Usually when federal Fish & Wildlife publishes a ruling, a proposed ruling
is issued first with a set comment period. The general public is invited to
send comments on the proposal. Email is acceptable. In some cases, such as
those in which a ruling affects a specific geographic area (e.g., Alabama
sturgeon), the feds hold public hearings. In this way the public (and more
often than not, lobbying groups) can have some input into the decision
process. The feds usually respond to each comment in their final ruling.
Re: the snakehead ruling, the feds received 453 written comments. Of those
453 comments, 386 were nonrelevant or nonsignificant, one offered editorial
suggestions on the proposed rule, 32 were opposed to adding snakeheads to
the list of injurious fishes, and 34 stated their support for the proposed
rule. Of the 386 nonrelevant or nonsignificant comments, 353 were electronic
messages that were generated erroneously, 13 were electronic messages
pertaining to investment scams, 8 were electronic messages pertaining to
advertising, one comment offered a resume for employment opportunities, 2
were unknown, 2 offered suggestions/opinions on treating the ponds in
Crofton, Maryland, and 7 provided information on sightings of snakeheads. Of
the 67 comments that were considered relevant and significant, one came from
a Federal agency, 12 from private organizations, 8 from State agencies, and
46 from private individuals.
This info is readily available from the Federal Register website.
Chris Scharpf
Baltimore
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