[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47625-47626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23007]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 223

[I.D. 050101B]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Notice of Public Hearings on 
Proposed Rule Governing Take of Four Threatened Evolutionarily 
Significant Units (ESUs) of West Coast Salmonids: California Central 
Valley Spring-run chinook; California Coastal chinook; Northern 
California steelhead; Central California Coast coho

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Request for comment and announcement of public hearings.

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SUMMARY:  On August 17, 2001, NMFS proposed an Endangered Species Act 
(ESA) 4(d) protective rule for four threatened salmonid ESUs that occur 
in California. The proposed 4(d) rule would apply the take prohibitions 
in section 9(a)(1) of the ESA in most circumstances to California 
Central Valley spring chinook, California Coastal chinook, and Northern 
California steelhead which currently have no 4(d) protective regulation 
in place. However, for these three threatened ESUs, NMFS is proposing 
10 categories of activities for which the take prohibitions would not 
apply. For the threatened Central California Coast coho salmon ESU, 
NMFS is proposing to amend the existing 4(d) rule to establish the same 
10 limitations on the take prohibitions that are being proposed for the 
other threatened ESUs covered by this rule.
    This Federal Register document announces three public hearings that 
NMFS has scheduled to provide the public with opportunities to comment 
on the proposed protective rule and to provide information to the 
public about the rule.

DATES:  Comments on the proposed 4(d) rule must be received on or 
before October 1, 2001. Public hearings on the proposed ESA 4(d) rule 
will be held as follows: (1) September 13, 2001, 6-9 p.m., Chico, CA; 
(2) September 18, 2001, 6-9 p.m., Eureka, CA; and (3) September 20, 
2001, 6-9 p.m., Ukiah, CA.

ADDRESSES:  Comments on the proposed 4(d) rule should be sent to the 
Assistant Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 
501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Comments 
will not be accepted via e-mail or Internet
    The hearings will be held at the following locations:
    (1) Chico, CA--Chico Masonic Family Center' 1110 West East Avenue, 
Chico, CA 95926;
    (2) Eureka, CA--Eureka Inn, 518 7th Street, Eureka, CA, 95501; and
    (3) Ukiah, CA--Ukiah Valley Conference Center, 200 South School 
Street, Ukiah, CA 95482.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Craig Wingert at 562-980-4021; Miles 
Croom at 707-575-6068; Diane Windham at 916-930-3601, Greg Bryant at 
707-825-5162, or Chris Mobley at 301-713-1401. Copies of the Federal 
Register documents cited herein and additional salmon-related materials 
are available via the Internet at http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov or http://nwr.nmfs.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 16, 1999, NMFS published a final rule listing the 
California Central Valley spring-run chinook and California Coastal 
chinook ESUs as threatened species (64 FR 50394). In a final rule 
published on June 7, 2000, NMFS also listed the Northern California 
steelhead ESU as a threatened species (65 FR 36074). These final rules 
describe the background for the listing actions and provide a summary 
of NMFS' conclusions regarding the status of the three ESUs. No 
protective regulations, pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA, have been 
promulgated for these three ESUs. On October 31, 1996, NMFS listed the 
Central California Coast coho salmon ESU as a threatened species and 
simultaneously promulgated a 4(d) which imposed the section 9(a)(1) 
take prohibitions on this ESU (61 FR 56138). This 4(d) rule, however, 
does not include any of the take limitations which NMFS has 
incorporated into subsequent 4(d) rules for threatened salmonid ESUs 
(65 FR 42422).
    On August 17, 2001, NMFS proposed an ESA 4(d) protective rule for 
these four threatened salmonid ESUs (66 FR 43150). The proposed 4(d) 
rule would apply the take prohibitions in section 9(a)(1) of the ESA, 
in most circumstances, to the California Central Valley spring chinook, 
California Coastal chinook, and Northern California steelhead ESUs. In 
addition to applying the section 9 take prohibitions, the proposed 4(d) 
rule would establish 10 categories of activities for which the take 
prohibitions would not apply for each of

[[Page 47626]]

these three ESUs. NMFS believes these activities, if conducted as 
described in the proposed rule, would contribute to the conservation of 
the threatened salmonid ESUs. For the threatened Central California 
Coast coho salmon ESU, NMFS is proposing to amend the existing 4(d) 
rule which applies the section 9 take prohibitions to this ESU in order 
to establish the same 10 limitations on the take prohibitions that are 
being proposed for the other threatened ESUs covered by the rule.

Public Hearings

    Public hearings on the proposed ESA 4(d) rule provide the 
opportunity for the public to give comments and to permit an exchange 
of information and opinion among interested parties. NMFS encourages 
public involvement in such ESA matters and has decided to schedule 
hearings on these proposals prior to being requested to do so.
    NMFS is soliciting specific information, comments, data, and/or 
recommendations on any aspect of the proposed 4(d) rule from all 
interested parties. In particular, NMFS is requesting information or 
data as described in the Federal Register documents announcing the 
proposed 4(d) rule. NMFS will consider all information, comments, and 
recommendations received before reaching a final decision.
    The public will have the opportunity to provide oral and written 
testimony at the public hearings. Written comments on the proposals may 
also be submitted (see DATES and ADDRESSES).

Special Accommodations

    These hearings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other aids 
should be directed to Craig Wingert (see ADDRESSES) by 7 days prior to 
each hearing date.

    Dated: September 10, 2001.
Phil Williams,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-23007 Filed 9-10-01; 2:46 pm]
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