50 CFR 424 - LISTING ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES AND DESIGNATING CRITICAL HABITAT

We (FWS and NMFS; also jointly referred to as the Services) are revising regulations related to publishing textual descriptions of proposed and final critical habitat boundaries in the Federal Register for codification in the Code of Federal Regulations. In the interest of making the process of designating critical habitat more user-friendly for affected parties, the public as a whole, and the Services, as well as more efficient and cost effective, we are going to maintain the publication of maps of proposed and final critical habitat designations, but are making optional the inclusion of any textual description of the boundaries of the designation in the Federal Register for codification in the Code of Federal Regulations. The boundaries of critical habitat as mapped or otherwise described in the Regulation Promulgation section of a rulemaking that is published in the Federal Register will be the official delineation of the designation. The coordinates and/or plot points from which the maps are generated will be included in the administrative record for the designation, and will be available to the public on the Internet site of the Service promulgating the designation, at www.regulations.gov, and at the lead field office of the Service responsible for the designation. We will also continue our practice of providing the public with additional tools and supporting information, such as interactive maps and additional descriptions, on the Internet site of the Service promulgating the designation and at the lead field office responsible for the designation (and we may also include such information in the preamble and/or at www.regulations.gov ) to assist the public in evaluating the coverage of the critical habitat designation. We have undertaken this effort as part of the Services' response to Executive Order 13563 (Jan. 18, 2011) directing Federal agencies to review their existing regulations and, inter alia, to modify or streamline them in accordance with what they learned.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the “Services” or “we”), announce the reopening of the public comment period on our August 24, 2012, proposed rule to revise our regulations pertaining to impact analyses conducted for designations of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (the Act). We are reopening the comment period to allow all interested parties additional time to review and comment on our proposed rule. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.