96616 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

impacts of other, ongoing stressors—is 

likely to result in increased risk of 

population extirpation and, thus, 

species extinction in the wild. 

Overall, given the small known extant 

range and population size of this 

species, its annual duration and reliance 

on frequent seedbank replenishment, 

and risks to its seedbank from stochastic 

events and other ongoing threats to the 

species, effects from illegal collection 

(removal of plants and damage to 

habitat) would be deleterious to the 

swale paintbrush. Therefore, in 

accordance with 50 CFR 424.12(a)(1), 

we determine that designation of critical 

habitat is not prudent for the swale 

paintbrush. 

Required Determinations 

Government-to-Government 

Relationship With Tribes 

In accordance with the President’s 

memorandum of April 29, 1994 

(Government-to-Government Relations 

with Native American Tribal 

Governments; 59 FR 22951, May 4, 

1994), Executive Order 13175 

(Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments), the 

President’s memorandum of November 

30, 2022 (Uniform Standards for Tribal 

Consultation; 87 FR 74479, December 5, 

2022), and the Department of the 

Interior’s manual at 512 DM 2, we 

readily acknowledge our responsibility 

to communicate meaningfully with 

federally recognized Tribes and Alaska 

Native Corporations (ANCs) on a 

government-to-government basis. In 

accordance with Secretary’s Order 3206 

of June 5, 1997 (American Indian Tribal 

Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust 

Responsibilities, and the Endangered 

Species Act), we readily acknowledge 

our responsibilities to work directly 

with Tribes in developing programs for 

healthy ecosystems, to acknowledge that 

Tribal lands are not subject to the same 

controls as Federal public lands, to 

remain sensitive to Indian culture, and 

to make information available to Tribes. 

We contacted all Tribal entities with 

documented cultural interests in 

Hidalgo County, New Mexico—the Hopi 

Tribe, the White Mountain Apache 

Tribe, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, and 

the Fort Sill Apache Tribe—to provide 

them notice of our status review; solicit 

information and invite their 

participation in the SSA process; and 

inform them of the publication of our 

June 8, 2023, proposed rule and its open 

public comment period. We did not 

receive any information from Tribal 

entities during the SSA process or 

during our June 8, 2023, proposed rule’s 

public comment period. We will 

continue to coordinate with Tribal 

entities throughout the recovery process 

for the swale paintbrush. 

References Cited 

A complete list of references cited in 

this rulemaking is available on the 

internet at https://www.regulations.gov 

and upon request from the New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Authors 

The primary authors of this rule are 

the staff members of the Fish and 

Wildlife Service’s Species Assessment 

Team and the New Mexico Ecological 

Services Field Office. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17 

Endangered and threatened species, 

Exports, Imports, Plants, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation, Wildlife. 

Regulation Promulgation 

Accordingly, we amend part 17, 

subchapter B of chapter I, title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth 

below: 

PART 17—ENDANGERED AND 

THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 17 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361–1407; 1531– 

1544; and 4201–4245, unless otherwise 

noted. 

■ 2. In § 17.12, in paragraph (h), amend 

the List of Endangered and Threatened 

Plants by adding an entry for ‘‘Castilleja 

ornata’’ in alphabetical order under 

FLOWERING PLANTS to read as 

follows: 

§ 17.12 Endangered and threatened plants. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

Scientific name Common name Where listed Status Listing citations and applicable rules 

FLOWERING PLANTS

* * * * * * * 

Castilleja ornata ................. Swale paintbrush ............... Wherever found ................. E 89 FR [INSERT FEDERAL REGISTER 

PAGE WHERE THE DOCUMENT BEGINS], 12/05/2024. 

* * * * * * * 

Gary Frazer, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28357 Filed 12–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 231215–0305; RTID 0648– 

XE501] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

2024 Commercial Quota Harvested for 

the State of Rhode Island 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

2024 summer flounder commercial 

quota allocated to the State of Rhode 

Island has been harvested. Vessels 

issued a commercial Federal fisheries 

permit for the summer flounder fishery 

may not land summer flounder in 

Rhode Island for the remainder of 

calendar year 2024, unless additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer from another state. Regulations 

governing the summer flounder fishery 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 96617 

require publication of this notification 

to advise Rhode Island that the quota 

has been harvested, and to advise vessel 

permit holders and dealer permit 

holders that no Federal commercial 

quota is available for landing summer 

flounder in Rhode Island. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours December 5, 

2024, through December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Rigdon, (978) 281–9336, or 

Matthew.Rigdon@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR 

648.100 through 648.111. The 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned on a percentage basis 

among the coastal states from Maine 

through North Carolina. The process to 

set the annual commercial quota and the 

percent allocated to each state is 

described in § 648.102. 

The commercial quota for summer 

flounder for 2024 was set equal to 

8,789,830 pounds (lb; 3,987,000 

kilograms (kg)) (88 FR 88266, December 

23, 2023). The amount allocated to 

vessels landing summer flounder in 

Rhode Island is 1,378,507 lb (625,280 

kg). Rhode Island received commercial 

summer flounder quota transfers of 

3,799 lb (1,723 kg) (89 FR 51986, June 

21, 2024) from Virginia, and 12,120 lb 

(5,498 kg) (89 FR 70124, August 29, 

2024) and 1,835 lb (832 kg) (89 FR 

80795, October 4, 2024) from North 

Carolina, resulting in a revised 

commercial summer flounder quota for 

Rhode Island of 1,396,261 lb (633,333 

kg). 

The NMFS Regional Administrator for 

the Greater Atlantic Region monitors the 

state commercial landings and 

determines when a state’s commercial 

quota has been harvested. NMFS is 

required to publish notification in the 

Federal Register advising and notifying 

commercial vessels and dealer permit 

holders that, effective upon a specific 

date, the state’s commercial quota has 

been harvested and no commercial 

quota is available for landing summer 

flounder in that state. Based on dealer 

reports and other available information, 

the Regional Administrator has 

determined that the available quota has 

been harvested. The Rhode Island 

Division of Marine Fisheries closed the 

state fishery on December 2, 2024, and 

this action promotes consistency 

between the state and Federal 

management measures. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.14(n) 

prohibit Federally permitted vessels 

from landing summer flounder for sale 

in a state, and prohibit all persons from 

purchasing or otherwise receiving 

summer flounder for a commercial 

purpose after the effective date 

published in the Federal Register 

notification that commercial quota is no 

longer available in that state. Therefore, 

effective 0001 hours on December 5, 

2024, landings of summer flounder in 

Rhode Island by vessels holding Federal 

summer flounder commercial fishery 

permits are prohibited for the remainder 

of the 2024 calendar year, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer and is announced in 

the Federal Register. Effective 0001 

hours on December 5, 2024, federally 

permitted dealers are also notified that 

they may not purchase summer flounder 

from federally permitted vessels that 

land in Rhode Island for the remainder 

of the calendar year, or until additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer from another state. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive 

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment because it would be 

contrary to the public interest. This 

action closes the commercial summer 

flounder fishery for Rhode Island until 

January 1, 2025, under current 

regulations. The regulations at 50 CFR 

648.103(b) require such action to ensure 

that summer flounder vessels do not 

exceed quotas allocated to the states. If 

implementation of this closure was 

delayed to solicit prior public comment, 

the quota for this fishing year will be 

exceeded, thereby undermining the 

conservation objectives of the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Fishery Management Plan. The 

Assistant Administrator further finds, 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good 

cause to waive the 30-day delayed 

effectiveness period for the reason 

stated above. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: December 2, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28482 Filed 12–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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