[Federal Register: April 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 81)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 21988-21991]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ap05-20]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018--AT88
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed
Designation of Critical Habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of availability of draft economic
analysis and draft environmental assessment, and notice of public
hearings.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the draft economic analysis and draft environmental
assessment for the proposal to designate critical habitat for
southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. The draft economic
analysis considers the potential economic effects of efforts to protect
the southwestern willow flycatcher and its habitat, collectively
referred to as ``flycatcher conservation activities.'' In the case of
habitat conservation, these costs would reflect the costs associated
with the commitment of resources to comply with habitat protection
measures. The analysis also addresses how potential economic impacts
are likely to be distributed and looks retrospectively at costs that
have been incurred since the date the species was listed. The draft
economic analysis finds that over a 10-year time period costs
associated with southwestern willow flycatcher conservation activities
are forecast to range from $29.2 to $39.5 million per year. Comments
previously submitted on the October 12, 2004, proposed rule (69 FR
60706) and the extensions of comment period published December 13, 2004
(69 FR 72161), or March 31, 2005 (70 FR 16474) need not be resubmitted
as they have been
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incorporated into the public record and will be fully considered in
preparation of the final rule. We will hold eight public informational
sessions and hearings (see DATES and ADDRESSES sections).
DATES: Comments must be submitted directly to the Service (see
ADDRESSES section) on or before May 31, 2005, or at the public
hearings.
We will hold public informational sessions from 3:30 p.m. to 5
p.m., followed by a public hearing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on the
following dates:
1. May 2, 2005: Escondido, CA.
2. May 3, 2005: City of Chino, CA.
3. May 9, 2005: Las Vegas, NV.
4. May 10, 2005: Lake Isabella, CA.
5. May 16, 2005: Mesa, AZ.
6. May 17, 2005: Silver City, NM.
7. May 18, 2005: Albuquerque, NM.
8. May 19, 2005: Alamosa, CO.
ADDRESSES:
Meetings
The public informational sessions and hearings will be held at the
following locations:
1. Escondido, CA: California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido
Blvd., Escondido, CA 92025.
2. City of Chino, CA: El Prado Golf Course, 6555 Pine Ave., Chino,
CA 91710.
3. Las Vegas, NV: Cashman Center, 850 N. Las Vegas Blvd., Las
Vegas, NV 89101.
4. Lake Isabella, CA: Lake Isabella Senior Center, Room 1, 6405
Lake Isabella Blvd., Lake Isabella, CA 93240.
5. Mesa, AZ: Mesa Community and Conference Center, 263 N. Center
St., Mesa, AZ 85211.
6. Silver City, NM: Western New Mexico University, Global Resource
Room, 1000 W. College, 12th and E St., Silver City, NM 88061.
7. Albuquerque, NM: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Special Events
Center, 2401 12th St. NW., Albuquerque, NM 87104.
8. Alamosa, CO: Adams State University, Student Union Bldg., Rooms
308 & 309, First and Stadium Dr., Alamosa, CO 81102.
Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and
participate in the public hearing should contact Steve Spangle, Field
Supervisor, Arizona Ecological Services Field Office at the phone
number and address below as soon as possible. In order to allow
sufficient time to process requests, please call no later than 1 week
before the hearing. Information regarding this proposal is available in
alternative formats upon requests.
If you wish to comment on the proposed rule, draft economic
analysis, or draft environmental assessment, you may submit your
comments and materials by any one of several methods:
1. You may submit written comments and information by mail or hand-
delivery to the Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor, Arizona Ecological
Services Field Office, 2321 W. Royal Palm Road, Suite 103, Phoenix,
Arizona 85021.
2. Written comments may be sent by facsimile to (602) 242-2513.
3. You may send your comments by electronic mail (e-mail) to
WIFLcomments@fws.gov. For directions on how to submit electronic filing
of comments, see the ``Public Comments Solicited'' section below.
You may obtain copies of the draft economic analysis and draft
environmental assessment by mail or by visiting our Web site at http://arizonaes.fws.gov/SWWF_PCH_Oct.htm.
You may review comments and
materials received, and review supporting documentation used in
preparation of this proposed rule by appointment, during normal
business hours, at the above address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor,
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office (telephone 602-242-0210,
facsimile 602-242-2513) or by electronic mail at
steve_spangle@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments Solicited
We intend that any final action resulting from this proposal will
be as accurate and as effective as possible. Therefore, we solicit
comments or suggestions from the public, other concerned governmental
agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested
party concerning the proposed rule, the draft economic analysis, and
the draft environmental assessment. On the basis of public comment,
during the development of our final determination, we may find that
areas proposed are not essential, are appropriate for exclusion under
section 4(b)(2) of the Act, or not appropriate for exclusion. We
particularly seek comments concerning:
(1) The reasons why any habitat should or should not be determined
to be critical habitat as provided by section 4 of the Act, including
whether the benefits of designation will outweigh any threats to the
species resulting from designation;
(2) Specific information on the distribution of the southwestern
willow flycatcher, the amount and distribution of the species' habitat,
and which habitat is essential to the conservation of the species, and
why;
(3) Land-use designations and current or planned activities in the
subject area and their possible impacts on the species or proposed
critical habitat;
(4) Whether our approach to listing or critical habitat designation
could be improved or modified in any way to provide for greater public
participation and understanding, or to assist us in accommodating
public concerns and comments;
(5) Any foreseeable economic, environmental, or other impacts
resulting from the proposed designation of critical habitat or
coextensively from the proposed listing, and in particular, any impacts
on small entities or families;
(6) Whether the economic analysis identifies all State and local
costs. If not, what other costs should be included;
(7) Whether the economic analysis makes appropriate assumptions
regarding current practices and likely regulatory changes imposed as a
result of the listing of the species or the designation of critical
habitat;
(8) Whether the economic analysis correctly assesses the effect on
regional costs associated with land- and water-use controls that derive
from the designation;
(9) Whether the designation will result in disproportionate
economic impacts to specific areas that should be evaluated for
possible exclusion from the final designation; and
(10) Whether the economic analysis appropriately identifies all
costs that could result from the designation or coextensively from the
listing.
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold
their home addresses from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to
the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which
we would withhold from the rulemaking record a respondent's identity,
as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or
address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your
comment. However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make
all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
Comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
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If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments and materials
concerning this proposal by any one of several methods (see ADDRESSES
section). Please submit electronic comments in ASCII file format and
avoid the use of special characters or any form of encryption. Please
also include your name and return address in the body of your message.
If you do not receive a confirmation from the system that we have
received your Internet message, contact us directly by calling our
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office at (602) 242-0210.
Background
We proposed to designate for the southwestern willow flycatcher
376,095 acres (ac) (152,124 hectares (ha)) [including approximately
1,556 stream miles (2,508 stream kilometers)] of critical habitat,
which includes various stream segments and their associated riparian
areas, not exceeding the 100-year floodplain or flood prone area, on
Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands in southern California,
southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, south-central Colorado, Arizona,
and New Mexico. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register
(69 FR 60706) on October 12, 2004, pursuant to a court order.
On September 30, 2003, in response to a complaint brought by the
Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. District Court of New Mexico
ordered us to propose critical habitat on or by September 30, 2004, and
complete a final designation by September 30, 2005. Additional
background information is available in the October 12, 2004, proposal
to designate critical habitat.
Critical habitat identifies specific areas that are essential to
the conservation of a listed species and that may require special
management considerations or protection. If the proposed rule is made
final, section 7 of the Act will prohibit adverse modification of
critical habitat by any activity funded, authorized, or carried out by
any Federal agency. Federal agencies proposing actions affecting areas
designated as critical habitat must consult with us on the effects of
their proposed actions, pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the Act.
Section 4 of the Act requires that we consider economic and other
relevant impacts prior to making a final decision on what areas to
designate as critical habitat. We are announcing the availability of a
draft economic analysis and draft environmental assessment for the
proposal to designate certain areas as critical habitat for the
southwestern willow flycatcher. We may revise the proposal, or its
supporting documents, to incorporate or address new information
received during the comment period. In particular, we may exclude an
area from critical habitat if we determine that the benefits of
excluding the area outweigh the benefits of including the area as
critical habitat, provided such exclusion will not result in the
extinction of the species.
Mapping Corrections for Proposed Units of Critical Habitat in Southern
California and for the West Fork of the Little Colorado River
Following the publication of the proposed rule on October 12, 2004,
we discovered that the coordinates for river reaches in Riverside,
Orange, and San Diego Counties, California, were not correctly
projected, causing a shift in the proposed critical habitat polygons of
approximately 262 feet (ft) (80 meters (m)) to the west. We have since
corrected the data projections to accurately reflect what we are
considering for designation or exclusion from proposed critical
habitat, and we provide the corrected start- and end-point coordinates
below. Corrected Geographic Information System layers will be available
at http://crithab.fws.gov. The figures provided for the total amount of
critical habitat being proposed [376,095 acres (ac) (152,124 hectares
(ha)) [including approximately 1,556 stream miles (mi) (2,508 stream
kilometers (km)] remain accurate.
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River Start latitude Start longitude End latitude End longitude
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(5) Santa Ynez Management Unit:
Santa Ynez River............ 34.5972867 -120.1744120 34.6596711 -120.4394929
(6) Santa Ana Management Unit:
Bear Creak.................. 34.1609651 -117.0151013 34.2422080 -116.9772861
Mill Creek.................. 34.0766521 -116.8443877 34.0911038 -117.1189177
Oak Glen Creek.............. 34.0386250 -117.0646375 34.0483423 -116.9394664
San Timoteo Wash............ 34.0044045 -117.1657189 34.0696468 -117.4534886
Santa Ana River............. 34.1513001 -116.7350693 33.9673435 -117.4534886
Waterman Creek.............. 34.2169729 -117.2909403 34.1863475 -117.2721230
Wilson Creek................ 34.0102690 -117.1074706 34.0386049 -117.0646183
Yucaipa Creek............... 34.0102933 -117.1075071 34.0044047 -117.1656724
(7) San Diego Management Unit:
Christianitos Creek......... 33.4202297 -117.5711573 33.4702954 -117.5643999
San Mateo Creek............. 33.4193065 -117.5369622 33.3859065 -117.5935937
San Onofre Creek............ 33.3947622 -117.5253484 33.3810809 -117.5783356
(8) San Diego Management Unit:
Deluz Creek................. 33.3631634 -117.3233833 33.4283909 -117.3215173
Las Flores Creek............ 33.3386714 -117.4116194 33.2917863 -117.4657736
Las Pulgas Creek............ 33.3612114 -117.3905836 33.3386355 -117.4115600
Pilgrim Creek............... 33.2412419 -117.3359159 33.3115680 -117.2982166
San Luis Rey River.......... 33.2026115 -117.3901467 33.2408111 -116.7646876
Santa Margarita River....... 33.4331091 -117.1976515 33.2326142 -117.4168773
Temecula Creek.............. 33.4982324 -116.9773975 33.3637228 -116.7592014
(9) San Diego/Salton Management
Units:
Agua Hedionda Creek......... 33.1568123 -117.2241974 33.1394463 -117.3150591
Agua Hedionda Lagoon........ 33.1396776 -117.3150857 33.1426464 -117.3411351
Cuyamaca Reservoir.......... 32.9897875 -116.5871030 32.9922459 -116.5626160
San Dieguito River.......... 32.9771651 -117.2515713 33.0907715 -116.9646098
San Felipe Creek............ 33.1455161 -116.5448283 33.1848207 -116.6238274
Santa Ysabel River.......... 33.1184844 -116.7865468 33.0909411 -116.9646660
Temescal Creek.............. 33.2308371 -116.8251816 33.1203200 -116.8528263
(10) San Diego Management Unit:
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San Diego River............. 32.8847273 -116.8112102 32.8281759 -117.0527358
(11) Owens Management Unit:
Owens River................. 37.5877424 -118.6992268 37.1354380 -118.2419417
(12) Kern Management Unit:
Kern River--South Fork...... 35.7176912 -118.1808882 35.6629518 -118.3705422
(13) Mohave Management Unit:
Deep Creek.................. 34.2871220 -117.1269778 34.3404079 -117.2457049
Holcomb Creek............... 34.2870519 -117.1270054 34.3049219 -116.9646522
Mojave River................ 34.4701947 -117.2546695 34.5838662 -117.3374023
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In our proposed rule we inaccurately mapped the extent of essential
habitat on the West Fork of the Little Colorado River in Arizona. We
are correcting that error by adding a Service Road 113 (longitude -
109.507567, latitude 33.959677) to a new endpoint approximately 170 ft
(51.8 m) east of the Mt. Baldy Wilderness boundary (longitude -
109.516209, latitude 33.958302).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: April 20, 2005.
David P. Smith,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 05-8488 Filed 4-25-05; 1:06 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P