2017-01841. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revisions to the Regulations for Candidate Conservation Agreements With Assurances

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Final rule; delay of effective date.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with a January 20, 2017, memo from the White House, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are delaying the effective date of a rule we published on December 27, 2016.

DATES:

The effective date of the rule that published on December 27, 2016, at 81 FR 95053, is delayed from January 26, 2017, to March 21, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeff Newman, Chief, Division of Recovery and Restoration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: ES, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803; telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On December 27, 2016, we published a rule to revise the regulations concerning enhancement-of-survival permits issued under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, associated with Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances. We added the term “net conservation benefit” to the Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances regulations, and eliminated references to “other necessary properties” to clarify the level of conservation effort we require each agreement to include in order for us to approve a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances. The rule was to be effective on January 26, 2017.

On January 20, 2017, the White House issued a memo instructing Federal agencies to temporarily postpone the effective date for 60 days after January 20, 2017, of any regulations that have published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect, for the purpose of “reviewing questions of fact, law, and policy they raise.” We are, therefore, delaying the effective date of our rule published on December 27, 2016, at 81 FR 95053 (see DATES, above).

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361-1407; 1531-1544; and 4201-4245, unless otherwise noted.

Dated: January 23, 2017.

Tina A. Campbell,

Chief, Division of Policy, Performance, and Management Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.