[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 1845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-685]
[[Page 1845]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AF76
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of
Comment Period and Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Critical
Habitat Determination for the Spikedace and Loach Minnow
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period and notice of public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gives notice that
a public hearing will be held and the comment period extended on the
proposed determination of critical habitat for two threatened fishes,
the spikedace (Meda fulgida) and the loach minnow (Tiaroga =
(Rhinichthys) cobitis). The hearing and the extension of the comment
period will allow all interested parties to submit oral or written
comments on the critical habitat proposal and the draft Economic
Analysis and draft Environmental Assessment for the proposal.
DATES: The public hearing will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on
January 31, 2000, in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The comment period for this
proposal will be extended from January 14, 2000, to February 14, 2000.
Comments on the proposal, draft Economic Analysis, and draft
Environmental Assessment must be received by the closing date. Any
comments that are received after the closing date may not be considered
in the final decision on the proposal.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at Buena Performing Arts
Center (Buena High School), 5225 Buena School Boulevard, Sierra Vista,
Arizona. Written comments should be sent to the State Supervisor, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2321 W. Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix,
Arizona 85021. Copies of the proposal, draft Economic Analysis, and
draft Environmental Assessment are available from the State Supervisor
or on the Internet at http://ifw2es.fws.gov/Arizona. Comments and
materials received will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, during normal business hours at the above Service address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey A. Humphrey, at the above
address, 602/640-2720.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, proposed designation of critical
habitat pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act), for the spikedace and the loach minnow in the Federal Register
(64 FR 69324) on December 10, 1999. This proposal was made in response
to a court order Southwest Center for Biological Diversity v. Clark,
CIV 98-0769 M/JHG, directing us to complete designation of critical
habitat for the spikedace and loach minnow by February 17, 2000. The
court has provided an extension of the deadline to April 21, 2000.
The spikedace, a small fish, was listed as a threatened species
under the Act on July 1, 1986 (51 FR 23769); however, final designation
of the proposed critical habitat was postponed until March 8, 1994 (59
FR 10906). Similarly, the loach minnow, another small fish, was listed
as a threatened species under the Act on October 28, 1986 (51 FR 39468)
and final designation of the proposed critical habitat was postponed
until March 8, 1994 (59 FR 10898). Critical habitat for spikedace and
loach minnow was set aside by order of the Federal courts in Catron
County Board of Commissioners, New Mexico v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, CIV No. 93-730 HB (D.N.M., Order of October 13, 1994). The
court cited our failure to analyze the effects of critical habitat
designation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as its
basis for setting aside critical habitat for the two species. As a
result, we removed critical habitat for spikedace and loach minnow on
March 25, 1998 (63 FR 14378).
We have proposed approximately 1,443 kilometers (km) (894 miles
(mi)) of rivers and creeks for the two species. The entire designation
is proposed as critical habitat for the loach minnow and approximately
1325 km (822 mi) of those miles are proposed as critical habitat for
the spikedace in portions of the Gila, San Francisco, Blue, Black,
Verde, and San Pedro rivers and some of their tributaries in Apache,
Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai counties in
Arizona, and Catron, Grant, and Hidalgo counties in New Mexico.
If this proposed rule is finalized, Federal actions that may affect
the areas designated as critical habitat will be subject to
consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, pursuant to section
7(a)(2) of the Act.
Pursuant to 50 CFR 424.16(c)(2), the Service may extend or reopen a
comment period upon finding that there is good cause to do so. Full
participation of the affected public in the species listing process,
allowing the Service to consider the best scientific and commercial
data available in making a final determination on the proposed action,
is deemed as sufficient cause.
Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
requires that a public hearing be held if it is requested within 45
days of the publication of a proposed rule. However, due to the
expeditious treatment of these proposed critical habitat determinations
under Federal District Court order as described in the proposed rules,
the Service arranged for and conducted three public hearings in
proximity to the areas proposed for critical habitat designation.
Granting of an extension by the District Court allows us to conduct an
additional public hearing on the date and at the address described
above.
Anyone wishing to make an oral statement for the record is
encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement and present it
to the Service at the start of the 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 Service. Legal notices announcing the date,
time, and location of the hearings will be published in newspapers
concurrently with the Federal Register notice.
The current comment period on this proposal closes on January 14,
2000. In order to accommodate this public hearing, the Service extends
the public comment period. Written comments may now be submitted until
February 13, 2000, to the Service office in the ADDRESSES section.
Author: The primary author of this notice is Jeffrey A. Humphrey
(see ADDRESSES).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544).
Dated: January 5, 2000.
Ren Lohoefener,
Acting Regional Director, Region 2, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 00-685 Filed 1-11-00; 8:45 am]
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