15932 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 22, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

together. Given our limited budget for 

implementing section 4 of the Act, these 

actions described above collectively 

constitute expeditious progress. 

The Berry Cave salamander will be 

added to the list of candidate species 

upon publication of this 12-month 

finding. We will continue to monitor the 

status of this species as new information 

becomes available. This review will 

determine if a change in status is 

warranted, including the need to make 

prompt use of emergency listing 

procedures. 

We intend that any proposed listing 

action for the Berry Cave salamander 

will be as accurate as possible. 

Therefore, we will continue to accept 

additional information and comments 

from all concerned governmental 

agencies, the scientific community, 

industry, or any other interested party 

concerning this finding. 

References Cited 

A complete list of references cited is 

available on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov and upon request 

from the Tennessee Ecological Services 

Field Office (see ADDRESSES section). 

Authors 

The primary authors of this notice are 

the staff members of the Tennessee 

Ecological Services Field Office. 

Authority 

The authority for this section is 

section 4 of the Endangered Species Act 

of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.). 

Dated: March 8, 2011. 

Rowan W. Gould, 

Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6347 Filed 3–21–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 224 

[Docket No. 100104003–1195–02] 

RIN 0648–AY49 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Proposed Listing of Nine Distinct 

Population Segments of Loggerhead 

Sea Turtles as Endangered or 

Threatened 

AGENCIES: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce; United States Fish and 

Wildlife Service (USFWS), Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; 6-month 

extension of the deadline for a final 

listing decision. 

SUMMARY: We (NMFS and USFWS; also 

collectively referred to as the Services) 

are extending the date by which a final 

determination will be made regarding 

the March 16, 2010, proposed rule to list 

nine Distinct Population Segments 

(DPS) of loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta 

caretta, as endangered or threatened 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA). We are taking 

this action because substantial 

disagreement exists regarding the 

interpretation of the existing data on 

status and trends and its relevance to 

the assessment of risk of extinction to 

the Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of 

the loggerhead turtle. Additionally, 

considerable disagreement exists 

regarding the magnitude and immediacy 

of the fisheries bycatch threat and 

measures to reduce this threat to the 

Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of the 

loggerhead turtle. We are soliciting new 

information or analyses that will help 

clarify these issues. Comments 

previously submitted need not be 

resubmitted as they already have been 

incorporated into the public record and 

will be fully considered in the final rule. 

The Services believe that allowing an 

additional 6 months to evaluate and 

assess the best scientific and 

commercial data available would better 

inform our final determination on the 

listing status of the nine proposed DPSs 

of the loggerhead turtle. 

DATES: All public comments must be 

received by April 11, 2011. A final 

determination on this listing action will 

be made no later than September 16, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by the RIN 0648–AY49, by 

any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: NMFS National Sea Turtle 

Coordinator, Attn: Loggerhead Proposed 

Listing Rule, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13657, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or 

USFWS National Sea Turtle 

Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, 7915 Baymeadows Way, Suite 

200, Jacksonville, FL 32256. 

• Fax: To the attention of NMFS 

National Sea Turtle Coordinator at 301– 

713–0376 or USFWS National Sea 

Turtle Coordinator at 904–731–3045. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

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 and USFWS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter N/A in the 

required fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. The proposed 

rule and other materials relating to this 

proposal can be found on the NMFS 

Office of Protected Resources Web site 

at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ 

species/turtles/loggerhead.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barbara Schroeder, NMFS (ph. 301– 

713–1401, fax 301–713–4060, e-mail 

barbara.schroeder@noaa.gov), Sandy 

MacPherson, USFWS (ph. 904–731– 

3336, fax 904–731–3045, e-mail 

sandy_macpherson@fws.gov), Marta 

Nammack, NMFS (ph. 301–713–1401, 

fax 301–713–4060, e-mail 

marta.nammack@noaa.gov), or Lorna 

Patrick, USFWS (ph. 850–215–7438, fax 

850–763–2177, e-mail 

lorna_patrick@fws.gov). Persons who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

1–800–877–8339, 24 hours a day, 

7 days a week. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 22, 2011 / Proposed Rules 15933 

Background 

We issued a final rule listing the 

loggerhead sea turtle as threatened 

throughout its worldwide range on July 

28, 1978 (43 FR 32800). On July 12, 

2007, we received a petition from Center 

for Biological Diversity and Turtle 

Island Restoration Network to list the 

‘‘North Pacific populations of loggerhead 

sea turtle’’ as an endangered species 

under the ESA. NMFS published a 

notice in the Federal Register on 

November 16, 2007 (72 FR 64585), 

concluding that the petition presented 

substantial scientific information 

indicating that the petitioned action 

may be warranted. Also, on November 

15, 2007, we received a petition from 

Center for Biological Diversity and 

Oceana to list the ‘‘Western North 

Atlantic populations of loggerhead sea 

turtle’’ as an endangered species under 

the ESA. NMFS published a notice in 

the Federal Register on March 5, 2008 

(73 FR 11849), concluding that the 

petition presented substantial scientific 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted. 

On March 12, 2009, the petitioners 

(Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle 

Island Restoration Network, and 

Oceana) sent a 60-day notice of intent to 

sue to the Services for failure to make 

12-month findings on the petitions. The 

statutory deadlines for the 12-month 

findings were July 16, 2008, for the 

North Pacific petition and November 16, 

2008, for the Northwest Atlantic 

petition. On May 28, 2009, the 

petitioners filed a Complaint for 

Declaratory and Injunctive Relief to 

compel the Services to complete the 12- 

month findings. On October 8, 2009, the 

petitioners and the Services reached a 

settlement in which the Services agreed 

to submit to the Federal Register a 12- 

month finding on the two petitions on 

or before February 19, 2010. On 

February 16, 2010, the United States 

District Court for the Northern District 

of California modified the February 19, 

2010, deadline to March 8, 2010. 

On March 16, 2010, the Services 

announced 12-month findings on the 

petitions to list the North Pacific 

populations and the Northwest Atlantic 

populations of the loggerhead sea turtle 

as DPSs with endangered status and 

included a proposed rule to designate 

nine loggerhead DPSs worldwide, seven 

as endangered (North Pacific Ocean 

DPS, South Pacific Ocean DPS, 

Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS, 

Northeast Atlantic Ocean DPS, 

Mediterranean Sea DPS, North Indian 

Ocean DPS, and Southeast Indo-Pacific 

Ocean DPS) and two as threatened 

(Southwest Indian Ocean DPS and 

South Atlantic Ocean DPS). 

Extension of Final Listing 

Determination 

The ESA, section 4(b)(6), requires that 

we take one of three actions within 1 

year of a proposed listing: (1) Finalize 

the proposed listing; (2) withdraw the 

proposed listing; or (3) extend the final 

determination by not more than 6 

months, if there is substantial 

disagreement regarding the sufficiency 

or accuracy of the available data 

relevant to the determination, for the 

purposes of soliciting additional data. 

The Services proposed to list the 

Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of the 

loggerhead sea turtle as endangered. 

However, in preparing the final rule, 

there was substantial disagreement 

regarding the interpretation of the 

existing data on status and trends and 

its relevance to the assessment of 

extinction risk to the Northwest Atlantic 

Ocean DPS. There was also considerable 

disagreement regarding the magnitude 

and immediacy of the fisheries bycatch 

threat and measures to reduce this 

threat to the Northwest Atlantic Ocean 

DPS. The Services need to fully evaluate 

and assess the best scientific and 

commercial data available and ensure 

consistent interpretation of data and 

application of statutory standards for all 

of the nine proposed DPSs. 

In consideration of the disagreement 

surrounding the population status and 

the magnitude and immediacy of the 

threats for the proposed Northwest 

Atlantic Ocean DPS of the loggerhead 

turtle, we extend the timeline for the 

final determination for an additional 6 

months (until September 16, 2011) to 

resolve the scientific disagreement. 

Information Solicited 

We intend that any final action 

resulting from this proposal will be as 

accurate as possible and based on the 

best scientific and commercial data 

available. We are specifically soliciting 

new information or analyses from the 

public about the proposed Northwest 

Atlantic Ocean DPS regarding: (1) The 

relevance of the population size to the 

stability and resilience of the DPS; (2) 

the immediacy of the threats and risks, 

particularly the bycatch of loggerhead 

sea turtles in commercial fisheries, to 

the DPS; and (3) the timeframe over 

which the threats or risks may affect the 

DPS. In addition, we are seeking 

information on the consistency of our 

application of statutory standards for all 

of the nine proposed DPSs. 

Previously submitted written 

comments on this proposal need not be 

resubmitted. In making any final 

decision on the proposed action, we 

will take into consideration the 

comments and any additional 

information we receive. We request that 

all data, information, and comments be 

accompanied by supporting 

documentation such as maps, 

bibliographic references, or reprints of 

pertinent publications. 

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

Dated: March 16, 2011. 

Eric C. Schwaab, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

Gregory E. Siekaniec, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–6732 Filed 3–17–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS