Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Arkansas River Basin Population of the Arkansas River Shiner

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to designate critical habitat for the Arkansas River Basin population of the Arkansas River Shiner (Notropis girardi) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Limited new information on the biological needs of the Arkansas River Shiner has become available since critical habitat for the Arkansas River Shiner was published on April 4, 2001 (66 FR 18002). However, this rule is being proposed pursuant to a court order issued in September 2003, vacating critical habitat established for the Arkansas River Basin population of the Arkansas River Shiner and remanding the previous designation of critical habitat for preparation of a new analysis of the economic and other effects of the designation (New Mexico Cattle Growers Association et al. v. Norton, et al. Civ. No. 02-0461). We propose to designate as critical habitat a total of approximately 2,002 kilometers (1,244 miles) of linear distance of rivers, including 91.4 meters (300 feet) of adjacent riparian areas measured laterally from each bank. This distance includes areas that we are proposing to exclude which is described further in the proposed rule below. The areas that we have determined to be essential to the conservation of the Arkansas River Shiner include portions of the Canadian River (often referred to as the South Canadian River) in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma, the Beaver/North Canadian River of Oklahoma, the Cimarron River in Kansas and Oklahoma, and the Arkansas River in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In developing this proposal, we evaluated those lands determined to be essential to the conservation of the Arkansas River Shiner to ascertain if any specific areas would be appropriate for exclusion from the final critical habitat designation pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of the Act. On the basis of our preliminary evaluation, we believe that the benefits of excluding the Beaver/North Canadian River of Oklahoma (Unit 2) and the Arkansas River in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma (Unit 4), from the final critical habitat for the Arkansas River Shiner outweigh the benefits of their inclusion. As noted in the ``Public Comments Solicited'' section below, we are seeking comments on our prelimary 4(b)(2) analysis that is contained within this rule. If this proposal is made final, section 7 of the Act would prohibit destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat by any activity authorized, funded, or carried out by any Federal agency. As required by section 4 of the Act, we will consider the economic and other relevant impacts prior to making a final decision on what areas to designate as critical habitat. We hereby solicit data and comments from the public on all aspects of this proposal, including data on economic and other impacts of the proposed designation. We may revise this proposal prior to final designation to incorporate or address new information received during public comment periods.