[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 45 (Thursday, March 6, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12065-12067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4317]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

[FWS-R1-ES-2007-0006; 92210-1117-0000-B4]
RIN 1018-AU93


Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Proposed 
Designation of Critical Habitat for 12 Species of Picture-Wing Flies 
From the Hawaiian Islands

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 
reopening of the public comment period and the scheduling of public 
hearings on the revised proposed rule to designate critical habitat for 
12 species of Hawaiian picture-wing flies (Drosophila aglaia, D. 
differens, D. hemipeza, D. heteroneura, D.

[[Page 12066]]

montgomeryi, D. mulli, D. musaphilia, D. neoclavisetae, D. obatai, D. 
ochrobasis, D. substenoptera, and D. tarphytrichia) on the islands of 
Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu, under the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The reopened comment period will provide 
the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, industry, or any other interested parties with an additional 
opportunity to submit written comments on the revised proposed rule. 
Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted as they have 
already been incorporated into the public record and will be fully 
considered in any final decisions.

DATES: Written Comments: We will accept comments and information until 
April 25, 2008, or at the public hearings. Any comments received after 
the closing date may not be considered in the final decision on the 
designation of critical habitat.
    Public Hearings: Two public hearings will be held, one on the 
island of Hawaii on April 8, 2008, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m; and one on 
Oahu on April 10, 2008, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. An informal 
informational session will precede each hearing from 5 p.m. to 6:30 
p.m.

ADDRESSES: Written Comments: You may submit comments and materials 
concerning the revised proposed rule by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, 
Attn: RIN 1018-AU93; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222, Arlington, 
VA 22203.
    We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will accept written comments 
at the public hearing. We will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any 
personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section 
below for more information).
    Public Hearings: Two public hearings will be held, one on the 
island of Hawaii at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, Mala Ikena Room, 71 Banyan 
Drive, Hilo, HI 96720; and one on the island of Oahu at Queen Kapiolani 
Hotel, Queen's Room, 2nd Floor, 150 Kapahulu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 
96815.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Leonard, Field Supervisor, 
Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 3-
122, Honolulu, HI 96850; telephone 808-792-9400; facsimile 808-792-
9581. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments Solicited

    We intend that any final action resulting from this revised 
proposal will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, 
we solicit comments or suggestions on this revised proposed rule from 
the public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific 
community, industry, or any other interested parties. We particularly 
seek comments concerning:
    (1) The reasons why we should or should not designate habitat as 
``critical habitat'' under section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), including whether the benefit of designation is outweighed by 
the threats to each species caused by their respective designations 
such that the designation of critical habitat is not prudent;
    (2) Specific information on:
     The physical and biological features that are essential to 
the conservation of the 12 Hawaiian picture-wing flies and why;
     The amount and distribution of Drosophila aglaia, D. 
differens, D. hemipeza, D. heteroneura, D. montgomeryi, D. mulli, D. 
musaphilia, D. neoclavisetae, D. obatai, D. ochrobasis, D. 
substenoptera, and D. tarphytrichia habitat;
     What areas occupied at the time of listing and that 
contain the features essential for the conservation of each of the 
species we should include in their respective designations and why;
     What areas not occupied at the time of listing are 
essential to the conservation of each of the species and why;
    (3) Land use designations and current or planned activities in the 
areas being proposed as critical habitat and their possible impacts on 
proposed critical habitat for each species;
    (4) Any foreseeable economic, national security, or other potential 
impacts resulting from the revised proposed designation and, in 
particular, any impacts on small entities, and the benefits of 
including or excluding areas that exhibit these impacts;
    (5) Whether we could improve or modify our approach to designating 
critical habitat in any way to provide for greater public participation 
and understanding, or to better accommodate public concerns and 
comments;
    (6) Information on management plans and partnerships, including: 
(a) The benefits provided by a management plan; (b) how the plan 
addresses the physical and biological features in the absence of 
designated critical habitat; (c) the specific conservation benefits to 
the 12 Hawaiian picture-wing flies; (d) the certainty of implementation 
of the management plans; and (e) the benefits of excluding from the 
critical habitat designation the areas covered by the management plan. 
We are particularly interested in knowing how partnerships may be 
positively or negatively affected by a designation, or through 
exclusion from critical habitat, and costs associated with the 
designation; and
    (7) Our proposed exemption of 78 acres (ac) (31 hectares (ha)) of 
lands currently managed under the U.S. Army's Oahu Integrated Natural 
Resources Management Plan (INRMP), and whether this INRMP provides a 
benefit to the species and, therefore, exempts these lands from 
designation.
    You may submit your comments and materials concerning the revised 
proposed rule by one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We 
will not accept comments sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not 
listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will accept written comments at the 
public hearings. We will not accept anonymous comments; your comment 
must include your first and last name, city, State, country, and postal 
(zip) code. Finally, we will not consider hand-delivered comments that 
we do not receive, or mailed comments that are not postmarked, by the 
date specified in the DATES section.
    We will post your entire comment-including your personal 
identifying information--on http://www.regulations.gov. If you provide 
personal identifying information in addition to the required items 
specified in the previous paragraph, such as your street address, phone 
number, or e-mail address, you may request at the top of your document 
that we withhold this information from public review. However, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting 
documentation we used in preparing the revised proposed rule, will be 
available for public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by 
appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Comments and information submitted during the initial comment 
period on the revised proposed rule need not be resubmitted as they 
will be incorporated

[[Page 12067]]

into the public record as part of that comment period and will be fully 
considered in preparation of the final rule.

Background

    On November 28, 2007, we published a revised proposed rule in the 
Federal Register (72 FR 67428) to designate critical habitat for 12 
Hawaiian picture-wing flies. Several of the critical habitat units 
overlap, and the revised proposed designation totals 9,238 ac (3,738 
ha) within 32 occupied units on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, 
Molokai, and Oahu. Of these lands, we are exempting 78 ac (31 ha) of 
land from the proposed critical habitat revision under section 
4(a)(3)(B)(i) of the Act that are covered by the U.S. Army Garrison 
Hawaii Oahu Training Areas Natural Resource Management (Final Report, 
August 2000) and the Oahu Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan 
2002-2006 (Army 2000) which has been determined to provide a benefit 
for the species.
    An economic analysis identifying estimated impacts associated with 
the revised proposed critical habitat designation for the 12 Hawaiian 
picture-wing flies is being developed. When this analysis is completed, 
we will provide a separate notice informing the public of its 
availability and the opportunity for public comment.
    Critical habitat is defined in section 3(5)(A) of the Act as:
    (1) The specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the 
species, at the time of listing in accordance with the Act, on which 
are found those physical or biological features:
    (a) Essential to the conservation of the species and
    (b) Which may require special management considerations or 
protection; and
    (2) Specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the 
species at the time of listing if the Secretary determines that those 
areas are essential for the conservation of the species.
    For each species, if the revised proposed critical habitat 
designation is finalized, section 7(a)(2) of the Act would require that 
Federal agencies ensure that actions they fund, authorize, or carry out 
are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species or 
result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.
    Section 4(b)(2) of the Act requires that we designate or revise 
critical habitat on the basis of the best scientific and commercial 
data available, after taking into consideration economic, national 
security, and any other relevant impacts of specifying any particular 
area as critical habitat.

Public Hearings

    Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act requires a public hearing be held if 
any person requests it within 45 days of the publication of a proposed 
rule. In response to requests from the public, the Service will conduct 
two public hearings for this critical habitat proposal on the dates and 
at the addresses and times identified in the DATES and ADDRESSES 
sections above.
    Persons wishing to make an oral statement for the record are 
encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement and present it 
to us at the hearing. In the event there is a large attendance, the 
time allotted for oral statements may be limited. Oral and written 
statements receive equal consideration. There are no limits on the 
length of written comments submitted to us. If you have any questions 
concerning the public hearing, please contact the Pacific Islands Fish 
and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and 
participate in the public hearings should contact Mike Richardson, 
Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, at 808-792-9400 as soon as 
possible. In order to allow sufficient time to process requests, please 
call no later than one week before the hearing date. Information 
regarding this notice is available in alternative formats upon request.

Author

    The author of this document is the staff of the Pacific Islands 
Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

Authority

    The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: February 22, 2008.
 Lyle Laverty,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
 [FR Doc. E8-4317 Filed 3-5-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P