Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Special Rule for the Conservation of the Northern Spotted Owl on Non-Federal Lands

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AD20

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Special

Rule for the Conservation of the Northern Spotted Owl on Non-Federal

Lands

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Reopening of the comment period for the proposed special rule.

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SUMMARY: On February 17, 1995, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)

published a proposed special rule in the Federal Register (60 FR 9484,

February 17, 1995) pursuant to section 4(d) of the Endangered Species

Act (Act), to replace the blanket prohibitions against incidental take

of spotted owls with a narrower, more tailor-made set of standards that

reduce prohibitions applicable to timber harvest and related activities

on specified non-Federal forest lands in Washington and California. The

comment period was scheduled to end on January 26, 1996. The intent of

this document is to reopen the comment period to March 1, 1996.

DATES: The comment period for written comments is reopened until March

1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments and materials concerning this proposed rule should

be sent to Mr. Michael J. Spear, Regional Director, Region 1, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97232-

4181.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Curt Smitch, Assistant Regional

Director, North Pacific Coast Ecoregion, 3704 Griffin Lane SE, Suite

102, Olympia, Washington 98501 (360/534-9330); or Mr. Ron Crete,

Manager, Habitat Protection and Restoration, Office of Technical

Support-Forest Resources, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, Oregon 97204-3623

(503/326-6700).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The implementing regulations for threatened wildlife generally

incorporate the prohibitions of section 9 of the Endangered Species Act

of 1973, as amended (Act), for endangered wildlife, except when a

``special rule'' promulgated pursuant to section 4(d) of the Act has

been issued with respect to a particular threatened species. At the

time the northern spotted owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, was listed

as a threatened species in 1990, the Service did not promulgate a

special section 4(d) rule and therefore, all of the section 9

prohibitions, including the ``take'' prohibitions, became applicable to

the species. To replace the blanket prohibitions against take of

spotted owls, the Service published a proposed special rule, 50 CFR

Part 17, on February 17, 1995, in the Federal Register, pursuant to

section 4(d) of the Act, which proposes a narrower, more tailor-made

set of standards that reduce prohibitions applicable to timber harvest

and related activities on specified non-Federal forest lands in

Washington and California.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, and Transportation.

Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered

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

Dated: January 25, 1996.

Curt Smitch,

Acting Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1,

Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 96-1829 Filed 1-30-96; 8:45 am]

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