Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of Comment Period and Public Hearing on Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Louisiana Black Bear

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AB97

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of

Comment Period and Public Hearing on Proposed Designation of Critical

Habitat for the Louisiana Black Bear

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public hearing and reopening of comment period.

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

public hearing will be held on the proposed designation of critical

habitat for the Louisiana black bear, Ursus americanus luteolus. The

Louisiana black bear occupies the Tensas and Atchafalaya River basins

with possible remnant numbers is the lower Mississippi River Delta and

the bluffs south of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The proposed critical

habitat areas are limited to forest within the Tensas and Atchafalaya

River basin and south of U.S. Highway 90, west from the lower

Atchafalaya River along the coastline to the Vermillion Parish line,

north to Highway 14, thence east to U.S. Highway 90. This hearing will

allow additional comments on this proposal to be submitted from all

interested parties.

DATES: The comment period on the proposal is reopened through April 4,

1994. The public hearing will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on March 23,

1994.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held in the auditorium of the New

Iberia Senior High School, 1301 E. Admiral Doyle Drive, New Iberia,

Louisiana. Written comments and materials should be sent to the Field

Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway,

Suite A, Jackson, Mississippi 39213. Comments and materials received

will be available for public inspection, by appointment, during normal

business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendell A. Neal at the above address

(601/965-4900).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to designate

critical habitat to the maximum extent prudent and determinable

concurrently with listing a species. Although the Service found that

designation of critical habitat was not prudent in the proposed rule of

June 21, 1990 (55 FR 25341) for listing the Louisiana black bear as

threatened, in the final rule listing the Louisiana black bear as

threatened, published on January 7, 1992 (57 FR 588), the Service

changed its earlier finding by determining that designation of critical

habitat was prudent but not then determinable. A proposal to designate

three areas as critical habitat was published in the Federal Register

on December 2, 1993 (58 FR 63560). The actual critical habitat within

these areas is limited to forestland.

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Endangered Species Act requires that a

public hearing be held on proposed designation of critical habitat if

requested within 45 days of the proposal's publication in the Federal

Register. Public hearing requests were received during the allotted

time period from Robert Lamar Boese, the Honorable Bill Tauzin, Pietro

L. Pipari, and Henry Stickler.

Anyone expecting to make an oral presentation at the hearing is

encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement to the hearing

officer prior to 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 this

hearing or mailed to the Service.

The comment period originally closed on March 2, 1993. In order to

accommodate the public hearing, the Service reopens the public comment

period. Written comments may now be submitted through April 4, 1994, to

the office in the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Wendell A. Neal (see ADDRESSES

section).

Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered

Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544).

Dated: February 25, 1994.

James W. Pulliam, Jr.,

Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 94-5114 Filed 3-4-94; 8:45 am]

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