13518 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

a thorough manner. We considered the 

requests and concluded that we can 

accommodate a 30-day extension of the 

comment period for the revised 

proposed rule without significantly 

delaying the completion of the final 

rule. We are therefore extending the 

comment period for the revised 

proposed rule by 30 days to April 8, 

2021. 

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

Dated: March 3, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04819 Filed 3–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 223 and 226 

[Docket No. 210303–0034] 

RIN 0648–BJ65 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Designation of Critical Habitat for the 

Beringia Distinct Population Segment 

of the Bearded Seal; Extension of 

Public Comment Period 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: NMFS hereby extends the 

public comment period by 30 days for 

the proposed rule, published in the 

Federal Register on January 8, 2021, to 

designate critical habitat for the 

threatened Beringia distinct population 

segment (DPS) of the Pacific bearded 

seal subspecies (Erignathus barbatus 

nauticus) under the Endangered Species 

Act (ESA). The end of the public 

comment period is extended from 

March 9, 2021, to April 8, 2021. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

published at 86 FR 1433, and corrected 

at 86 FR 7242, is extended by 30 days 

to April 8, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit data, 

information, or comments regarding the 

proposed rule to designate critical 

habitat for the Beringia DPS of the 

bearded seal, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2020–0029, by either of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic comments via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2020–0029 in the Search box. 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Protected Resources, 

Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records 

Office, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99082–1668. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. 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), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

The proposed rule and supporting 

documents are at www.regulations.gov, 

and on the NMFS website at 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

designation-critical-habitat-beringiadistinct-population-segment-beardedseal. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Olson, NMFS Alaska Region, 

(907) 271–2373; or Jon Kurland, NMFS 

Alaska Region, (907) 586–7638. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 8, 2021, NMFS published a 

proposed rule to designate critical 

habitat for the threatened Beringia DPS 

of the bearded seal under the ESA (86 

FR 1433; corrected at 86 FR 7242). The 

proposed designation comprises an area 

of marine habitat in the northern Bering, 

Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. The 

proposed rule opened a 60-day public 

comment period to end on March 9, 

2021. NMFS received two requests to 

extend the comment period in order to 

provide additional time to prepare 

comments in a thorough manner. We 

considered the requests and concluded 

that we can accommodate a 30-day 

extension of the comment period for the 

proposed rule without significantly 

delaying the completion of the final 

rule. We are therefore extending the 

comment period for the proposed rule 

by 30 days to April 8, 2021. 

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

Dated: March 3, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04825 Filed 3–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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