Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service, Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas; hereafter referred to as the green turtle) is currently listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a threatened species, with the exception of the Florida and Mexican Pacific coast breeding populations, which are listed as endangered. We, NMFS and USFWS, find that the green turtle is composed of 11 distinct population segments (DPSs) that qualify as "species" for listing under the ESA. We propose to remove the current range-wide listing and, in its place, list eight DPSs as threatened and three as endangered. We also propose to apply existing protective regulations to the DPSs. We solicit comments on these proposed actions. Although not determinable at this time, designation of critical habitat may be prudent, and we solicit relevant information for those DPSs occurring within U.S. jurisdiction. In the interim, we propose to continue the existing critical habitat designation (i.e., waters surrounding Culebra Island, Puerto Rico) in effect for the North Atlantic DPS. This proposed rule also constitutes the 12-month finding on a petition to reclassify the Hawaiian green turtle population as a DPS and to delist that DPS. Although we find the Hawaiian green turtle population to constitute a DPS (referred to in this proposed rule as the Central North Pacific DPS), we do not find delisting warranted. A public hearing will be held in Hawai`i. Interested parties may provide oral or written comments at this hearing.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 [Docket No. 120425024-5022-02] RIN 0648-XB089 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce; United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule; 12-month petition finding; request for comments; notice of public hearing. SUMMARY: The green sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas; hereafter referred to as the green turtle) is currently listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a threatened species, with the exception of the Florida and Mexican Pacific coast breeding populations, which are listed as endangered. We, NMFS and USFWS, find that the green turtle is composed of 11 distinct population segments (DPSs) that qualify as “species” for listing under the ESA. We propose to remove the current range-wide listing and, in its place, list eight DPSs as threatened and three as endangered. We also propose to apply existing protective regulations to the DPSs. We solicit comments on these proposed actions. Although not determinable at this time, designation of critical habitat may be prudent, and we solicit relevant information for those DPSs occurring within U.S. jurisdiction. In the interim, we propose to continue the existing critical habitat designation ( i.e. , waters surrounding Culebra Island, Puerto Rico) in eff…
Citation: 80 FR 15272
