The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period for the 12-month finding on a petition to delist the southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou and a proposal to amend the current listing of the population. To allow all interested parties additional time to comment, the period will close on Aug. 6, 2014.
Interested parties are invited to join Service managers and staff for conversations, questions and answers at the open-house style informational meetings. The afternoon information sessions will be followed by evening public hearings, where citizens are invited to deliver formal oral comment.
June 25, 2014
Informational meeting: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Public hearing: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Speaker registration begins at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Bonner County Administration Building
1st Floor Meeting Room, 1500 Highway 2, Sandpoint, ID 83864
June 26, 2014
Informational meeting: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Public hearing: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Speaker registration begins at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Bonners Ferry High School
Auditorium, 6485 Tamarack Lane, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
People needing reasonable accommodation in order to attend and participate in either public hearing should contact Ben Conard, Field Supervisor, Northern Idaho Field Office, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office, at ben_conard@fws.gov, 509-893-8030, as soon as possible.
Oral comments at the public hearings will be recorded, transcribed, and then entered into the official record. Recognizing that not all citizens have access to computers or other electronic devices for comment submission, comment forms will be available at the information meetings and public hearings. Citizens may hand-write comments that will be scanned by the Service and submitted to the Federal eRulemaking portal. Comments may also be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. In the Keyword box, enter Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2012-0097. Hardcopy comments may be submitted by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R1–ES–2012-0097; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042–PDM; Arlington, VA 22203. There are no limits to the length of written comments. Written and oral comments are given the same consideration.
Public input and information must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on the closing date.
All comments and information received during the comment period will be considered. As a result, the final determination may differ from the proposal. The Service will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov.
The Service’s finding and proposal were published in the Federal Register (79 FR 26503) on May 8, 2014. In response to the petition, the Service determined that delisting the species is not warranted, and also proposed to amend the current listing of this population by defining the Southern Mountain Caribou Distinct Population Segment (DPS), which includes the currently listed southern Selkirk Mountains population of woodland caribou. The Service proposed to change the status of the Southern Mountain Caribou DPS to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, it was determined that the 30,010-acre critical habitat designation is applicable to the U.S. portion of the proposed Southern Mountain Caribou DPS.
For more information about caribou conservation, the 12-month finding and proposed rule to amend the listing, please visit http://www.fws.gov/idaho.