[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42087-42088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14372]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability of a Technical Agency Draft Recovery Plan 
for the Endangered Vermilion Darter for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of documents availability and opening of public comment 
period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability 
of the technical agency draft recovery plan for the vermilion darter 
(Etheostoma chermocki). The vermilion darter is found only in Turkey 
Creek, a tributary of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, 
Jefferson County, Alabama. The species is threatened by degradation of 
water quality and substrate components of its habitat due to 
sedimentation and other pollutants. The technical agency draft recovery 
plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria to be met in 
order to delist the vermilion darter under the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1533 et seq.). We solicit review 
and comment on this technical agency draft recovery plan from local, 
State, and Federal agencies, and the public.

DATES: In order to be considered, we must receive comments on the 
technical agency draft recovery plan on or before September 19, 2005.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review this technical agency draft recovery 
plan, you may obtain a copy by contacting the Jackson, Mississippi 
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View 
Parkway, Jackson, Mississippi 39213 (telephone (601) 965-4900), or by 
visiting our recovery plan Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans. If you wish to comment, you may submit your 
comments by any one of several methods:
    1. You may submit written comments and materials to the Field 
Supervisor, at the above address.
    2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Jackson, 
Mississippi Field Office, at the above address, or fax your comments to 
(601) 965-4340.
    3. You may send comments by e-mail to [email protected]. For 
directions on how to submit electronic filing of comments, see the 
``Public Comments Solicited'' seciton.
    Comments and materials received are available for public inspection 
on request, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel J. Drennen at the above address 
(telephone (601) 321-1127).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    We listed the vermilion darter (Etheostoma chermocki (Teleostei: 
Percidae)) as endangered under the Act on November 28, 2001 (66 FR 
59367). The vermilion darter was officially described in 1992 from 
Turkey Creek, which is a tributary of the Locust Fork of the Black 
Warrior River, Jefferson County, Alabama.
    The vermilion darter is a medium-sized darter that is only known 
from a 11.6-kilometer (7.2-mile) section of the Turkey Creek drainage. 
The greatest threat to this species is degradation of water quality and 
substrate components of its habitat due to sedimentation and other 
pollutants (both point and non-point sources). Urbanization has 
contributed significantly to sedimentation within the Turkey Creek 
watershed.
    Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point 
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is 
a primary goal of the endangered species program. To help guide the 
recovery effort, we are preparing recovery plans for most listed 
species. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary for 
conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or 
delisting, and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery 
measures.
    The 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 requires us to provide a 
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during 
recovery plan development. We will consider all information presented 
during a public comment period prior to approval of each new or revised 
recovery plan. We and other Federal agencies will take these comments 
into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
    The objective of this technical agency draft recovery plan is to 
provide a framework for the recovery of the vermilion darter so that 
protection under the Act is no longer necessary. The status of the 
species will be reviewed, and the species will be considered for 
removal from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and 
Plants (50 CFR part 17) when recovery criteria are met.

Public Comments Solicited

    We solicit written comments on the recovery plan described. We will 
consider all comments received by the date specified above prior to 
final approval of the draft recovery plan.
    Please submit electronic comments as an ASCII file format and avoid 
the use of special characters and encryption. Please also include your 
name and return address in your e-mail message. If you do not receive a 
confirmation from the system that we have received your e-mail message, 
contact us directly by calling our Mississippi Field Office (see 
ADDRESSES section).
    Our practice is to make all 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 addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent 
allowable by law. In some circumstances, we would withhold also 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 prominently at the beginning of your comments. 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.

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


[[Page 42088]]


    Dated: July 15, 2005.
Jacquelyn Parrish,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 05-14372 Filed 7-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P