Notice of Reopening of Comment Period on the Proposed Rule To List the Alabama Sturgeon as Endangered

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), give notice that the public comment period on the proposed rule to list the Alabama sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi) as endangered is reopened. We are reopening the comment period in order to obtain comments on a Conservation Agreement and Strategy for the Alabama sturgeon (both documents will be referred to hereafter as the 2000 Strategy), which were signed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), the Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), and the Alabama-Tombigbee Rivers Coalition on February 9, 2000, and on their relevance and significance to the proposed listing of the Alabama sturgeon as endangered. The goal of the 2000 Strategy is ``. . . to eliminate or significantly reduce current threats to the Alabama sturgeon and its habitat. . . . '' Reopening the comment period will allow all interested parties to submit comments on the 2000 Strategy and its relevance and significance to the proposed listing of the Alabama sturgeon as endangered. The 2000 Strategy is available for review (See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section under Comment Procedures for how to obtain these documents).