Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2023 / Proposed Rules 59837 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2022–0162; 

FF09E21000 FXES1111090FEDR 234] 

RIN 1018–BG22 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Endangered Species 

Status for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), are extending 

the comment period on our July 3, 2023, 

proposed rule to list the dunes 

sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus 

arenicolus), a species found only in 

southeastern New Mexico and west 

Texas, as an endangered species under 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (Act). We are extending the 

proposed rule’s comment period for 30 

days to give all interested parties an 

additional opportunity to comment on 

the proposed rule. Comments 

previously submitted need not be 

resubmitted as they are already 

incorporated into the public record and 

will be fully considered in the final rule. 

DATES: The comment period on the 

proposed rule that published July 3, 

2023, at 88 FR 42661, is extended. We 

will accept comments received or 

postmarked on or before October 2, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: 

Comment submission: 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 FWS–R2–ES–2022–0162, which is 

the docket number for the July 3, 2023, 

proposed rule. 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, click on the Proposed Rule box 

to locate the correct document. You may 

submit a comment by clicking on 

‘‘Comment.’’ 

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

to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: 

FWS–R2–ES–2022–0162, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

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). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shawn Sartorius, Field Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 

Osuna NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113; 

telephone 505–346–2525. 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-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On July 3, 2023, we published a 

proposed rule (88 FR 42661) to list the 

dunes sagebrush lizard 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 

comment period, ending September 1, 

2023, and announced a public hearing 

on July 31, 2023. We have received 

multiple requests to extend the public 

comment period. With this document, 

we extend the public comment period 

for an additional 30 days, as specified 

above in DATES. 

Public Comments 

We will accept written comments and 

information during the extended 

comment period on our proposed rule to 

list the dunes sagebrush lizard. We will 

consider information from all interested 

parties. We intend that any final action 

resulting from the proposal will be 

based on the best scientific and 

commercial data available and will be as 

accurate and as effective as possible. 

Our final determination will take into 

consideration all comments and any 

additional information we receive 

during the open comment period on the 

proposed rule. 

Because we will consider all 

comments and information we receive 

during the open comment period, our 

final determination may differ from our 

July 3, 2023, proposed rule (88 FR 

42661). Based on the new information 

we receive (and any comments on that 

new information), we may conclude that 

the dunes sagebrush lizard may warrant 

a different listing status compared to the 

original proposed rule. 

If you already submitted comments or 

information on the July 3, 2023, 

proposed rule, please do not resubmit 

them. Any such comments are 

incorporated as part of the public record 

of the rulemaking proceeding, and we 

will fully consider them in the 

preparation of our final determination. 

Comments should be as specific as 

possible. Please include sufficient 

information with your submission (such 

as scientific journal articles or other 

publications) to allow us to verify any 

scientific or commercial information 

you assert. Please note that submissions 

merely stating support for, or opposition 

to, the action under consideration 

without providing supporting 

information, although noted, will not be 

considered in making a determination, 

as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs 

that determinations as to whether any 

species is an endangered species or a 

threatened species must be made 

‘‘solely on the basis of the best scientific 

and commercial data available.’’ 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods listed 

in ADDRESSES. We request that you send 

comments only by the methods 

described in ADDRESSES. If you submit 

information via https://

www.regulations.gov, your entire 

submission—including your personal 

identifying information—will 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 at FWS– 

R2–ES–2022–0162. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are the staff members of the Fish and 

Wildlife Service’s Species Assessment 

Team and the New Mexico Ecological 

Services Field Office. 

Authority 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), is 

the authority for this action. 

Stephen Guertin, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18657 Filed 8–29–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 


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