[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 223 (Friday, November 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70946-70947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-29257]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-ES-2010-N249; 50120-1113-0000-C2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Assisting States,
Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats;
Draft National Plan; Extension of Public Comment Period
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), are extending
the public comment period for the draft national plan to assist States,
Federal agencies, and Tribes in managing white-nose syndrome (WNS) in
bats. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for details. If you have already
submitted comments, please do not resubmit them; we have already
incorporated them in the public record and will fully consider them in
our final decision.
DATES: Submit comments on this document on or before December 26, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Send your written comments on the draft plan, by U.S. mail
to Dr. Jeremy Coleman, National WNS Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, New York Field Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, New York
13045; or by electronic mail to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Jeremy Coleman, National WNS
Coordinator, at the New York Field Office (see ADDRESSES) or by phone
at 607-753-9334.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 28, 2010, we published a Federal
Register notice (75 FR 66387) announcing availability for public review
of a draft national plan to assist States, Federal agencies, and Tribes
in managing WNS in bats. That notice mistakenly announced a 33-day
public comment period instead of a 60-day public comment period. We are
extending the public comment period on the draft plan to the originally
planned 60 days.
WNS is a fungal disease responsible for unprecedented mortality in
hibernating bats in the northeastern United States. It has spread
rapidly since its discovery in January 2007, and poses a potentially
catastrophic threat to hibernating bats throughout North America,
including several species listed as endangered or threatened under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Listed bats include the Indiana bat
(Myotis sodalis), Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii
virginianus), Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens), and
gray bat (Myotis grisescens).
The draft plan was prepared by representatives of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
and Forest Service; U.S. Department of Defense's Army Corps of
Engineers; U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management,
National Park Service, and FWS; St. Regis Mohawk Tribe; Kentucky
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; Missouri Department of
Conservation; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation;
Pennsylvania Game Commission; Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife;
and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Document Availability
An electronic copy of the draft plan is available online at
http:[sol][sol]www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/. The document is also
available from the FWS's New York Field Office (see ADDRESSES).
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, electronic mail
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire comment--including your personal
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
[[Page 70947]]
Authority
As a number of federally listed bat species are threatened by WNS,
the FWS is issuing this notice primarily under the authority of the ESA
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531). This plan is intended to guide recovery of
listed bats. It was developed so that it can be easily adopted or
incorporated into existing or future recovery plans.
Dated: November 3, 2010.
Wendi Weber,
Deputy Regional Director, Region 5, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-29257 Filed 11-18-10; 8:45 am]
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