Endangered and Threatened Species; Extension of Comment Period and Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for West Coast Steelhead; Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed De-listing of Umpqua River Cutthroat Trout

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 223, 224, and 226

[I.D. 121198A and 033198A]

Endangered and Threatened Species; Extension of Comment Period

and Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Designation of Critical

Habitat for West Coast Steelhead; Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed

De-listing of Umpqua River Cutthroat Trout

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public hearings and extension of public comment

period.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is extending the public comment period by 60 days and

announcing public hearings in California, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

on the proposed designation of critical habitat for nine Evolutionarily

Significant Units (ESUs) of west coast steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

NMFS is also announcing public hearings on a proposal to de-list the

Umpqua River ESU of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki

clarki).

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates and times of public

hearings. The date of written comments on the steelhead proposed

critical habitat designation is extended from May 6, 1999 to July 5,

1999. Comments on both the listing and de-listing proposals are due by

July 6, 1999.

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of public

hearings. Written comments on the proposed rules and requests for

reference materials should be sent to Chief, Protected Species

Division, NMFS, 525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-

2737.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin, (503) 231-2005, Craig

Wingert, (562) 980-4021, or Chris Mobley (301) 713-1401. Copies of the

Federal Register documents cited herein and additional salmon-related

materials are available via the Internet at www.nwr.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 5, 1999 (64 FR 5740), NMFS issued a proposed rule to

designate critical habitat for nine ESUs of west coast steelhead listed

as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (62

FR 43937, August 18, 1997; 63 FR 13347, March 19, 1998; 64 FR 14517,

March 25, 1999). Proposed critical habitat for all nine ESUs is the

current freshwater and estuarine range (including all waterways,

substrates, and adjacent riparian zones) below longstanding, naturally

impassable barriers (i.e., natural waterfalls in existence for at least

several hundred years) and several dams that block access to former

anadromous habitats. Since the proposed designation, NMFS has received

several requests for public hearings in affected communities within the

range of the nine ESUs and is now announcing the dates and locations of

these hearings. In addition, the agency is extending the May 6, 1999

comment period deadline by 60 days to allow additional time for public

hearings and subsequent public responses to those hearings. Hence, July

5, 1999, is the new deadline for submitting written comments on the

steelhead proposed critical habitat designation.

Also, on April 5, 1999, NMFS published a proposed rule to list one

ESU of coastal cutthroat trout (Southwestern Washington/Columbia River)

as a threatened species under the ESA and to de-list another ESU

(Umpqua River) previously listed as an endangered species (64 FR

16397). The agency has received a request for a hearing on the latter

proposal but none on the former. Therefore, NMFS is also announcing

public hearings on the Umpqua River proposed de-listing; comments on

both the listing and de-listing proposals are due by July 6, 1999.

Public Hearings

NMFS is soliciting specific information, comments, data, and/or

recommendations on any aspect of these proposals from all concerned

parties. Public hearings provide an additional opportunity for the

public to give comments and to permit an exchange of information and

opinion among interested parties. Department of Commerce ESA

implementing regulations state that the Secretary of Commerce ``shall

promptly hold at least one public hearing if any person so requests

within 45 days of publication of a proposed regulation to

list...species'' (50 CFR 424.16 (c)(3)). NMFS has received several

requests for public hearings in the areas affected by the proposals and

has made every effort to accommodate the specific requests. While the

agency was unable to hold hearings at every site requested, the

locations selected should be reasonably accessible to most interested

parties. The public will have the opportunity to

[[Page 20249]]

provide oral and written testimony at the scheduled public hearings.

Interested parties unable to attend the public hearings are encouraged

to send comments to NMFS (see ADDRESSES). The agency will consider all

information, comments, and recommendations received before reaching a

final decision on these listing and critical habitat proposals. Public

hearings will be held as follows:

Public Hearings Regarding Steelhead Critical Habitat

1. Tuesday, May 11, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., DoubleTree Hotel/

Redding, 1830 Hilltop Drive, Redding, California.

2. Wednesday, May 12, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., The Heritage

Hotel and Convention Center (formerly The Beverly Garland Hotel), 1780

Tribute Road, Sacramento, California.

3. Thursday, May 13, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Modesto

Irrigation District, 1231 11th Street, Modesto, California.

4. Tuesday, May 18, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., DoubleTree Hotel

Sonoma County; One DoubleTree Drive, Rohnert Park, California.

5. Wednesday, May 19, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monterey Beach

Hotel; 2600 Sand Dunes Drive, Monterey, California.

6. Thursday, May 20, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Fess Parker's

Doubletree Resort; 633 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara,

California.

7. Tuesday, May 25, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Umpqua Discovery

Center, 409 Riverfront Way, Reedsport, Oregon.

8. Wednesday, May 26, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Douglas County

Courthouse, Room 216, 1036 SE Douglas Avenue, Roseburg, Oregon.

9. Thursday, May 27, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eugene City

Hall, Council Chambers, 777 Pearl Street, Eugene, Oregon.

10. Tuesday, June 1, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Chelan Center,

317 East Johnson, Chelan, Washington.

11. Wednesday, June 2, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Yakima County

Courthouse, Room 420, 128 North 2nd Street, Yakima, Washington.

12. Thursday, June 3, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Lewiston

Community Center, 1424 Main Street, Lewiston, Idaho.

13. Friday, June 4, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Natural Resource

Center, Bureau of Land Management, 1387 South Binnell Way, Boise,

Idaho.

14. Monday, June 7, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Metro Regional

Center, Council Chamber, 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland, Oregon.

15. Thursday, June 10, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Wasco County

Courthouse, 511 Washington Street, Courtroom 301, The Dalles, Oregon.

Public Hearings Regarding Umpqua River Cutthroat Trout Proposal

1. Tuesday, May 25, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Umpqua Discovery

Center, 409 Riverfront Way, Reedsport, Oregon.

2. Wednesday, May 26, 1999, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Douglas County

Courthouse, Room 216, 1036 SE Douglas Avenue, Roseburg, Oregon.

Special Accommodations

These hearings are physically accessible to people with

disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other aids

should be directed to Garth Griffin or Craig Wingert (see ADDRESSES) by

7 days prior to each meeting date.

Dated: April 20, 1999.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 99-10392 Filed 4-21-99; 4:06 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F