Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of Comment Period and Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Threatened Status for the Virgin Spinedace (Lepidomeda Mollispinis Mollispinis)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AC53

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Extension of

Comment Period and Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Threatened

Status for the Virgin Spinedace (Lepidomeda Mollispinis Mollispinis)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides notice that a

public hearing will be held on the proposed determination of threatened

status for the Virgin spinedace (Lepidomeda mollispinis mollispinis)

and that the comment period on the proposal is extended. This small

fish in the minnow family (Cyprinidae) is endemic to the Virgin River

drainage, a tributary to the Colorado River of southwestern Utah,

northwestern Arizona, and southeastern Nevada.

All interested parties are invited to submit comments on this

proposal.

DATES: The public hearing will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

to 9 p.m., with registration beginning at 3:30 p.m., on Wednesday, July

13, 1994. The comment period, which originally closed on July 18, 1994,

now closes on August 17, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the St. George Hilton

Inn, 1450 South Hilton Drive, St. George, Utah. The hearing will be

held in the Garden Room of the hotel. Written comments and materials

should be sent to the Field Supervisor, Fish and Wildlife Service,

Suite 404, Lincoln Plaza, 145 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City, Utah

84115. Comments and materials received will be available for public

inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours, at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert D. Williams, Assistant Field Supervisor, telephone 801/524-5001

(See ADDRESSES Section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Virgin spinedace (Lepidomeda mollispinis mollispinis) is

endemic to the Virgin River drainage, a tributary to the Colorado River

of southwestern Utah, northwestern Arizona, and southeastern Nevada.

Approximately 40 percent of the historical habitat of the Virgin

spinedace has been lost due to human impacts, which include habitat

fragmentation; introduction of nonnative fishes; and dewatering due to

agriculture, mining, and urbanization. These impacts continue to

threaten the Virgin spinedace. Listing this species as threatened would

afford the Virgin spinedace protection under the Endangered Species Act

(Act) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

On May 18, 1994, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published

a proposed rule (59 FR 25875) to list the Virgin spinedace as

threatened under the Act. Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act requires that a

public hearing be held if requested within 45 days of publication of

the proposal in the Federal Register. A public hearing request was

received within the allotted time period from Ronald W. Thompson,

District Manager, St. George, Utah, representing the Washington County

Water Conservancy District.

The Service has scheduled this hearing on Wednesday, July 13, 1994,

from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., with registration beginning

at 3:30 p.m. mountain daylight time (see ADDRESSES above). Anyone

wishing to make an oral statement for the record is encouraged to

provide a written copy of their statement to be presented 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. An adjacent room also will be provided for those who wish to

ask questions and to obtain additional information during and after the

formal hearing.

Oral and written statements concerning the proposed rule that are

presented at the hearing will receive equal consideration by the

Service. There are no limits to the length of written comments

presented at this hearing or mailed to the service. Comments

particularly are sought concerning:

(1) Biological, commercial trade, or other relevant data concerning

any threat (or lack thereof) to this species;

(2) The location of any additional populations of this species and

the reasons why any habitat should or should not be determined to be

critical habitat as provided by section 4 of the Act;

(3) Additional information concerning the range, distribution, and

population size of this species; and

(4) Current or planned activities in the subject area and their

possible impacts on this species.

Legal notices and news releases announcing the date, time, and

location of the hearing are being published in newspapers concurrently

with this Federal Register notice.

The comment period on the proposal originally closed on July 18,

1994. In order to accommodate the hearing, the Service hereby extends

the comment period until August 17, 1994. Written comments may now be

submitted to the Service office identified in the ADDRESSES section,

however, all comments must be received before the close of the comment

period to be considered.

The Service stated in the proposed rule (59 FR 25875) that critical

habitat will be proposed for the Virgin spinedace and the other listed

Virgin River species before publishing a final determination to list

the Virgin spinedace only, this could have a negative impact on the

Virgin spinedace. Section 7 of the Act requires that: ``Each Federal

agency shall * * * insure that any action authorized, funded, or

carried out by such agency * * * is not likely to jeopardize the

continued existence of any endangered species or result in the

destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species which is

determined * * * to be critical, unless such agency has been granted an

exemption for such action * * *.'' The Virgin spinedace presently

occupies areas of the Virgin River drainage that overlap or are

upstream of areas occupied by the endangered Virgin River chub (Gila

robusta seminuda) and woundfin (Plagopterus argentissimus). Because

these species occur in such close proximity and they, in part, share

common resources, the Service finds that critical habitat must be

determined only on a multispecies level using an ecosystem approach. If

critical habitat and its constituent elements were determined for the

Virgin spinedace only, this could have a negative impact on the Virgin

River chub and woundfin minnow. Therefore, in the case of the Virgin

River fishes, it would not be prudent to designate critical habitat for

a single species.

At this time, the Service is seeking comments related to the

proposed listing of the Virgin spinedace. At a later date, the Service

will publish a proposed rule for determining critical habitat for the

Virgin River fishes, and additional comments concerning its

multispecies approach to endangered species conservation for the Virgin

River will be sought. After the proposed rule for critical habitat is

published in the Federal Register, the Service will open a public

comment period, hold public hearings, and request comments from all

interested parties on the proposed critical habitat designation. After

the public comment period has expired, the Service will review the

public input, consider any areas recommended for exclusion, make a

final critical habitat designation, and publish the critical habitat

designation.

Authors

The primary authors of the notice are Janet Mizzi, Utah Field

Office (see ADDRESSES above), telephone 801/524-5001, and Harold Tyus,

Denver Regional Office.

Authority

Authority for this action is the Endangered species Act of 1973 (16

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Dated: June 20, 1994.

Robert D. Jacobsen,

Acting Regional Director, Region 6, Denver, Colorado.

[FR Doc. 94-15850 Filed 6-29-94; 8:45 am]

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