Comment on FR Doc # 2012-23843

Records since listing show limited numbers of beetles may currently occupy a limited number of locations. Before delisting, it should be certain that there are enough individuals in enough occupied locations to insure the beetle permanently persists. Could beetles in the current limited number of known protected sites be extirpated by the heat and drought that climate change is expected to bring? Could increased pesticide use, especially if genetic engineering of crops is allowed, reduce the number of beetles or harm the beetles’ host plant? I agree that “The uncertainties identified in this analysis can only be resolved through additional study.” Therefore I object to delisting the Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle until most uncertainties are resolved and we can insure the beetle permanently persists.