[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26374]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 25, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
50 CFR Part 17

 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Third 
Extension of Comment Period on Data Pertaining to the Subspecies 
Taxonomy of the California Gnatcatcher

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gives notice that 
the comment period on the data pertaining to the subspecies taxonomy of 
the California gnatcatcher is extended for a third time. The notice of 
availability opening the public comment period was published on June 2, 
1994, which opened the comment period until August 1, 1994. On July 28, 
1994, the Service extended the comment period to August 31, 1994. On 
August 26, 1994, the Service extended the comment period again to 
October 31, 1994. This notice extends the comment period until December 
1, 1994, as a result of a court order made on September 30, 1994.

DATES: Comments and materials must be received by December 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the subject data are available from the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Carlsbad Field Office, 2730 Loker Avenue West, 
Carlsbad, California 92008. Comments and materials concerning these 
data should be submitted to the above address. The data, public 
comments, and other materials received will be available for public 
inspection during normal business hours at the above address .

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gail Kobetich, Field Supervisor, at the address listed above (telephone 
619/431-9440, facsimile 619/431-9624).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On March 30, 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) 
published a final rule in the Federal Register determining the coastal 
California gnatcatcher to be a threatened species (58 FR 16741). In its 
decision to the list the gnatcatcher, the Service relied, in part, on 
taxonomic studies conducted by Dr. Jonathan Atwood of the Manomet Bird 
Observatory, Manomet, Massachusetts. As is the standard practice in the 
scientific community, the Service did not request, nor was it offered, 
the data collected and used by Dr. Atwood in reaching his conclusions. 
Instead, the Service depended upon the conclusions published by Dr. 
Atwood in a peer-reviewed scientific article on the subspecific 
taxonomy of the California gnatcatcher (Atwood 1991).
    In response to a suit filed by the Endangered Species Committee of 
the Building Industry Association of Southern California and the other 
plaintiffs, the United States District Court of the District of 
Columbia vacated the listing of the coastal California gnatcatcher 
because the Service did not make available Atwood's data for public 
review and comment. In response to the court decision, Dr. Atwood 
released his data to the Service, which the agency made available to 
the public for review and comment on June 2, 1994 (59 FR 28508). On 
June 16, 1994, the court reinstated threatened status for the coastal 
California gnatcatcher until the Secretary of the Interior determines 
in a finding whether the listing should be revised or revoked in light 
of his review of the subject data and public comments received during 
the comment period. As a result of the court order of July 27, 1994, 
the Secretary must publish this finding in the Federal Register by 
December 31, 1994.
    On July 1, 1994, the plaintiffs requested a 100-day extension in 
the comment period. Because the Secretary had no objection to a 30-day 
extension, both parties agreed to an extension in the comment period to 
August 31, 1994, which the Service published in the Federal Register on 
July 28, 1994 (59 FR 38426). On July 27, 1994, the court ordered the 
comment period extended to October 31, 1994. The Service published this 
extension in the Federal Register on August 26, 1994 (59 FR 44125).
    In order that the plaintiffs may depose Dr. Atwood regarding his 
studies of the gnatcatcher, the court ordered on September 30, 1994, 
that the comment period be extended again to December 1, 1994. In 
addition, the court ordered that the Secretary publish the finding 
whether the listing should be revised or revoked in the Federal 
Register by February 1, 1995.

References Cited

Atwood, J.L. 1991. Subspecies limits and geographic patterns of 
morphological variation in California gnatcatchers (Polioptila 
californica). Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of 
Sciences 90:118-133.

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

    Dated: October 18, 1994.
Thomas Dwyer,
Acting Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-26374 Filed 10-24-94; 8:45 am]
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