Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public Hearings and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Reclassification From Endangered to Threatened Status for the Mariana Fruit Bat From Guam, and Proposed Threatened Status for the Mariana Fruit Bat From the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

RIN 1018-AE83

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public

Hearings and Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Reclassification

From Endangered to Threatened Status for the Mariana Fruit Bat From

Guam, and Proposed Threatened Status for the Mariana Fruit Bat From the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

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

comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), pursuant to the

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), provides notice of

two public hearings on the proposed reclassification from endangered to

threatened status for the Mariana fruit bat from Guam, and on proposed

threatened status for the Mariana fruit bat from the Commonwealth of

the Northern Mariana Islands. In addition, the Service has reopened the

comment period. All parties are invited to submit comments on this

proposal.

DATES: The comment period now closes on July 10, 1998. There will be

two public hearings, one each on the islands of Saipan and Rota. The

public hearing on Saipan will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on

Wednesday, June 24, 1998. The public hearing on Rota will be held from

7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, 1998. Prior to each of the

public hearings, the Service will be available from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

to provide information and to answer questions.

ADDRESSES: On Saipan, the public hearing will be held at the Pacific

Gardenia Hotel, Chalan Kanoa Beach Road. On Rota, the public hearing

will be held at the Rota Resort and Country Club. Written comments and

materials concerning this proposal may be submitted at the hearings or

sent directly to Mr. Brooks Harper, Field

[[Page 29368]]

Supervisor, Ecological Services, Pacific Islands Ecoregion, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 3-122 Box 50088,

Honolulu, HI 96850. Comments and materials will be available for public

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

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Worthington or Christa Russell

at 808/541-3441 (see ADDRESSES section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Mariana fruit bat is a medium-sized fruit bat that is

restricted to the Mariana archipelago, comprised of the Territory of

Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), where

it is known from all islands.

The movement of bats among the Mariana Islands is an aspect of

their biology that is critical to conservation. The 1984 Federal

listing (49 FR 33881) of fruit bats resident on Guam was based on the

assumption that these bats formed a separate population segment

distinct from the bats found in the CNMI. Recently, biologists in the

Mariana Islands have gathered evidence indicating that movement of bats

among the Mariana Islands links these colonies as a single population.

Thus, the Service believes that the Mariana fruit bats in the CNMI and

Guam represent one population, but recognizes that the bats on Guam are

not recovering and that survival of bats on Guam continues to be

threatened by a variety of factors. However, when viewed in the context

of representing a portion of the entire Mariana fruit bat population in

the Mariana Islands, rather than as a distinct population as previously

thought, reclassification from endangered to threatened is appropriate

and biologically justified. Therefore, proposing to list the entire

population of Pteropus mariannus mariannus as threatened throughout its

range, including bats in both the CNMI and Guam, retains an appropriate

level of protection for this bat on Guam while increasing overall

protection to the Mariana fruit bat throughout the Mariana Islands.

The fruit bats of Guam and the CNMI are threatened by degradation

or loss of habitat through the development of forested areas, illegal

hunting, the possible introduction of alien species such as the brown

tree snake (Boiga irregularis) to the CNMI, and the potential impacts

of typhoons that can disrupt small populations. Most of the known

Mariana fruit bat roost sites in the Mariana Islands are on public

land.

On August 27, 1984, the Service listed the Guam population of

Mariana fruit bats as endangered (49 FR 33881). Fruit bats found on

Aguijan, Tinian, and Saipan are currently identified as candidates for

listing (62 FR 49401). On March 26, 1998, the Service published a rule

proposing reclassification from endangered to threatened status for the

Mariana fruit bat from Guam, and proposing threatened status for the

Mariana fruit bat from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

(63 FR 14641-14650).

Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires

that a public hearing be held if it is requested within 45 days of the

publication of the proposed rule. Public hearing requests by the CNMI

Governor, the CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources, the CNMI

Division of Fish and Wildlife, and CNMI Representatives Heinz S.

Hofschneider and Diego T. Benavente, were received within the allotted

time period. The Service has scheduled public hearings for Saipan and

Rota. The public hearing on Saipan is on Wednesday, June 24, 1998, at

the Pacific Gardenia Hotel from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On Rota, the

hearing will be on Thursday, June 25, 1998, at the Rota Resort and

Country Club from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Public hearings are an

opportunity for the public to provide oral comments for the official

record, which does not allow for questions and responses to questions;

therefore, prior to each public hearing, the Service will be available

to provide information and answer questions from 5:00 p.m. until 6:30

p.m.

Oral and written comments will be accepted and treated equally.

Parties wishing to make statements for the record should bring a copy

of their statements to the hearings. Oral statements may be limited in

length, if the number of parties present at the hearings necessitates

such a limitation. There are no limits to the length of written

comments or materials presented at the hearings or mailed to the

Service. Written comments carry the same weight as oral comments. Legal

notices announcing the date, time, and location of the hearings are

being published in newspapers concurrently with this Federal Register

notice.

The comment period on the proposal was initially closed on May 26,

1998. To accommodate the hearings, the public comment period is

reopened upon publication of this notice. Written comments may now be

submitted until July 10, 1998, to the Service office in the ADDRESSES

section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is David Worthington (see

ADDRESSES section).

Authority

The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973

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

William F. Shake,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1, Portland, Oregon.

[FR Doc. 98-14233 Filed 5-28-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-P