Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of Comment Period for 90-day Finding on a Petition To List the Black- Tailed Prairie Dog

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of

Comment Period for 90-day Finding on a Petition To List the Black-

Tailed Prairie Dog

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), provide notice

that we are reopening the comment period on the 90-day finding on a

petition to list the black-tailed prairie dog to receive additional

information on the status of this species. All interested parties are

[[Page 53656]]

invited to comment on a draft Conservation Assessment and Strategy and

its potential influence on the status of the black-tailed prairie dog.

DATES: Information will be accepted until November 3, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the draft Black-tailed Prairie Dog

Conservation Assessment and Strategy should be sent to the Field

Supervisor, South Dakota Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, 420 South Garfield Avenue, Suite 400, Pierre,

South Dakota 57501. The document also can be obtained at

www.r6.fws.gov/btprairiedog/. Written information concerning the status

of the black-tailed prairie dog should be sent to the same address or

to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete Gober, Field Supervisor (see

ADDRESSES section) or at telephone 605/224-8693, extension 24;

facsimile 605/224-9974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On March 25, 1999 (64 FR 14424), we published a notice of a 90-day

Administrative Finding on a petition to list the black-tailed prairie

dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as

amended. The black-tailed prairie dog occurs within the States of

Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas,

Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Canada and Mexico. In the 90-

day finding, we determined that substantial information exists to

indicate that listing of the black-tailed prairie dog may be warranted.

We are currently involved in a more extensive status review of the

species that will culminate in a 12-month finding to determine whether

or not listing of this species is indeed warranted. Threats to the

black-tailed prairie dog include plague (an exotic disease), habitat

loss, poisoning, recreational shooting, and lack of State and Federal

regulations to conserve the species.

In recognition of the declining abundance of black-tailed prairie

dog colonies and the various threats to this species, the States within

the species' range have drafted a Black-tailed Prairie Dog Conservation

Assessment and Strategy to guide conservation of this species. This

draft Conservation Assessment and Strategy is being made available to

the public for review and comment on how it should be considered in the

Service's ongoing status review of the black-tailed prairie dog.

Public Comments Solicited

We intend that this status review be as complete and accurate as

possible, and that we consider all available information. Therefore,

comments or suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental

agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested

party concerning this draft Conservation Assessment and Strategy and

how it should be incorporated into our status review on the black-

tailed prairie dog are solicited.

The original comment period on this 90-day finding closed May 24,

1999. To accommodate requests for additional time for the public to

comment, the comment period was reopened for an additional 45 days on

June 4, 1999 (64 FR 29983) and closed again on July 19, 1999. We are

once again reopening the comment period to allow for public comment on

the recently drafted Conservation Assessment and Strategy and its

relation to the status review. Written comments may now be submitted

until November 3, 1999 to the Service's South Dakota Field Office (see

ADDRESSES section).

Author: The author of this notice is Patricia Worthing, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Denver Regional Office, P.O. Box 25486, Denver

Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225.

Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered

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

Dated: September 28, 1999.

Joseph J. Webster,

Acting Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.

[FR Doc. 99-25685 Filed 10-1-99; 8:45 am]

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