The Endangered Species Act of 1973
(Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), specifies the process
by which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (we, Services) make decisions on listing,
delisting, changing the status of a listed species or revising
critical habitat. Any interested person may submit a written
petition to the Services requesting to add a species to the Lists
of Endangered or Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists), remove a
species from the Lists, change the listed status of a species, or
revise the boundary of an area designated as critical habitat. The
petition process is a central feature of the Act (Act; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.), and serves a beneficial public purpose. A petition
may direct the attention of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
the National Marine Fisheries Service to make necessary revisions
to critical habitat designations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (we, Services)
are jointly finalizing changes to the regulations at 50 CFR 424.14
concerning petitions to improve the content and specificity of
petitions and to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the
petitions process to support species conservation. Our revisions to
§ 424.14 will clarify and enhance the procedures by which the
Services will evaluate petitions under section 4(b)(3) of the Act,
16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3). We are revising the regulations pertaining to
the petition process to provide greater clarity to the public on
the petition-submission process, which will assist petitioners in
providing complete petitions. These revisions will also maximize
the efficiency with which the Services process petitions, making
the best use of available resources. These changes will improve the
quality of petitions through expanded content requirements and
guidelines, and, in so doing, better focus the Services’ energies
on petitions that merit further analysis. The final rule requires
that the petitioner (1) prepare petitions in accordance with §
424.14 and (2) notify applicable States that a petition is being
submitted to one of the Services.
US Code:
16 USC 1531 et seq Name of Law: Endangered Species Act of 1973
as amended
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
1018-0165 Justification for No Material - Nonsubstantive Change 02282017.docx
1018-Petitions - SS-A - rev 9-6-16 (1).rtf
Notification of States - ESA Petitions (private sector)