[Federal Register: May 28, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 103)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 30596-30598]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28my08-26]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R2-ES-2008-0065; 1111 FY07 MO-B2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Initiation of
Status Review for the Northern Mexican Gartersnake (Thamnophis eques
megalops)
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 northern Mexican gartersnake
(Thamnophis eques megalops). Through this action, we encourage all
interested parties to provide us information regarding the status of,
and any potential threat to, the northern Mexican gartersnake.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we request
that information be submitted on or before July 14, 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-R2-ES-2008-0065; 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).
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.
[[Page 30597]]
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 northern Mexican gartersnake
(Thamnophis eques megalops). We request any additional 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 northern Mexican gartersnake throughout
its range, including:
(1) Information from the United States and Mexico regarding the
subspecies' historical and current population status, distribution, and
trends; taxonomy; biology and ecology; and habitat selection;
(2) 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) 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.
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, as well as supporting
documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, 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 Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 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 December 19, 2003, we received a petition from the Center for
Biological Diversity requesting that we list the northern Mexican
gartersnake as threatened or endangered, and that we designate critical
habitat concurrently with the listing. On May 17, 2005, the petitioners
filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, challenging
our failure to issue a 90-day finding in response to the petition as
required by 16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(3)(A) and (B). In a stipulated settlement
agreement, we agreed to submit a 90-day finding to the Federal Register
by December 16, 2005, and, if the petition presented substantial
scientific information indicating that listing the northern Mexican
gartersnake may be warranted, submit a 12-month finding to the Federal
Register by September 15, 2006 (Center for Biological Diversity v.
Norton, CV-05-341-TUC-CKJ (D. Az)). On January 4, 2006, we published
our 90-day finding that the petition presented substantial scientific
information indicating that listing the northern Mexican gartersnake
may be warranted and initiated a 12-month status review (71 FR 315).
On September 26, 2006, we published our 12-month finding that
listing of the northern Mexican garter snake was not warranted because
we determined that not enough information on the subspecies' status and
threats in Mexico was known at that time (71 FR 56227).
Since the time of the 12-month finding, a formal opinion has been
issued by the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, ``The
Meaning of In Danger of Extinction Throughout All or a Significant
Portion of Its Range'' (U.S. DOI 2007), which provides further guidance
on how to conduct a detailed analysis of whether a species is in danger
of extinction throughout a significant portion of its range.
In December 2007, the Service withdrew the September 26, 2007, 12-
month finding. This notice initiates a new status review for the
northern Mexican gartersnake that is consistent with current policies,
including any subsequent analysis relevant to the ``significant portion
of its range.'' We will incorporate any new information received as
requested above.
At this time, we are soliciting new information on the status of
and potential threats to the northern Mexican gartersnake. We will base
our new determination as to whether listing is warranted on a review of
the best scientific and commercial information available, including all
such information received as a result of this notice. For more
information on the biology, habitat, and range of the northern Mexican
gartersnake, please refer to our previous 90-day finding published in
the Federal Register on January 4, 2006 (71 FR 315), and our previous
12-month finding published in the Federal Register on September 26,
2006 (71 FR 56227).
Author
The primary author of this notice is the staff of the Arizona
Ecological Services Office.
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
[[Page 30598]]
Dated: May 9, 2008.
Kenneth Stansell,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-11756 Filed 5-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P