[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 147 (Monday, July 31, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46684-46685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19183]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AF92; RIN 1018-AF95


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Notice of Public 
Hearing on Critical Habitat for the Spectacled Eider and Steller's 
Eider

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides notice that a 
public hearing will be held on the proposed rules designating critical 
habitat for spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) and Steller's eider 
(Polysticta stelleri). The spectacled eider and Steller's eider are 
found in marine waters and coastal wetlands in Alaska. All interested 
parties are invited to submit comments on these proposals.

DATES: The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, August 28, 2000, 
in Barrow, Alaska.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Inupiat Heritage 
Center. Written data or comments on the spectacled eider should be 
submitted to the Field Supervisor, Ecological Services Field Office, 
Anchorage, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 605 W. 4th Ave. Rm G-62, 
Anchorage, AK 99501; Fax: 907/271-2786. Written data or comments on the 
Steller's eider should be submitted to the Field Supervisor, Northern 
Alaska Ecological Services, 101 12th Ave., Rm 110, Fairbanks, AK, 
99701.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For spectacled eiders contact Ann G. 
Rappoport, Field Supervisor, Ecological Services Field Office, 
Anchorage, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 605 W. 4th Ave. Rm G-62, 
Anchorage, AK 99501; phone: 907/271-2787 or toll-free 800/272-4174; 
Fax: 907/271-2786. For Steller's eiders contact Ted Swem, Endangered 
Species Branch, at Northern Alaska Ecological Services, 101 12th Ave., 
Rm 110, Fairbanks, AK, 99701; phone: 907/456-0203; fax: 907/456-0208.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The spectacled eider is a large seaduck found in marine waters and 
coastal areas from the Nushagak Peninsula of southwestern Alaska north 
to Barrow and east nearly to the Canadian Border. The species may be 
threatened by habitat degradation, lead poisoning, increased predation 
rates, and hunting and other human disturbance. The Steller's eider is 
a seaduck found in coastal and marine waters from the eastern Aleutian 
Islands around the western and northern coasts of Alaska to the Canada 
border. The Alaska-breeding population of this species is thought to 
have decreased significantly, but the causes of the suspected decline 
are unknown.
    On February 8, 2000, the Service published a proposed rule to 
designate critical habitat for the spectacled eider under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. On March 13, 2000, the 
Service published a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the 
Alaska-breeding population of the Steller's eider under the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended. Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act requires 
that a public hearing be held if requested within 45 days of the 
proposal's publication in the Federal Register. Public hearing requests 
were received within the allotted time period from George Ahmaogak, 
Sr., Mayor, North Slope Borough, P.O. Box 69, Barrow, Alaska, and Mr. 
Jacob Adams, President, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, P.O. Box 
129, Barrow, Alaska.
    The Service has scheduled this hearing for August 28, 2000, 7:00 
p.m., in Barrow, Alaska. 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 Service at the start of the hearing. Legal 
notices announcing the dates, time, and location of the hearing are 
being published in newspapers concurrently with the Federal Register 
notice. The Service has also scheduled the following public meetings in 
Alaska: Nuiqsut (August 21, 2000), Wainwright (August 23, 2000), Point 
Lay (August 24, 2000), and Atqasuk (August 25, 2000). Meetings will 
begin at 7:00 p.m. Hearing and meeting dates are subject to change 
depending on weather, flight schedules, and other local conditions.

[[Page 46685]]

    Written comments may be submitted until August 31, 2000, to the 
appropriate Service office as specified in the addresses section. Our 
practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable 
by law. In certain circumstances, we would withhold from the rulemaking 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish for us 
to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this request 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
    The deadline for requesting public hearings on the proposed rule 
regarding critical habitat for the spectacled eider was March 24, 2000. 
The deadline for requesting public hearings for the proposed rule 
regarding critical habitat for Steller's eider was April 27, 2000. We 
have not extended these deadlines. In order to be considered valid, 
requests for public hearings must have been submitted in writing and 
received at the appropriate office by the relevant deadline.

Author

    The primary author of this notice is Susan Detwiler, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species, 1011 E. Tudor Rd., 
Anchorage, AK 99503.

    Authority: The authority of this action is the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: July 21, 2000.
David B. Allen,
Regional Director, Region 7, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 00-19183 Filed 7-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P