[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 178 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47755-47756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22935]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Availability of the Technical/Agency Draft Recovery Plan for the 
Appalachian Elktoe for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the 
availability for public review of a technical/agency draft recovery 
plan for the Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana). This rare 
freshwater 

[[Page 47756]]
mussel inhabits medium-sized creeks and rivers with cool, well-
oxygenated, and moderate- to fast-flowing water. The Appalachian elktoe 
currently has a very fragmented, relict distribution but historically 
had a fairly wide distribution throughout the Upper Tennessee River 
system in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Only two 
populations of the species are known to survive. One population occurs 
in the main stem of the Little Tennessee River in Swain and Macon 
Counties, North Carolina. The second population occurs in the 
Nolichucky River system. This population is restricted to scattered 
locations along a very short reach of the Toe River and the main stem 
of the Nolichucky River in Yancey and Mitchell Counties, North 
Carolina. The population on the Nolichucky extends downriver into 
Unicoi County, Tennessee. A single specimen of the Appalachian elktoe 
was also found in the Cane River, a major tributary to the Nolichucky 
River, in Yancey County, North Carolina. It has been reduced to a few 
short reaches of each of these streams, primarily as a result of 
impoundments and the general deterioration of water quality resulting 
from siltation and other pollutants contributed by poor land use 
practices. The Service solicits review and comments from the public on 
this draft plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or 
before December 13, 1995, to receive consideration by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the agency draft recovery plan may 
obtain a copy by contacting the Asheville Field Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 160 Zillicoa Street, Asheville, North Carolina 28801 
(Telephone 704/258-3939). Written comments and materials regarding the 
plan should be addressed to the Field Supervisor at the above address. 
Comments and materials received are available on request for public 
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. John Fridell at the address and telephone number shown above (Ext. 
225).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Restoring endangered or threatened animals and plants to the point 
where they are again secure, self-sustaining members of their 
ecosystems is a primary goal of the Service's endangered species 
program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is working to 
prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native to the 
United States. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for 
the conservation of the species, to establish criteria for recognizing 
the recovery levels for downlisting or delisting them, and to estimate 
time and cost for implementing the recovery measures needed.
    The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.) (Act), requires the development of recovery plans for listed 
species unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a 
particular species. Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in 1988, 
requires that a public notice and an opportunity for public review and 
comment be provided during recovery plan development. The Service will 
consider all information presented during a public comment period prior 
to the approval of each new or revised recovery plan. The Service and 
other Federal agencies will also take these comments into account in 
the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
    The primary species considered in this draft recovery plan is the 
Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana). The area of emphasis for 
recovery actions is the upper Tennessee River system in the mountains 
of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Habitat protection, 
reintroduction, and the preservation of genetic material are the major 
objectives of this recovery plan.

Public Comments Solicited

    The Service solicits written comments on the recovery plan 
described. All comments received by the date specified above will be 
considered prior to approval of the plan.

    Authority: The authority for this action is Section 4(f) of the 
Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

    Dated: September 8, 1995.
Robert R. Currie,
Acting Field Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 95-22935 Filed 9-13-95; 8:45 am]
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