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

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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