Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public Hearing and Extension of Comment Period on the Proposed Rule for Listing Nine Bexar County, Texas Invertebrates as Endangered.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AF33

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Public

Hearing and Extension of Comment Period on the Proposed Rule for

Listing Nine Bexar County, Texas Invertebrates as Endangered.

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of extension of comment period and

announcement of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives notice that the

public comment period is extended and a public hearing will be held on

the proposed determination of endangered status for nine Bexar County

invertebrates. The species proposed for listing (63 FR 71855; December

30, 1998) are Rhadine exilis (no common name) and Rhadine infernalis

(no common name), small, essentially eyeless ground beetles; Batrisodes

venyivi (Helotes mold beetle), a small, eyeless mold beetle; Texella

cokendolpheri (Robber Baron Cave harvestman), a small, eyeless

harvestman (daddy-longlegs); Cicurina baronia (Robber Baron cave

spider), Cicurina madla (Madla's cave spider), Cicurina venii (no

common name), Cicurina vespera (vesper cave spider), and Neoleptoneta

microps (Government Canyon cave spider), all small eyeless, or

essentially eyeless, spiders. All interested parties are invited to

submit comments on this proposal.

[[Page 16891]]

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

April 20, 1999 in San Antonio, Texas. Information displays and an

opportunity to ask questions will be available from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

on April 20, 1999. The extended comment period closes May 31, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing and information displays will be held at

the Lee High School cafeteria located at 1400 Jackson Keller Road in

San Antonio, Texas. Written comments and materials concerning the

proposal should be sent to the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, Ecological Services, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin,

Texas 78758-4460. Comments and materials received will be available for

public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alisa Shull, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 512-490-0057: facsimile 512-

490-0974).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

These nine invertebrates are obligate cave-dwelling species

(troglobites) of local distribution in caves in northern Bexar County,

Texas. The life habits of the species are not well known. They are

probably predaceous on the eggs, larvae, or adults of other cave

invertebrates.

Threats to these species and their habitats include destruction

and/or deterioration of habitat by commercial, residential, and road

construction; filling of caves, and loss of permeable cover; potential

contamination from such things as septic effluent, sewer leaks, run-

off, and pesticides; predation by and competition with non-native fire

ants; and vandalism.

In 1994 we began discussions with a coalition of landowners,

developers, and other interested parties about creating a conservation

agreement that might preclude the need for listing these species. We

have been working since then with interested parties to develop a

conservation strategy and agreement. However, all the details necessary

to accomplish this goal have not yet been agreed to. These issues

relate primarily to determining what is needed for species

conservation, responsibility and commitment for implementation and

funding, and the amount of time required to implement the conservation

measures. If these issues are resolved before a final listing decision

is made, the final listing decision may differ from that proposed for

some or all of these species.

Public hearings are designed to gather relevant information the

public may have that we should consider in determining the status of

and threats to these species. During the hearing the Service will

present information about the proposed action of listing the nine Bexar

County invertebrates as endangered. We invite the public to submit

information and comments either at the hearing on April 20, 1999, or in

writing. We request that comments be as specific as possible.

This hearing will be held from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. In the event there

are a large number of people who wish to comment, the time allotted for

oral statements may have to be limited. Persons wishing to comment at

the hearing are encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement

at the start of the hearing. There is no limit on the length of written

comments. Written comments may also be submitted at any time during the

open comment period and are given equal consideration to oral comments.

Written comments should be sent to: Supervisor, USFWS, 10711 Burnet

Road, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78758, and must be received by May 31,

1999.

From 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., prior to the public hearing, several

information booths will be set up at the hearing site (see ADDRESSES)

to allow the public to gather information and ask questions. The best

time to ask questions or discuss issues will be from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

at the information displays. Although the Service will present

information at the beginning of the hearing about the proposed action

of listing the nine Bexar County invertebrates as endangered, the

format of the hearing will not allow for questions and answers or two-

way dialogue during the hearing.

Additional information that would be particularly useful to the

Service in making a final listing determination includes any additional

biological data; the location of any additional caves containing these

species or caves where searches have been conducted and the species not

found; areas planned for development or other activities that might

affect any of the nine invertebrates; and existing local, state, or

Federal regulations that provide protection for these species and their

habitat.

Author: The primary author of this notice is Christina Longacre

(see ADDRESSES section) (telephone 512/490-0057: facsimile 512/490-

0974).

Authority

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

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

Dated: March 29, 1999.

Nancy M. Kaufman,

Regional Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 99-8678 Filed 4-5-99; 11:55 am]

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