2254 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

* * * * * 

Dated: January 4, 2012. 

Eileen Sobek, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and 

Wildlife and Parks. 

[FR Doc. 2012–521 Filed 1–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2010–0024; 

4500030114] 

RIN 1018–AW89 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Designation of Critical 

Habitat for Mississippi Gopher Frog 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Revised proposed rule; 

reopening of comment period and 

announcement of public hearing. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the 

reopening of the public comment period 

on our September 27, 2011, revised 

proposed rule to designate critical 

habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog 

(Rana sevosa) [=Rana capito sevosa] 

under the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (Act). We are 

reopening the comment period to 

announce changes in methodology from 

the revised proposed rule and to allow 

all interested parties another 

opportunity to comment on the revised 

proposed rule. Comments previously 

submitted need not be resubmitted and 

will be fully considered in preparation 

of the final rule. We will also hold a 

public informational session and 

hearing (see DATES and ADDRESSES

sections). 

DATES: Written Comments: We will 

consider comments received on or 

before March 2, 2012. Comments must 

be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time 

on the closing date. 

Public informational session and 

public hearing: We will hold a public 

informational session from 6 p.m. to 7 

p.m., followed by a public hearing from 

7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on January 31, 2012, 

in Gulfport, Mississippi. 

ADDRESSES: Written Comments: You 

may submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. In the box that 

reads ’’Enter Keyword or ID,’’ enter the 

Docket number for this proposed rule, 

which is FWS–R4–ES–2010–0024. 

Then, click on the search button. Please 

ensure that you have found the correct 

rulemaking before submitting your 

comment. 

• U.S. mail or hand delivery: Public 

Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 

FWS–R4–ES–2010–0024; Division of 

Policy and Directives Management; U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. 

Fairfax Drive, MS 2042–PDM; 

Arlington, VA 22203. 

Public Informational Session and 

Public Hearing 

The public informational session and 

hearing will be held at Gulfport High 

School (auditorium), 100 Perry Street, 

Gulfport, Mississippi 39507. 

People needing reasonable 

accommodations in order to attend and 

participate in the public hearing should 

contact Stephen Ricks, Mississippi 

Ecological Services Field Office, at (601) 

321–1122, as soon as possible (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). In order 

to allow sufficient time to process 

requests, please call no later than one 

week before the hearing date (see 

DATES). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephen Ricks, Field Supervisor, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, Mississippi 

Ecological Services Field Office, 6578 

Dogwood View Parkway, Jackson, MS 

39213; by telephone (601) 321–1122; 

facsimile (505) 346–2542. 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 

It is our intent to discuss only those 

topics directly relevant to the revised 

proposed rule to designate critical 

habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog 

in this document. 

On September 27, 2011, we published 

a revised proposed rule (76 FR 59774) 

to designate critical habitat for the 

Mississippi gopher frog, and announced 

the availability of the draft economic 

analysis (DEA) for the revised proposed 

critical habitat designation. For a 

description of previous Federal actions 

concerning the Mississippi gopher frog, 

please refer to the revised proposed 

rule. In response to comments we 

received during the public comment 

period that opened on September 27, 

2011 and closed on November 28, 2011, 

we have decided to allow the public 

more time to submit comments and to 

hold an informational session and 

public hearing (as described above), and 

to modify the revised proposed rule as 

described below. 

Changes From the Revised Proposed 

Rule 

As the starting point for delineating 

Mississippi gopher frog critical habitat 

in our revised proposed rule (76 FR 

59774), we used the median value of all 

data available to us on maximum 

distance movements of gopher frogs 

between their breeding ponds and 

upland habitats. However, in that 

revised proposed rule, we stated we 

used the mean value instead of the 

median. Of the two peer reviewers that 

commented during the comment period 

that closed on November 28, 2011, on 

whether the median or the mean of the 

maximum movement distances is most 

appropriate to use in the critical habitat 

delineation, one reviewer preferred the 

median and the other preferred the 

mean. 

Determining the optimum value to 

use in calculating the amount of habitat 

necessary for Mississippi gopher frog 

conservation is difficult, in part because 

the data were collected from different 

States, in studies with different 

objectives, and in habitat of differing 

quality. The maximum distance gopher 

frogs moved varied considerably among 

studies. At the low end of the range is 

a value of 240 meters (m) (787 feet (ft)) 

from one Mississippi gopher frog study, 

and at the upper end of the range is 

3,500 m (11,483 ft) for a gopher frog 

study in North Carolina. 

At the suggestion of one peer 

reviewer, we amended our methodology 

by combining all movement data from 

different studies conducted at the same 

site (Richter et al. 2001 and Tupy and 

Pechmann 2011, combined; Roznik 

2007, Roznik and Johnson 2009a, and 

Roznik et al. 2009, combined) and 

discarding one field observation (Carr 

1940) that did not provide specific data 

on breeding pond or upland habitat use. 

Based on the peer review comments we 

received and our further review of 

available data, we have determined the 

maximum movement distance values to 

be those provided in the table below. 

We continue to believe that the median, 

rather than the mean, is a more 

appropriate value to use in the 

delineation of critical habitat due to the 

skewed distribution of the data, and 

accordingly identified the median of the 

values in the table. 

Table 1. Movement of gopher frogs 

between wetland and upland sites*. 

Distance data represent the maximum 

straight line distance between the 

middle (except where noted) of a 

breeding pond and upland burrow sites 

for each gopher frog study. The gopher 

WREIER-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2012 / Proposed Rules 2255 

frog species in each study is Rana capito unless otherwise stated. Median value 

of distances = 571 m (1,873 ft). 

Distance Citation 

Number 

Frogs in 

study 

1 299 m (981 ft) .............................................................. Richter et al. 2001 [Rana sevosa]; Tupy and Pechmann 2011 [Rana 

sevosa].

29 

2 300 m (984 ft) .............................................................. Phillips 1995/Rostal 1999 [distance from pond edge] ** ......................... 7 

3 525 m (1,722 ft) ........................................................... Neufeldt and Birkhead 2001 .................................................................... 12 

4 571 m (1,873 ft) ........................................................... Blihovde 2006 .......................................................................................... 9 

5 862 m (2,828 ft) ........................................................... Roznik 2007 *(observation); Roznik and Johnson 2009a; Roznik et al. 

2009.

43 

6 2,000 m (6,562 ft) ........................................................ Franz et al. 1988* (observation)** [distance from pond edge] ............... 1 

7 3,500 m (11,483 ft) ...................................................... Humphries and Sisson 2010 ................................................................... 9 

* Telemetry data unless otherwise noted. 

** Distance recorded from pond edge, rather than the middle of the pond. 

As a result of the changes described 

above, we propose to amend the value 

used in constructing the area of critical 

habitat around a breeding pond from 

600 m (1,969 ft) to 571 m (1,873 ft). As 

set forth in the revised proposed rule, 

this value would be increased by 50 m 

(164 ft) to provide a buffer to minimize 

the edge effects of the surrounding land 

use. Therefore, we are providing notice 

to the public that we are revising our 

proposed critical habitat delineation 

around the ponds by using a radius of 

621 m (2,037 ft), rather than the 650 m 

(2,133 ft) used in our September 27, 

2011, revised proposed rule (76 FR 

59774). Given the limited amount of 

data available to us on the movements 

of gopher frogs, we are requesting 

submission of any additional data not 

already in our possession and are also 

requesting comments on our revised 

methodology as described above. 

Because the changes described above 

will result in very minor changes to the 

mapping of the units, we have not 

revised the maps for this document. 

However, the revised maps will be 

available for closer inspection at the 

field office, on http:// 

www.regulations.gov, and at the 

upcoming public hearing. 

If we finalize the rule using the 

methodology described above, we 

would designate approximately 2,646 

hectares (ha) (6,538 acres (ac)) as critical 

habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog 

in 12 units, 3 of which are divided into 

2 subunits each. This would be a 

reduction of 193 ha (477 ac) from the 

September 27, 2011, revised proposed 

rule (2,839 ha (7,015 ac)). The critical 

habitat would be located within St. 

Tammany Parish, Louisiana, and 

Forrest, Harrison, Jackson, and Perry 

Counties, Mississippi. The final 

decision on whether to designate the 

critical habitat, as proposed, will be 

based on the best scientific data 

available, including information 

obtained during the comment period 

reopened by this document and at the 

upcoming public informational session 

and public hearing (see DATES and 

ADDRESSES). 

Public Comments 

We will accept written comments and 

information during this reopened 

comment period for the revised 

proposed rule to designate critical 

habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog 

that was published in the Federal 

Register on September 27, 2011 (76 FR 

59774), as revised by this document. We 

intend that any final action resulting 

from this revised proposed rule will be 

based on the best scientific and 

commercial data available and be as 

accurate and as effective as possible. 

Therefore, we request comments or 

information from other concerned 

government agencies, the scientific 

community, industry, or other 

interested parties concerning this 

revised proposed rule. Verbal testimony 

or written comments may also be 

presented during the public hearing. We 

will consider information and 

recommendations from all interested 

parties. We are particularly interested in 

comments concerning: 

(1) The reasons why we should or 

should not designate habitat as ‘‘critical 

habitat’’ under section 4 of the Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), including 

whether there are threats to the species 

from human activity, the degree of 

which can be expected to increase due 

to the designation, and whether that 

increase in threat outweighs the benefit 

of designation such that the designation 

of critical habitat may not be prudent. 

(2) Specific information on: 

(a) The amount and distribution of 

Mississippi gopher frog habitat; 

(b) What areas, that were occupied at 

the time of listing (or are currently 

occupied) and that contain features 

essential to the conservation of the 

species, should be included in the 

designation and why; 

(c) Special management 

considerations or protection that may be 

needed in critical habitat areas we are 

proposing, including managing for the 

potential effects of climate change; and 

(d) What areas not occupied at the 

time of listing are essential for the 

conservation of the species and why. 

(3) Land-use designations and current 

or planned activities in the subject areas 

and their possible impacts on proposed 

critical habitat. 

(4) Information on the projected and 

reasonably likely impacts of climate 

change on the Mississippi gopher frog 

and proposed critical habitat. 

(5) Any probable economic, national 

security, or other relevant impacts of 

designating any area (especially Unit 1 

in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana) that 

may be included in the final 

designation; in particular, we seek 

information on any impacts on small 

entities or families, and the benefits of 

including or excluding areas that exhibit 

these impacts. 

(6) Whether any specific areas we are 

proposing for critical habitat 

designation should be considered for 

exclusion under section 4(b)(2) of the 

Act, and whether the benefits of 

potentially excluding any specific area 

outweigh the benefits of including that 

area under section 4(b)(2) of the Act. 

(7) Whether we could improve or 

modify our approach to designation of 

critical habitat in any way to provide for 

greater public participation and 

understanding, or to better 

accommodate public concerns and 

comments. 

(8) The appropriateness of the 

taxonomic name change of the 

Mississippi gopher frog from Rana 

capito sevosa to Rana sevosa. 

(9) The appropriateness of the 

methodology used for delineating the 

proposed critical habitat (including any 

WREIER-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

2256 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

data that might help further refine these 

areas). 

If you previously submitted 

comments or information on the revised 

proposed rule, please do not resubmit 

them. We will incorporate them into the 

public record as part of this comment 

period, and we will fully consider them 

in the preparation of our final 

determination. Our final determination 

will take into consideration all written 

comments and public testimony from 

the public hearing mentioned above. 

You may submit your comments and 

materials concerning the revised 

proposed rule by one of the methods 

listed in the ADDRESSES section. 

We will post your entire comment— 

including your personal identifying 

information—on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. If you provide 

personal identifying information, such 

as your street address, phone number, or 

email address, 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 revised proposed 

rule, will be available for public 

inspection on http:// 

www.regulations.gov at Docket No. 

FWS–R4–ES–2010–0024, or by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Mississippi Ecological Services 

Field Office (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain 

copies of the revised proposed rule on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov at Docket Number 

FWS–R4–ES–2010–0024, or by mail 

from the Mississippi Ecological Services 

Field Office (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section). 

Author 

The primary author of this notice is 

the Mississippi Ecological Services 

Field Office, Region 4, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service. 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

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

Dated: January 9, 2012. 

Eileen Sobeck, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and 

Wildlife and Parks. 

[FR Doc. 2012–662 Filed 1–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

WREIER-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS