Emergency Listing of the Dixie Valley Toad as Endangered

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), exercise our authority pursuant to section 4(b)(7) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), to emergency list the Dixie Valley toad (Anaxyrus williamsi) as endangered. Due to the imminent development of a geothermal project in Dixie Meadows, Nevada, and the potential resulting effects to the geothermal springs relied upon by the Dixie Valley toad, there is a significant risk to the well-being of the species. We find that emergency listing is necessary in order to provide the protective measures afforded by the Act to the Dixie Valley toad. This emergency rule provides Federal protection pursuant to the Act for a period of 240 days. A proposed rule to list the Dixie Valley toad as endangered is published concurrently with this emergency rule in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.