[Federal Register: July 10, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 133)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 39639-39643]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jy08-23]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R8-ES-2008-0067; 1111-FY08-MO-B2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on
a Petition To Reclassify the Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus)
From Threatened to Endangered
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding and initiation of status
review.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
90-day finding on a petition to reclassify the delta smelt (Hypomesus
transpacificus) from threatened to endangered under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We find that the petition
presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating
that reclassification of the delta smelt from threatened to endangered
may be warranted. Therefore, we are initiating a status review to
determine if reclassifying this species as endangered under the Act is
warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are
soliciting scientific and commercial data and other information
regarding this species.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request
that information be submitted to us on or before September 8, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2008-0067, Division of Policy and Directives
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203.
We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all information at
http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means that we will post any
personal information you provide us (see the Information Solicited
section below for more details).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Moore, Sacramento Fish and
Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, Sacramento, CA 95825;
telephone 916-414-6600; facsimile 916-414-6712. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Information Solicited
When we make a finding that substantial information is presented to
indicate that listing, delisting, or reclassifying a species may be
warranted, we are required to promptly commence a review of the status
of the species. To ensure that the status review is complete and based
on the best available scientific and commercial information, we are
soliciting information concerning the status of the delta smelt. We
request information from the public, other concerned governmental
agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry,
or any other interested parties concerning the status of the delta
smelt, including but not limited to information on:
(1) The effects of potential threat factors that are the basis for
a listing determination under section 4(a) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.), which are:
(a) Present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment
of the species' habitat or range;
(b) Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes;
(c) Disease or predation;
(d) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
(e) Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued
existence.
(2) Population abundance, distribution, trends, and dynamics;
habitat selection and trends; food habits; and effects of disease,
competition, and predation on delta smelt.
(3) The effects of climate change, sea level change, and change in
water temperatures on the distribution and abundance of delta smelt and
their principal prey.
(4) The effects of other potential threat factors, including water
diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta),
contaminants, invasive species, and changes of the distribution and
abundance of delta smelt and their principal prey.
(5) Management programs for delta smelt conservation, including
mitigation
[[Page 39640]]
measures related to water diversions and development, habitat
conservation programs, invasive species control programs, and any other
private, tribal, or governmental conservation programs which benefit
delta smelt.
Please note that submissions merely stating support for or
opposition to the action under consideration without providing
supporting information, although noted, will not be considered in
making a determination, as section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that
determinations as to whether any species is an endangered or threatened
species must be made ``solely on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available.'' Based on the status review, we will issue
the 12-month finding on the petition, as provided in section 4(b)(3)(B)
of the Act.
You may submit your information concerning this finding by one of
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section. We will not consider
submissions sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed in the
ADDRESSES section.
If you submit information via http://www.regulations.gov, your
entire submission--including your personal identifying information--
will be posted on the Web site. If your submission is made via a
hardcopy that includes personal identifying information, you may
request at the top of your document that we withhold this information
from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so. We will post all hardcopy submissions on http://
www.regulations.gov.
Information and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this finding, will be available for
public inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, or by appointment,
during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT).
Background
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act requires that we make a finding on
whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species presents
substantial scientific or commercial information to indicate that the
petitioned action may be warranted. We are to base this finding on
information provided in the petition, supporting information submitted
with the petition, and information otherwise available in our files at
the time we make the determination. To the maximum extent practicable,
we are to make this finding within 90 days of our receipt of the
petition and publish our notice of the finding promptly in the Federal
Register.
Our standard for substantial scientific or commercial information
within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) with regard to a 90-day
petition finding is ``that amount of information that would lead a
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition
may be warranted'' (50 CFR 424.14(b)). If we find that substantial
scientific or commercial information was presented, we are required to
promptly commence a status review of the species.
We were originally petitioned to list the delta smelt as endangered
on June 26, 1990. We proposed the species as threatened and proposed
the designation of critical habitat on October 3, 1991 (56 FR 50075).
We listed the species as threatened on March 5, 1993 (58 FR 12854), and
we designated critical habitat on December 19, 1994 (59 FR 65256). The
delta smelt was one of eight fish species addressed in the November 26,
1996, Recovery Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Native Fishes
(Service 1996, pp. 1-195). We completed a 5-year status review of the
delta smelt on March 31, 2004 (Service 2004, pp. 1-50).
On March 9, 2006, we received a petition, dated March 8, 2006, from
the Center for Biological Diversity, the Bay Institute, and Natural
Resources Defense Council (CBD et al. 2006, pp. 1-33) to reclassify the
listing status of the delta smelt, a threatened species, to endangered
status on an emergency basis. The petition clearly identified itself as
a petition and included the requisite identification information for
the petitioners, as required at 50 CFR 424.14(a). The Service has the
authority to promulgate an emergency listing rule for a species when an
emergency exists that poses a significant risk to the well-being of
that species (50 CFR 424.20). The petition contained information on
changes in the status and distribution of the species, and on increased
threats to the species.
In response to the petition, we sent a letter to the petitioners
dated June 20, 2006, stating that we would not be able to address their
petition at that time because further action on the petition was
precluded by court orders and settlement agreements for other listing
actions that required us to use nearly all of our listing funds for
fiscal year 2006. We also stated in our June 20, 2006, letter that we
had evaluated the immediacy of possible threats to the delta smelt, and
had determined that an emergency reclassification was not warranted at
that time.
This notice constitutes our 90-day finding on the March 8, 2006,
petition to reclassify the delta smelt from threatened to endangered.
Species Information
The petitioners presented a summary of the known information on the
description, taxonomy, distribution, habitat requirements, life
history, and natural mortality of the delta smelt. They also described
recent changes in the fish's distribution and abundance, and summarized
recent delta smelt population trend and extinction risk analyses.
Description and Taxonomy
Delta smelt are slender-bodied fish, generally about 60 to 70
millimeters (mm) (2 to 3 inches (in)) long, although they may reach
lengths of up to 120 mm (4.7 in) (Moyle 2002, p. 227). Delta smelt are
in the Osmeridae family (smelts) (Stanley et al. 1995, p. 390). Live
fish are nearly translucent and have a steely blue sheen to their sides
(Moyle 2002, p. 227). Delta smelt feed primarily on small planktonic
(free floating) crustaceans, and occasionally on insect larva (Moyle
2002, p. 228). Delta smelt usually aggregate but do not appear to be
strongly shoaling, and their swimming behavior likely makes schooling
difficult (Moyle 2002, p. 228).
The delta smelt is one of six species currently recognized in the
Hypomesus genus (Bennett 2005, p. 8), and genetic analyses have
confirmed that it is a well-defined species with a single intermixing
population (Stanley et al. 1995, p. 391; Trenham et al. 1998, p. 418).
Within the genus, delta smelt is most closely related to surf smelt (H.
pretiosis), a species common along the western coast of North America.
In contrast, delta smelt is a comparatively distant relation to the
wakasagi (H. nipponensis), which was introduced into Central Valley
reservoirs in 1959 and is now sympatric with delta smelt in the estuary
(Trenham et al. 1998, p. 417).
Distribution and Abundance
Delta smelt are endemic to (native and restricted to) the San
Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Delta) in
California, found only from the San Pablo Bay upstream through the
Delta in Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo
counties (Moyle 2002, p. 227). Their historical range is thought to
have extended from San Pablo Bay upstream to at least the city of
Sacramento on the Sacramento River and Mossdale on the San Joaquin
River. They were once one of the most common pelagic (living in open
water away from the bottom) fish in the upper
[[Page 39641]]
Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary (Moyle 2002, p. 230).
Although exact population estimates are not possible to obtain for
this species (Moyle 2002, p. 230), relative population levels have been
monitored for several decades using various net surveys and counts of
adults entrained by Federal and State water export facilities (Bennett
2005, p. 5). Based on those surveys, delta smelt population levels
declined precipitously in 1982, leading to very low numbers from 1982
to 1991, and to their listing as a threatened species in 1993 (58 FR
12854; Moyle 2002, p. 230; CBD et al. 2006, p. 9). From 1992 to 2001,
abundance levels stabilized, remaining generally low but within the
bounds of pre-1980 levels. Recent surveys have shown another
substantial drop, however, with record low abundance figures from 2002
through 2007 (Armor et al. 2005, p. 3; Bennett 2005, p. 2; CDFG 2008,
p. 1). Bennett (2005, pp. 53, 54) conducted a population viability
analysis based on known population trends, and found a 55 percent
chance that the smelt population would reach a ``point of no return''
(quasi-extinction, estimated at 8,000 fish) within 20 years.
Habitat and Life History
The species requires specific environmental conditions (freshwater
flow, water temperature, salinity) and habitat types (shallow open
waters) within the estuary for migration, spawning, egg incubation,
rearing, and larval and juvenile transport from spawning to rearing
habitats (Moyle 2002, pp. 228-229). Delta smelt are a moderately
euryhaline species (tolerant of a wide salinity range), and most
individual fish live only one year (Moyle 2002, p. 228). Although they
are restricted to a relatively small geographic range, delta smelt use
different parts of the estuary at different life history stages. They
hatch, typically around May, from eggs laid 9 to 13 days earlier in the
slow-moving, freshwater spawning grounds of the upper Delta and lower
Sacramento River, and in Montezuma Slough near Suisun Bay (Moyle 2002,
pp. 228, 229). After several weeks of development, larvae are swept
downstream until they reach a point (typically in Suisun Bay) where the
salinity reaches about 2 to 7 parts per thousand (ppt). This is the
beginning of the ``mixing zone'' where fresh and brackish water meet.
Juvenile smelt tend to seek out that salinity level, and will rear and
grow there for several months, preferring relatively shallow open water
(Moyle 2002, p. 228). The mixing zone is typically located in Suisun
Bay, but moves farther upstream when freshwater outflows are reduced
(Moyle 2002, p. 230). Federal and State water pumps can affect outflows
by exporting large amounts of fresh water from the southern portion of
the Delta for agricultural and municipal uses. Thousands of smaller
water diversions throughout the Delta also export water for local
agriculture. Additionally, two power plants located in Antioch and
Pittsburg, California, use Delta water for cooling (Bennett 2005, p.
34; Armor 2005, p. 2)
Around September or October, delta smelt reach adulthood and begin
a gradual migration back upstream to the spawning areas. Spawning can
occur any time between February and July, but most spawning takes place
from early April to mid-May, in water temperatures ranging from 7 to 15
degrees Celsius (45 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit) (Moyle 2002, p. 229).
Although spawning has not been observed in the wild, the eggs are
thought to attach to substrates such as cattails, tules, tree roots,
and submerged branches, and the spawning areas most likely contain
gravel, sand, or other submerged material that is washed by gentle
currents close to the main river channel (Wang 1991, p. 11; Moyle 2002,
p. 229). Most delta smelt die after spawning, but a small contingent of
adults survive and can spawn in their second year (Moyle 2002, p. 228).
The petitioners referred to the Service's December 19, 1994,
critical habitat determination (59 FR 65256) for descriptions of the
specific habitat conditions required for spawning, larval and juvenile
transport, rearing, and adult migration.
Factors Affecting the Species
Section 4 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1533), and implementing regulations
at 50 CFR 424, set forth the procedures for adding species to the
Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. A
species may be determined to be an endangered or threatened species due
to one or more of the five factors described in section 4(a)(1) of the
Act: (A) Present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of habitat or range; (B) overutilization for commercial,
recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (C) disease or
predation; (D) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or (E)
other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence. In
making this 90-day finding, we evaluated whether information on threats
to the delta smelt presented in the March 2006 petition, and other
information available in our files at the time of the petition review,
constitute substantial scientific or commercial information such that
reclassification from threatened to endangered under the Act may be
warranted. A brief evaluation of this information is presented below.
A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment
of Its Habitat or Range
The petition notes that water diversions, particularly from the
large Federal and State pumping stations in the southern portion of the
Delta, can modify the smelt's habitat in three ways. First, they remove
planktonic food organisms out of the water. Second, they diminish
freshwater outflows, causing the mixing zone to move upstream and away
from Suisun Bay where the best rearing habitat is located. Third, the
large Federal and State pumps can actually halt and reverse flows in
the southern Delta, potentially interfering with both the transport of
plankton and smelt larvae downstream and with the spawning migration of
adult smelt upstream (CBD et al. 2006, pp. 13, 14).
The petition also notes that the diversions entrain and kill smelt
directly. This is not technically a habitat alteration, but we consider
it here because the direct effects of freshwater diversions are
intertwined with their impacts to habitat. The petition states that the
State and Federal pumping stations have shown an increase in recent
years in number of delta smelt entrained relative to their abundance
(CBD et al. 2006, p. 16). The increase is concurrent with recent
increases in water pumped from the facilities, particularly during the
winter when migrating adult smelt are most likely to be in the vicinity
(CBD et al. 2006, p. 15). Additionally, because the Federal and State
pumps only monitor impacts to smelt longer than 20 mm (0.8 in.), direct
impacts to smaller smelt remain unknown. The petition does note,
however, that summer trawl net surveys showed a serious drop in
juvenile smelt in the south Delta in the mid-1970s, during which time
Federal and State exports from the Delta were increased (CBD et al.
2006, pp. 15, 16). Monitoring of direct impacts is absent at the 1,800
smaller agricultural diversions throughout the Delta, and at the two
power plants that use Delta water for cooling (CBD et al. 2006, p. 14).
The combined habitat destruction or modification (Factor A) and
direct impacts from water diversions are difficult to quantify, but
potentially serious. The petition cites a 2005 analysis showing a
significant inverse correlation between smelt population, winter water
export rates, and numbers of adult and juvenile smelt sampled
[[Page 39642]]
later in the year (CBD et al. 2006, p. 17). Armor (et al. 2005, p. 39)
supports this, noting that the data on wintertime entrainment ``reveal
a consistent pattern across species that corresponds with the period of
fish declines.''
In summary, habitat destruction and modification (Factor A), as
well as direct impacts from water diversions, threaten the continued
existence of delta smelt, as they did at the time of the original
listing of the species. Record or near record low delta smelt abundance
indices from 2002 through 2007 (Armor et al. 2005, p. 3; Bennett 2005,
p. 2; CDFG 2008, pp. 1-2), indicate that these existing threats may now
be more imminent than at the time of listing. The delta smelt abundance
indices for 2002 and 2003 are at or slightly above the 1994 low, and
indices for 2004 to 2007 are less than half to near a quarter of the
1994 low (CDFG 2008, p. 2). As a consequence, we conclude that
substantial information is provided to indicate that reclassification
of delta smelt from threatened to endangered due to destruction,
modification, or curtailment of its habitat may be warranted.
B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or
Educational Purposes
The petition provides no information documenting current or future
threats under this factor, and we do not have any information in our
files to indicate that overutilization for commercial, recreational,
scientific, or educational purposes threaten delta smelt. Therefore we
conclude that there is no substantial scientific or commercial
information to indicate that reclassifying delta smelt from threatened
to endangered may be warranted due to overutilization for commercial,
recreational, scientific, or educational purposes. However, all
factors, including threats from commercial, recreational, scientific,
or educational activities, will be evaluated when we conduct our status
review.
C. Disease or Predation
The petition acknowledges a lack of evidence to indicate that delta
smelt populations have declined due to disease or predation (CBD et al.
2006, p. 20). It does note, however, that striped bass (Morone
saxatilis, a nonnative predatory species) may have been maintained at
artificially high levels relative to potential prey species, such as
the delta smelt, under a stocking program carried out until 2004 by the
California Department of Fish and Game (Service 2004, p. 6; CBD et al.
2006, p. 20). The petition also notes that inland silverside (Menidia
beryllina, a nonnative species feeding primarily on plankton) may prey
on delta smelt eggs and larvae, as well as compete with delta smelt for
planktonic food. Other introduced species that may be preying on eggs
or larvae of delta smelt include the chameleon goby (Tridentiger
trigonocephalus) and the yellowfin goby (Acanthogobius fiavimanus).
The petitioner cites a lack of evidence that disease and predation
threaten delta smelt, and we do not have substantial information in our
files to suggest that disease and predation threaten delta smelt.
Therefore, we conclude that there is no substantial scientific or
commercial information to indicate that threats from disease or
predation may warrant reclassification of delta smelt from threatened
to endangered. However, all factors, including threats from disease or
predation, will be evaluated when we conduct our status review.
D. The Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms
The petition presents information regarding existing and planned
regulatory mechanisms and their perceived inadequacy, stating that the
current export criteria in the water rights permits issued under the
State Water Resources Control Board regulations allow export operations
at levels that exceed those necessary to maintain healthy delta smelt
populations. The petitioners state that dedications of water for the
environment and of money for supplemental acquisitions of environmental
water mandated in the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act
intended to reduce the negative impacts of the Federal water project on
fish and wildlife have not been fully or aggressively implemented. The
petition claims that the CALFED (joint California State and Federal
government) Bay-Delta Program has been largely ineffective in
addressing environmental problems in the Delta, and that its future
status is uncertain. The petition states that the Service's most recent
biological opinion for protection of the species relied heavily on the
CALFED Environmental Water Account, which has failed to provide
detectable benefits for delta smelt. The petition also states that the
South Delta Improvements Program, in the process of being approved by
Federal and State agencies at the time of the petition, would increase
Delta water exports and install permanent tidal barriers that further
modify Delta flow patterns and habitat.
In summary, the petition points out that numerous changes have
occurred since the time of the species' listing, and suggests that the
regulatory mechanisms governing such changes have not provided adequate
conservation for delta smelt. Given that delta smelt abundance indices
from 2002 through 2007 have been at record lows (Armor et al. 2005, p.
3; Bennett 2005, p. 2; CDFG 2008, p. 1), we conclude that substantial
information is presented in the petition to indicate that
reclassification of delta smelt from threatened to endangered due to
the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms may be warranted.
E. Other Natural or Manmade Factors Affecting the Species' Continued
Existence
The petition presents information asserting that threats from low
population size, nonnative species, and lethal and sublethal effects of
toxic chemicals may have changed since we listed the delta smelt as
threatened. The petition presents information concerning the delta
smelt's population size and extinction probability, stating this
information indicates that the delta smelt is at risk of falling below
an effective population size and losing genetic integrity, and is
therefore in danger of becoming extinct. The petition also states that
increased competition by nonnative species, such as the clam Corbula
amurensis, has reduced the availability of the delta smelt's planktonic
food supply. Additionally, the petition cites the threat of lethal and
sublethal effects of toxic chemicals, such as pesticides discharged and
transported from upstream into the Delta.
We have substantial information in our files to indicate that the
delta smelt abundance indices from 2002 through 2007 have been at
record lows (Armor et al. 2005, p. 3; Bennett 2005, p. 2; CDFG 2008, p.
1). According to recent fish survey information collected by the
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) (Fall Midwater Trawl
(FMWT)), the average catch of delta smelt declined to the lowest level
since the surveys began in 1967 (CDFG 2008, p. 1). We do not have
substantial information in our files to indicate that competition from
nonnative species has changed since the time we listed the delta smelt
as threatened. We also do not have substantial information in our files
to indicate that lethal and sublethal effects of toxic chemicals have
changed since the time we listed the delta smelt as threatened. Toxic
chemicals are present in the San Francisco Bay-Delta; however, it is
uncertain what effect these chemicals have on delta smelt (Bennett
2005, p. 44). For example, in
[[Page 39643]]
2008, the Pelagic Organism Decline (POD) Working Group summarized and
provided a progress report of the studies and information collected in
2007 by the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) (Baxter et al. 2008,
pp. 1-52). The summary report did identify contaminants as having
possible effects during flow pulses in the winter, but there is no
evidence currently available that these pulse events cause toxicity to
delta smelt (Baxter et al. 2008, p. 29).
We conclude that the petition presents substantial information to
indicate a significant reduction in the population size of delta smelt
since the time of listing and that reclassification of delta smelt from
threatened to endangered may be warranted.
Finding
We have reviewed the petition and literature cited in the petition
and evaluated that information in relation to information available in
our files. Based on this review, we find the petition presents
substantial information that reclassification of the delta smelt from
threatened to endangered may be warranted.
When we listed the delta smelt as threatened in 1993, the factors
identified that threatened the species' continued existence included
threats such as: water diversions, inadequacy of existing regulatory
mechanisms, introduced species, and contaminants. For the most part,
these factors continue to threaten the species, although the degree to
which they each affect delta smelt populations likely has changed.
Recent surveys have shown a substantial decline in delta smelt
abundance from 2002 through 2007 (Armor et al. 2005, p. 3; Bennett
2005, p. 2; CDFG 2008, p. 1), indicating that the threats may be of
higher magnitude or imminence than was thought at the time of listing.
As discussed above, we believe the petition provides substantial
information indicating that a reclassification from threatened to
endangered may be warranted. Specifically, substantial information was
provided under Factor A (habitat loss, and water diversions), Factor D
(the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms), and Factor E (low
population size). Therefore, we are initiating a status review to
determine if reclassifying the species from threatened to endangered is
warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are
soliciting scientific and commercial data and other information
regarding this species.
Significant Portion of the Species' Range
The petitioners seek to reclassify the delta smelt as endangered,
indicating the species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a
significant portion of its range. During our status review we will
evaluate whether the best scientific and commercial information
available supports reclassification and whether there may be a portion
of the delta smelt's range that may be significant. As a result we will
provide our analysis of significant portion of range in the 12-month
finding.
References Cited
A complete list of all references cited in this document is
available, upon request, from the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Authors
The primary authors of this notice are staff of the California and
Nevada Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage
Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: July 2, 2008.
Kenneth Stansell,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-15747 Filed 7-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P