[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1082-1083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-404]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AF80

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 224

[I.D. 102299A]
RIN 0648-XA39


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Extension of Comment Period 
and Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Endangered Status for a 
Distinct Population Segment of Anadromous Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) 
in the Gulf of Maine

AGENCIES: Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Interior; National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearings and extension of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: NMFS and FWS (the Services) provide notice to cancel a 
scheduled public hearing on January 19, 2000, to schedule three new 
public hearings that will be held on the proposed determination of 
endangered status for a distinct population segment (DPS) of Atlantic 
salmon (Salmo salar) in the Gulf of Maine, and to extend the public 
comment period on the proposal.

DATES: There will be three public hearings. The first will be held from 
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on January 29, 2000; the second will be held 
from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on January 31, 2000; and the third will be 
held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m on February 1, 2000. The public comment 
period originally closed on February 15, 2000. The Services are 
extending the public comment period to March 15, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The January 29, 2000, public hearing will be held at the 
University of Maine at Machias, 9 O'Brien Avenue, Machias, Maine, in 
the Performing Arts Center. The January 31, 2000, public hearing will 
be held at Ellsworth Middle School, 20 Forrest Avenue, Ellsworth, 
Maine, in the cafeteria. The February 1, 2000, public hearing will be 
held at the Rockland District Middle School, 30 Broadway, Rockland, 
Maine, in the cafeteria. Written comments and materials regarding the 
proposed rule should be

[[Page 1083]]

directed to the Endangered Species Program Coordinator, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930, 
or to the Chief, Division of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035. The 
1999 Status Review may be obtained by contacting either of the above 
individuals or downloaded from the following site: http://news.fws.gov/
salmon/asalmon.html. Please note that electronic mail or internet site 
comments will not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Colligan, NMFS, at the address 
above (978-281-9116) or Paul Nickerson, FWS, at the address above (413-
253-8615).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Gulf of Maine DPS includes all naturally reproducing wild 
populations of Atlantic salmon having historical, river-specific 
characteristics found in a range north of and including tributaries of 
the lower Kennebec River to, but not including, the mouth of the St. 
Croix River at the US-Canada border. The DPS includes both early and 
late run Atlantic salmon. Threats to the species include low marine 
survival, disease, the use of non-North American strains of Atlantic 
salmon in the U.S. aquaculture industry, aquaculture escapees, water 
withdrawal and sedimentation.
    On November 17, 1999, the Services published a proposed rule to 
list the Gulf of Maine DPS of Atlantic salmon as endangered under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). Section 4(b)(5)(E) of 
the ESA requires that a public hearing be held if requested within 45 
days of the proposal's publication in the Federal Register. Requests 
for public hearings were received within the allotted time period from 
Olympia Snowe, United States Senator, Chair, Subcommittee on Oceans and 
Fisheries, and Susan Collins, United States Senator, Chair, Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations, to be held in Machias, Maine; and Trout 
Unlimited, to be held in Rockland, Maine. The public hearing scheduled 
for January 19, 2000, in Ellsworth, Maine, which was noticed in the 
proposed rule (64 FR 62627; November 17, 1999), has been canceled.
    Anyone wishing to make an oral statement for the record is 
encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement to be presented 
to the Services at the start of a hearing. In the event there is a 
large attendance, the time allotted for oral statements may have to be 
limited. Oral and written statements receive equal consideration. There 
are no limits to the length of written comments presented at the 
hearings or mailed to the Services. Legal notices announcing the dates, 
time, and location of the hearings are being published in newspapers 
concurrently with this Federal Register notice.
    Dated: January 3, 2000.
Ann Terbush,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    Dated: December 22, 1999.
Ronald E. Lambertson,
Regional Director, Region 5, Fish and Wildlife Service.
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[FR Doc. 00-404 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F