The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has extended the comment deadline on a package of three regulatory items by 90 days to allow for more public participation. The package, originally noticed in the Federal Register on May 12, 2014, includes a proposed rule to amend the regulations for designating critical habitat, a rule changing the definition of destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat, and a set of guidelines that would change the way the Service grants critical habitat exemptions.
Each component of the package offers only slight changes to current statutes, and is being downplayed by the USFWS as a means to “clarify” current regulations. However, it is widely believed that the changes could both expand the areas designated as critical habitat in future determinations, as well as allow the USFWS more leeway in denying exemptions for lands that already offer special protections for endangered species via other methods such as habitat conservation plans.
The original July 11, 2014 deadline has now been moved to October 9, 2014. The proposed package can be accessed here.