Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for California Freshwater Shrimp for Review and Comment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan for California

Freshwater Shrimp for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

[[Page 50959]]

ACTION: Notice of document availability, extension of public comment

period.

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SUMMARY: On July 21, 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced

the availability for public review of a draft recovery plan for the

California freshwater shrimp (Syncaris pacifica Holmes 1895) listed as

an endangered species on October 30, 1988 (53 FR 43889). The California

freshwater shrimp occurs in the Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties north

of San Francisco Bay, California. The Service extends the public review

and comment period for this draft recovery plan.

DATES: Comments on the draft recovery received by October 29, 1997 will

be considered by the Service.

ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the draft recovery plan may obtain

a copy by contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage

Way, Room E-1803, Sacramento, California 95825-1846. Written comments

and material regarding the plan should be addressed to the Field

Supervisor at the above address. Comments and materials received are

available on request for public inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Karen Miller or Matthew

Vandenberg, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at 916/979-2752 (see

ADDRESSES).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restoring an endangered or threatened plant or animal to the point

where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is

a primary goal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered

species program. To help guide the recovery effort, the Service is

working to prepare recovery plans for most of the listed species native

to the United States. Recovery plans describe the site specific

management actions considered necessary for conservation and survival

of the species, establish objectives, and measurable criteria for the

recovery levels for downlisting or delisting species, and estimate time

and cost for implementing the recovery measures needed.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (act), as amended (16 U.S.C.

1531 et seq.) requires the development of recovery plans for listed

species unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a

particular species. Section 4(f) of the Act, as amended in 1988,

requires the public notice and an opportunity for public review and

comment be provided during recovery plan development. The Service, and

other affected Federal agencies will take these comments into account

in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.

The California freshwater shrimp is endemic to Marin, Sonoma, and

Napa Counties. There are 16 coastal streams with extant shrimp

populations. Management issues and concerns include introduced fish,

deterioration or loss of habitat resulting from water diversion,

impoundments, livestock and dairy activities, agricultural activities

and developments, flood control activities, gravel mining, timber

harvesting, migration barriers, and water pollution.

The California freshwater shrimp draft recovery plan has been

reviewed by the appropriate Service staff in Region 1 and was developed

with input from selected experts on the biology of the species. The

plan will be finalized and approved following incorporation of comments

and material received during this comment period.

Public Comments Solicited

The Service solicits written comments on the draft recovery plan

described. All biological comments received by the date specified above

will be considered prior to the approval of the plan.

Authority

The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered

Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533(f).

Dated: September 17, 1997.

Thomas J. Dwyer,

Acting Regional Director, Region I, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 97-25725 Filed 9-26-97; 8:45 am]

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