25668 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/ 

mammals/wolf/; or upon request from 

the Mountain-Prairie Region Office, 

Ecological Services Office (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Authors 

The primary authors of this notice are 

staff members of the Mountain-Prairie 

Region Office, Ecological Services 

Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: April 17, 2012. 

Daniel M. Ashe, 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10407 Filed 4–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2011–0042; MO 

92210–0–0009] 

RIN 1018–AV86 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Proposed Endangered 

Status for the Chupadera Springsnail 

(Pyrgulopsis chupaderae) and 

Proposed Designation of Critical 

Habitat 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

reopening of the public comment period 

on our August 2, 2011, proposed rule to 

list the Chupadera springsnail 

(Pyrgulopsis chupaderae) as endangered 

and designate critical habitat under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended. We are reopening the 

comment period to allow all interested 

parties an additional opportunity to 

comment on the proposed rule and 

previously completed drafts of the 

economic analysis and environmental 

assessment. Comments previously 

submitted need not be resubmitted, as 

they will be fully considered in 

preparation of the final rule. 

DATES: We will consider comments 

received or postmarked on or before 

May 16, 2012. If you use the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal to submit your 

comments (see ADDRESSES), you must 

submit your comments by 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern Time on the closing date. 

ADDRESSES: Document availability: You 

may obtain copies of the proposed rule, 

draft economic analysis, and draft 

environmental assessment on the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at 

Docket Number FWS–R2–ES–2011– 

0042, or by mail from the New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Comment submission: You may 

submit written comments by one of the 

following methods: 

(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Search for Docket 

No. FWS–R2–ES–2011–0042, which is 

the docket number for this rulemaking. 

(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail 

or hand-delivery to: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: FWS–R2–ES–2011– 

0042; Division of Policy and Directives 

Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 

2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203. 

We request that you send comments 

only by the methods described above. 

We will post all comments on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. This generally 

means that we will post any personal 

information you provide us (see the 

Public Comments section below for 

more information). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Wally Murphy, Field Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 

Osuna NE., Albuquerque, NM 87113; 

telephone (505–761–4781). Persons who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 

(800–877–8339). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On August 2, 2011 (76 FR 46218), we 

published a proposed rule to list as 

endangered and designate critical 

habitat for the Chupadera springsnail. 

We proposed to designate 

approximately 1.9 acres (ac) (0.7 

hectares (ha)) in two units located in 

Socorro County, New Mexico, as critical 

habitat. That proposal had a 60-day 

comment period, ending October 3, 

2011. We received no requests for a 

public hearing; therefore, no public 

hearing will be held. On January 20, 

2012 (77 FR 2943), we reopened the 

public comment period on our August 

2, 2011, proposed rule to allow 

additional public comment on the 

proposed rule, and we made available, 

and requested public comments on, the 

draft economic analysis, draft 

environmental assessment, and the 

associated required determinations for 

the proposed designation of critical 

habitat. Our January 20, 2012, 

publication had a 30-day comment 

period, ending February 21, 2012. 

Public Comments 

We will accept written comments and 

information during this reopened 

comment period on our proposed listing 

and proposed critical habitat for the 

Chupadera springsnail that published in 

the Federal Register on August 2, 2011 

(76 FR 46218). We will consider 

information and recommendations from 

all interested parties. We intend that 

any final action resulting from this 

proposal be as accurate as possible and 

based on the best available scientific 

and commercial data. 

If you previously submitted 

comments or information on the 

proposed rule, please do not resubmit 

them. We have incorporated them into 

the public record, and we will fully 

consider them in the preparation of our 

final determination. Our final 

determination concerning this proposed 

listing and critical habitat will take into 

consideration all written comments and 

any additional information we receive. 

You may submit your comments and 

materials concerning the proposed rule 

by one of the methods listed in 

ADDRESSES. We request that you send 

comments only by the methods 

described in ADDRESSES. 

If you submit a comment via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, your entire 

comment—including any personal 

identifying information—will be posted 

on the Web site. We will post all 

hardcopy comments on http:// 

www.regulations.gov as well. If you 

submit a hardcopy comment 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. 

Comments and materials we receive, 

as well as supporting documentation we 

used in preparing the proposed rule, 

will be available for public inspection 

on http://www.regulations.gov at Docket 

No. FWS–R2–ES–2011–0042, or by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, New Mexico Ecological 

Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain 

copies of the proposed rule on the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov at 

Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2011–0042, or 

by mail from the New Mexico Ecological 

Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 84 / Tuesday, May 1, 2012 / Proposed Rules 25669 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: April 20, 2012. 

Gregory E. Siekaniec, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10451 Filed 4–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 120412411–2411–01] 

RIN 0648–BB75 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

North and South Atlantic Swordfish 

Quotas and Management Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

implement the International 

Commission for the Conservation of 

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 

Recommendation 11–02, which 

maintains the U.S. North Atlantic 

swordfish base quota allocation, limits 

the annual underharvest carryover to 25 

percent of the base quota, and requires 

an annual quota transfer to Morocco. 

ICCAT Recommendation 11–02 also 

includes an alternative swordfish 

minimum size of 25-inches cleithrumcaudal keel (CK). 

This proposed rule also considers 

changes to swordfish minimum size 

requirements, including the 25-inch CK 

alternative swordfish minimum size and 

whether the bill of a swordfish must be 

attached when measuring swordfish 

using the existing lower jaw fork length 

minimum size requirement. The rule 

also includes regulatory modifications 

and clarifications regarding swordfish 

fishery season closures and the North 

Atlantic swordfish quota reserve 

category. 

Finally, this proposed rule would also 

adjust the North and South Atlantic 

swordfish quotas for the 2012 fishing 

year to account for 2011 underharvests 

and landings, as required by ICCAT 

Recommendations 11–02 and 09–03, 

and implemented in regulations at 50 

CFR 635.27. This proposed rule could 

affect commercial and recreational 

fishing for swordfish in the Atlantic 

Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and 

Gulf of Mexico. This action implements 

ICCAT recommendations, consistent 

with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 

(ATCA), and furthers domestic 

management objectives under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by 5 p.m., local time, on June 

5, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2012–0094 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon, 

then enter NOAA–NMFS–2012–0094 in 

the keyword search. Locate the 

document you wish to comment on 

from the resulting list and click on the 

‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right 

of that line. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Margo Schulze-Haugen, 1315 East West 

Highway, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, SSMC3, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. 

• Fax: 301–713–1917, Phone: 301– 

427–8503; Attn: Margo Schulze-Haugen. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. 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 for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will 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). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

NMFS will hold one conference call 

and three public hearings on this 

proposed rule on May 22, 23, 25, and 

31, 2012. The public hearings will be 

held in Fort Lauderdale, FL; Silver 

Spring, Maryland; and Manahawkin, 

New Jersey. For specific locations, dates 

and times see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

Copies of the supporting documents— 

including the draft Environmental 

Assessment (EA), Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR), Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the 

2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly 

Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP)—are available 

from the HMS Web site at http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/ or by 

contacting LeAnn Hogan at 301–427– 

8503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Durkee by phone: 202–670–6637, 

or LeAnn Hogan or Delisse Ortiz by 

phone: 301–427–8503 or by fax: 301– 

713–1917. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: North and 

South Atlantic swordfish are managed 

under the dual authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA, 

which authorizes the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) to promulgate 

regulations as may be necessary and 

appropriate to implement ICCAT 

recommendations. The authority to 

issue regulations under the MagnusonStevens Act and ATCA has been 

delegated from the Secretary to the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NOAA (AA). On October 2, 2006, NMFS 

published in the Federal Register (71 

FR 58058) final regulations, effective 

November 1, 2006, implementing the 

2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory 

Species (HMS) Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP), which details management 

measures for Atlantic HMS fisheries. 

The implementing regulations for the 

Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments are at 50 CFR part 635. 

ICCAT is responsible for the 

conservation of tuna and tuna-like 

species in the Atlantic Ocean and 

adjacent seas. ICCAT recommendations 

are binding on Contracting Parties, nonContracting Cooperating Parties, Entities 

and Fishing Entities (CPCs), unless 

Parties object pursuant to the treaty. All 

ICCAT recommendations are available 

on the ICCAT Web site at http:// 

www.iccat.int/en/. In November 2011, 

ICCAT adopted Recommendation 11–02 

for North Atlantic swordfish. This 

recommendation maintains the U.S. 

baseline quota of 2,937.6 metric tons 

(mt) dressed weight (dw) for 2012 and 

2013. Previous North Atlantic swordfish 

recommendations included a quota 

transfer of 18.8 mt dw from the United 

States to Canada; however, 

Recommendation 11–02 eliminates this 

quota transfer and includes a transfer of 

112.8 mt dw from the United States to 

Morocco to support joint scientific 

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