The Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the opening of a public commentary period to designate critical habitat for the Endangered Tumbling Creek Cavesnail, found in the creek of the same name in Taney County, Missouri. The announcement can be found at
Tumbling Creek Cavesnail.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the opening of a public commentary period to designate critical habitat for the Endangered Tumbling Creek Cavesnail, found in the creek of the same name in Taney County, Missouri. The announcement can be found at
Tumbling Creek Cavesnail.

I see in the article it is a reopening for another public commentary period. The first one ending 4 months prior the the reopening last December, and scheduled to close June 2011. That's actually a bit confusing as the closing date is given as February 11, 2011, with final decision in June.

I read the legal briefs and see no reason to respond, unless there is an objection to areas being designated "critical habitat", which I don't. Note that this Cavesnail was designated "endangered" on August 14, 2002. What is at issue is habitat protection. To fulfill the legal requirements for this designation the commentary period exist for people to argue economic loss.
http://www.federalre...ling-creek#p-39

Section 4(b)(2) of the Act requires that we designate critical habitat based upon the best scientific data available, after taking into consideration the economic impact, impact on national security, or any other relevant impact of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We may exclude an area from critical habitat if we determine that the benefits of excluding the area outweigh the benefits of including the area as critical habitat, provided such exclusion will not result in the extinction of the species.

Red ink added. So a lack of a response is in fact the best case scenario for these snails, meaning nobody is claiming an economic loss such that particular critical habitat designations are excluded from protection.

Exactly.