[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 129 (Thursday, July 7, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40477-40478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14336]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[Docket No. FWS-R4-ES-2020-0109; FF09E22000 FXES11130900000 201]
RIN 1018-BC98


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 6-Month Extension 
of Final Determination on the Proposed Removal of the Ivory-Billed 
Woodpecker From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a 
6-month extension of the final determination on whether to remove the 
ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis), a bird species 
historically found in the American southeast, from the List of 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List). We are also reopening the 
comment period on the proposed rule to remove this species from the 
List for an additional 30 days. Comments previously submitted need not 
be resubmitted and will be fully considered in preparation of the final 
determination. We are taking this action to extend the final 
determination based on substantial disagreement regarding the status of 
the ivory-billed woodpecker.

DATES: The comment period on the proposed rule that published September 
30, 2021 (86 FR 54298), is reopened. We will accept comments received 
or postmarked on or before August 8, 2022. If you comment using the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below), you must submit your 
comments by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule by one of the 
following methods:
    (1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R4-ES-2020-0109, 
which is the docket number for the rulemaking. 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 this document. You may submit a comment by clicking on 
``Comment.''
    (2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments 
Processing, Attn:

[[Page 40478]]

FWS-R4-ES-2020-0109; 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 Information Requested, below, for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brigette Firmin, Acting Field 
Supervisor, Louisiana Field Office, 200 Dulles Dr., Lafayette, LA 
70506; on the internet at https://www.fws.gov/office/louisiana-ecological-services; by telephone at 337-291-3108. 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-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Previous Federal Actions

    On September 30, 2021, we published a proposed rule (86 FR 54298) 
to remove 23 species, including the ivory-billed woodpecker, from the 
List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) due to extinction. 
The proposed rule had a 60-day comment period, ending November 29, 
2021. On January 11, 2022, we reopened the comment period for 30 days 
(87 FR 1390) in order to hold a public hearing on the proposed rule to 
remove the ivory-billed woodpecker from the List (i.e., to ``delist'' 
the species) and to allow all interested parties additional time to 
comment on the proposed rule to delist the ivory-billed woodpecker. We 
held the public hearing on January 26, 2022. For a description of other 
previous Federal actions concerning the ivory-billed woodpecker, please 
refer to the September 30, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 54298).

This Action

    Section 4(b)(6) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and its implementing regulations at 50 
CFR 424.17(a) require that we take one of three actions within 1 year 
of publication of a proposed rule to determine whether a species is an 
endangered or threatened species: (1) Finalize the proposed rule; (2) 
make a finding that such revision should not be made and withdraw the 
proposed rule; or (3) extend the final determination by not more than 6 
months, if there is substantial disagreement among scientists 
knowledgeable about the species regarding the sufficiency or accuracy 
of the available data relevant to the determination.
    Since the publication of the proposed rule to delist the ivory-
billed woodpecker, there has been substantial disagreement regarding 
the interpretation of the evidence that exists for the ivory-billed 
woodpecker. This situation has led to a significant disagreement 
regarding whether the species is extinct. Therefore, in consideration 
of the disagreements among experts surrounding the ivory-billed 
woodpecker's status, we are extending the final determination on the 
proposal to delist the species for 6 months in order to solicit 
additional information that will help to clarify these issues.

Information Requested

    We will accept written comments and information during this 
reopened comment period on our proposed delisting rule for ivory-billed 
woodpecker (86 FR 54298; September 30, 2021). We will consider 
information and recommendations from all interested parties. We intend 
that any final action resulting from the proposal be as accurate as 
possible and based on the best available scientific and commercial 
data.
    Due to the scientific disagreements described above, we are 
particularly interested in new information and evidence regarding the 
status of the ivory-billed woodpecker that has not previously been 
provided. We particularly seek clear video or photographic evidence of 
the presence of the ivory-billed woodpecker that can be repeatedly 
interpreted the same way by independent observers, such as definitive 
photographic evidence collected by a field observer (Ivory-billed 
Woodpecker Final Recovery Plan, Service 2010, pp. 99-110).
    If you previously submitted comments or information on the 
September 30, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 54298), please do not resubmit 
them. We have incorporated previously submitted comments into the 
public record, and we will fully consider them in the preparation of 
our final determination. Our final determination concerning the 
proposed delisting of the ivory-billed woodpecker will take into 
consideration all written comments and any additional information we 
receive.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the proposed 
rule 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 any 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, or by 
appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Louisiana Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). You may obtain copies of the proposed 
rule on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-
R4-ES-2020-0109, or by mail from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Louisiana Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Martha Williams,
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-14336 Filed 7-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P