[Federal Register: March 3, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 40)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 9205-9207]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03mr09-16]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R2-ES-2009-0004; 92210-1111-0000-B3]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of
Status Review for the Roundtail Chub (Gila robusta) in the Lower
Colorado River Basin
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; initiation of status review and solicitation of new
information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
initiation of a status review for the roundtail chub (Gila robusta) in
the lower Colorado River basin. Through this action, we encourage all
interested parties to provide us information regarding the status of,
and any potential threats to, the roundtail chub. We request
information on the status of roundtail chub throughout the range of the
species, in order to evaluate a petition to list a distinct population
segment (DPS) in the lower Colorado River basin.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request
that we receive information on or before April 2, 2009.
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-R2-ES-2009-0004; 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 on
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 information).
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Spangle, Field Supervisor,
Arizona Ecological Services Office, 2321 West Royal Palm Road, Suite
103, Phoenix, AZ 85021-4951; telephone 602-242-0210; facsimile 602-242-
2513. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Information Solicited
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 roundtail chub (Gila robusta).
Information gained during this process will be used to evaluate whether
the lower Colorado River basin population of roundtail chub is a
distinct population segment (DPS) as described in our Policy Regarding
the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments Under the
Endangered Species Act (DPS Policy; 61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996), and
if listing as threatened or endangered is warranted under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.). We request information from the public, other concerned
governmental agencies, Native American Tribes, the scientific
community, industry, or any other interested parties on the status of
the roundtail chub throughout its range, including:
(1) Information from the United States and Mexico regarding the
species' historical and current population status, distribution, and
trends; taxonomy; genetics; biology and ecology; and habitat selection.
(2) Information that supports or refutes the appropriateness of
considering the lower Colorado River basin population of roundtail chub
to be discrete, as defined in the DPS Policy, including, but not
limited to:
(a) Information indicating that lower Colorado River basin
roundtail chub are markedly separated from other populations of
roundtail chub due to physical, physiological, ecological, or
behavioral factors.
(b) Information indicating whether or not the lower Colorado River
basin population of roundtail chub is delimited by international
governmental boundaries within which significant differences in control
of exploitation, management of habitat, conservation status, or
regulatory mechanisms exist.
(3) Information that supports or refutes the appropriateness of
considering the lower Colorado River basin population of roundtail chub
to be significant, as defined in the DPS Policy, including, but not
limited to:
(a) Information indicating that the ecological setting, including
such factors as temperature, moisture, weather patterns, plant
communities, etc., in which the lower Colorado River basin population
of roundtail chub persists is unusual or unique when compared to that
of roundtail chub found elsewhere in the United States or Mexico.
(b) Information indicating that loss of the lower Colorado River
basin population of roundtail chub would or would not result in a
significant gap in the range of the taxon.
(c) Information indicating that the lower Colorado River basin
population of roundtail chub differs markedly from other populations of
roundtail chub in its genetic characteristics.
(4) Information on the effects of potential threat factors in the
United States and Mexico that are the basis for a listing determination
under section 4(a) of the Act, which are:
(a) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or
curtailment of the subspecies' 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.
Please note that submissions merely stating support or opposition
to the action under consideration without providing supporting
information, although noted, will not be considered in making a
determination, because section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act directs that
determinations as to whether any species is a threatened or endangered
species must be made ``solely on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available.'' At the conclusion of the status review, we
will determine whether listing is warranted, not warranted, or
warranted but precluded by other pending proposals.
You may submit your information concerning this status review 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 any 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 personal identifying
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 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, Arizona
Ecological Services 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 indicating that the
petitioned action may be warranted. We are to base this finding on
information provided in the petition and supporting information
submitted with the petition. 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.
Section 4(b)(3)(B) also requires that, for any petition to revise the
Lists of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife and Plants that contains
substantial scientific or commercial information that the action may be
warranted, we make a finding within 12 months of the date of the
receipt of the petition on whether the petitioned action is: (a) Not
warranted, (b) warranted, or (c) warranted but precluded by other
pending proposals. Such 12-month findings are to be published promptly
in the Federal Register.
On April 14, 2003, we received a petition from the Center for
Biological Diversity requesting that we list a DPS of the roundtail
chub in the lower Colorado River basin as endangered or threatened,
that we list the headwater chub (Gila nigra) as endangered or
threatened, and that we designate critical habitat concurrently with
the listing for both species. On July 12, 2005, we published our 90-day
finding that the petition presented substantial scientific information
indicating that listing the headwater chub and a DPS of the roundtail
chub in the lower Colorado River basin may be warranted and initiated a
12-month status review (70 FR 39981).
On May 3, 2006, we published our 12-month finding that listing was
warranted for the headwater chub, but precluded by higher priority
listing actions, and that listing of a DPS of the
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roundtail chub in the lower Colorado River basin was not warranted
because populations of roundtail chub in the lower Colorado River basin
did not meet our definition of a DPS (71 FR 26007).
On September 7, 2006, we received a complaint from the Center for
Biological Diversity for declaratory and injunctive relief, challenging
our decision not to list the lower Colorado River basin population of
the roundtail chub as an endangered species under the Act. On November
5, 2007, in a stipulated settlement agreement, we agreed to commence a
new status review of the lower Colorado basin population of the
roundtail chub and to submit a 12-month finding to the Federal Register
by June 30, 2009.
At this time, we are soliciting new information on the status of
and potential threats to the roundtail chub. We will base our new
determination as to whether listing of a DPS for roundtail chub in the
lower Colorado River basin is warranted on a review of the best
scientific and commercial information available, including all
information we receive as a result of this notice. For more information
on the biology, habitat, and range of the roundtail chub, please refer
to our previous 90-day finding published in the Federal Register on
July 12, 2005 (70 FR 39981), and our previous 12-month finding
published in the Federal Register on May 3, 2006 (71 FR 26007).
Author
The primary authors of this notice are the staff members of the
Arizona Ecological Services Office.
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: February 20, 2009.
Ken Stansell,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E9-4155 Filed 3-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P