HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter from the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the Gray WolfIn Response Reply To:
FWS /RWES /Recovery
United States Department of the Interior
Board of Supervisors, Butte County
25 County Center, Drive, Suite 200
Oroville, California 95965
Dear Board of Supervisors:
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Pacific Southwest Region
2800 Cottage Way, Suite W -2606
Sacramento, California 95825
J.S.
FISH & WILDLIFE
SERVICE
I am sending you this letter because the Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (Service) to notify appropriate counties or equivalent jurisdictions when we publish a proposed rule
to list/delist a species. I wanted to let you know about a recent proposal affecting a species that may occur in
your area and for which you may have heard about through local media outlets.
On Thursday, June 13, 2013, the Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to remove the
gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and maintain protections for
the Mexican wolf subspecies (C. 1. baileyi) by listing it as endangered under the ESA. The proposal opened
a 188 -day public comment period which closed on December 17, 2013. On February 10, 2014 the Service
published a notice in the Federal Register reopening the public comment period on this proposal in
conjunction with the submission of the peer review report (79 FR 7627). The peer review report is also
available at http: Uwww .fws.gov/home /wolfrecovery /. The public comment period is now scheduled
to close on March 27, 2014.
If you would like to review the proposed rule or the notice reopening the public comment period, please visit
http : / /www.fws.gov /home /wolfrecovery or contact one of my staff listed below. If you would like to submit
formal comments on the proposal, please use one of the following methods:
(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http: / /www.regulations.gov. In the Search box,
enter FWS— HQ -ES- 2013 -0073, which is the docket number for this rulemaking.
(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand - delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS -HQ-
ES- 2013 -0073; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N.
Fairfax Drive, MS 2042 —PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
Please note that if you have already submitted comments, you do not need to resubmit them. If you have
questions about this action, please do not hesitate to contact Jennifer Norris, Field Supervisor, Sacrametno
Fish and Wildlife Office ( jennifer norris@fws.gov; 916 -414- 6600), or Lisa Ellis, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, Pacific Southwest Regional Office (lisa— ellis @fws.gov; 916 -414- 6741).
cc: Jennifer Norris, Field Supervisor, Sacrametno Fish and Wildlife Office
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