The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation on Thursday announced the start of a public comment period for threatened and endangered species draft regulations.

While no specific substantial changes to existing threatened and endangered species protections are included in the rulemaking, the DEC is accepting comments until July 16.

The proposed rulemaking reinstates regulatory language that was vacated as a result of a recent court ruling. The proposal would re-issue the entirety of the endangered and threatened species regulations as they existed prior to the 2022 court decision and provide for a public comment period and public hearing to restore the regulations to their previous form. There are no substantial changes to the regulations being made through this effort, beyond updating the dates to the most recent publication of federal regulations that are referenced within the regulations.

Comments will be accepted through close of business on July 16 and must be submitted in writing to wildliferegs@dec.ny.gov (subject: “Repromulgation”) or to: NYSDEC, Attn: Dan Rosenblatt, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754.

DEC is holding two virtual public hearing sessions on Tuesday, July 9, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. The draft regulations and details for the hearing and comment period are available on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/propregulations.html#public.

Additional information on New York’s Endangered Species Regulations is available on the DEC website at https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/biodiversity-species-conservation/endangered-species/regulations.