{"abstract":"We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), a salamander subspecies from Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). This determination also serves as our 12-month finding on a petition to list the eastern hellbender. After a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that listing the subspecies is warranted. If we finalize this rule as proposed, it would add this subspecies to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and extend the Act's protections to the subspecies. We have determined that designation of critical habitat for the eastern hellbender is not prudent.","action":"Proposed rule.","agencies":[{"raw_name":"DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR","name":"Interior Department","id":253,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/interior-department","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/253","parent_id":null,"slug":"interior-department"},{"raw_name":"Fish and Wildlife Service","name":"Fish and Wildlife Service","id":197,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/fish-and-wildlife-service","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/197","parent_id":253,"slug":"fish-and-wildlife-service"}],"body_html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2024/12/13/2024-28352.html","cfr_references":[{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":17,"title":50}],"citation":"89 FR 100934","comment_url":null,"comments_close_on":"2025-02-11","correction_of":null,"corrections":[],"dates":"We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before February 11, 2025. Comments submitted electronically using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES, below) must be received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on the closing date. We must receive requests for a public hearing, in writing, at the address shown in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT by January 27, 2025.","disposition_notes":null,"docket_ids":["Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152","FXES1111090FEDR-256-FF09E21000"],"dockets":[{"supporting_documents":[{"title":"Eastern Hellbender SSA Report Version 2.1","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0006"},{"title":"EHB pL Lit Cited 2024","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0005"},{"title":"Eastern-Hellbender-SSAv2_Peer-Reviewer-COI-forms","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0004"},{"title":"Eastern Hellbender v2 SSA_Peer-Reviewer-Comments","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0003"},{"title":"100 Word Summary Eastern Hellbender Proposed Rule","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0002"}],"agency_name":"FWS","documents":[{"comment_count":50864,"comment_start_date":"2024-12-13","updated_at":"2025-02-21T00:55:58.868-05:00","comment_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0001","allow_late_comments":false,"id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0001","comment_end_date":"2025-02-12","regulations_dot_gov_open_for_comment":false}],"supporting_documents_count":5,"id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152","title":"Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Eastern Hellbender"}],"document_number":"2024-28352","effective_on":null,"end_page":100948,"executive_order_notes":null,"executive_order_number":null,"explanation":null,"full_text_xml_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2024/12/13/2024-28352.xml","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/13/2024-28352/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-endangered-species-status-for-eastern-hellbender","images":{"EP13DE24.000":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP13DE24.000/EP13DE24.000_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP13DE24.000/EP13DE24.000_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP13DE24.000/EP13DE24.000_original_size.png"}},"images_metadata":{"EP13DE24.000":{"large":{"identifier":"EP13DE24.000","content_type":"image/png","size":63083,"width":823,"sha":"05c916289fbbb204e089c5ab65d038af","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP13DE24.000/EP13DE24.000_large.png","height":423},"medium":{"identifier":"EP13DE24.000","content_type":"image/png","size":22062,"width":479,"sha":"af5eb6f351e6d137ffb2bc7862d1d66d","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP13DE24.000/EP13DE24.000_medium.png","height":246},"original_size":{"identifier":"EP13DE24.000","content_type":"image/png","size":84643,"width":1808,"sha":"6bf74cee3b41787b75311b6cfc8c4477","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP13DE24.000/EP13DE24.000_original_size.png","height":929}}},"json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/2024-28352?publication_date=2024-12-13","mods_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/granule/FR-2024-12-13/2024-28352/mods.xml","not_received_for_publication":null,"page_length":15,"page_views":{"count":2742,"last_updated":"2026-04-04 12:15:04 -0400"},"pdf_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-12-13/pdf/2024-28352.pdf","presidential_document_number":null,"proclamation_number":null,"public_inspection_pdf_url":"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-28352.pdf?1734011118","publication_date":"2024-12-13","raw_text_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2024/12/13/2024-28352.txt","regulation_id_number_info":{"1018-BH79":{"issue":"202410","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/1018-BH79/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-listing-determination-and-critical-habitat-designation","title":"Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Determination and Critical Habitat Designation for Eastern Hellbender","xml_url":"http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202410&RIN=1018-BH79&operation=OPERATION_EXPORT_XML","priority_category":"Substantive, Nonsignificant"}},"regulation_id_numbers":["1018-BH79"],"regulations_dot_gov_info":{"supporting_documents":[{"title":"Eastern Hellbender SSA Report Version 2.1","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0006"},{"title":"EHB pL Lit Cited 2024","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0005"},{"title":"Eastern-Hellbender-SSAv2_Peer-Reviewer-COI-forms","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0004"},{"title":"Eastern Hellbender v2 SSA_Peer-Reviewer-Comments","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0003"},{"title":"100 Word Summary Eastern Hellbender Proposed Rule","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0002"}],"regulatory_plan":{"html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/1018-BH79/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-listing-determination-and-critical-habitat-designation","title":"Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing Determination and Critical Habitat Designation for Eastern Hellbender"},"comments_count":50864,"agency_id":"FWS","comments_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&dct=PS&D=FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152","supporting_documents_count":5,"docket_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152","document_id":"FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0001","regulation_id_number":"1018-BH79","title":"Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Eastern Hellbender","checked_regulationsdotgov_at":"2025-02-22T01:55:03Z"},"regulations_dot_gov_url":null,"significant":false,"signing_date":null,"start_page":100934,"subtype":null,"title":"Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Eastern Hellbender","toc_doc":"Status for Eastern Hellbender","toc_subject":"Endangered and Threatened Species","topics":["Endangered and threatened species","Exports","Imports","Plants","Reporting and recordkeeping requirements","Transportation","Wildlife"],"type":"Proposed Rule","volume":89}