
                
                    We are holding a public hearing to accept comments on the proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon on the date and at the time listed in 
                    DATES
                    . We are holding the public hearing via the Zoom online video platform and via teleconference so that participants can attend remotely. For security purposes, registration is required. All participants must register in order to listen and view the hearing via Zoom, listen to the hearing by telephone, or provide oral public comments at the hearing by Zoom or telephone. For information on how to register, or if technical problems occur joining Zoom on the day of the hearing, visit 
                    https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon.
                
                
                    Registrants will receive the Zoom link and the telephone number for the public hearing. If applicable, interested members of the public not familiar with the Zoom platform should view the Zoom video tutorials (
                    https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials
                    ) prior to the public hearing.
                
                
                    The public hearing will provide interested parties an opportunity to present verbal testimony (formal, oral comments) regarding the August 25, 2021, proposed rule to list the Amur sturgeon as an endangered species (86 FR 47457). The public hearing will not be an opportunity for dialogue with the Service, but rather a forum for accepting formal verbal testimony. In the event there is a large attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may be limited. Therefore, anyone wishing to make an oral statement at the public hearing for the record is encouraged to provide a prepared written copy of their statement to us through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or U.S. mail (see 
                    ADDRESSES
                    , above). There are no limits on the length of written comments submitted to us. Anyone wishing to make an oral statement at the public hearing must register before the hearing (
                    https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon
                    ). The use of a virtual public hearing is consistent with our regulations at 50 CFR 424.16(c)(3).
                
                Reasonable Accommodation
                
                    The Service is committed to providing access to the public hearing for all participants. Closed captioning will be available during the public hearing. Further, a full audio and video recording and transcript of the public hearing will be posted online at 
                    https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon
                     after the hearing. Participants will also have access to live audio during the public hearing via their telephone or computer speakers. Persons with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations to participate in the meeting and/or hearing should contact the person listed under 
                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
                     at least 5 business days prior to the date of the meeting and hearing to help ensure availability. An accessible version of the Service's public informational meeting presentation will also be posted online at 
                    https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon
                     prior to the meeting and hearing (see 
                    DATES
                    , above). See 
                    https://www.fws.gov/event/public-hearing-proposed-listing-amur-sturgeon
                     for more information about reasonable accommodation.
                
                Public Comments
                
                    If you submit information via 
                    https://www.regulations.gov,
                     your entire submissionincluding your personal identifying informationwill be posted on the website. If your submission is made via a hardcopy that includes personal identifying information, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on 
                    https://www.regulations.gov.
                
                
                    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation we used in preparing the proposed rule, will be available for public inspection on 
                    https://www.regulations.gov.
                
                Authors
                The primary authors of this document are the staff members of the Branch of Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services Program.
                Authority
                
                    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 
                    et seq.
                    ).
                
                
                    Martha Williams,
                    Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
                
            
            [FR Doc. 202207064 Filed 4122; 8:45 am]
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