41000 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

Authors 

The primary authors of this proposed 

rule are the staff members of the Fish 

and Wildlife Service’s Species 

Assessment Team and the Caribbean 

Ecological Services Field Office. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17 

Endangered and threatened species, 

Exports, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation. 

Proposed Regulation Promulgation 

Accordingly, we propose to 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. 

§ 17.12 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 17.12(h) amend the table by 

removing the entry for ‘‘Adiantum 

vivesii’’ under ‘‘FERNS AND ALLIES’’ 

from the List of Endangered and 

Threatened Plants. 

Martha Williams, 

Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the 

Delegated Authority of the Director, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16248 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2021–0015; 

FF09E21000 FXES11110900000 212] 

RIN 1018–BB27 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Lesser Prairie-Chicken; 

Threatened Status With Section 4(d) 

Rule for the Northern Distinct 

Population Segment and Endangered 

Status for the Southern Distinct 

Population Segment 

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 June 1, 

2021, proposed rule to list two distinct 

population segments (DPSs) of the lesser 

prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus 

pallidicinctus), a grassland bird known 

from southeastern Colorado, western 

Kansas, eastern New Mexico, western 

Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle 

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 June 1, 

2021, at 86 FR 29432, is extended. We 

will accept comments received or 

postmarked on or before September 1, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: Comment submission: You 

may submit comments by one of the 

following methods: 

(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, 

enter the docket number or RIN for this 

rulemaking (presented above in the 

document headings). For best results, do 

not copy and paste either number; 

instead, type the docket number or RIN 

into the Search box using hyphens. 

Then, click on the Search button. On the 

resulting page, in the panel on the left 

side of the screen, under the Document 

Type heading, check the Proposed Rule 

box to locate the 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–2021–0015, 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 http://

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: 

Debra Bills, Field Supervisor, Arlington 

Ecological Services Field Office, 2005 

NE Green Oaks Blvd. Suite 140, 

Arlington, TX 76006; telephone 817– 

277–1129. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Relay 

Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On June 1, 2021, we published a 

proposed rule (86 FR 29432) to list the 

Southern DPS of the lesser prairiechicken as endangered and the Northern 

DPS of the lesser prairie-chicken as 

threatened with a rule issued under 

section 4(d) of the Act. The proposed 

rule opened a 60-day comment period, 

ending August 2, 2021, and announced 

public hearings on July 8 and 14, 2021. 

On June 11, 2021, we received a request 

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 Southern and Northern DPSs of 

the lesser prairie-chicken. We will 

consider information and 

recommendations 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 determinations may differ from our 

June 1, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 

29432). Based on the new information 

we receive (and any comments on that 

new information), we may conclude that 

the Southern DPS is threatened instead 

of endangered, or that the Northern DPS 

is endangered instead of threatened, or 

we may conclude that either DPS does 

not warrant listing as either an 

endangered species or a threatened 

species. In addition, we may change the 

parameters of the prohibitions or the 

exceptions to those prohibitions in the 

proposed rule issued under section 4(d) 

of the Act (i.e., the ‘‘proposed 4(d) rule’’) 

for the Northern DPS if we conclude it 

is appropriate in light of comments and 

new information received. For example, 

we may expand the prohibitions in the 

proposed 4(d) rule for the Northern DPS 

to include prohibiting additional 

activities if we conclude that those 

additional activities are not compatible 

with conservation of the species. 

Conversely, we may establish additional 

exceptions to the prohibitions in the 

final rule if we conclude that the 

activities would facilitate or are 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules 41001 

compatible with the conservation and 

recovery of the species. 

If you already submitted comments or 

information on the June 1, 2021, 

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 determinations. 

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 http:// 

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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov at FWS– 

R2–ES–2021–0015. 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are the staff members of the Fish and 

Wildlife Service’s Species Assessment 

Team and the Arlington 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. 

Martha Williams, 

Principal Deputy Director, Exercising the 

Delegated Authority of the Director, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16260 Filed 7–29–21; 8:45 am] 

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