Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Reopening of Public Comment Period on the Proposed Rule to List the Cowhead Lake Tui Chub as Endangered

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AE85

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of

Reopening of Public Comment Period on the Proposed Rule to List the

Cowhead Lake Tui Chub as Endangered

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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

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

the reopening of the comment period for the proposed endangered status

for the Cowhead Lake tui chub (Gila bicolor vaccaceps). The comment

period has been reopened to acquire additional information on the

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biology, distribution, and status of the Cowhead Lake tui chub in

northeastern California.

DATES: Comments from all interested parties must be received by August

3, 1998. All comments received by the closing date will be considered

in the final decision on this proposal.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, materials and data, and available reports

and articles concerning this proposal should be sent directly to the

Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 3310 El Camino Avenue, Suite 130, Sacramento,

California 95821. Comments and materials received will be available for

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

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Chrisney, at the address listed

above (telephone 916/979-2725, facsimile 916/979-2723).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Cowhead Lake tui chub is a fish that is found only in Cowhead

Slough and connected ditches within the bed of Cowhead Lake in extreme

northeastern Modoc County, California. Prior to being drained for

agricultural purposes, Cowhead Lake is thought to have contained the

majority of the Cowhead Lake tui chub population. The entire population

appears to occur in a very confined area of 5.4 kilometers (3.4 miles)

of Cowhead Slough and connected drainage within the bed of Cowhead

Lake. There are no additional populations. Protection of the habitat

within this limited range is required to conserve the Cowhead Lake tui

chub. This subspecies is threatened throughout its range by a variety

of impacts, including loss of habitat from agricultural activities, the

risk of disease and contamination, loss of genetic variability and by

naturally occurring random events.

On March 30, 1998, the Service published in the Federal Register a

rule proposing endangered status for the Cowhead Lake tui chub (63 FR

15152). The original comment period closed May 29, 1998.

There have been requests from five parties, including private

organizations and private citizens, to reopen the comment period for

this listing proposal. The Service is seeking additional information

concerning:

(1) The size, number, or distribution of populations of this

subspecies; and

(2) Other biological, commercial, or other relevant data on any

threat (or lack thereof) to this subspecies.

Written comments may be submitted until August 3, 1998 to the

Service office in the ADDRESSES section.

Author

The primary author of this notice is Ann Chrisney (see ADDRESSES

section).

Authority

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

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

Dated: June 9, 1998.

Don Weathers,

Acting Regional Director, Region 1.

[FR Doc. 98-15929 Filed 6-16-98; 8:45 am]

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