Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for Mississippi Gopher Frog (Rana sevosa) and Announcement of Name Change

About the Document

Title: Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Mississippi Gopher Frog

Purpose: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is preparing a proposal to designate 1,957 acres of public and private land in Forrest, Harrison, Jackson, and Perry Counties, Mississippi, as critical habitat for the endangered Mississippi gopher frog. A proposed regulation will be published in the Federal Register for review and comments.

About the Peer Review Process

Type of Review:  Influential

Date of Peer Review: Peer review will occur between May 30, 2010 and August 30, 2010.

Estimated Dissemination Date of the Final Rulemaking Document: May 30, 2010.

Process: The Service will conduct external peer review of this document through formal requests for peer review from five independent scientific reviewers experienced with the biology and ecology of this species or one of its close relatives. These reviewers are located at Eastern Kentucky University, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Indiana University School of Medicine/Ball State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Western Carolina University. Peer review of the scientific information used in our analysis of the status of the species and the validity of the data will be requested, but peer reviewers will not be asked to provide recommendations on the proposed legal status of the species. The Service will use the information received from the peer review, as appropriate, in the final determination of critical habitat designation for the Mississippi gopher frog.

About Public Participation

Public comments on the proposed critical habitat designation will be sought with a proposed rule published in the Federal Register and by mail to interested parties, a press release of the availability of the proposal to interested parties, and a public hearing if requested. The Service will consider all comments received prior to publishing a final determination.

The Service will publish a notice in the Federal Register of the designation of critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog, including a summary of the results of the peer review.

This peer review plan is made available on this website to allow the public to monitor our compliance with the Office of Management and Budget’s Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.

 

Contact:

Linda LaClaire, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jackson Ecological Services Office, 601-321-1126.