7852 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 34 / Wednesday, February 21, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their names and home 

addresses, etc., but if you wish us to 

consider withholding this information, 

you must state this prominently at the 

beginning of your comments. In 

addition, you must present rationale for 

withholding this information. This 

rationale must demonstrate that 

disclosure would constitute a clearly 

unwarranted invasion of privacy. 

Unsupported assertions will not meet 

this burden. In the absence of 

exceptional, documentable 

circumstances, this information will be 

released. We will always make 

submissions from organizations or 

businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives of organizations or 

businesses, available for public 

inspection in their entirety. 

Please submit electronic comments in 

an ASCII or Microsoft Word file. Also, 

please include ‘‘Attn: Utah prairie dog’’

along with your name and return 

address in your e-mail message. If you 

do not receive a confirmation from the 

system that we have received your email message, please submit your 

comments in writing using one of the 

alternate methods provided in the 

ADDRESSES section. 

References Cited 

A complete list of all references cited 

herein is available upon request from 

the Utah Ecological Services Field 

Office. 

Author 

The authors of this document are 

Susan Linner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Colorado Ecological Services 

Field Office, and Elise Boeke, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, Utah Ecological 

Services Field Office (see ADDRESSES). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is section 

4 of the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.). 

Dated: February 9, 2007. 

H. Dale Hall, 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–2834 Filed 2–20–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

RIN 1018–AT37 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Proposed Rule to Remove 

the Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel 

(Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus) From the 

Federal List of Endangered and 

Threatened Wildlife 

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 public comment period on the 

proposed rule to remove the Virginia 

northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys 

sabrinus fuscus), more commonly 

known as the West Virginia northern 

flying squirrel, from the Federal List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, 

due to recovery. Comments previously 

submitted need not be resubmitted as 

they have been incorporated into the 

public record and will be fully 

considered in the final determination. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

the proposed rule published at 71 FR 

75924, December 19, 2006, is extended 

from February 20, 2007, to April 23, 

2007. Any comments received after the 

closing date may not be considered in 

the final decision on the proposal. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the proposed delisting by any one of 

several methods: 

1. You may submit written comments 

and information to the Assistant Chief, 

Division of Endangered and Threatened 

Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Northeast Regional Office, 300 Westgate 

Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035. 

2. You may hand-deliver written 

comments to our Northeast Regional 

Office, at the above address. 

3. You may fax your comments to 

413–253–8482. 

4. You may use the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Comments and materials received will 

be available for public inspection, by 

appointment, during normal business 

hours at our Northeast Regional Office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diane Lynch at our Northeast Regional 

Office (telephone: 413–253–8628) or the 

Field Office Supervisor, West Virginia 

Field Office, 694 Beverly Pike, Elkins, 

WV 26241 (telephone: 304–636–6586). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On December 19, 2006, the Service 

published a proposed rule (71 FR 

75924), under the authority of the Act, 

to remove the WVNFS from the Federal 

List of Endangered and Threatened 

Wildlife, due to recovery. The proposed 

rule opened a 60-day comment period, 

which was to end on February 20, 2007, 

on that action. We have received 

requests to extend the comment period 

in order to allow additional time for the 

public to review the data and provide 

comments. To ensure that the public has 

sufficient opportunity to review the 

available scientific and commercial 

data, we are extending the comment 

period for an additional 60 days. 

Comments on the proposed delisting 

rule will be accepted through April 23, 

2007. 

Authority: The authority for this action is 

the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

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

Public Comments Solicited 

We intend for any final action 

resulting from the proposal to be as 

accurate as possible. Therefore, we 

solicit data, comments, or suggestions 

from the public, other concerned 

government agencies, the scientific 

community, industry, Tribes, or any 

other interested party concerning the 

proposed rule. We particularly seek 

comments concerning: (1) Biological, 

commercial, trade, or other relevant data 

concerning any threat (or lack thereof) 

to the WVNFS; (2) additional 

information on the range, distribution, 

and population size of the WVNFS and 

its habitat; (3) the location of any 

additional populations of the WVNFS; 

and (4) data on population trends. 

Please note that comments merely 

stating support or opposition to the 

actions under consideration without 

providing supporting information, 

although noted, will not be considered 

in making a determination, as section 

4(b)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species 

Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), directs that 

determinations as to whether any 

species is a threatened or endangered 

species shall be made ‘‘solely on the 

basis of the best scientific and 

commercial data available.’’

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their name and/or home 

address, etc., but if you wish us to 

consider withholding this information, 

you must state this prominently at the 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 34 / Wednesday, February 21, 2007 / Proposed Rules 7853 

beginning of your comments. In 

addition, you must present rationale for 

withholding this information. This 

rationale must demonstrate that 

disclosure would constitute a clearly 

unwarranted invasion of privacy. 

Unsupported assertions will not meet 

this burden. In the absence of 

exceptional, documentable 

circumstances, this information will be 

released. We will always make 

submissions from organizations or 

businesses, and from individuals 

identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

Comments and other information 

received, as well as supporting 

documentation used to write this rule, 

will be available for public inspection, 

by appointment, during normal business 

hours at our Northeast Regional Office 

(see ADDRESSES). In making a final 

decision on the proposal, we will take 

into consideration the comments and 

any additional information we receive. 

Such communications may lead to a 

final rule that differs from the proposal. 

Dated: February 15, 2007. 

Kenneth Stansell, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–787 Filed 2–16–07; 11:48 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 070207026–7026–01; I.D. 

012207A] 

RIN 0648–AS29 

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 

Optional Use of Electronic Logbook 

Forms 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

allow fishery participants in U.S. 

domestic pelagics, crustaceans, 

bottomfish and seamount groundfish, 

precious corals, and coral reef fisheries 

of the western Pacific the optional use 

of NMFS-approved electronic logbook 

forms in lieu of paper logbooks. The 

intended effects of this action are to 

enhance the efficiency of fish catch and 

effort data reporting and recordkeeping 

by fishermen, reduce human error, and 

improve data accuracy. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule 

must be received by March 23, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by AS29elog by any of the 

following methods: 

• E-mail: AS29elog@noaa.gov. 

Include ‘‘AS29elog’’ in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: William L. Robinson, 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd. 

1110, Honolulu, HI 96814. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule may be submitted to William L. 

Robinson (see ADDRESSES), or by e-mail 

to DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov, or 

faxed to 202–395–7285. 

Copies of the Fishery Management 

Plans (FMPs) and the regulatory 

amendment document that describes the 

proposed changes may be obtained from 

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director, 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council), 1164 Bishop Street, 

Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813 or via 

the World Wide Web at 

www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Harman, NMFS PIR, 808–944–2271. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This Federal Register document is 

also accessible via the World Wide Web 

at the Office of the Federal Register: 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Background 

The NMFS Pacific Islands region 

encompasses western Pacific Federal 

waters, i.e., the 200 nautical mile U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), around 

the Territories of Guam and American 

Samoa, the State of Hawaii, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, and the U.S. island possessions 

in the Pacific. Western Pacific fisheries 

are currently managed under five 

Fishery Management Plans (FMPs)—

Pelagics, Crustaceans, Bottomfish and 

Seamount Groundfish, Precious Corals, 

and Coral Reef Ecosystems. 

Current regulations (50 CFR 665.14) 

require that permit holders, who fish for 

western Pacific management unit 

species subject to Federal reporting 

requirements, record their catch and 

effort information on paper logbook 

forms and submit them to NMFS. 

Maintaining paper logbook forms, and 

the interpretation of such forms, is 

subject to potential errors due to 

illegible handwriting and missed data 

entry. The availability and capacity of 

personal computers offer benefits to 

fishery participants and NMFS data 

collection programs. The proposed 

optional use of electronic logbook data 

collection systems would utilize 

existing and emerging technologies to 

enhance the efficiency of fish catch and 

effort data reporting and recordkeeping 

by fishermen, reduce human error, and 

improve data accuracy. Furthermore, if 

transmitted through a remote 

communication system such as 

electronic mail or vessel monitoring 

system, electronic reporting provides a 

near real-time catch reporting system. 

At its 123rd meeting in June 2004, the 

Council took final action to recommend 

amending the western Pacific 

regulations to provide fishermen an 

alternative to the currently-required 

paper logbook forms. Specifically, 

fishermen would be allowed to submit 

logbook data to NMFS on removable 

non-paper media (such as diskette, CD–

ROM, memory stick, etc.), and would 

also be allowed to transmit the data to 

NMFS via e-mail or other remote 

communication systems, where such 

remote transmission was appropriate 

and feasible. The option to use 

electronic logbook forms would be 

available to fishermen who are subject 

to Federal reporting requirements under 

all western Pacific FMPs, as well as 

those participants in fisheries that may 

become subject to Federal reporting 

requirements. 

This action does not establish the 

technical requirements or protocols for 

the electronic logbook program. The 

technical and legal specifications and 

operational details for the electronic 

logbook software program and hardware 

requirements will be developed and 

published by NMFS subsequent to this 

proposed rule. 

Using the information contained in 

the Council’s proposed regulatory 

amendment, a Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR) was prepared for this 

proposed rule. Copies of the Regulatory 

Impact Review (RIR) may be obtained 

from William L. Robinson (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Classification 

NMFS has determined that the 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

western Pacific FMPs and preliminarily 

determined that the rule is consistent 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

other applicable laws. 


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