Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Public Hearing and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Endangered Status for the Appalachian Elktoe

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Public Hearing and

Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Endangered Status for the

Appalachian Elktoe

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of public hearing and reopening of

comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gives notice that

a public hearing will be held on the Service's proposal to list the

Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana) as an endangered species.

This mussel is currently limited to short reaches of several streams in

North Carolina and Tennessee.

DATES: The public hearing will be held February 8, 1994, from 7 p.m. to

10 p.m. The comment period, which originally closed on November 2,

1993, is reopened from January 21, 1994, through February 21, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Asheville Field Office, 330 Ridgefield Court,

Asheville, North Carolina 28806. The public hearing will be held in the

auditorium of the Mitchell High School, 217 School Road, Bakersville,

North Carolina.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John A. Fridell at the above field

office address (704/665-1195, Ext. 225).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Appalachian elktoe is endemic only to upper Tennessee River

drainage in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Historically,

the species was reported to have been fairly widely distributed in the

French Broad River, Little River (French Broad River system), Pigeon

River (French Broad River system), Swannanoa River (French Broad River

system), Nolichucky River, and Tulula Creek (Little Tennessee River

system). Presently, the species is known to be surviving in only two

locations. One population is located in the Little Tennessee River in

Swain and Macon Counties, North Carolina. The other population is in

the Nolichucky River, Yancey and Mitchell Counties, North Carolina, and

Unicoi County, Tennessee and extends a short distance up the Toe River

in Yancey and Mitchell Counties, North Carolina, and the Cane River in

Yancey County, North Carolina. The species has been eliminated from the

majority of its historic range and reduced to short reaches of each of

these rivers, primarily as a result of impoundments and general

deterioration of water/habitat quality resulting from siltation and

other pollutants contributed by poor land use practices and sewage and

industrial effluents. Many of the same factors that are believed to

have resulted in the extirpation of historic populations of the

Appalachian elktoe threaten the two remaining populations.

On September 3, 1993, the Service published a proposal in the

Federal Register (58 FR 46940) to list the Appalachian elktoe as an

endangered species. Section 4(b)(5) of the Endangered Species Act

provides for a public hearing on a proposed listing if requested within

45 days of proposed rule publication. The Service received letters

requesting a public hearing from Mr. Charles F. Stover, Regional

General Manager, UNIMIN Corporation; Mr. John Overmyer, Safety/

Environmental Director, K-T Feldspar Corporation; and Mr. William

Condron, Plant Manager, the Feldspar Corporation.

A public hearing will be held in the auditorium of the Mitchell

High School, 217 School Road, Bakersville, North Carolina, on February

8, 1994, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The comment period, which originally

closed on November 2, 1993, is reopened from January 22, 1994, through

February 22, 1994.

Those parties wishing to make a statement for the record are

encouraged to provide a copy of their statement to the Service at the

start of the hearing. Oral statements may be limited in length if the

number of parties present at the hearing necessitates such a

limitation. There are, however, no limits to the length of written

comments or materials presented at the hearing or mailed to the

Service.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Mr. John Fridell, Asheville

Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 330 Ridgefield Court,

Asheville, North Carolina 28806.

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act (16

U.S.C. 1531-1544).

Dated: December 29, 1993.

James W. Pulliam, Jr.,

Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 94-1196 Filed 1-19-94; 4:15 pm]

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